Fantastic Planet

Fantastic Planet
by Ren? Laloux

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DVD details

Director: Ren? Laloux
Brand: FACETS VIDEO
Cinematographer: Lubomir Rejthar
Cinematographer: Boris Baromykin
Composer: Alain Goraguer
Editor: Dick Elliott
Editor: Rich Harrison
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: French (Original Language); English (Original Language)
Format: Anamorphic, Animated, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 72 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-10-23
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: ACCENT CINEMA

DVD Reviews of Fantastic Planet

DVD Review: Sadly continuing to wait
Summary: 5 Stars

I first saw this film on "Up all Night" on the USA Network seemingly ions ago. I recorded it on VHS. Alas that tape was removed from my possesion by an inconsiderate oaf.

Since then I have hoped for a re-issue of this masterpiece. My joy at having finally found the Film available on DVD has been squashed by the inadequate quality of either issue of this film. I guess I will continue to wait until an acceptable quality transfer of this piece is made. My opinion is that you should wait too.

DVD Review: Creepily awesome
Summary: 5 Stars

Such a weird/cool/creepy movie. Humans (Om's) are the pets to huge blue aliens (Dregs). Aside from having an amazing soundtrack courtesy Alain Goraguer (sampled by the likes of the infamous Lord Quas), this movie will make you think twice about how we live as humans, and how you treat your pets.

DVD Review: What good is a film you cant watch?
Summary: 2 Stars

BUYER BEWARE!! Even tho my DVD player is only a year old, it would only play the menu of this film. I tried and tried everything, taking it out and putting it back into my DVD. After wasting a lot of time, I thought "Hum, I dont think there is anything WRONG with the DVD, and I know there's nothing wrong with my DVD player, so lets check out AMAZON." And, for the reasons others have given (low bit rate?), this DVD only wants to let you watch the MENU, and NOTHING ELSE!!! I have watched literally 1000s of DVDs, and I have NEVER seen this problem before. So obviously, someone manufactured this DVD incorrectly. It DOES play on your computer, however. But then again, I dont watch TV, or movies on my computer. I have a TV, and a Stereo system, and a nice chair to relax in, so i can watch films.

The saddest thing, is that when i did deside it was worth checking out on the computer at least once, I found it to be a wonderful film, everything I wanted it to be. The colors of the animation are not really psychedelic, in the way YELLOW SUBMARINE is psychedelic, ie, its not in ultra technicolor. Instead, the colors tend to be closer to western European children's illustrations from that period. There are a lot of still drawings, that get zoomed into, or moved slightly, for some shots. It isnt like the BIG BUDGET animation films from Disney, where your backround is drawn, but the foreground images, are illustrated with full movement. Some of the groups of humans, look like something I would have drawn when I was 13 years old. That's not bad, rather there's a certain "childlike" animation stylization. The best illustrations get saved back for the "effect" shots, of the group meditations, and the human child. Other designs are not as well executed, and the awe you might feel, when you first see the creatures physically mind-merge, or the schooling device, might become dull for some quickly. (3-D animation, the rise of Anime, and computer animation, have ruined us for this earlier, completely hand drawn animation.) What saves this film, is the "parable" behind the images. In many ways, the film reminds me of other "FRENCH UNDERGROUND HIPPIE CONCEPTS" floating around from that period. (early 70s) I"m talking about the rock band MAGMA, and how all their early albums were about a group of humans going to a utopian planet to escape the wars on earth, or the "psychedelic" concept of GONG, where your spirit goes into meditation, and contacts "Octave Doctors". The same fanciful, scifi orienated, "artrock" inspiration, floats thru the film. So, even tho its a very fanciful, fairy tale type story, its still totally rooted in hippie philosophy. (group meditation, the MAN verses THE LITTLE GUY, and how humans have lost their connection with nature, which is to say, the HIPPIE COMMUNES). The idealism that everything will just work out, is almost precious, compaired to what the world is today. I would recommend this film to anyone who loves experimental, adult animation, especially from this period. If you liked THE POINT, you'd probibly like this film, tho there are no songs. If you liked those FRITZ THE CAT films, tho, you might find this film a bit too arty, or dull. If you enjoy French underground hippie culture, by ALL MEANS, watch the film. You'd love it. BUT, unless you like watching films on a computer, forget it. I wish I could rate this FIVE STARS, but hey, what good is a film you cant watch on your TV set?

DVD Review: rare find indeed!
Summary: 5 Stars

I was challenged by my 28 year old son to find this. He saw it as a child. Amazon!

DVD Review: DVD Incompatibility
Summary: 1 Stars

DVD did not work at all except for the title preview. Why should anyone continue to sell this particular disc knowing it's incompatibilities?

Description of Fantastic Planet

Ren? Laloux's mesmerising psychedelic sci-fi animated feature won the Special Jury Prize at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival and is a landmark of European animation. Based on Stefan Wul's novel Oms en s?rie [Oms by the Dozen], Laloux's breathtaking vision was released in France as La Plan?te sauvage [The Savage Planet]; in the USA as Fantastic Planet; and immediately drew comparisons to Swift's Gulliver's Travels and Planet of the Apes (both the 1968 film and Boule's 1963 novel). Today, the film can be seen to prefigure much of the work of Hayao Miyazaki at Studio Ghibli (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away) due to its palpable political and social concerns, cultivated imagination, and memorable animation techniques.

Fantastic Planet tells the story of Oms, a human-like species, kept as domesticated pets by an alien race of blue giants called Draags. The story takes place on the Draags' planet Ygam, where we follow our narrator, an Om called Terr, from infancy to adulthood. He manages to escape enslavement from a Draag learning device used to educate the savage Oms - and begins to organise an Om revolt. The imagination invested in the surreal creatures, music and sound design, and eerie landscapes, is immense and unforgettable. This release includes the early LaLoux short The Snails.

Special Features: English Language version, Original Subtitled version, photo gallery, trailer, Fantastic Laloux, the new 26 minute documentary on director Rene Laloux, short animated film Les Escargots (The Snails), an animated segment of Sean Lennon's music video for "Would I Be The One", inspired by Fantastic Planet.

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