All Rise...

There's absolutely nothing fantastic about Judge Patrick Naugle.

The Charge

Strange Beasts!
Enormous Aliens!
Fantastic Planet!

The Case

Fantastic Planet is based on Stefan Wul's novel Oms en Serie and was directed by Rene LeLoux (Time Masters). The story deals with the Draags, a gigantic and powerful alien race that lives on the bizarre planet Ygam. The Draags keep human-like people as pets (known as Oms) and kept a watchful eye over how they populate. When one of the Oms, named Terr, escapes from the clutches of one of the Draags, he unites with a group of his brethren living in a dangerous underpopulated part of the planet. After the Draags decide to try and kill the Oms (sensing that they're about to turn on their masters in a massive revolt), a few surviving Oms attempt one last effort to coexist peacefully with their captors.

I understand that Fantastic Planet is revered in some groups, including critical circles. The film is often praised for its weird and often disturbing visuals which makes The Beatles' Yellow Submarine look like a fluffy Disney film by comparison. Fantastic Planet is an odd film that was created using cutout animation; this means that the film is rudimentary looking without the smoothness of a Disney or Pixar endeavor. This has both advantage and disadvantages; while Fantastic Planet looks very unique, it's also not as interesting or polished as most animated films.

Full disclosure: I'd never seen Fantastic Planet before watching it for review, and I can't say that I became a fan. I understood all the allegorical content in the film but found it to be heavy handed and lacking in any really interesting characters. The Draags are just a bunch of bullies who push around the Oms while the Oms spend an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out how to get free of the Draags. All the while the animation tends to get more and more bizarre until Fantastic Planet starts to seem less like an animated science fiction movie and more like a Grateful Dead acid trip. While the visuals can certainly be striking, the story didn't catch me in the same way as some of the greatest animation films have in the past.

I have to give Fantastic Planet high marks for its original production design. Imagine Tim Burton crossed with Ren and Stimpy and you'll have a good idea how the movie looks. Giant plants with cat paws and bulbous eyeballs roam the land while other odd creatures show up because, well, I think the people who made this movie were really into drugs. How else can you explain the weird story line and grotesque things that populate the film? Fantastic Planet had a lot of allegorical undercurrents, including metaphors dealing with the Soviet invasion, man vs. animal, and what it means to be enslaved to someone sitting in a seat of power. Director LeLoux's symbolism is often heavy handed to the point where it practically beats you over the head with it during the final third of the film.

Interestingly, Fantastic Planet was released in America by B-movie king Roger Corman, who apparently saw something in it that I didn't. Sometimes a movie really grabs you pulls you in. Other times it leaves you cold and indifferent. Unfortunately, Fantastic Planet wasn't a movie I warmed to.

Fantastic Planet (Blu-ray) Criterion Collection is presented in 1.66:1 widescreen in 1080p high definition. Criterion offers up fans a strikingly clear image that is exceptionally colorful and vibrant. The trippy visuals are given a bit more weight considering how crystal clear this transfer often is. While there are a few slight defects in the transfer (still few and far between), overall this is a great looking picture from Criterion. The soundtrack is presented in both LPCM Mono in French, as well as Dolby Digital Mono in English. I listened to both of these soundtracks are found them both to be solid, if unexceptional, mixes. Both are a good reproduction of the original sound mix with the LPCM track having a slight edge over the Dolby Digital English track. Dialogue, music, and effects are all clearly recorded and distinguishable. Also included on this disc are English subtitles.

Extra features for this first ever Blu-ray edition of Fantastic Planet includes a few short Laloux and Toper short films ("Les Temps Morts" from 1965, "Les Escargots" from 1966), an excerpt from an archival episodes of a the French TV show "Pop Deux" with legendary illustrator Roland Toper, a documentary film about Laloux's life and legacy ("Laloux Sauvage"), an archival episode of the French TV show "Italiques" with discusses Topor's work, a theatrical trailer for the film, and an illustrated fold out poster with an essay by Michael Brooke.

I'm sorry to report that Fantastic Planet isn't a film I wish to revisit. Although the aliens and their planet are often a wonder to look at, the crude animation looks dated and the screenplay meanders, until I lost almost all interest in the main characters and their plight. Fans will most certainly be thrilled to get this film on Blu-ray and, to Criterion's credit, Fantastic Planet looks and sounds great. With a nice array of extra features, this is worth picking up if this is your style of film.

The Verdict

A strange movie that won't be to everyone's tastes.

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