Review of Titan A.E. (2000) by Harry W — 14 Jul 2014

Directed by Don Bluth in his first CGI effort, Titan A.E. sounded like it would be a colourful animated science fiction film.

One startling element of the animation is that it goes back and fourth between having organic computerised movements and animation which is rather sketchy and seems to be missing frames between its movements. Although most of the time it is all good looking and pretty stylish, there are enough moments in the film featuring sketchy animation for it to be notable. The animation is mostly great, but it has some pretty weak moments which damage the experience a little. Still, a lot of the time it shows off some of Don Bluth's best animation to date. Titan A.E. does not have all the cutsie characters that Don Bluth films are iconic for, but rather it has designs similar to the animation of Atlantis: The Lost Empire which was released the following year. Although the animation is not as amazing in some areas, it triumphs it in others, particularly the moments that require three dimensional top notch CGI. A lot of the animation in Titan A.E. is thoroughly impressive, and it has a broad colour palette which lights up the screen. The animation in Titan A.E. is colourful and strong, but it also stands out as memorable because of the versatile nature of the scenes that ti animates. It ranges from simple character inteactions to action scenes and spaceship chases which makes it an entertaining science fiction adventure. Although, despite what Don Bluth may claim, Titan A.E. is not the endless action spectacle that one may hope it to be. At heart, it is a child friendly science fiction adventure film and should be looked at as such because it does a good enough job entertaining the young crowds and hopefully many of the older viewers. I enjoyed the film, although largely more for the aspect of its technical qualities than for its storytelling.

Titan A.E. does make the mistake of sacrificing potential for a decent story though. It seems reminiscent of many other science fiction films from the past without a sense of originality to it, and the concept can even get confusing at times. The relevance of a lot of characters seems convoluted as the premise just rushes by the viewer, and so the experience can seem a little unstable. If you look at the film's information, you can see that Joss Whedon was one of the writers and that he was disappointed with how the film turned out which suggests that t he concept was more clever and was simply executed with fault. Titan A.E. has a story which brings some interesting science fiction concepts to the surface without going into enough depth to really explore them sufficiently. Titan A.E. brings up some interesting ideas, but it then subverts them with conventional storytelling and a distinct lack of originality. The scipr in the film just does not have enough heft to be all that interesting, and although it does have a gritty nature at times which is what Don Bluth is known for and the dialogue is mostly pretty effective, but there isn't really enough jokes in the film to give it an appropriate comic touch. Titan A.E. is a serious film and a fun one, but it is not as funny as you might hope.

Still, it is a good experience. As well as looking great, Titan A.E. has some strong sound effects edited into the film at the right times and a fairly decent musical score as well. The visual experience of the film alone is enough to justify viewing it, and people who can overlook its lack of a sufficient story in favour of enjoying the technical elemtns that it offers are likely to find the experience an enjoyable one and an interesting contrast to Don Bluth's earlier and more childish films. It is definetely one of his films that I enjoyed more than his other less sufficient efforts, and while the film was a box office bomb which brought an end to his career, the simple fact is that it is a good film.

The voice acting in Titan A.E. is great.

Matt Damon manages to do a nice job as protgonist Cale Tucker in Titan A.E.. He manages to put a lot of energy into his voice acting which ensures that he shines in the part and captures the appropriate heroic spirit for the role, and he manages to get it with great accuracy. He matches the spirit of his character and embodies the physical nature of him very well. Matt Damon delivers his lines with strong timing and easy charisma, and so he proves to be a good casting decision as the lead in Titan A.E..

Drew Barrymore captures a lot of passionate spirit in her role as well. She has a voice that admittedly I am a sucker for because I find that it has a certain level of cuteness in it while also maintaining a level of determined spirit. Her voice first the profile of her character Akima perfectly, and the voice chemistry that she shares with Matt Damon serves to be entertaining during the romantic tension between them and the comic way they interact at times. Drew Barrymore is a genial presence in Titan A.E. as she is in everything that holds the title of her presence.

Nathan Lane is a nice touch as well. He is always a genial presence in an animated film because of the fact that he has a very iconic voice which he is able to project in a rather over the top nature which is almost melodramatic, and it is played off to a comedic extent rather well. He delivers his lines with hilarious ease, and so he is a very entertaining aspect of Titan A.E.

Bill Pullman and John Leguizamo also turn in entertaining performances in Titan A.E.

So although Titan A.E. is not the best example of storytelling from Don Bluth, the animation gives his career a new meaning due to the awesome quality and colour in it which gives the film a true adventurous feel, and that manages to overshadow most of the film's poor qualities. It is a shame that this film marked the end of his career because it really shouldn't have bombed at box office like it did.