There was a period when Fox Animation Studios was producing high-quality animated kids’ films. The studio gave us Anastasia in 1997, and a few years later, gave us Titan A.E. A pull quote on the special edition DVD of the film proclaims it as “the movie Star Wars fans have been waiting for”, and while it’s fun, I’m not sure that I’d go that far. But Titan A.E. is likely to appeal to fans of that universe. It’s an original science fiction movie from directors Don Bluth and Gary Goldman with a story by writers Hans Bauer and Randall McCormick, and screenplay by Ben Edlund, John August, and Joss Whedon.
The movie wastes no time in establishing the world in which we’re set. It’s 3028, and a sepia-toned Earth goes boom thanks to an attack from an invading alien species called the Drej. But not before some humans escape on space ships, including one very special spherical space ship called Titan. Right before Earth’s kablooey, a young boy named Cale bids farewell to his father, Sam (Ron Perlman). It’s a sad moment, and you feel Cale’s pain. Sam entrusts Cale with a seemingly ordinary, DNA-encoded ring that, unbeknownst to the boy, holds the map to the Titan. And then he’s off. You see, Sam is in charge of Titan and has to depart on a different ship from Cale. Sam leaves Cale in the care of Tek (Tone Loc), promising he’ll see him again.
Fifteen years later, and things aren’t going so great for humanity. They’re scattered to the various corners of the universe. And the real story of this film kicks off when Cale (voiced by Matt Damon) is found by a friend of his father’s named Korso (Bill Pullman). The angsty young man is doing some crappy mining work in an asteroid belt and getting into fights with local aliens. Korso shows him how to unlock the ring that he still has from his dad, revealing a super-glowy, tattooed map. Korso has a ragtag team of associates, including Akima (Drew Barrymore), Preed (Nathan Lane), Stith (Janeane Garofalo), and the brilliant turtle-y Gune (John Leguizamo) and they’re on a mission, although what mission isn’t quite clear. He convinces Cale that he’s the only hope for humanity’s survival, and that it hinges on finding Titan and whatever lies within. The group goes off in search of the ship, spurred on by an attack on their location from the Drej.
It all unfolds how you’d expect with a healthy dose of ulterior motives and double-crossing. There’s a satisfying, if predictable, ending at the end of Titan A.E.. It doesn’t break new ground for a sci-fi story, but it is still entertaining. Humanity gets a second chance thanks to Cale and Akima and the ark, excuse me, Titan. As an audience, it’s easy to invest in the characters and feel sympathy for Cale with his missing-dad chip on his shoulder. And the film does a great job of showing Cale earning his respect for humanity, which he needs to save it. We watch him interact with a young family (again, in space!) on a drifter colony playing their best approximation of soccer and what it represents, all derived from the back of a sports trading card. We see Cale’s character change and that’s very satisfying to watch as he realizes just what the last relics of Earth represent and offer to people.
Although there were several writers involved in either the screenplay or story of Titan A.E. it feels unmistakably Joss Whedon, with, at times, a very sharp wit. Akima’s character strength (that goes beyond the Bechdel test!) is a hallmark of his writing. (Which, for fans of Buffy makes the backstory of everything that happened with Whedon even more disappointing. But this reviewer digresses.)
Titan A.E. is animated and includes a mix of animated styles from a mismash of studios. There is something almost jarring in the difference between the hand-drawn scenes and the CG-assisted Drej scenes. It adds an interesting layer to the storytelling, hitting home just how different and destructive these energy beings are. There’s a lot more CG, too, but the alien scenes are where it is most apparent. The world of space and the crystalline ice fog is very different than what we see with humans. And the hand-drawn parts of Titan A.E. brings to mind Anastasia, especially the way the humans look. Cale’s sharp lines are strongly reminiscent of Dimitri from that film and even bring to mind what you’d see in anime.
The voice cast in this movie is excellent, but it’s also very distinctive. That isn’t a bad thing, but looking back now 25 years later, it’s hard to disassociate Akima from Drew Barrymore, or Matt Damon from Cale. This is not a new problem in voice acting and still persists in the medium today. For example, Awkwafina is an incredibly talented actress, but her voice is very distinctive, so when she pops up as a rapping Scuttle in The Little Mermaid, it breaks the immersiveness of the story. Same situation here when Akima or Cale speaks. Interestingly, Bill Pullman’s take on Korso is rougher, disguising his distinctive tones. His performance here doesn’t evoke Independence Day or anything else he’s known for.
The songs associated with this film feel very year 2000, and instantly bring me back to the OG era of the Warped Tour. Courtesy of the Grammy-winning music producer Glen Ballard, the soundtrack features Jamiroquai, Lit, Powerman 5000, and more. The sound of the movie is very loud and distinctive, and the acid funk and rock overshadows the more subtle percussive score by Graeme Revell.
Titan A.E. was a standalone film, and I’ve always been sad for that. This is one universe that I always wanted to spend more time in, Drej threat or not. And upon rewatch, that feeling holds up. The film is worth checking out, whether you’re a sci-fi fan or just a fan of original storytelling. It doesn’t quite fulfill the potential of it’s premise, but it is fun.
Titan A.E. is now streaming or available for purchase at your retailer of choice.
Learn more about the film at the IMDB site for the title.
You might also like…
