Other Titles • Planet Ice (1998) • Titan A.E.: After Earth (2000) • Titan: After Earth (2000)
Synopses for Titan A.E. (2000)
1.
Spectacular animation, combining two- and three-dimensional techniques with stunning special effects, is TITAN A.E.'s mark of distinction. Directors Don Bluth and Gary Goldman (ANASTASIA) make their first foray into science fiction with this film, which is the first U.S.-produced animated science fiction film in more than 20 years.
The story is a classic bildungsroman, following the journey of Cale, a young man who holds the destiny of humankind in his hand--literally. Opening with the stunning destruction of earth as seen from space, the film launches the audience into a seamlessly imagined universe in which the alien Drej have turned humans into homeless émigrés, searching desperately for a new world. Cale (voiced by Matt Damon) is haunted by the legacy of his father, who abandoned him but created the spaceship Titan, which holds the key to the new home of humankind. With the plan for Titan imprinted in his hand, Cale is swept from a life of lonely drudgery devoid of female companionship into the colorful crew of mysterious Captain Korso (voiced by Bill Pullman). On the Valkyrie ship, Cale enjoys Korso’s crew, including the kind, beautiful, and expert woman pilot Akima (voiced by Drew Barrymore) along with a strange but fascinating band of aliens.
2.
The year is 3028. Mankind has conquered space, and even though it was routine to travel to the farthest galaxies, humans always thought that Earth would be home. However, with mankind's new freedom comes new enemies, forcing Earth to prepare for an attack by the Drej, a vicious alien race.
In little more than an instant, Earth is gone. The human race barely escapes with its greatest treasure, a magnificent ship christened the Titan.
An epic journey that begins after Earth ends.
3.
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. Titan A.E. is an intergalactic thrill ride for a new generation.
4.
A visual knockout, Titan A.E. is an ambitious animated feature that combines traditional animation, 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 mesmerising sequences in any film context.
What's visually stunning proves intermittently stunted on the narrative front, however. Orphaned when the evil Drej atomise 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. Although it's brief bloodshed and coy nudity stops short of more adult terrain, 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, Amazon.com
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