Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

elicopperman In 1973, French animator/filmmaker Rene Laloux released his film adaptation of the book Oms en série by Stefan Wul. While it did undergo a troublesome production due to the film being coproduced in Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) during the time of Russia invading said country, the final product went on to win the Grand Prix special jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Nowadays, the film is regarded as a cult classic by film and animation aficionados alike, and while I don't regard it as a great film, I do admire it nonetheless.The film centers around the planet Ygam where humans, referred to as Oms, are an inferior species to the large blue android like Draags. However, one Om named Terr learns of the Draag's knowledge through a bracelet, and uses it to teach other Oms to rise up against the superior species. With this in mind, the film displays an allegorical message about taking other species for granted, but the story is carried through surrealism. The world of Ygam is harsh and cruel by how the Draag's treat the Oms as animals, some of whom dress them up in prissy attire and use them for fights once they're domesticated. Not to mention, the Draags learn their language through meditation, displaying psychedelic fantasies for all to question. In addition to the bizarre story, the animation is a visual splendor, mainly by how it looks like a series of moving illustrations. Throughout the planet of Ygam exist a variety of exotic creatures and dreamlike scenarios, complete with an avant-garde soundtrack. The character animation is pretty limited, but the unique visual style really helps the film stick out from any other, so it fits well enough in this environment. These surrealistic visuals help emulate the analogies alluding to the film's themes of fascism and war, mainly by showcasing the scary truth of the Draags and how they run their society.That being said, as much as I admire the film's method of visual storytelling, I do think the plot drags on in some points. Roughly half of the film is Terr growing up around his owner Draag named Tiwa, but up until he finally runs away from her, most of the scenes with them could have been edited out to add more momentum. Also, Terr and most of the other characters aren't really that memorable outside of their essential goals to trump the Draags, making them come off as two-dimensional. I know this film is meant to focus more on the allegories of racism and the trippy visuals, but a little more character development would be nice.Nevertheless, Fantastic Planet is a very distinct and worthwhile experience that you only see once in a blue moon. Sure, the characters aren't all that interesting and the plot can get a little slow sometimes, but the way the film tells its story of prejudice through bizarre animation and psychedelic ideologies makes the film quite a unique feature that is worthy of its cult status. If you're looking for an animated feature that embraces surrealism to get its themes across or you're into cult sci-fi films of the 1970s, then this is just the film to check out. Considering that this is one of the few animated features on the Criterion Collection, it's about time we got more of them on said collection to give underrated gems like this the attention they deserve.

dubbaking 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.

lion_time I first watched this movie without subtitles (I don't speak French) and simply listened to the soundtrack and watched the animation. A few months later I watched the movie with subtitles and followed the plot. I imagine some will find the plot interesting, and it's a cool story for those who like imaginative sci fi. However, I found that the soundtrack absolutely stole the show and commanded most of my attention. The arrangements are dense, dark and swirling. The animations compliment the music wonderfully and made for a hypnotic, contemplative experience. Check this movie out for the music, and maybe see if the story interests you.

RbDeraj I originally watched this film because it was a strange looking animated film that attracted my attention in a weird sort of way. To my disappointment, I found this movie boring, dull, and uninteresting. The storyline was so slow and completely unengaging. It was a unique concept for a plot but was not executed well at all. The quality of the film was extremely poor, especially the terrible animation. If you liked The Beatles' Yellow Submarine, this is probably a film for you. The film was a waste of my time and was worthless as far as I am concerned. I am struggling to draw this out because it was not even worth the ten lines of text that is needed to post this review.