A Love Letter to TITAN A.E.

[@GiulioSciorio]

My first job out of art school was as a colorist on Titan A.E. The original concepts were to make the film far more adult oriented than what made the final cut. Fox decided to close the studio before Titan was done which is when the layoffs happened. I made $10/hour and the work environment was abusive most of the time but I stuck it out till the end. It was sad to see what Fox did to the studio. Even when we knew it was going to be closed, we were doing screen tests for a third film called Africa which was to be 100% 2D and unlike 2D animation at the time that was animated every other frame, Africa used every frame for animation. Additionally, the pallet for each character had more than double the colors of other films. Fox was in talks with Oprah and Denzel Washington to voice act. Sadly, Africa was scraped because Fox wanted to move everything to China so they could maximize profits. The software we used to color was called Toonz which ran on SGI machines with 3D being rendered mostly with Soft Image and Maya. Happy to see so many fans in the comments. 😊

[@offbeatkiki]

This is such cool insider info! Africa sounds like it would have been amazing. Thank you so much for watching and sharing this with us!

[@plaguedoctorjamespainshe6009]

How more adult ?

[@GiulioSciorio]

@@plaguedoctorjamespainshe6009 more like an adult anime like Akira. So more violence, adult language and themes.

[@ToonCrate]

I love how the soundtrack actually embraced the post-grunge sound of that time, but peppered in synth instruments to give it a futuristic angle

[@offbeatkiki]

i like the actual OST a lot!! :)

[@AlexThe1Menace]

Brad my hombre

[@JordanS-ww4eu]

@@offbeatkikiyou’re my best friend Kiki I really like you ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@JordanS-ww4eu]

@@offbeatkikiyou’re very pretty

[@TheRealAmericanMan]

My entire personal cosmic horror and scifi aesthetics are defined by seeing this picture alone in a theater as a child.

[@chrisgilbertson5385]

Love that

[@xblade149]

This movie, Atlantis, and Treasure Planet are underrated seriously man

[@jackychang9148]

I think Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas should count too

[@xblade149]

@@jackychang9148 omg yes dude.

[@chrisgilbertson5385]

Absolutely

[@chrisgilbertson5385]

@@jackychang9148I never saw that one

[@jackychang9148]

@@chrisgilbertson5385 I cannot suggest it enough. Please watch it.

[@corduroycrook]

Fox animation did such an amazing job with their perspective and depth. I'm currently watching Anastasia for the first time and its funny that I recognized how intentional they are with establishing the foregrounds and backgrounds, how they placed characters, etc. Also I get butterflies every time they animate those 180 camera pans 🤩

[@walter1383]

The film was recommended to me by the YT algorithm, and I ended up watching it for the first time ever last night on a whim. I distinctly remember it being a movie that I had the opportunity to see as a kid but turned down for some reason; yet after seeing it now, it's one of the few pieces of animated media that I actually wish that I had enjoyed when I was much younger. It's a wonderful piece of sci-fi.

[@maccaveen]

As an elder millennial I can confirm that this wasn't actually made for kids. My family is an exception to the rule usually, but I think my parents realised at a few points that it was more for them than me. I've never heard people blame Titan A.E. for fox's animation studio shuttering, people just want a scapegoat to blame. This movie was amazing, it only bothers me now as an adult that they literally copy and pasted Dimitri with some edits to make Kale. Having seen Treasue Planet recently, I'm now sitting here, getting some tin foil, as I contemplate what aspects from Titan A.E. disney 'borrowed'

[@chrisgilbertson5385]

That’s another movie I love is treasure planet

[@Otaking009]

Sometimes I talk about this movie and people look at me like I'm crazy or just write it off. I'm glad someone else remembers it fondly.

[@Neyebureturns]

All the things that you said about “Titan AE” is what I feel about “Treasure Planet”

[@SebastianMeda05]

Atlantis and Sinbad as well!

[@emilysiemens4559]

@@SebastianMeda05 El Dorado and Prince of Egypt are GEMS aswell ❤

[@chrisgilbertson5385]

@@emilysiemens4559Man good call I totally forgot about these as well

[@Bionickpunk]

Treasure Planet/Titan AE/Atlatist, the Sci-Fi Adventure 2D-3D trio movies Sinbad/Anastasia/Road to Eldorado, the Fantasy Adventure 2D-3D trio movies

[@GlamorousTitanic21]

This is one of my favorite sci fi films! I’m part of the Titan AE fandom online. We may be small, but we’re a dedicated bunch.

[@harriyanna]

YOU JUST UNLOCKED A MEMORY

[@maggiedean5691]

I adored this film. I loved how adult this was as a kid. You can just see the love. Since it's free right now I'm definitely taking a rewatch.

[@The__Creeper]

You can survive in space without spacesuit for a brief amount of time.

[@motleykingdom9394]

Shortly after after seeing this movie in theaters my friend and were so disappointed because we realized where we knew the name "Titan AE" from. Several months earlier we got free tickets at SDCC for a screening of this no name upcoming film we knew nothing about... but we were hungry and went to get lunch instead of seeing the screening. We loved this movie and it would have been so cool to have actually gone to the advanced screening of it.

[@danialtootian6385]

The aliens in this movie are the most unique species i have seen to this day. Their ships, the way they live and speak. The movie itself is a masterpiece. I still remember the scene where the vulture alien was trying to show him how to use the palm or the back of his hand to find the map. You don't see stuff like that anymore.

[@ethansloan]

Just as I'm wondering what great nostalgic memories you'll drag up after your Scooby videos, you hit me with this. This was the most popular thing EVER to all us boys on the playground when I was a kid.

[@Asher1347]

I remember moving to a new home and new town at the age of ten, and renting this movie on VHS. I was playing the new Pokemon gold with the day/night cycle, and was a big fan of batman beyond following the original btas. Seeing Titan A.E.'s characters, story, and animation hit all the right spots. There was nowhere to go but up at that time in my life. Or so I thought. This movie is a gem and will forever hold a special place in my heart. Ps. Don Bluth films are all over the place with tonality. Sometimes it's way too kiddish, and more often than not, it gets too real, dark, and adult. I love them for that.

[@Yupthatsme_7D]

The unlocked memory that happened when I saw this thumbnail

[@proof036]

Loved watching that movie when I was a kid and I adore the ship designs. Instead of sleek and smooth design that we can see today in media, the ships here look clunky and mechanical. I really love that.

[@offbeatkiki]

I love those ship designs too, they look like a thing that a real person made with their hands

[@coletteporee]

thank you, THANK YOU FOR COVERING THIS GEM!! my dad and i watched this all the time when i was a kid. it’s such an underrated movie & you explained it’s beauty perfectly! subscribed!!

[@mikebilbee1393]

Humans can survive short stints in the vacuum of space, usually between 10 and 30 seconds so it's totally plausible for Cale and Korso to make it back to the airlock. I love this movie...

[@offbeatkiki]

That is just crazy to me

[@plaguedoctorjamespainshe6009]

Yeah but your eyes and lips would instantly freeze and your eardrums would implode Leaving you blind and deaf basically

[@brianhayes1105]

Don Bluth’s influence is all over this film. It’s just brilliant visually speaking. Cover The Thief and The Cobbler! Animations true hidden gem in terms of story of production and it’s strange cut scenes and influence over Disneys Aladdin! Love your reviews, you know your stuff!

[@chrisgilbertson5385]

I literally just thought of the thief and the cobbler reading these comments but didn’t know if it would fit. I absolutely love that movie.

[@carlosalbuquerque22]

Thank you! All them cartoon reviewers like Saberspark going on about box offices and I'm like, what are you guys smoking? Art isn't defined by the money it makes.

[@TheGroupOnly]

"Should I get out and push?" That line just unlocked a primordial memory in me of me being around 5 or so watching Saturday morning cartoons with commercials for this movie playing. Its look always fascinated me but growing up in the family I did, I never had many opportunities to see it. But I've always liked that line and this movie has stuck with me in the back of my mind. That and a commercial for a car called a Viper that could raise and lower its headlights from the top of the hood area.

[@offbeatkiki]

Such a nostalgic tv spot!! I love looking through those to pick ones for my videos

[@studiocritter415]

Thank you for giving this movie the proper analysis and appreciation that it deserves.

[@ToonrificTariq]

Bro from Cyberchase being the SHEIN version is sick af lol.

[@prydeful7617]

After only discovering this channel today, I can say easily this is one of the greatest gems I’ve discovered on KZbin, I love your style of writing for these type of videos and I can’t wait to see more content from you ! How you don’t have at least 100K already is shocking !!! I’m looking forward to seeing more content from you :)

[@NerdAboveALL8]

I had this on VHS and I remember watching it on repeat growing up

[@AnnaMBanana]

One of my favorite movies from my childhood. Thank you for this video!

[@BugsyFoga]

The last theatrical Don bluth fill in over 20 years.

[@treetheoak8313]

If you enjoyed this movie. I would highly, highly recommend war planets aka shadow raiders. It was a TV show that had a lot of similar themes and really pushed the envelope of what was accepted on American children's television!

[@ianfyfield6292]

Yyyeeesss, this was such a wild movie to watch at 9 years old. The visuals are still so great to study

[@afro_souledits2382]

97-2003 was a period of my life where a young 5-7 me remember this era of Western animation that had a look that was influenced by the cyber punk sci-fi anime mix in with early cgi n alot of edgeness from treasure planet to Sinbad and movies like these , I honestly wish we had more movies like these but we all know how 3D animation took over while the DCAU still stand strong with thier movies

[@jackychang9148]

2:08 But they *don't* hold their breath. Korso says to "exhale" because if they did hold their breath, the air would escape from their bodies violently due to loss of pressure.

[@deadpoet4]

This came out when I was 30 and I saw it in theaters. I wandered why the %$#@ it was marked to kids because it was obviously a movie for adults. The same with Final Fantasy in 2001. I own both on DVD and Digital. Good times!

[@chandrawagner4061]

Oh my God someone is actually talking about Titan AE?! I can't believe it. It's one of my favorite childhood movies

[@offbeatkiki]

one of mine too!

[@alchemistghost8329]

This is genuiely one of my favorite movies, I even have a small collection of miscellaneous merch and some of the tie in novels

[@frailvoid5844]

Looking at the aesthetics in the film makes me wonder if the TV show Firefly was influenced at all by it as they're pretty similar and I know the show was also influenced by other animated sci-fi like cowboy bebop

[@offbeatkiki]

Joss Whedon made Firefly after he had writing credit on this movie!

[@ArsenicAlchemist]

Holy fuck, I'm so glad I saw your tweet about your Happy Feet upload not doing well. As much as I enjoyed that (I really did and it deserves more views) upload, this movie was my childhood. I remember the last time I watched it because the VHS tapes died when rewinding it that time. I'd love to have it on DVD or (and I know it'll never happen even though the market is there for it now) a remastered release. Thank you for this well done production.

[@BladeBloodTear]

God this movie was such a trip to me as a kid. I remember seeing it in theaters with my mom and her buying me one of the blue alien toys and then it became this bizarre memory. No one I knew could remember it nor watched it, when I tried thinking of the name, I kept calling it After Earth instead of Titan A.E and i could never find any other toys from that series in stores. It became such a random blur of a thought in my mind until I ran across it being mentioned in a video in my early 20's. It felt so insanely validating that it was real after all.

[@9aracna.]

I didn't know this movie had toys. Will probably watch it again though, I remember enjoying it

[@anthonygillette]

Literally grew up on this; was given a VHS of it when it came out

[@ryancarless7921]

Love the video, Don Bluth is one of my favorite animators and I would love to watch this film. Animation is for everyone

[@Daeneiracorn]

i watched this movie as a kid and I LOVED IT its been so so long since I've seen this movie

[@theOneThatUChase]

It was one of my childhood favorites, I had it on VHS mind you!!

[@mattwolf7698]

9:54 Osmosis Jones sorta did that (though it was always intended to be animated) which would explain some of the more adult moments like that infamous Kid Rock song in it. Also while not Animated, Kangaroo Jack was salvaged out of what was supposed to be an adult movie and yeah it's awful.

[@ArtRango]

I remember rewatching this movie over and over when I was a kid and i still enjoy watching it when I get a chance, it might be one of the reasons why I gravitated to doing art and animation to create wonderful worlds and characters like this. Congrats on the 20k by the way, you deserve it, love the content 😂

[@Arosukir6]

I tried to watch this yesterday so I could have it fresh in my mind for your video. I remember really enjoying it as a kid. But the only place it was available was KZbin with ads. I don't know if the KZbin quality was what really ruined it, but the mix of the wonderful Bluth-style animation with the CGI was so jarring that I couldn't get more than 20 minutes in. Not to mention that the difference between the fairly flat voice acting of Matt Damon and whoever played Corso compared to the brilliance of Nathan Lane and Jeaneane Garofolo was also offputting. Then there's the awesomeness of the idea of the world (where humanity is pushed to the brink by evil energy aliens and discriminstion) versus the specificity of the protagonists (what feels like a generic jaded reluctant hero who's absolutely necessary and has to be the one to save everyone rather than the actually motivated woman, who ends up as a love interest instead). Overall the movie felt like it had too many contradictions from jump for me to get into it. All that said, I'm going to look for a better version and try again.

[@AllsWellInHell]

love Bluth but always waited on watching this - glad after seeing your video I said fuck it and gave it a watch! such a dang cool movie. thanks for the subliminal push to finally give it a go ☻

[@PrimeParadiso]

I've honestly never seen this, but it always struck my curiosity as a kid who was a huge Treasure Planet fan Would you rate this better or worse than Treasure Planet? :)

[@skinni_the_P00hBear]

Omg I need to finish this movie. I always fell asleep halfway through 💀

[@nickhatessnow763]

I've seen this movie multiple times and remembered nothing but the visuals. Edit: This sounds negative but I meant this in a good way, shit was beautiful.

[@pitsburg91]

If it came out today, it would be a hit.

[@tigerbear5845]

2:02 Actually, you can survive in the vacuum of space for a minute or two before you die... However, after the first 10 seconds, you will likely lose conciseness, which you can guess drastically decreases your survival chances. Also, they don't hold their breath in that scene... Korso says to exhale before they get sucked out into space because if you tried to hold your breath, the air in your lungs would violently be sucked out into the vacuum space (which you can assume is... not good for the lungs) Running off of memory though... have not see the film in years and had to google/partly plagiarize the info for surviving in space.

[@emilysiemens4559]

Bro you made a video about TITAN A.E. and Iron Giant?! You got a follow, thank you so much for appreciating my favourite childhood movies! Other movies I also love and think are gems: - The Prince of Egypt - The Road to El Dorado - Joseph: King of Dreams - Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron - Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas - Atlantis: The Lost Empire - other Don Bluth productions: (The Secret of NIMH, Anastasia, ...)

[@Mercy.Beloved]

This movie was so beautiful. I watched it twice and even though I couldn’t follow along with the plot much, I loved it!!!

[@naztoonzanimations5382]

I would love to watch this classic film and I'm sure it would become a favorite for me over time. Thank you for giving us this treasure Kiki 🥰🥰🥰💚💚

[@montylawler]

Love this movie, good video!☺

[@slanetroyard92]

I remember when this came out. Me and my brother were just kids in elementary school and this was on everyone's mind. Saw the commercials all the time on TV and I even had an action figure. The movies soundtrack got my dad into creeds music.

[@nemtudom5074]

Titan AE deserves to be up there with the other Hybrid animated movies like The Road to Eldorado, Treasure Planet, Atlantis

[@MarkTyger]

People forget how powerful the "Disney Musical Princess" crowd was back in the day (and still is). An entire generation of kids grew up thinking that cell animated feature films "were" Princess Musicals, and anything cell animated that wasn't struggled to perform. Even Disney got wrecked by the monster they had created. While Pixar and Dreamworks avoided the association by being CGI animation, Disney's Atlantis and Treasure Planet, while very good films, both struggled at the box office. There's no coincident that Fox Animation made Anastasia first as a musical, because by then it was a proven formula. And that Muscial Princess demographic keeps coming back. Disney tried a few things even after their Cell animation division was shuttered, but not until Tangled did they get those performance numbers back. How? By making another Princess Musical that took all its design cues from their cell animated films and boom, big money was back.

[@furonguy42]

It’s odd that people assume this film is bad based on not doing well at the box office. The term “cult classic” basically exists to refer to films that found a following after not succeeding on launch - just two years after Titan AE released, Disney dropped Treasure Planet… a an animated space film that did not do as well as the studio would have liked at the box office, but has since become a cult classic, in part thanks to social media allowing people to spread their love of that movie. So it’s certainly a little strange to me that Titan AE receives largely the opposite - it may have its flaws, but it’s far from being “bad”.

[@patsey3199]

I saw Titan AE once a few months ago, got intrigued when I saw Don Bluth’s credit. Needless to say I liked the movie; but I don’t like the KZbin release of it because the ads throughout are just criminal. I tried watching the movie last night and was getting really invested especially in some of the things i missed/forgot from before. However, literally every five minutes there was an advert break that was louder than the movie itself, so I stopped a third in. Edit: honestly I’d have been fine just renting it

[@locorug711]

I saw this movie in theaters and it was one of the first DVDs I ever owned. I wasn't aware it was a flop at the time, I just thought it was an awesome movie.

[@SmileyFaceEmoticon01]

Watched this movie recently and loved it. Found out that bluesky worked on some of the cgi for this movie to!

[@offbeatkiki]

I noticed that, pretty neat, I think they took over a few movies that fox animation studios was gonna make too

[@urdnotstark8270]

I rewatch this movie every now and then and I I can’t help but think if it was 20-30 minutes longer it’d be sooooo much better. I do love it though!

[@offbeatkiki]

I would have loved that! This movie leaves you wanting to see more of its universe

[@slanetroyard92]

@@offbeatkiki in my book it had the potential for an extended cut. Possibly a sequel too

[@AbrasiousProductions]

Here's a few films I considered underrated: Figures In A Landscape (1970) Five Easy Pieces (1970) The Hard Ride (1971) The Ascent (1977)

[@cruizlee214]

That soundtrack ripped.

[@TheBeird]

Watched this flick and Treasure Planet last year as a double bill. I really liked them. And yeah, it’s weird how people get hung up on the financials of a film rather than the finished article. People got to get behind a “winning team” I suppose 🤷

[@jamesu9508]

I loved that movie. Had a huge crush on Kale. The blonde guy haha. Prolly watched it 100x over the years. The twist at the end was great even if I was 11 hhaaha

[@pqfire0950]

Love titan ae, which is free now on youtube. Has its issues for sure but i like it.

[@MrJoshdude101]

Cheers

[@jojotheswede8444]

i have this movie on vhs... i feel old now

[@jplayer073]

Love this movie. It's not great, but there's so much to like about it, especially that intro.

[@sarahtelles1957]

The Simpsons have actually gotten better and I have been watching it for years because I was denied Animation domination when I was younger and I am going to watch as long as I can

[@incaseofimportantnegotiations]

12:02 nothing dates a film like using orchestra for the ost what is this? 1600?

[@offbeatkiki]

I love orchestral soundtracks and find them to be timeless. Synthy soundtracks evoke a very specific set of time periods

[@incaseofimportantnegotiations]

@@offbeatkiki watching fresh starwars feels like i'm watching b movies from 50s nothing is timeless

[@roderick8167]

I don't know why it's taken me so long to finally watch this movie because this movie was awesome I wished I watched this movie as a kid, I felt so nostalgic watching this the rock music and 2D animation took me back to the good old days of feeling like kid, also yeah I looked up Fox Animation Studios and the way people on the internet talked about I thought a huge studio I never heard of went under because of this movie and yeah they only made 2 movies before this in total 3 movies and I'm like Ok what's the big deal that they went under they were a damn baby bird studio Lol

[@SkyStarNova]

Great film. Got it.

[@Zicrixdoesart]

I know how to upscale but ... Nothing would beat it getting an official re-scan. Unfortunately.. probably pretty unlikely huh

[@sunsinger970]

Blessing from the lord

[@TripAces]

If you like Titan A.E I guarentee you've watched Reboot 90's and probably Delta State 2004 and loved em all

[@googamp32]

Am I the only one who wants a "Titan A.E." world in "Kingdom Hearts"?

[@offbeatkiki]

that would be so cool

[@torchilicho]

I came here from letterbox’d. I’m a fan.

[@TheRealKSmith]

Most disrespected Don Bluth film, it's a classic

[@pygmalion0451]

Actually, they're not holding their breath; Korso tells Cale to exhale before the glass breaks. I don't know if the science is sound (or, frankly, relevant), but the idea is that there wouldn't be any air to traumatically depressurize from the lungs. Also, yeah, the OST can be hit or miss, but Cosmic Castaway will always be a bop.

[@offbeatkiki]

I phrased it wrong but humans would still die in that scenario 😭

[@offbeatkiki]

cosmic castaway has been stuck in my head all week

[@theresacherco3503]

Yeah I remember this movie as a kid and I kind of liked it but I remember Creed song higher

[@ryanhopt6732]

titan ae awesome movie

[@drewbarton196]

I would say that if Titan A.E. was rated PG-13 it might have done better at the box office but considering that PG-13/R rated animated movies rarely, if not, never are financially successful or mainstream...yeah.

[@plaguedoctorjamespainshe6009]

Most animated movies are pg-13 Although really they are just pg with some adult jokes to guarantee that pg-13, as most people see PG as basically baby movie I'm surprised this movie isn't pg-13 tho

[@mysteryblankdspace4342]

💕

[@tjsmith5276]

Heyyy, I bought this movie on KZbin (no ad's, yayy). It wasn't as bad as it was made out to be by some others. KZbin recommended your "Iron Giant" video to me. Btw, if box office sales define a film then "Iron Giant" was a terrible movie. Yet, I see some people who trashed Titan praising Iron Giant.

[@TheGxxdGrdn]

U only like them as a couple cause they have the same hair cut

[@asura7322]

Interesting 🤔

[@mathieuleader8601]

the turtle alien with the glasses remind me of Maz Katana from Star Wars

[@gronagor]

The problem with this film was that they over-animated. The exaggerated movements, especially when a character talks, were annoying. The story and characters themselves were fine. The excessive movement would have been fine with 2D, but with this 2.5D that they used, it kinda bombed.

[@MadMax22]

So you just watched it cause it's on KZbin for free huh? Me too?

[@offbeatkiki]

i had been planning this vid for a while but the timing worked nicely :)

[@9aracna.]

Meow

[@chrisgilbertson5385]

Thank you for speaking for so many of us that never got to speak on this. And you spoke on the ridiculous “opinions” that seem to run rampant in the mindless masses. The way you spoke on this movie felt like I found my kin. The only things I would add is I love the movies soundtrack. I think they did a bad job promoting it. And thank you for informing on the history leading up to the making of the movie. Explains what I suspected in a general sense. Also fuck profits. People like Bluth seem to care more about their art and I can’t stand how the masses fall for the framing of of the product was profitable. Then you bring up all the ridiculous things those I charge did putting it behind the 8 ball. In my opinion it was perfect for it’s time it just had a lot of competition and things out of its control going against it. The movie itself is amazing to this day. Any note about the animation being out dated I would say two things to. One what to do expect? It’s not like past animation can some how update itself. And two I’m not a fan of everything now. There’s different styles of making any art and I don’t like how people act like we have to leave behind old ways of making art just because new things have been introduced. The way you worded the world building I really identify with. Really I identify with your take in overall. Thank you and I know I’m late finding this but you have a new follower. I’m glad to have found others that love this movie and grew up with it. I feel like this movie when given a real opportunity is the kind of movie many can immerse themselves in. It’s definitely a comfort movie for me as well. The chemistry between Cale and Akima was amazing. I love the dialogue throughout the movie. Tone changes between scenes and how the animation and voice actors did a great job pivoting with the action and change of scenes as well.