Titan A.E.

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.

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.

Titan A.E is a story set in a post-earth era (hence the A.E: after earth, which i thought was a nice touch). Its about the son of a scientist who is thrust upon him the quest of finding the Titan, the greatest ship ever built, and is humanity's last chance.

The movie begins with an awesome scene of the evacuation of earth, and caught me nicely off guard with some great 3D rendering of the Titan (when launched), and the escape ships. The imagination that went into some scenes in the movie, especially the cruising alongside the wake angels, and the ice rinks were fantastic. And the plot, though a bit unrealistic in terms of modern science, was thoroughly refreshing in concept. And its got just the right balance of action to move it quickly from a kids film to a good sci-fi show for slightly older audiences.

Titan A.E is a great film. It has a story that's original and neatly executed. It brought about some great 3D rendering in a time where animation was primarily 2D. Its got good character development with a nice twist in the middle. And its also got a fine soundtrack, which I love to listen to.

Go watch this movie. You will not be disappointed.

The storyline of TITAN A.E. follows standard mythical canon: unlikely youthful hero from the boondocks is forced to follow his destiny and struggle against overwhelming odds to save his people. No surprises there, to be sure, but God is in the details, and the details is where this film excels. I can't say enough good about the animation and visual artistry--it's the best ever. Hopefully this will raise the bar for animated feature films. After forty-odd years, I have had enough of the formulaic Disney approach.

I would also give TITAN A.E. high marks for acting and for the musical selections in the soundtrack. This film should make a great addition to any enthusiast's DVD library.

I agree that the plot is rather holey, but I was so busy enjoying the film that I didn't notice at the time.

TITAN A. E. / (2000) *** (out of four)

"Titan A.E." is like a giant looming over movie animation landscape; it is one of the most visually bracing family fantasy adventures to come down the pike in years. The film's animation is wonderfully spectacular, visually enticing and entirely convincing. Directors Don Bluth and Gary Goldman enthrall the audience with a sweeping sense of atmosphere and action. This is the kind of cartoon that is mature to the level in which the characters and set designs could have been replaced with live action filmmaking without changing the movie's perspective.

The production takes place twenty-eight years after the third millennium. Planet Earth has been demolished by a cruel species called the Drej, who fear the potential intelligence of the human race. Cale (voiced by Matt Damon) is a young man working as a space dump attendant who believes his father abandoned him when he was a child. Cale doesn't know it yet, but he holds the key to the survival of the human race with a genetically coded map on his hand showing the course to the hidden position of a special spacecraft called the Titan.

Cale meets a young woman named Akima (voiced by Drew Barrymore), who cherishes conventional memorabilia of her late planet. She and her captain, Korso (voiced by Bill Pullman), and the navigator, Gune (John Leguizamo), set out to locate the vital Titan before the evil Drej can exterminate it along with mankind's future hope of existence.

Instead of our traditional, well-developed bad guy that posses serious threats to the protagonist's mission, in "Titan A.E." we receive something of a different sort: an underwritten alien race whose motives and backgrounds are unclear and undeveloped. The movie seems to know of this, however, therefore the film wisely switches villains in the second act. The story provides an interesting twist that supplies us with solid and comprehendible antagonism.

This movie's plot feels somewhat pieced together from previous science fiction fantasies like "Star Trek," "Star Wars," and "Lost in Space." John Whedon, Ben Edlund, and John August vividly detail a story that moves along steadily, but occasionally stalls to build momentum for the character's purpose for achieving goals. There is a scene on a spaceship holding Cale in captivity that feels trite and dual, but the film quickly rejuvenates itself with an exhilarating chase sequence. The film's plot would have been more involving if we knew more about the characters. They seem pretty interesting but we never really get to know them because the filmmakers were more concerned with special effects, a common misconception both animated and live action films.

This production is engaging and well animated; "Titan: After Earth" is smart to jolt a appropriate about of energy into its action scenes and contains sufficient amounts of style and wit to satisfy younger audiences as well to hold the attention of the older, more sophisticated viewers. It is not every day a cartoon is able to do that.