Amazon.com: A visual knockout, Titan A.E. is an ambitious animated feature that combines traditional animations, computer-generated imagery, and special effects in the service of a science fiction adventure plotted with narrative conventions familiar from Star Wars and Star Trek. Credit directors Don Bluth (An American Tail, The Secret of NIMH, Anastasia) and Gary Goldman with crafting a vivid, convincing look to this deep space saga, which conjures some stunning images. A tense opening sequence climaxing in the destruction of Earth, a watery planet where delicate but deadly hydrogen trees float, joyriding in a starship while pursued by playful "space angels," and a nerve-wracking journey through a lethal maze of massive ice crystals each qualify as mesmerizing sequences in any film context.
What's visually stunning proves intermittently stunted on the narrative front, however. Orphaned when the evil Drej atomize Earth, protagonist Cale (voiced by Matt Damon) must journey across space to unlock the mystery of his late father's final project, the Titan spacecraft, in a test of faith and filial identity that echoes Star Wars. The Titan itself ultimately poses a cosmic potential familiar to admirers of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Comical sidekicks (Nathan Lane, Janeane Garofalo, John Leguizamo), a sultry love interest (Drew Barrymore), and a roguish mentor (Bill Pullman) all verge on the generic, narrowly redeemed by dialogue from a writing team including Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon.
It's likely that Titan's target audience of young males prompted the filmmakers to walk a tightrope between softer family features and more violent, hard-edged anime. Titan's brief bloodshed and coy nudity stop short of PG-13 terrain, though younger viewers might be unsettled by the violence. Young teens will find the proceedings tamer than the video games and anime fantasies that have influenced it. --Sam Sutherland
Description: A reluctant young hero holds the key to the future of mankind in the palm of his hand in this eye-popping, sci-fi adventure. In the year 3028 the Drej, a vicious alien race, has destroyed earth. Fifteen years later a young man named Cale learns he possesses a genetically encoded map to the Titan, a spaceship that holds the secret to the salvation of the human race. With the Drej in hot pursuit, Cale blasts off with the crew of the Valkyrie in an attempt to find the Titan before the Drej destroy it - and with it, mankind's last chance for a home of their own. Featuring an all-star voice cast that includes Matt Damon and Drew Barrymore and an edgy, out of this world soundtrack, Titan A.E. is an intergalactic thrill ride for a new generation.
Not perfect but still a most enjoyable ride Animated sci-fi adventure set in the 31st century in which evil alien forces known as the Drej destroy the earth, wiping out most of mankind (hence the 'A.E.' in the film's title, which stands for 'After Earth'). Fifteen years after the earth's destruction a handful of the dwindling human survivors from that awful day seek out the fabled Titan, a spaceship that represents mankind's last hope. But they must find the ship before the Drej do. This was a very enjoyable animated adventure, with Matt Damon providing the voice of the hero of the film Cale who leads the search for the spaceship Titan and Drew Barrymore the voice of his main female companion Akima. The beginning and end of the film are magnificent, both in terms of storytelling and animation. In this film we get to go on a journey of personal growth with the main character Cale, who starts off as a selfish and quite frankly not very pleasant person but matures as the film goes on as the quest to find the Titan becomes the making of him as a hero. The Drej are indeed frightening villains who destroy the earth near the beginning of the film but I felt that these characters were not fully fleshed out during the course of the film as their reasons for trying to wipe out the human race are never explained by them but merely speculated on by the film's human characters. Because of this the film is not perfect but it is still a most enjoyable ride which is even more impressive considering that most of the film's characters are rendered in traditional 2-D animation, as opposed to the computer generated animation which has taken over from 2-D animation in recent years. A good effort.
90 Minutes heavy on action does not do this vision justice. Titan A.E is a world so imaginative and vast that it would have been better suited for a 3 hour epic, a mini-series, or a TV show.
This film is not bad, in fact, it is quite good, but a lot of the 90 minute running time is gun fighting action, and the plot, while still interesting, feels vastly underdeveloped. Certain segments of the movie that could have been fleshed out for hours with interesting ideas were cut to just minutes. One such scene is when the central cast arrives at a human drifter colony. This scene in the movie lasts all of 5 minutes, and shows us almost nothing about the world of the last human society. There was so much potential here, but in 90 minutes, it could never be explored. A second scene is a rescue in a trade platform where slaves and all kinds of other merchanidise are bartered. This scene lasts 5 minutes at best but could have gone on easily for an hour. Nothing is fleshed out about the slave trade, or for that matter, any of the dozens of wonderfully drawn species of alien that roam this platform.
Titan A.E is a wonderfully concieved universe that has a vast potential for storytelling. 90 Minutes of running time, especially when much of it is action, does not begin to do this world justice. The film is good however, and I really enjoyed watching it. Especially given the rock bottom price here, you should pick it up. It's not a waste of money.
Titan A.E. ... Fast shipping and delivery. It's not what i was expecting, but was pleasantly suprised anyway. Thanx.
Great movie I could never understand why this film flopped. I saw it opening weekend in the theater and it was packed. Everyone there was really into it. I went back twice more while it was in the theater, and while it was never as full, most of the seats were occupied. And people were just as enthusiastic. It is still great at home, although not as fun. The music expresses what simple words couldn't, it sets the mood. I wouldn't sit around and listen to it away from the movie, but it works. It's really too bad that fox animation went under. I hate the way that Disney "disnifies" every film they get their hands on, and it would have been nice for them to have some competition.
SCI-FI FUN My sons and I love this movie, so do the neighbor kids. It's got a great story, wonderful characters, and impressive graphics. It'll be in our Sci-Fi movie collection for years to come.
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