Fantastic PlanetThe difference between savagery and civilization is largely a matter of whoever is in charge. Fantastic Planet is an animated science fiction story about the highly alien world of Ygam, where the colossal Draag hold dominion. They look anthropomorphic, save for their bulging, red eyes, azure skin, and fin-like ears. They keep "Oms" as playthings, like dogs...only, an Om is really a human being, reduced to wild creatures, and regarded as vermin by some. Fantastic Planet is the story of one such Om, named Terr, and the story from his adoption into a Draag household by his steward, Tiwa, to his eventual escape and efforts to lead his people to the "promised land": the "Savage Planet".
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Made as a combined effort of French and Czech "cut out" animation, Fantastic Planet (originally called La Planète sauvage, or The Savage Planet) is a distinct film, combining psychedelic imagery and sound with a classical science fiction story evocative of the works of Ray Bradbury or Isaac Asimov; the film was in fact based on the 1957 novel "Oms en série" by Stefan Wul. Fantastic Planet is filled with hypnotic, dream-like visuals, like the bizarre animals that roam the wilds, including small bug-like creatures which can fabricate clothes for the Oms, or the monstrous, dragon-like winged predator, which the wild Oms fell with grappling claws. The Draag's society shares some parallels with our own; other elements are far more alien, but they are implied to be a metaphor for some other human counterpart. When the Draags "meditate", their consciousnesses float above in the sky, and go off to engage in social situations--reminiscent of watching television or playing an online video game. Just like humans, the Draag children can be innocently cruel to the Oms, recklessly forcing them to fight for amusement, or accidentally killing them by playing too roughly, as was the case with Terr's mother when he was but an infant and subsequently saved by Tiwa. Terr's captivity included acts which were obviously demeaning, although Terr had little basis in understanding them to be so at the start. His natural inquisitiveness earned him a literal collar for Tiwa to use to keep him from being a pest to her parents. Tiwa's means to learn her "Infos" about the history and science of the Draags included a set of "headphones", and due to a technical malfunction in Terr's collar, he was also able to absorb the mysteries of the Draag society and their world of Ygam through it. Tiwa's father, Master Sinh, is a significant politician in the Draag community, and also one of the more level-headed, sympathetic ones, who suspects that the Oms have the ability to learn, and offer more potential than his contemporaries allow. His open-mindedness is a rarity among the Draags, and it becomes more evident that the Draags are more of a stagnant civilization than they would let on. They comment on how quickly the Oms reproduce--even if their lifespans are far shorter than a Draag--and there is an arrogance to the Draag society...a pride that comes before the fall.
The deeper message of Fantastic Planet is in how we view those who we consider beneath us, by representing the indifferent and cruel the Draags as analogs for human society. In one moment of a council meeting of Draags, it is heavily implied that the Oms are, in fact, abducted humans brought to Ygam, but who knows how long these humans have been denizens of this inscrutable planet. The majority of Draags allow their prejudices to blind them to the potential of the Oms, who prove able to do remarkable things with their knowledge of Draag technology shared through the wisdom of Terr. But even Terr's escape from captivity is far from a smooth transition, as he discovers that the wild Oms who seek shelter in a "great tree" in an abandoned park are resistant to trust the mysterious Om who can miraculously read the Draag language. Instead, he witnesses a culture given to primal impulses, although his benevolence and desire to educate them eventually wins them over, especially after the Draags begin their own clinical extermination of the Om hive. The vivid visuals and surreal ecology of the world of Fantastic Planet gives the film the feel as if it were experienced in a kind of trance, which helps to reinforce the sense that Ygam is a truly alien world. This mirrors the anxiety and overall unease which Terr is forced to cope with as he navigates it. His expertise and leadership ultimately transforms him into a Moses-like figure, and his acquired knowledge helps him to convince the other Oms in his clan to build rockets to escape to the Savage Planet--in reality a satellite to Ygam--where they hope they can make a life for themselves, free from humiliation and slavery. The parallels between our own human history--how we treat one another and how we treat other species--makes Fantastic Planet a story which taps into both the deeper recesses of our minds with hypnotic visuals and also addresses contemporary social issues, a core tenet often explored in the genre of science fiction.
Recommended for: Fans of a lush, even trippy animated feature which proposes some thought-provoking observations about the nature of dominion and humanity, of stewardship over other life forms. The imaginative visuals make Fantastic Planet feel like a mysterious dream--or nightmare--brought to light.
The deeper message of Fantastic Planet is in how we view those who we consider beneath us, by representing the indifferent and cruel the Draags as analogs for human society. In one moment of a council meeting of Draags, it is heavily implied that the Oms are, in fact, abducted humans brought to Ygam, but who knows how long these humans have been denizens of this inscrutable planet. The majority of Draags allow their prejudices to blind them to the potential of the Oms, who prove able to do remarkable things with their knowledge of Draag technology shared through the wisdom of Terr. But even Terr's escape from captivity is far from a smooth transition, as he discovers that the wild Oms who seek shelter in a "great tree" in an abandoned park are resistant to trust the mysterious Om who can miraculously read the Draag language. Instead, he witnesses a culture given to primal impulses, although his benevolence and desire to educate them eventually wins them over, especially after the Draags begin their own clinical extermination of the Om hive. The vivid visuals and surreal ecology of the world of Fantastic Planet gives the film the feel as if it were experienced in a kind of trance, which helps to reinforce the sense that Ygam is a truly alien world. This mirrors the anxiety and overall unease which Terr is forced to cope with as he navigates it. His expertise and leadership ultimately transforms him into a Moses-like figure, and his acquired knowledge helps him to convince the other Oms in his clan to build rockets to escape to the Savage Planet--in reality a satellite to Ygam--where they hope they can make a life for themselves, free from humiliation and slavery. The parallels between our own human history--how we treat one another and how we treat other species--makes Fantastic Planet a story which taps into both the deeper recesses of our minds with hypnotic visuals and also addresses contemporary social issues, a core tenet often explored in the genre of science fiction.
Recommended for: Fans of a lush, even trippy animated feature which proposes some thought-provoking observations about the nature of dominion and humanity, of stewardship over other life forms. The imaginative visuals make Fantastic Planet feel like a mysterious dream--or nightmare--brought to light.