Fantastic Planet (1973)

On a faraway planet where blue giants rule, oppressed humanoids rebel against their machine-like leaders.

Director:

René Laloux

Writers:

Stefan Wul (novel), Roland Topor (adaptation)

Stars:

Barry Bostwick, Jennifer Drake, Eric Baugin

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jennifer Drake	...	Tiwa (voice)
Eric Baugin	...	Young Terr (voice)
Jean Topart	...	Master Sinh (voice)
Jean Valmont	...	Adult Terr - Narrator (voice)
Sylvie Lenoir	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Michèle Chahan	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Yves Barsacq	...	Om (voice)
Hubert de Lapparent	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Gérard Hernandez	...	Master Taj (voice)
Claude Joseph	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Philippe Ogouz	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Jacques Ruisseau	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Max Amyl	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Denis Boileau	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Madeleine Clervanne	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Madeleine Clervannes)

Storyline

Slaves and masters dominate the narrative of the faraway world of Ygam. Set around the lifespan of Terr, a minute human shaped Om slave, and pet, of the giant blue alien Draags. Escaping into the wilderness and with a device used for intellectual advancement of the Draags, Terr finds refuge and support from fellow Oms and using the learning tool, he finds that knowledge is power and then sets to use the new found knowledge to revolt against the Draag masters...

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Plot Keywords:

animated science fiction | czech science fiction | giant | slave | meditation | 

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Taglines:

A Sublime Trip to a Fine New World.

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Genres:

Animation | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Arte Vidéo [France]

Country:

France Czechoslovakia

Language:

French Czech

Release Date:

1 December 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fantastic Planet

Company Credits

Production Co:

Argos Films,Les Films Armorial,Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (INA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

72 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During production, René Laloux, the only non-Czech working on this film, was almost removed from the production crew. The Czech Production staff wanted a "nationalistic" feel to its production and wanted Josef Kábrt (1920-1989), the film's character graphics designer, to take the part of Director. This never happened and was apparently an "inspiration of the times".

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Goofs

In one of the shots showing the Om city, one of the Oms walking in the background blinks out of existence for a couple frames.

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Quotes

Draag child 1: It doesn't move.
Draag child 2: What a shame we can't play with her any more.

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Connections

Referenced in Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004)

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Soundtracks

L'Oiseau
Written and Performed by Alain Goraguer Et Son Orchestre

User Reviews

A masterpiece... still up-to-date

In the world of the animation business there is a recent trends towards super- realism where computer graphics are being increasingly used. Although I appreciate animations like Finding Nemo or the Incredibles for they represent a renewal of the genre (in the same way the Disney movie did in the 50's), the artistic style of La Planete Sauvage is unmistakable and accords perfectly with the dark atmosphere of the movie. This animation is based on the book Oms (a deformation of the french word homme, man) from the French SciFi writer Stephan Wul who should also be credited for being the writer of The Time Masters (another SciFi animation worth your time). Wul's real name is still a mystery. The rare things we know about his life are that he wrote his 10 (or so) only books when he was studying dentistry at the University. He apparently graduated and became too busy to continue his writing activity. What a pity. I've read most of Wul's book and they are all unique and beautiful. The animation sticks true to Wul's vision. The art by the Czech master Topor is dark and oppressing, despite the bright color of the 60-70's-influenced graphism, adding to the uncomfort of seeing human beings treated as pets or pests by giant extraterrestrials. However, the roles are interchangeable and humans do behave too often in the way the extraterrestrials do in the movie with other living creatures on Earth. Hard to find but worth the search.