Fantastic Planet (1973)

Having heard about this movie for a long time, I didn't really know what to think about this film. Mostly the trailer was pretty creppy and gave us nothing about the film, but I gave the film a chance and it paid off. Being on 72 minuets long this film does feel much longer then it does actually feeling to me more like 90 minuets then 72. While the plot is a but boring at times I wished it showed us how the humans got on the drags planet. Also there was more talking then I thought there would be in the movie. I thought the film would be mostly silent, but there was a lot more then I thought. I recommed this movie to a lot of people who like Sci-fi. Also I think this the first animated sci fi film I think.10 out of 10 stars.

Almost everything about Fantastic Planet is weird. The premise is weird, the designs are weird, the environments are weird, and even the animation style is weird. And that's why I love it. It's surreal, creative, and incredible from start to finish. I love the designs of the characters, creatures, and environments, and I love the bizarre animation style. As for the plot/premise, I believe it serves as a good metaphor for how we treat animals. I also enjoyed the voice acting in the English dub, for the Draags in particular. Their monotone voices perfectly fit their near soulless facial expressions, and give off a somewhat unsettling vibe. Personally, I highly recommend this movie to anybody who loves surrealist art, animation, or or who simply wants to see a much more different animated film than most that come out.

This futuristic story takes place on a faraway planet where blue giants rule, and oppressed humanoids rebel against the machine-like leaders.The film was an international co-production between companies from France and Czechoslovakia and was distributed in the United States by indie film giant Roger Corman. The story, about humans living on a strange planet dominated by giant humanoid aliens who consider them animals, is based on the 1957 novel "Oms en série" by French writer Stefan Wul.I love that Corman got involved, because he really was a champion of film. Not just indie film, but bringing foreign film to America. He is not given enough credit. Today (2016) this film seems a bit dated, because its anti-racism message is sort of obvious, but it still makes an interesting point regarding different species and the cut-out style of animation has to be admired.

I was 12 when I first saw this UFO of a movie in Paris in a beautiful, vast old theatre with a chandelier in the middle of the room back in the early 80s. The blue humanoid alien on the poster had intrigued me and it had good ratings so I went in not having a clue what to expect, but I liked science-fiction in general so in I went on my own. Having recently watched it again, the fascination it exerted on me back then rushed back, only with more insights into the different possible levels of interpretation of the story. What I had only perceived at first as a very conventional tale of struggle between races for independence and power is also the start of more thoughts about other layers of interpretation, some maybe only in my imagination but still interesting to pursue in their own right, which is a lot more than your average Hollywood sci-fi big budget production can provoke.The extermination scenes with the big ball squashing humans like ants were very distressing for me as they echoed other, very ugly and real scenes from WWII I had seen before. The "can't we all get along" theme is the obvious first level of interpretation. Beyond this politically-correct view, there are other potential interpretations.The first level : Race. Enslaving inferior sentient beings is wrong and will come back to bite you in the ass when they get an education and organize themselves to fight.The second level : Politics. The superior blue aliens are the masters and humans the slaves. That they are considered in the movie mere pets or vermin is even more odious but serves to stir deep feelings and pure fear in the viewer ("what if aliens showed up tomorrow and treated us the same way?" - a few horror movies have used this theme to great effect). This class-struggle allegory is flagrant to me and is typical of the moral indignation that exploitation and injustice spark in anyone who has a conscience. Beyond this, the film shows that the only way out of oppression is education and fighting physically for independence and respect from the so-called 'superiors'. In this the message becomes universal but not very original. From both extremes comes the argument that it is a fight to the death, there can be no middle ground. Elimination of the enemy is the only way back to harmony and peace.The third level : Metaphysical. The supreme entities are blue aliens and, in this view, the humans are on a long quest through ever-deeper knowledge to rise up to be able to see how these creatures find their bliss and harmony (meditation/sex/dancing being the simplistic illustration of this). Of course humans want their share of this and to be their equal. This can be seen as the goal of our existence in this universe : to go to the fantastic planet and leave behind the pain and misery of the human condition. Or just maybe knocking on the door of the creator to get some answers.As one can see there is a lot to appreciate and matter for thought in this eerie, beautiful and graphically original movie. Roland Topor is a weirdo, but an interesting one. The simple animation does not detract from enjoying the story and one must learn to realise that perfection of form is not the most important in conveying a good story even if it does help.I prefer a clumsy but funny Gilliam animation to a perfect but predictable Disney one. Art does not need a reason to exist, sometimes it is just the artist pleasing himself, and we chuckle away with him at his nerve at showing us his bizarre personal visions. We must sometimes stop reasoning only in terms of function and enjoy what makes us human, not just efficient commercial-minded robots ("the focus group indicates maximum joy at this scene!" eeech.)This story is based on a french sci-fi novel called "Oms en série" by Stefan Wul. The music is good, typical of it's time and adds to the overall sense of watching something slightly odd from the 1970s. La Planète Sauvage is a work of art that deserves the highest praise and attention not only because it is eerily beautiful but also because it illustrates some of the most fascinating fears and hopes of humanity. Simple it may seem, but there is lot more to think about than the obvious struggle shown.