TITAN A.E.

2000

Move over George Lucas, you've got competition. This is by far the most beautiful and exciting science-fiction adventure put on film, since the original Star Wars trilogy back in the '70's! The fact that it's an animated film doesn't even factor into the equation. In fact, BECAUSE it's animated, the creative team was able to do some things that they may not have been able to accomplish otherwise...computer graphics not withstanding. I can't recall that I've ever seen a film sequence to match the chase through the Ice Rings of Nigrin. The story takes place 15 years after the destruction of the earth, and it follows the adventures of a small band who are trying to reunite with the Titan, with the goal of establishing a New Earth. Big enough for you? The main characters are voiced by Matt Damon, Bill Pullman, Drew Barrymore, Nathan Lane, Jeanine Garafalo, and John Leguizamo. The creative team(led by Disney defector Don Bluth) is the same one that put together the "American Tail" films, and "The Prince of Egypt." But don't take MY word for it. Go see it for yourself...and may the force be with you!

5 Stars

NJB

Set a thousand years in the future, TITAN A.E. tells the story of a band of humans searching for the only key to the survival of our species, the Titan, after the Earth has been destroyed. The hero of our story is Kale (voiced by Matt Damon) whose father helped develop and hide the Titan before his death. Kale is joined by a band of unique and amusing characters voiced by Bill Pullman, Drew Barrymore, Jeanine Garafolo, and John Leguizamo. The story is very basic and I was disappointed by some very predictable plot twists. The animation of the characters is in that overly-exaggerated form that you always tend to get from non-Disney cartoons. The computer graphics that animate the settings and much of the action in space, however, are terrific. But what makes this film worth seeing are a few key scenes where the story, the computer graphics and the sound come together just right and make for extremely captivating sequences. See it for the ice field scene alone and keep an eye out for all the Star Wars references (and plagiarism)!

4 Stars

CDJ