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Titan A.E. did so poorly at theaters that it caused the newly created Fox Animation division, set to do animated feature films like Disney and Dreamworks, to close itself down. Despite having a very crappy title, the movie begins with the Earth getting destroyed. After the Earth is blown to tiny bits, Matt Damon's character is separated from his father. Before his father left him, he was given a ring. Fifteen years later, Damon takes a break from his menial job and goes to a bar, where he meets Bill Pullman. Pullman shows a secret imbedded in Damon's ring which reveals a map to the Titan project, something worked on by Matt Damon's father now only described as "humanity's last hope." Can Matt Damon, Bill Pullman, and Drew Barrymore save the day before the nasty aliens that destroyed Earth destroy the Titan? Titan A.E. uses a combination of traditional 2-D animation and 3-D computer animation, similar to what was used in Disney's Tarzan or Dreamwork's The Road To El Dorado. Most of the time, it works better than expected. An exception is in most of the scenes inside the spaceships. The characters are animated 2-D, but the backgrounds are obviously CG, and much better looking than the actual characters! Also the opening sequence with CG spaceships taking off of Earth in the background while a younger version of Matt Damon talks to his father is distracting. The plot is OK, with two plot twists coming out of nowhere, and the romance between Damon and Barrymore seems forced. The voice acting is fine, but none of it really stands out. Titan A.E. is entertaining, but it ultimately feels like a bunch of action scenes with some grungy pop music thrown in at various places. The villains are very weak, just blue CG aliens who shoot at things. Titan A.E. is a noble attempt at trying to make American animation more mature and anime-ish, but ends up being the equivalent of a mindless action movie done as a cartoon. I give Titan A.E. **1/2 out of ****. |