Titan A.E.

Filled with spectacular visions of other worlds, Titan A.E. brings us into the 31st century and into a whole new level of science fiction. The story is pretty simple, a race called the Drej feel the human race is a threat so they decide to destroy us. The only hope for the survival of the human species is a ship called the Titan. Only trouble is, no one knows where it is. The answer lays with Cale, the son of the inventor of Titan. Once Cale realizes what he's in for, we're off on an intergalactic roller coaster ride. We get chases in swamps filled with hydrogen trees and an imaginative hide and seek game in a field of ice crystals. Traditional hand drawn characters are blended in with amazing CGI renderings of planets, ships, and the vast emptiness of space with very good results. Sure there may be some clunker lines here and there but Titan A.E. gives fans of sci-fi what they want. Well worth the price of admission

Saw this on DVD, missing it completely at the cinema. Which was probably what happened to the audience for the film, as it was difficult to market for any target group. Having seen it, it's apparent that lot of very hard work went into producing it.

I can compare it to a few other sci-fi animated films of recent years...

As ground-breaking as The Last Starfighter was in its day. Though not pure animation, Starfighter showed off what even early CG could do in terms of gimbal-free animation of spaceships and vehicles.

Much, much better than Final Fantasy, as the action is genuinely epic. The story goes places and uses the chosen technology very nicely. Titan is not a boring film.

Very similar to Disney's later production of the Treasure Island book. Disney appeared to have cribbed one or two scenes from Titan A.E. Not nice.

Graphically, it's up there with Iron Giant, using finely animated CG figures mixed with traditional cell animation. The scene where we first see the older Cale Tucker (in space, cutting up junk) is very impressive.

But something bugs me. There was something missing. Iron Giant gave me a sense of wonder, which was achieved by some great character acting, clever pacing and a wonderful story line. At no point was I "taken" by what I saw on-screen while watching Titan A.E.

I think Titan tripped over itself in the drama department more than a few times. Along with the latest Star Wars films, it tumbles along without stopping up and letting the audience know what the characters are feeling. The actors have to have the skills to enable the audience to feel, to immerse. Without that, the action has a risk of becoming incomprehensible.

Pretty, fast-paced, intriguing. But I wish someone would use these toys to produce something great, something big.

Something wonderful.

After reading a number of negative reviews of this film, I went ahead and bought the DVD. I had read that, although the movie was mediocre, it was the kind of film that's great for showing off your DVD player.

I am thrilled to own this movie.

True enough, the story is cliched. Yet I didn't think about it for a second while I watched the film unfold. I was completely caught up in everything I saw on the screen. If it was a slow scene, I just gazed at the beautiful eye candy. And during the incredibly inventive action scenes, I was surprised to find myself at the edge of my seat.

There are some who say that the mix of 3d and traditional 2d animation didn't work. I couldn't disagree more. There are times when the two styles were a glaring contrast. Yet, as the movie progressed, the two became as one to my eyes. I have no problem calling this a revolutionary step forward in animation.

I loved A Bug's Life and Toy Story. But this trip, in my eyes blew those films away.

Finally, though I wouldn't consider this film 'adult' by any means, the slighter darker tone made it much more accessible as an adult viewer. Every year I sigh when I see a preview for another assembly line Disney film. (Hey, let's dumb down the gothic horror 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' and give him cute sidekicks!) The look of Disney films hasn't changed in years. (If anything, they look more simple) This film, as cliched as the story was, was visually inspired.

The original Fantasia needed no story. It was an appreciation of music and animation. Let this be the new Fantasia. If you want to experience breathtaking and beautiful animation, I couldn't recommend this any more.

This can be a true revolutionary of all the animated films with its real eye-stunning graphics, a very imaginative sci-fi setting, more realistic-looking characters, and plenty of real action and yes, even some blood-spilling violence.

After years of churning out shots of sparkly-starry fantasy like Rock-A-Doodle-Doo, We're Back: A Dinosaur's Story, and Troll In The Central Park, Don Bluth's crew finally comes up with a very gritty, mature science fiction story all about humans being hunted down by the evil aliens who are out to destroy the planet Earth altogether. So a very brave young engineer grimly launched an enormous project that his little son was to carry on when he finally grew up. But it just wouldn't be a very easy path for the young hero to accomplish this great feat that would give a long ray of hope to all the innocent humans hiding out in the outer space. But with the help of a very spunky young female co-pilot, a group of bickering aliens, and a hardened space veteran, he just might...even with all those dread monsters hot on his very tail!

Beautifully made, this sweeping space odyssey really takes GIGANTIC steps to break from all the traditional aspects of an animated film to introduce mouth-droppingly MAGNIFICENT visions of the distant future as well as a more adult approach to storytelling and animation, so it may take awhile for the casual viewer to get used to it...and one day truly appreciate the great changes that is taking place in the whole animation industry.

The first time I saw this I was 13 or 14. I saw it in a theatre with some friends. Most of em didn't really seem impressed but I really thought it rocked. I really like Cale's character. He seemed to "click" as a normal guy you wouldn't mind being identified with. And that Goon character was just fantastic. I really liked the scene with the giant ice crystals, and the sound effects during that scene were awesome. And I noticed this movie had a lot of Starwars references, but who cares. Didn't bother me in the least---in fact I like that kind of thing.

I was sort of disappointed at how this one just sort of dried up and blew away (I don't even think it played a whole week at the theatre). Luckily a friend, knowing I liked this movie, gave me a DVD he'd bought and no longer wanted. So, again, I watched and enjoyed this unappreciated great creation. Somehow it seemed even better now.

As usual, I'll leave all the technical discussions to other reviewers (of which there are a multitude). I try to review on an entertainment level only...yeah, I suppose I'm the shallow guy who only sees what's right up front.

Anyhow, if you care a whit about sci-fi, don't miss this one even if it is animated. It doesn't really have that "anime" feel to it. So if you're turned off by anime, check this one out anyway.

BTW, this movie is great for family viewing.