On a distant planet where blue giants rule, oppressed
humanoids rebel against their machine-like leaders. SCI-FI
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Fantastic Planet (1973)Directed by René Laloux
Written by René Laloux and Roland Topor Starring Jean Valmont, Eric Baugin, Jennifer Drake, Jean Topart Based on the novel by Stefan Wul |
I’ve been challenging myself this year by watching more foreign films. I have taken a liking to French films, so I figured I would check out something a little different out of France. Fantastic Planet is one of the most unique and dark animated experiences I’ve ever had, so I got what I was looking for. The screenplay is based on Stefan Wul’s novel, Oms en série, from 1957 which is something I must read now.
In the distant future, a race of giant blue humanoids called Draags live on planet Ygam. They take Oms (humans) from Earth and make them their pets on Ygam. We are told the story of an Om individual named Terr who is captured by the Draags. One day, he goes on the run and finds himself in the middle of an Om tribe who live in a strange abandoned park on Ygam. With Terr’s knowledge of the Draags, the Om community hopes to grow and defeat their controllers. Fantastic Planet is most certainly an animated film for young adults and adults because of the political and societal themes in it and I’ve definitely been thinking about it heavily ever since the credits started rolling. I was fucking blown away by some of the sights and sounds, with my favorite aspect of Fantastic Planet being the score provided by Alain Goraguer. There are some absolutely mind bending tracks including "Ten Et Tiwa Dorment," which Mac Miller sampled back in 2014 on Insomniak from his mixtape Faces. When you pair an all-time score with some very strong and original animation, it makes for a pretty wonderful experience. |