Titan A.E.

Titan A.E. is a 2000 American animated post-apocalyptic/dystopian science fiction adventure film directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. The title refers to the spacecraft that is central to the plot, with A.E. meaning "After Earth." This film makes a anniversary of Exosquad.

Plot
Several decades after humanity ("Terrans") has expanded its presence beyond Earth, terraforming and colonizing Venus and Mars. These three planets are "the Homeworlds", the core first of the Terran interplanetary state and later of Neosapien Commonwealth. In 2106 A.D., humanity has developed deep-space travel. An experimental discovery called Project Titan has caused the Drej, a malevolent, energy-based species, to become alarmed. Fearing humans will become the dominant species in the galaxy, the Drej declare war on humanity. As the Drej are about to destroy Gaea, Professor Sam Tucker (Ron Perlman), the lead researcher for Project Titan, gives his son, Cale (Alex D. Linz), a ring and sends Cale on one of the evacuation ships with his alien friend, Tek (Tone Loc). Meanwhile, Sam and other members of his team fly the Titan spacecraft from Gaea and launch into Hyperspace and the Drej mothership obliterates Gaea, which explodes into a massive cloud of debris that destroys Gaea's Moon as well. Most of the evacuation ships escape, though some are destroyed by the Drej and Gaea's debris. Gaea is destroyed, and the remainder of Gaea's humans become drifters, generally ridiculed by other species in the Andromeda Galaxy.

Despite the Drej had their next target is Earth, the humans were able to suppress the uprising with revolutionary exoframe technology as revenge for Gaea's destruction, forming the alliance with the Neosapiens. The Drej mothership prepares to fire the main weapon at Earth. Marsala has the last missile, but it jams, so he flies his aircraft into the main weapon bay in a suicide attack, triggering a chain reaction that damages the Drej mothership, saving Earth and as well as any chances of humanity finding a place to settle in the universe, ending the war and causing the Drej to flee. The humans are positive to resurrect Marsala.

Fifteen years after the Neosapien War. In 2121, Able Squad quickly fly in to assist the Pirate Clans in battle against Typhonus's armada above Io. Before his battle with the team really lets their guard down, his e-frame is destroyed by the arrival of the Drej, which then attacks Io base. Once back at the Homeworlds Space Station above Earth, Able Squad learn from Professor Algernon that the hostile creature was the Drej, a malevolent, energy-based species capable of destroying Gaea with little effort.

The exocarrier Resolute II and the massed forces of the Exofleet launch a space bridge to find the surviving humans of Gaea in the Andromeda Galaxy. Cale (Matt Damon) works in a salvage yard in the Tau 14 asteroid belt alongside Tek. Cale meets Joseph Korso (Bill Pullman), a human captain who requests Cale's help to find the Titan. He shows Cale how his ring contains a map to the Titan. It is genetically-encoded to Cale's father and will also respond to Cale himself, making him the only chance for humanity's future. Cale and Korso escape to Korso's ship, the Valkyrie as the Drej arrive and attempt pursuit. Marsh's new mission is to find the Titan.

Cale is introduced to the other members of Korso's alien crew; sly first mate Preed (Nathan Lane), astrogator Gune (John Leguizamo), and cranky weapons expert, Stith (Janeane Garofalo). The only other human is co-pilot Akima (Drew Barrymore), to whom Cale is immediately attracted. They travel to the planet Sesharrim, where the Gaoul, a race of bat-like creatures, helps Cale understand how to interpret the map and find the Titan, hidden in the Andali Nebula. The group is again attacked by the Drej, and Cale, Akima and Marsala are captured with Able Squad follows. The Drej eventually discard Akima, sending her off into space in a pod where she is recovered by the Valkyrie crew. The Drej are able to extract the map from Cale, but Cale escapes on a Drej ship and reunites with the Valkyrie. Able Squad rescues Marsala and escapes to the Exofleet.

The Valkyrie is able to reach the human drifter colony called New Bangkok for repairs and preparation for the trip to the Titan. Just before Able Squad departs to find the Titan within the Andali Nebula and take on the Drej Queen, the source of all Drej will, Cale and Akima overhear a disagreement between Korso and the Drej Queen, and discover that Korso and Preed are secretly working for the Drej to try to destroy the Titan in exchange for money. Korso thinks the human race is doomed anyway and there is no hope; Nara believes that he's lied for having used Cale so that Korso, Preed and the Drej can destroy the Titan. As a result, Cale confronts Korso for his betrayal, to which Korso compromises that the Drej captured and killed Sam who refused to disclose the Titan's location. Korso also reveals that he has lost his faith in both humanity and beating the Drej ever since then, and that he felt that the only way for humanity to survive was to side up with the Drej. Determined to live up to his father's legacy, Cale and Akima escape from the Valkyrie, but she is wounded by Preed. They are stranded on the colony as Korso and the rest continue to the Titan's location. With the help of the other humans, Cale and Akima repair and refit the Phoenix, one of the colony's derelict spaceships, and race off to find the Titan before the Valkyrie reaches it. Able Squad also sets for the Ice Rings of Tigrin, where the Titan is seemingly hidden on the Cossack before Korso.

Amid the Andali Nebula's giant ice crystals, Able Squad, Cale and Akima find the Titan. While exploring the massive ship, they discover a black box contains a holographic message left by Cale's dead father, revealing the true nature of Project Titan: The ship is able to create a completely new, Earth-like planet, and has stores of all the DNA of the animal and plant life that once lived there. This was the reason the Drej feared humanity's potential enough to destroy Earth. Cale's father also explains that, after escaping the destruction of Gaea, the Titan ran out of power and is unable to execute the recreation program. The Valkyrie arrives, and Korso and Preed board the Titan, leaving a bomb to kill Stith and Gune, both of whom are unaware of their captain's true intents. Gune detects the bomb and attempts to get rid of it, but it detonates and Gune apparently perishes in the explosion. As Korso and Preed corner Cale and Akima and interrupt his father's message, J.T. reveals to Korso that the Solar Flare, the only thing capable of defeating the Drej should they ever attack the Titan. Preed turns on Korso, revealing a more tempting deal; Preed will live (and get paid for helping the Drej find the Titan), providing that he kills the others before they arrive. Akima manages to disarm Preed before he knocks her unconscious, but Able Squad stops him and thwarts his attempt to finish Cale and Akima off. Just as Able Squad are about to execute Preed as retribution for his treachery, Korso sneaks up from behind and snaps his neck, killing him and allowing Nara to execute him. Korso then tries to grab Cale's ring, but he falls into the depths of the Titan. However, he manages to save himself by grabbing onto a cable. The Drej arrive and begin attacking the Titan. The Exofleet and the Pirate Clans arrive and begin the final battle with the Drej.

Surviving Preed's bomb, Stith shows up and the three work to defend the Titan from the Drej. Aware that it may be possible to defeat the Drej after all, J.T. orders his squad to defend the Titan from the Drej. Cale realizes that, by re-configuring the Titan, they can use the Drej to start the ship's reactor since they are pure energy. Korso, who had managed to climb back up and hide himself from the others, overhears this and realizes that he was wrong and that there is hope after all. Cale activates the circiut breakers, but only two of the three lock in place. The final one is jammed and fails to complete the circuit. Cale dons a space suit and goes outside to fix it. The Exofleet E-frames begin their assault. The Neo E-frames are meeting with heavy fire, but continue attacking. Outside, Gune, who also survived the bomb, uses the Valkriye's guns to fight the Drej.

As Cale reaches the breaker station, he is pinned by a Drej ship Gune shot down. Korso then appears before Cale with a large laser rifle. But instead of killing him, Korso blasts Cale free and says how they may be able to defeat the Drej after all. Korso tells Cale to get to the breaker while he provides him cover fire. Cale reaches the faulty breaker, but unfortunately, he still cannot fix it. As the Drej prepare for a final attack, Able Squad, following Admiral Winfield's orders, enters the bowels of the Drej mothership. Korso tells Cale to activate the ship and he will take care of the breaker. Holding his gun as a bridge in the breaker, Korso jumps the circuit and starts the reactor, although at the cost of his own life. Able Squad confronts the Drej Queen while Earth and Venusian Resistances reach the mothership's main reactor that powers its energy weapon which fires, but the blast is absorbed into the main reactor of the Titan after Cale places the ring to activate it. As a result, the blast reflects back into the Drej mothership, overwhelming its reactor. Once J.T. defeats the Queen, a solar pulse combines with the Titan, and the Drej everywhere, as well as the structures on the mothership, begin to self-destruct. Able Squad escapes from the Drej mothership, along the Resistances. The Drej are absorbed into the Titan's engines, and the ship then uses the surrounding ice field to create a new planet.

As Cale and Akima step onto the new planet, Marsh decides to call it "New Earth". Cale jokingly decides to nickname a planet "Bob", while Akima suggests that they call it "Gaea II". The film ends in 2122 A.D. (16 A.E.) with Cale and Akima romantically embracing each other, Stith, Gune and Tek, the surviving crew of the Valkyrie flying off, and other ships with human colonies approach New Earth (aka Planet Bob) to start their new lives. The Exofleet and the Pirate Clans head their way home to Earth in the Milky Way Galaxy into space bridge.

Able Squad

 * Lt. / Lt. Cmdr. J.T. Marsh (voiced by Robby Benson), one of the main protagonists of Exosquad and the original leader of the Able Squad, is a responsible and capable officer respected by troopers and superiors alike.
 * Lt. Nara Burns (Lisa Ann Beley) is the least experienced member of the team, whose learned the Drej Queen believes that humanity is a threat to the Drej. Her relationship with Marsala is a recurring theme in the series. After Marsh's promotion, Burns becomes the new squad leader.
 * Lt. Margaret "Maggie" Weston (Teryl Rothery) is the field repair specialist of the squad. An introvert and a loner, she has a hidden crush on Alec DeLeon.
 * Sgt. Rita Torres (Janyse Jaud). The second in command of the Able Squad and a perfect soldier, often juxtaposed to Wolf Bronsky. She has a soft spot for children and harbors intense hatred towards the Pirate Clans and as well as Korso.
 * Alec DeLeon (John Payne) is the intelligence and communication specialist. Of French origin, he is very intelligent and well-educated, making him J.T. Marsh's right-hand man.
 * Wolf Bronsky (Michael Donovan) is the longest serving trooper in the Able Squad, a crack-shot and a slob. Despite his appearance, he has a heart of gold, knowledge of arts and is a very romantic person.
 * Kaz Takagi (Michael Benyaer) is the other "rookie" of the team, besides Nara Burns, who respects all fellow members deeply but often causes them trouble. He especially regards Bronsky as his mentor, with all due consequences to his discipline.
 * Marsala (Gary Chalk), one of the few Neosapiens serving in the Exofleet, is a complex character, who often makes insightful comments on the situation at hand. Over time, he develops a deep emotional attachment to Nara Burns. Throughout most of the series, he is seen as very stoic, often not getting the punchlines of jokes and remaining calm when provoked.

Characters of Titan A.E.

 * Matt Damon as Cale Tucker, a 20-year-old human, separated from his father moments before the destruction of Gaea by the Drej 15 years earlier. He serves as the main protagonist of the film. He is summoned by Joseph Korso to search for the Titan. Animation supervised by Len Simon.
 * Alex D. Linz plays the young Cale Tucker.


 * Drew Barrymore as Akima Kunimoto, the pilot of the Valkyrie and the deuteragonist. She works under Captain Korso and is determined to save the human race from extinction. Animation supervised by Len Simon.


 * Bill Pullman as Joseph Korso, the tritagonist and captain of the Valkyrie and once an ally of Sam Tucker. He has Cale join the Valkyrie crew in search of the Titan. Animation supervised by Len Simon.


 * Christopher Scarabosio as Drej Queen, the leader of the Drej, described by Admiral Winfield as "The source of all Drej will" and the main antagonist. Unlike her drone followers, she has eyes. Also, like them, she doesn't speak English. Instead, she speaks in an alien tongue with English subtitles (Alec DeLeon used his translations so he could understand the language of the Drej). Her sole purpose is to extinguish the human race from the universe. The only thing that can defeat her is the Solar Flare.


 * John Leguizamo as Gune, Grepoan and Korso's eccentric scientist. While he looks the opposite, he is quite intelligent and even knows how to pilot the Valkyrie, but seems to have a serious distraction problem. Animation supervised by Troy Saliba.


 * Nathan Lane as Preed, Korso's first mate and the secondary antagonist. An Akrennian (a none-too-trustworthy race of Chiroptera|bat-like rogues and mercenaries) in his late 30s or early 40s who speaks with an English accent, he is sarcastic and has a crush on Akima. Unlike Korso, money is meaningless to him as he only cares about his own life. When he betrays his closest comrades to the Drej, he is killed by Korso (who breaks his neck) and executed by Nara Burns. "The particular alien race that Preed belongs to is very haughty, floating above it all," explains co-director Goldman. "Nathan just seemed appropriate--he can really put on airs when he needs to." Described in the Ben Edlund 12/15/97 Goldenrod Production draft of the screenplay as a "fruit bat-faced alien" whose full name is Preedex Yoa. Animation supervised by Edison Goncalves.


 * Janeane Garofalo as Stith, a kangaroo-like alien known as a Mantrin/Sogowan, who has a cranky but lovable attitude. She is Korso's tough weapons expert. A good friend to Akima, she is also protective of Gune, but highly distrusts Preed. Animation supervised by Troy Saliba.


 * Ron Perlman as Sam Tucker, the father of Cale Tucker who was forced to leave his son to hide the Titan from the Drej and was killed when he refuses to disclose the Titan's location to them.


 * Tone Loc as Tek, a university student and Sam Tucker's friend. At some point during the fifteen years since Gaea's destruction he has become totally blind. Animation supervised by Edison Goncalves.


 * Jim Breuer as The Cook, a cockroach-like alien who despises humans. The Ben Edlund 12/15/97 Goldenrod Production draft of the screenplay reveals his name as It, though no mention is this is ever made in the film. When the Drej come looking for Cale and Korso, the Cook tells them which direction they fled, and the Drej repay him by shooting him dead.


 * Jim Cummings as Chowquin, Cale's overseer at Tau 14. He is openly biased against humans and refuses to allow Cale into the cafeteria with the other aliens, prompting him to go round the back. He was killed by the explosive of the Baker Squad's fusion parks.


 * Charles Rocket as Firrikash, Cale's alien co-worker at Tau-14, who despises humans. He, along with his friend, Po, tries to beat Cale up at the basement of the space station, but Korso stops and subdues them both. He was killed by the explosive of the Baker Squad's fusion parks.


 * Ken Hudson Campbell as Po, Cale's other alien co-worker. He was killed by the explosive of the Baker Squad's fusion parks.

Soundtrack
Creed's song "Higher" was played in many of the theatrical trailers for Titan A.E., but the song did not appear either in the movie or on the soundtrack. Vertical Horizon's "We Are" and Lunatic Calm's "Leave You Far Behind" were also not included in the soundtrack though both songs appear in the theatrical trailer and the film itself.

Trivia

 * The film's animation technique combines traditional hand-drawn animation and extensive use of computer generated imagery and features the voices of Matt Damon, Bill Pullman and Drew Barrymore. Its working title was Planet Ice. The film was unsuccessful at the box office barely grossing half of its production budget. It is also the final film made by Fox Animation Studios before it's closed.
 * While the Neosapien War takes place in the Solar System, the Second Drej War takes place in the Andromeda Galaxy.
 * This film also contains blood, violence, and partial nudity, unlike Don Bluth's previous films. Despite this, the film maintain a rating of PG.
 * Early articles prior to the film's release cite Hank Azaria as part of the cast, voicing a character credited as 'Ship's Navigator'.
 * Originally set for release November 19th 1999.