Fantastic Planet (La Planète sauvage) [DVD]

Specifications -

Case - Slim U.S style plastic blu-ray case.

Disc - 25GB, MPEG-4 AVC encoded, Region B locked.

Video - 1.66:1 Aspect Ratio in a 16:9 frame (small black bars appear at the sides of the picture), Colour, 1080p/24fps.

Audio - Original French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and dubbed English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.

Subtitles - Optional English.

Supplements -
Booklet
Soundtrack (selectable from the Blu-ray menu, not an additional CD)
Laloux Suavage (25 minute documentary about the films director Rene Laloux)
Short films (all in French with optional English subs):
Les dents du singe (1960) - Monkey's Teeth
Les temps morts (1964) - Dead Times
Les escargots (1965) - The Snails
Comment Wang-Fo fut sauve (1987) - How Wang-Fo Was Saved
La prisonniere (1988) - The Captive

Censorship? - No censorship or cuts made to the film on this disc. BBFC - PG certificate (animated violence and nudity)

'La Planete Suavage' is a highly imaginative, and beautiful film. Its basically a science-fiction retelling of David and Goliath, and the story is simplistic and easy to follow. I enjoyed this film as its very bizarre and unconventional. The picture quality is not going to blow you away as this is not Disney Pixar animation remember and its 37 years old. It looks good though, with a small slightly noticable amount of grain present, and the colours are strong (essential for animation on Blu-ray!). I rented the dvd release a while back, and can honestly say the Blu-ray is a big improvement. The audio is excellent, with the 70's style music (with wah-wah guitars) sounding very effective and the dialogue is very clear.
The supplements are pretty good, with a superb booklet, soundtrack, documentary and a selection of short films from the same director (The Snails is probably the best and is also in 1080p).
If you are a fan of world cinema and animation then you'll love this, and i highly recommend this Blu-ray. If you own the dvd then it is worth an upgrade as the picture is an improvement, you get lossless audio and better extras too.

Fantastic Planet is an interesting biography of a man who becomes a pet to a Draag child. The Draags are an alien race who are physical giants compared to we humans, or "Om" as they call us. The man finds himself the amusing possession of the giant blue being after his mother is killed when Draag children 'play' with her like a human child might treat insects, they have no regard to her own life or dignity. Both she and her baby are seen as simple animals.

This isn't just the story of one man though and the film is also a clever way to explore an alien way of life as we get explanations of their behaviour from the viewpoint of a captive human. It's clear that the Draag are aware that we Oms have capabilities beyond that of feral animals. They refer to our native ancient planet as once productive and with organised society. The film touches on many themes, but the most prevalent seems to be the power of education. The Draag consider themselves a higher life form as they have great intellect compared to the tiny Om creatures who are considered to be vermin and subjected to pest control. The balance of power starts to tilt though when the Om who narrates the story gains knowledge himself and starts to share it, he kickstarts a social evolution.

Animation is a great way to portray alien worlds and this French animated film creates a landscape which often appears like a Terry Gilliam animation from Monty Python - but it certainly looks alien. The world is littered with strange animal and plant life with a standardised colour palette ensuring that everything feels natural and part of the same eco-system. Those more familiar with modern day CGI may find the animation a bit crude, segments are reused and repeated and the hand drawn images don't have fluid movement. Instead the film makes use of mostly still images with small sections animated, this can make things look a bit stiff but is also part of the charm. This is handcrafted and a prominent part of artwork is the hand drawn pencil marks and pastel strokes.

The audio has dated somewhat, and this is most noticeable when the film opens. However, the very `70s music and the strange audio effects make this sound more alien than ever before and enhances the science fiction feel of it. The alien sounds are used to build some emotive imagery, for instance; the sound of pest control pellets being fired to kill the wild Oms sound like gunfire. As we see the Oms walking though a wilderness scattered with corpses it is reminiscent of contemporary news footage depicting victims of political wars where militia provide a backdrop of bangs and whistles.

This Blu-Ray release contains a good widescreen transfer of the film (it's obviously not going to blow you away picture quality-wise, but it looks good and clean.) The English subtitles are clear and I'd recommend the original French soundtrack, but the English dub is actually pretty good. The best bonus features are the additional short films which are great individual pieces of work.

In a nutshell: Fantastic Planet intricately tackles a story which is massive in scope. This is the tale of two species whose cultures experience an epic shift in attitude to each other. Humans can rise up and develop from the humblest of situations, but we shouldn't consider ourselves above all other living things. The Draag in the film reflect much of the truth of our society and how we perhaps look down on those considered different. My first impressions of the film were not that great, but after just a few minutes this becomes an incredibly compelling watch. Without tolerance and knowledge we are nothing but savage animals, a little education can inspire great things.

I saw Fantastic Planet back in 1973 at the movie theater and I really enjoyed it. Anyone out there who enjoys a psychedelic experience must see this movie. There are also the social/political undertones that make this movie a must-see.

I have only one complaint for the U.S. DVD version. I am greatly disappointed that the Anchor Bay release did not remove the English subtitles on the dubbed English version in the DVD. It is so annoying not to be able to shut off the subtitles when listening to the movie in English. The subtitles are totally distracting and take away from the movie. How could such a huge mistake be overlooked? Good thing the Blue-ray version is available on Amazon in the United Kingdom.