Part of 1973
Nothing else has ever looked or felt like director René Laloux’s animated marvel FANTASTIC PLANET, a politically minded and visually inventive work of science fiction. The film is set on a distant planet called Ygam, where enslaved humans (Oms) are the playthings of giant blue natives (Draags). After Terr, kept as a pet since infancy, escapes from his gigantic child captor, he is swept up by a band of radical fellow Oms who are resisting the Draags oppression and violence. With its eerie, coolly surreal cutout animation by Roland Topor; brilliant psychedelic jazz score by Alain Goraguer; and wondrous creatures and landscapes, this 1973 Cannes Grand Prix Prize winner and counterculture classic is a perennially compelling statement against conformity and violence. While this lysergic odyssey might not be the most appropriate for small children, it is truly a wonder to behold on the big screen. (Synopsis adapted from Criterion Collection)
“All these years later, its legacy has been underserved. Google FANTASTIC PLANET and you’ll get more stories about its psychedelic visual wonder and acid-trip landscapes than you will about the enduring topicality of its plot…. The true brilliance of FANTASTIC PLANET is how its trippy style works as a counterpoint to its metaphorical connotations.” —Zack Sharf, IndieWire “Between the funky Alain Goraguer soundtrack, the sexy outfits, the surreal landscapes and the heavily metaphorical plot, the film still looks and sounds unlike anything else, either in animation or in sci-fi.” —Noel Murray, Chicago Tribune “René Laloux's surreal animated film remains a singular psychedelic experience. For the uninitiated, think YELLOW SUBMARINE but way more arty, trippy and funky.” —Douglas Perry, The Oregonian
