Fantastic Planet Movie Review

A critically acclaimed, animated French sci-fi epic based on the drawings of Roland Topor. A race of small humanoids are enslaved and exploited by a race of telepathic blue giants on a savage planet. The film follows one of the small creatures on his quest to unite his people and win them equality with their captors. This film has a haunting, alien quality that makes it stand out even today; there's little dialogue, and the backgrounds and character designs are delicate with a dreamlike strangeness. The film is full of inventive, startling images: the hero is in one scene forced to fight another of his race with vicious, snapping reptiles strapped to their chests. And the blue giants, with their staring, emotionless faces, are particularly haunting. The story, however, is humanistic and gently satirical. A memorable, eerie film that'll stay with you for some time. AKA: La Planete Sauvage.

1973 (PG) 68m/C FR D: Rene Laloux; V: Barry Bostwick. Nominations: Cannes Film Festival ‘73: Best Film. VHS, Beta VYY, MRV, SNC