Aero-Troopers

Following the adventures of young Joshua in the time-honored tradition of the “boy's own adventure” genre, Aero-Troopers finds the orphan lad rescued by an aeroship after a battle waged on his floating tree village. Taken under the wing (so to speak) of master Qyun, Joshua begins training as an Aero-Trooper, part of a flying force that must battle outlaw pirates and the even deadlier mecha beast Nemeclous. Joshua's love of flying machines introduces him to the mysterious ship mechanic Nathaniel and his beautiful pilot daughter Nora, while his talent leads him quickly through the ranks past pilot to join the Aero-Lancers who must finally defeat Nemeclous. While the backgrounds, robots, and flying ships are well-done in Terry Izumi's CGI-animated feature film, the animation of the characters is somewhat stilted. However, the voice cast, including Mark Hamill, is solid, and help bring the characters and story to life. Rated PG, this reasonably entertaining film will appeal primarily to young audiences. A strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (J. Halsall)