Titan A.E. Movie Review:


Titan A.E. is a very creative and gratifying animated feature. The story takes place in 3028; the Drej, an alien race that is made of pure energy, has destroyed Earth. The few survivors of Earth fled on spacecrafts, one of them being the Titan, which carries the hope of human survival. The story focuses on Cale (Damon) and the search for the Titan, which Cale’s father created and hid from the Drej. The audience is introduced to Cale, while he is working somewhere in space with the low-lifes of the universe. The character is young, angry and frustrated because he believes that his father abandoned him. Cale is soon encountered by Korso (Pullman), who was a former colleague of his father’s. Korso reveals to Cale that he holds the future of mankind in his hand. Cale discovers that his father has place a genetic map of the Titan’s hiding place in the palm of his hand. The film then turns into the journey of Cale, Korso and his crew trying to find the Titan before the Drej destroy it. The race to save mankind is then developed through many quick and fast action sequences.

I really enjoyed Titan A.E. It is a different and fresh type of animated story telling. The film reminded me of a mix between Heavy Metal and The Fifth Element.

Ben Edlund, John August and Joss Whedon wrote the script for Titan A.E. The story is something that everyone has heard before, which is a race against the clock to save mankind. But the structure that the writers use to tell the story is what works. The three writers collaborated on the creation of strong characters, along with different alien races and societies. The sequencing and transitions are also clever in shaping the characters and plot. An example of one the imaginative aspects in Titan A.E. is the evil aliens, the Drej. The alien race is made up of total energy and wants to conqueror the universe. The power of the Drej is reflected by their depth and actions, not by absurd dialogue (Remember the Psychlo race in Battlefield Earth). The writer’s target audience for this film is 12-21 year olds, this isn’t an animated children’s film. I don’t believe that the story and characters would have worked well if the film was targeted for young children.

Don Bluth and Gary Goldman do an outstanding job of visually directing the film. The futuristic atmosphere that Bluth and Goldman created is original and groundbreaking. The directors also blend animation with some live action effects for more impact in certain scenes. The technology that Bluth and Goldman use is incredible. An example in the film is the ice field sequence, in which computer effects and animation are used to create an exciting chase scene through the reflections of the ice. It had to have taken these two directors awhile to develop and create this movie; Titan A.E. is something new in the world of animation like this summer’s previous movie Dinosaur. Lately, it seems that every animated film I review has new groundbreaking effects in it. The future is looking very good for the world of animation.

Even though I believe kids’ eyes will be stuck to the screen will watching this film, it is a film made for older ages. There is some blood, death and a lot of action violence, but the film is rated PG, so almost all ages can see it.

Report Card Grade: A-

Joseph Tucker

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