Kaena: The Prophecy (also known as Kaena: La prophétie) is a computer animated film created in French-Canadian coproduction. It opens with a giant spaceship of the alien race crashing upon the unknown planet. Six hundred years later, Kaena, the titular young orphaned woman, lives with a small tribe on a humongous plant called Axis, grown from the remains of said spaceship. While all her kin works hard to collect sap, which is demanded by their gods, she explores the world around and brings back stories that clash with the common beliefs. Nobody but the kids believe her, to the point of being called a heretic. Guided by a recurring dream of a blue sun, she wanders even further from the village, where she is attacked by a monster - and rescued by an alien who reveals to her the truth about her world, the gods and the blue sun she sees in her dreams.
The movie gives examples of these tropes:
- All There in the Manual: The last Selenite male is called by credits as Voxem, but his name isn't said anywhere in the movie. The name of their entire race is rather easy to miss since it is said once in whole movie.
- Artistic License – Biology: The humans fully developed in '600 years' and even Axis had to grow during some time. There may be some influence from Vecanoi but it is still just weird.
- Artistic License – Space: Just how those two planets can coexist so close one to another without colliding? It does make the setting interesting, though.
- Batman Can Breathe in Space: Right after escaping Opaz' spaceship, Kaena almost falls off the Axis, only grabbing by its last leaf. Then the camera pans out showing that she is basically in space between two planets, yet she has no trouble breathing at all.
- Bittersweet Ending: Vecanoi successfully passes its knowledge to Kaena, meaning she can now lead her people to advance without relying on Gods. However, it is destroyed in the process, dooming Axis as well, and Opaz is killed, which means Vecarians are now extinct.
- Bizarre Alien Reproduction: Selenites, combined with an unhealthy dose of
Squick. Only the queen seems to be capable of producing successors, and for it, she needs to literally merge with a male, and after that, she immensely expands for few minutes before imploding as next the generation rushes out of her. - Bratty Halfpint: Essy.
- Chainmail Bikini: Kaena's clothes of choice. Even the sapient worms that craft her replacement armor are seen examining her crotch piece with much confusion.
- Chekhov's Gun: The capsule you can see at the beginning of the movie just right after the Vecarian ship explodes is the capsule holding not-yet-born Opaz.
- Commonplace Rare: Metal objects in general. Justified since humans live in a World Tree, where there isn't any metal or potential source of it, so when Kaena stumbles upon a steel knife, she is visibly impressed by it.
- Covered in Gunge: Selenites are either permanently covered in sap or it is the primal substance of their bodies.
- Disney Death: The Vecanoi is last seen falling into the great chasm. Marauder too.
- Fantastic Racism: Humans really picked the short straw in this movie. They are ostracized by Selenites (who see them as slaves and an anomaly), Gommy the sapient worm (he gets better) and even Opaz (who explicitly says he didn't care about them because he thought they are too primitive).
- God Guise: Selenites, who, while exhibiting some powers that are out of human capacities, are not gods.
- Go Mad from the Revelation: Ilpo, who went mad after a journey to the edge of the Axis. The implied physical wounds didn't help either.
- Gravity Screw: Courtesy of living between two planets, the gravity fields of which interfere.
- Humans Are Special: They were created by Vecanoi.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: One unfortunate fellow that Kaena sees being the victim of Spikes of Doom when they levitate through the tunnel to the Selenite planet.
- Imported Alien Phlebotinum: Vecanoi, the alien computer.
- Insufferable Genius: Gommy takes a bit too much pride in his intelligence over such a "primitive" lifeform like Kaena.
- Irony: The human dwellers think Selenites are Gods that created them and protect them, when in fact it was Vecanoi that created them, presumably to pass its knowledge to them, while Selenites are trying to destroy it, which results in plantquakes that threaten the humans and killed Kaena's parents.
- Jerkass: The Selenite race as a whole looks like this. The first thing they do to Vecarian survivors after they crash on their planet is to kill them all with exception of Vecanoi that they can't touch due to its protective skeleton. Then they exploit humans while pretending to be their gods when in fact they're attempting to destroy their true creator, which also results in destructive plantquakes. Though, to be fair, at that moment, it is stated that they're merely desperate to survive.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Gommy won't hesitate to tell you about how superior he is over you, but he won't hesitate to help you when you're in trouble either.
- Last of His Kind: Not counting the Vecanoi, Opaz is the last survivor of Vecarians.
- A Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy Far, Far Away...: It deals with aliens on another planet with humans that aren't from Earth.
- Life Drain: Selenite Queen. She powers up her attacks against Vecanoi, by literally absorbing other Selenites, which kills them but not her (though she is visibly exhausted).
- Nothing Is Scarier:
- Once the Vecarian ship is down, we can see something is killing the survivors, but besides the waves of sap, there is not much to see.
- The first time marauder attacks it is covered by cloud of dust. Downplayed, since its statue from hardened sap can be seem before that moment.
- Ms. Fanservice: Kaena.
- Parental Abandonment: Kaena's parents were killed by a
earthplantquake. - Power Armor: Gommy, Assad and other sapient worms are seen wearing some kind of exoskeleton. It seems to be mind-controlled and allows them to perform manual tasks, faster movement and flight. It also comes equipped with an arc wielder.
- Psychic Link: Running theme of the movie. At the start, one surviving Vecarian seemingly orders Vecanoi to close itself, thus shielding itself from potential attacks, by giving him mental orders. Kaena and Vecanoi share one due to Vecanoi choosing Kaena to pass its knowledge to her. Selenites, specifically Voxem can also use this to control marauder and see through its eyes.
- Scenery Gorn: The root of Axis is mostly consisting of metal remnants of Vecarian ship and plenty of metal spikes. It contrasts with the rest of Axis a lot.
- Scenery Porn: The Axis.
- Sentient Phlebotinum: Vecanoi.
- Spikes of Doom: Axis' root, due to shattered remnants of Vecarian ship.
- Stuff Blowing Up: Multiple explosions of different sections of Vecarian ship are witnessed at the beginning of the movie before the final one eclipses the screen and sends the ship to the ground.
- Threatening Shark: Flying shark even. It is first thing that tries to kill Kaena in the movie and later it snacks on Zumo the sapient worm as Kaena, Opaz and their pals make their way toward Vecanoi.
- Time Skip: The ship crash in the prologue takes place 600 years before the rest of the movie.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Gommy goes from Jerk with a Heart of Gold Fantastic Racist to an ally capable of risking his life for Kaena.
- World Tree: The Axis.
