Fantastic Planet

Fantastic Planet ****

Directed by René Laloux
Written by René Laloux and Steve Hayes

Featuring the voices of:
Jennifer Drake
Sylvie Lenoir
Jean Topart
Jean Valmont

72 Minutes(Not Rated)
In French with English Subtitles
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In the wake of last months "Sunshine," "Fantastic Planet" is evidence that science fiction films could look amazing, have a cool story, and have an important message. Now I liked "Sunshine," but on a more visual level than on a writing and acting one. But "Fantastic Planet" hooks you from the very start, and the opening images set the tone and mood for this brief cartoon with a lot to say. The film is from 1972, and is currently playing at the Two Boots Pioneer Theatre in Manhattan. For information on the future screenings, click here.

It is the past, and we are introduced to a race of thirty-something foot tall aliens known as Draags. The only thing besides the Draags on the planet are the Oms, smaller creatures that are obviously connected to humans. The Draags hate the Oms, and once every season they De-Om, and send out men with poison to kill what they could find of the creatures. And the Draag children play with the Oms as their prisoners, often letting them run around the area while the Draags put various obstacles in their way. Such is the case when Tiwa finds a baby Om, names it Terra, and ends up keeping it as his pet. They put a collar over it, and if it runs away all Tiwa has to do is pull a little bar on a ring on his arm and Terra will come back. But Tiwa makes the tragic mistake of letting Terra listen when he has his schooling lectures, and Terra becomes knowledgeable on all topics of Draag society. And when he escapes, he is able to use this knowledge to his, and the other Oms, advantage.

The first thing that needs to be noticed were the visuals. This is cartoon-2-D animation that covers the images frame by frame. At the start I felt that the closest comparison to the type of animation is like in the Monty Python shorts-there is even a giant hand preventing the Om from walking straight-but that comparison vanished pretty quickly. But René Laloux puts a lot of effort into small detail, and even though the center of the screen will have dialogue or action going on, in the backgrounds there are all of these neat creatures-usually the plants or such things like that that are found on the planet- that Laloux has created. And at times the script even calls for a closeup on one of these things, and you see it in more detail and what it does.

The whole story is neat is just seems to fly by. This is an prequel to life. Originally I though that I was in the future, and that we were watching a cautionary tale, but now I think that the films action takes place in the past, and this is about how the Oms found their place in the universe. It is a big place, and they could not live on a planet in peace with the Draags. This film charts their attempts to escape and to find the place that is right for them. And there is also the fact that the Oms use the Draags strengths against them-their immense knowledge, which makes it easier to conquer them through their weakness. I hear that "Fantastic Planet" is hard to find, so take advantage of it being on the big screen. This is a very special film-unique and beautiful in its own way.

Now Playing At:
Two Boots Pioneer Theatre