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.
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
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Much Better than Anime:
I assumed this was going to be anime, so I avoided it like the plague. (I've never seen an anime flick that I didn't think was extremely lame.) But this film is actually a home-grown American-style cartoon, and a fairly good one at that. Don't expect to be blown away or anything, but you can certainly look forward to being entertained for ninety minutes or so.
TITAN A.E.: A Review; Why did it fail?:
I have long been a fan of the work Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. For those of you that have never heard of them, they are two film directors/producers, who have produced classic animated films, such as The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go To Heaven, and Anastasia. Bluth has been considered one of the premier animators of his time, dating back to his days with Disney, where he worked on The Fox and The Hound, Robin Hood, The Rescuers, and Pete's Dragon. His use of the... more info
Wrong UPC listed.:
Listed UPC: 245430092458
Correct UPC: 024543009245 according to the DVD
ASIN: B00003CXDS
Titan A.E. (Special Edition)
Embarassment to humankind:
If Titan AE is our last hope then the human race is better off dying. This insipid story follows an unlikable brat and a crew of incompetents in their attempt to save humanity. The story is ham-fisted the characters unlikable. Children might like this movie but adults will need Novocaine to make it through the operation.
