La Planète sauvage



René Laloux’s mesmerising psychedelic sci-fi animated feature won the Grand Prix at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival and is a landmark of European animation. Based on Stefan Wul’s novel Oms en série [Oms by the dozen], Laloux’s breathtaking vision was released in France as La Planète 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”, human-like creatures, 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.

Widely regarded as an allegorical statement on the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia, Fantastic Planet was five years in the making at Prague’s Jiri Trnka Studios. The direction of René Laloux, the incredible art of Roland Topor, and Alain Goraguer’s brilliantly complementary score (much sampled by the hip-hop community) all combine to make Fantastic Planet a mind-searing experience.

DUAL FORMAT RELEASE INCLUDING BLU-RAY AND DVD VERSIONS OF THE FILM

• All-new restored high-definition transfer
• Optional English subtitles with original French soundtrack
• Optional USA dub track
• Laloux sauvage, a new 27-minute documentary on the director
• Five short films by Laloux: Les Dents du singe (1960); Les Temps morts (1964); Les Escargots (1965, in a new 1080p transfer), Comment Wang-Fo fut sauvé (1987); and La Prisonnière (1988)
• The complete soundtrack for La Planète sauvage (1973)
• 56-page full-colour booklet, featuring an essay by Craig Keller; an interview with Laloux; and a lavish selection of ephemera and original promotional materials from the film

I bought the Anchor Bay disc for my dad, as a birthday gift. We watched it. It was right up his alley...he loves science fiction, and adores surrealism (among other forms of art). I haven't seen the film since, but Roland Topar's animation made such an impression on me that I immediately recognized him from the opening credits of Viva la Muerte. I'm definitely keeping my eyes out for this release, if it isn't some kind of mean joke (the other big DVD company has yet to release any animation, after all). I just might double dip...

The spine previously belonged to Repast...I assume that box has been delayed. I will not assume that the next two spines belong to Laloux's other films. No, I will not.

Looks like I can stop looking for the LD now.

Outstanding! I'm really looking forward to what you'll put together for this. I have the R1, and it's pretty shabby (I remember it being tape sourced, but I'll have to check.) Didn't realise until I just looked around that that edition is out of print and going for extremely high prices.

If this does well, I hope The Monkey King (1965, Wan Lai Ming), which a few of us here are on about, get's a consideration (that's an odd one).

Well, this one come right out of the blue! Nick, you are one big, box of surprises... Can't say that I like that or don't but I'm glad to at least realize that this will probably be the first of many excellent animation DVD releases on MoC.

I currently own the french Arte Video edition which is the one to go even though it doesn't carry english subs and right now I am curious about which kind of extras will be included on the MoC edition.

Still baffled but happy I suppose.

Looks like I'm about to make my first MoC purchase! A friend recommended this film to me recently but it doesn't take long to find out that it's essentially unavailable except in hideous and expensive editions. Thrilling news.

Aaargh! Another double dip coming up (bought the ABUS R0 2 years ago).

I still think a new line should have been created for animated titles (Masters of Animation would have been perfect) but I do understand the inconveniences of all this. Besides, live-action cinema is just another form of animation.

Any change of seeing Laloux's Les Maitres Du Temps get a release by MOC?

I've seen the three short films that Laloux made prior to The Fantastic Planet and am really looking forward to seeing this now. The animation style and surreal nature of the stories in the shorts reminded me a lot of Gilliam's work. I can't find any information online linking the two, but if they were linked at all, an interview on the DVD with Gilliam would make a mighty interesting addition.

Annie, I'm curious why you'd want to see a separate line for animation? Animation already suffers a great deal of segregration from live action cinema as it is, what with the popular "cartoons are for kids" attitude. It's great to see an animation getting recognition for a change.

Because it deserves it. I agree with your last sentence, though. But in a perfect world, Masters of Animation would have been a killer line of DVDs. Just think of the possibilities. Here's hoping that the folks over at MoC do.

I think we'd rather treat everything equally and throw it all in the same MoC pot, instead of "diluting the brand" (for want of a better term).

We're a much smaller operation than Criterion, and such an animation project would be a massive undertaking for us, something which I think Criterion are much better equipped to tackle at the present time.

Give yourselves some credit, guys! You're doing amazing things!

So, when can we expect to see this disc?

And you do realize that a gallery of Roland Topor's artwork is mandatory, don't you?

Peerpee this is great news. I actually meant to request this title from Criterion, seeing as they still have that licensing deal in place with Anchor Bay. Now I don't feel so compelled to do that.

Outstanding choice, especially seeing it's coming from far left-field. Haven't been this happy since you put out "Punishment Park."

-BJ

This is a film I think I'll enjoy watching again and again. The basic premise itself is not that unusual within science fiction: What might it be like for humans not to be the dominant species, to have another species deciding our fate for their own purposes the way that humans currently do with other life forms? My main complaint is that the story seems to end way too abruptly. Fantastic Planet's style is one of the most interesting things about the film. The art reminded me occasionally of Pieter Bruegel and Hieronymus Bosch, but it has very much its own style. Alain Goraguer's score is also noteworthy. It's a bizarre soundscape that frequently lapses into bubbling grooves with lots of wah-wah guitar work.

I watched this on the Anchor Bay VHS. (I couldn't locate their DVD as easily), which for some reason had both an English dub and differently translated English subs at the same time. I hope the MoC edition will have the option of watching an English dub. Some may find this heretical but I think that, especially with this kind of less-than-culturally-specific animated work, being able to study the visuals the entire time can be preferable to hearing the original language.

this is the kind of release where good special features which enlighten and provide context would be particuarly valuable.
I'm hoping you have some good special features planned for this.

Is the US Anchor Bay out of print then? Amazon marketplace sellers are asking for over $90 for it. I'm happy to sell mine to get the MoC version.

Special features according to play.com:

- Rene Laloux shorts Les Escargots and Comment Wang-Fo Fut Sauve
- Booklet featuring a new essay

The Beaver weighs in. But...is it R0 NTSC, or R2 PAL?

wow, this films looks, like..totally freaky...man.

Will you please cut the high winded hyperintellectual MFA talk?

Critics.

Just saw the beaver caps - this film looks amazing. I must watch this.

Hmm...apparently this new DVD has some stuff that the MoC page fails to list as extras: the english dub for the film and the entire soundtrack as an audio only bonus (and entirely selectable by tracks). Good stuff all around.

But I still won't double-dip on this one because I already have the soundtrack on CD (amazingly trippy!) and I don't miss the english dub on my french Arte Video DVD (which incidentally has even more extras than the MoC one, namely interviews with Laloux and other shorts). The only thing I'll be missing is the Wang-Fo short which I've never seen.

Would it be safe to ask, now, if MoC plans to release one or both of Laloux's other two features? I grew up on Gandahar/Light Years, but only the Engblish dub, and I would love to see otherwise. Time Masters would be a blessing, as well.

Besides, Laloux made more than two shorts