FANTASTIC PLANET (1973)

A.K.A.: La Planete Sauvage

Country: France / Czechoslovakia

Genre(s): Adventure / Animated / Fantasy / Sci-Fi

Director: Rene Laloux

Cast: Jean Valmont / Eric Baugin / Jennifer Drake

Plot

The human-like Oms rebel against the enslavement of the giant Draags.

What I Liked

“Fantastic Planet” is a peculiar mix of 70s European animation, surrealist visions, and hippy ethos.  Back in the 1970s, it was still rather unusual for an animated adventure movie to carry adult messages, but this one does just that – albeit with childlike simplicity.  Clearly designed to veil Cold War-era political statements in some colorful and far-out science fiction gimmicks, the movie has some admittedly creative creatures and gadgets that might have otherwise been the product of collaboration between Dr. Seuss and Salvador Dali.

What I Didn’t Like

This is what happens when you let hippies make movies.  It’s hard to imagine a movie more dated.  From the unbearable 70s porn soundtrack, to the “Star Trek” cartoon sound effects, to pretty-but-archaic animation, to the peace-and-love morality of its conclusion, it’s now only watchable as retro kitsch.  Any ground it might have broken in 1973 has been thoroughly excavated by later films, rendering the innovations of “Fantastic Planet” obsolete.

Most Memorable Scene

The gratuitous glow-in-the-dark forest orgy made me cringe.  So bad.  Apparently saxophones are the soundtrack for sex even in galaxies far, far away.

My Rating: 1 out of 5