Take heart Tropob, it can be done! I have made animations with fairly modest hardware and software resources. But it generally takes me several months to make a 5- to 10-minute movie (lack of talent is probably a factor in my case, ha-ha!).

Rendering maybe takes only half that time. The rest is spent developing the story (the MOST important thing, in my opinion); building 3D models; posing and keyframing the things that move, lighting the scenes, recording the voices and sound effects; and working through technical problems. A feature-length movie is a very ambitious undertaking, so I suggest starting with something a little shorter if this is a solo project.

To add to the others' responses:

#1 - You really need video editing software to be able to assemble scenes and sync audio and video. It doesn't have to be fancy. Sony Vegas is almost $500, but Apple iMovie will do the trick and it's $79 (if I recall correctly you have a Mac).

#5 - Try experimenting with different anti-aliasing settings, including turning it off, and with the flicker reduction checkbox in Vue's Advanced Animation Options dialog.

#7 - You'll need a separate modelling application if you want to break apart existing models. Effects like smashing a bottle require a modelling program with physics simulation capabilities, unless you have the patience to animate the trajectory of each individual shard of glass. I'm a PC user so I don't know what to recommend for the Mac.

#9 - Full NTSC video resolution is 720x480. On a good TV you will notice some pixelation when doubling the size of a 320x240 image. But if the story is good, nobody will mind. I have seen great stories told with animated 2D sketches. If you want lots of visual effects and full sized renders and you have deep pockets, buy a bunch of Macs and hook up a render farm. Your copy of Vue supports up to 5 rendercows. Then you can give Pixar a run for their money (not.) ;-)