ANI-MOVIES, *Fantastic Planet

What originally translated into "Savage Planet", Fantastic Planet was the English title given to this groundbreaking 1973 sci-fi movie which was also one of the first animated flicks done for mature audiences. Based on a Stefan Wul novel, animator Rene Laloux directed this in the Czech Republic which became an international hit with an odd cast used for the dub. The English-language edition of this surrealistic trip had classic cartoon voice actors like Hal Smith and Janet Waldo getting roped into playing the parts of bizarre aliens. This movie is animated like a cross between Yellow Submarine and one of Terry Gilliam's old segues from Monty Python Flying Circus. It was way ahead of its time as far as content was concerned but panned out like a Dr. Seuss daymare.

Way off in the way out future, a large sample of humans from Earth are captured by giant blue alien humanoids called Draags to their planet of Ygam where they raise their humans as pets that they've named Oms. Oms are given little education, but still retain some of their Earth-based intelligence. One particular Om is adopted by a young female Draag who gives names him Terr and he starts to pick up on some of the telepathic signals that the Draag's learning computer gives its children. Terr eventually escapes with the teaching headset and finds a rogue group of Oms as they all learn how to advance their civilization in an abandoned rocket factory. The Om create their own spaceships and head to Ygam's moon where the Draaga's minds go to when they're meditating. The Draags are suddenly at risk as the Oms start shooting down their statue bodies they use for psychic sex, so they negotiate a peace treaty with the Om. The humans get their own artificial moon to live on while some stay on Ygam sharing mental trips with the Draags.

Fantastic Planet is considered a rite of passage among animation and science-fiction fans, so if you're into Disney or Ralph Bakshi, Star Trek or Asimov, you're pretty much required to give it a look at least once in your life. Anime fans will find it a different change of pace from their steady diet of giant robots and magical girls, although whether they're willing to get a little cerebral is another thing. The animation might seem somewhat stiff and there are some lengthy scenes in this without much going on in it, however it's a scant 71-minutes long so you shouldn't feel the pressure from old school fans to get through out.