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Parents' Guide to

Titan A.E.

By Paul Trandahl, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 11+

A so-so animated feature aimed at an older crowd.

Movie PG 2001 95 minutes
Titan A.E. Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 11+

Based on 8 parent reviews

Holly R.
Holly R. Parent of 2-year-old
July 12, 2020
age 7+

Good movie but not for small children

It’s a good movie but it has violence, death, and scary images. The alien monsters destroy and kill by touching in the same disturbing way as the Final Fastasy: Spirits Within film that had a PG:13 rating (this is PG though). It’s definitely a PG in the same vein as Gremlins (meaning it can be gory). It’s animated so it’s easier to watch than a live action movie showing the same thing. There is brief nudity (Kale’s naked buttocks is shown and a joke about his male parts is made but might go over people’s heads) violent deaths (Earth explodes killing everyone left on the planet who didn’t escape, a character has their neck snapped killing them, the aliens are shown destroying things, sci-fi gun violence, etc) and has rude cynical humor throughout the entire film. On the plus side it has a happy ending and they somehow make a new planet to replace Earth except they name the new planet Bob (I wish I was making this up but I’m not). I love the movie but it might not be for everyone. I haven’t let my almost 3 year old daughter watch it yet but I let her watch Detective Pikachu and Sonic the Hedgehog (both PG) so you can use that for context.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
KawaiiBunny
KawaiiBunny Adult
April 23, 2019
age 13+

One of the best imaginative movie out there

See all 8 parent reviews

What's the Story?

TITAN A.E. is set in the 31st century, when alien invaders have turned the Earth to charcoal and humanity is in danger of being wiped out altogether. Cast out into the universe, survivor Cale (voiced by Matt Damon) is in possession of a map to Titan, a space station created to house displaced Earthlings. Cale, his friend Korso (Bill Pullman), and pretty pilot Akima (Drew Barrymore) set out to find the Ice Planet, where the Titan is located.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (8 ):
Kids say (6 ):

This animated feature is aimed at an older crowd, a fact made clear by its PG rating and less-than-sunny premise. Refreshingly, the filmmakers--notably legendary director Don Bluth --have gone out of their way to ensure that the movie is not a Disney clone. The story jettisons fairy tale magic and Broadway-style songs for elaborate high-tech imagery, fast-paced action, and a loud rock music soundtrack. On a strictly visual level, it's is a smashing success, with imaginative futuristic environments and spacecraft created with state-of-the-art computer animation.

On the down side, we never connect with the characters in an emotional way that would take the movie to the next level. Cale's transition from uncaring cynic to committed hero is predictable, and his romance with the space pilot Akima is perfunctory at best. Science fiction fans will recognize some recycled plot ideas, and even occasional lines of dialogue lifted from previous sci-fi classics. However, as the movie's primary goal is apparently to provide its target audience with an adrenaline rush every ten minutes or so, at this, it succeeds admirably.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the animation techniques used in this film, and how it compares to other computer-generated films.

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