• First, I'll say I don't really feel like it's the best fit for young kids. It gets a bit scary and violent. It's something I would have loved as a teen though, and if you're interested in the more artistic indie films. Like others said, it's got similar vibes of things like "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" or "9" which are also indie passion projects.

    It's some sort of sky world that's being gradually destroyed by a mechanical shark. Survivors of his attacks are saved and recruited on an airship who's mission is to take down this shark. The recruits are given guns and are trained in jobs that you would expect of a naval vessel. There is focus on blood dripping from wounds several times, people die, for that reason I'd not show it to kids.

    It's got unique and interesting art, similar to World War 1 era steampunk. I see people complaining about the graphics, but note it's from 2003, only 8 years after Toy Story 1 came out. It's got a similar feel in the animation, but much lower budget. The graphics fit right in with other movies of the era like the old Hot Wheels, Hoodwinked, even Ice Age. It's obvious the animators put a lot of effort into the design though with some pretty cool looking stuff.

    It takes itself way to seriously like high fantasy stuff the 70's or 80s. The dialog is often written in poetic styles, using phrases like "methinks" and tons of air and cloud metaphors. It's got a lot of narration, and expected cheesy attempts at flirting when the protagonist meets the girl, etc. So many laws of physics broken, but that's the point of high fantasy stuff. The story is very thin and predictable, with a heavy layer of world building smeared on top to make it sound better.

    The director is the one that did Dinosaur Train, which I can see similar vibes in the art style. Mark Hamill actually did the casting, so he was more involved that just a voice actor. I wouldn't be surprised if he was involved in the writing as well.

    It's a film that's going to be for specific people, but I think it's worth a watch for those that like these types of movies.