Fantastic Planet (1973)

User Review

• 

  BarneyNuttall

  8 / 10

  I've watched Fantastic Planet in a very strange order. You see, I watched both Monty Python's Flying Cirus and The Yellow Submarine at a very young age, with the latter being a favourite of mine for years. Finally, I can witness the birth of this film, and many others, with a psychedelic, truly alien dystopian story complete with unnervingly anatomical illustrations and rich social commentary.
  
  Fantastic Planet is the definition of striking with its Terry Gilliam-like illustrations. The planet is truly alien as it proves time and time again to be completely unrecognizable. Yet, social themes of race, imperialism and animal cruelty prove to be universal. Even in such a strange place, there is still a divide between class, between race, between species. The film isn't about just one of these themes but all at once.
  
  I also noticed strange similarities in the story which I imagine are wholly coincidental. The film begins with a Toy Story relationship between Tiwa and Terr then moves into a dystopian tale that echoes twenty-first-century teen fiction before finally evolving into a chicken run escapade in a flying machine to a better land. I know, the links are tenuous but it only proves the universality of the film.
  
  The music is a seminal part of the film. Alain Gorgaguer provides a jazz-rock score that twangs with unfamiliarity. The score perfectly builds on the alien planet, becoming as striking as the illustrations themselves.
  
  Fantastic Planet ticks all the sci-fi boxes by commenting on universal issues in an alien world. With groundbreaking illustrations and a score which perfectly encapsulates the film, Fantastic Planet serves all your sci-fi needs and more.

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