Seeing Fantastic Planet at the drive-in is one of my earliest memories. Although the memories are not very clear, I think I may have hounded my parents to take me to see it again. Whether or not that hounding paid off is unclear. But I did go to the drive-in again, with a family friend, his wife, and their baby. (He made his wife and baby hide in the trunk of the car so that he only had to pay for me and himself on admission.)
This is a story about human beings living as pet “Oms” among a world of blue giants, the Draags, on the planet Ygam. It is a psychedelic trip to an alternate reality where the human experience is that of being a plaything of children, or worse, a pest to be exterminated.
But the feral Oms unite and organize. Through the use of education and the pursuit of technology they find their salvation. I wonder if this theme influenced my young mind in such a way, that to this day, I now believe that education and technology are the keys to confronting the challenges that face humanity now.
Reusable rockets with propulsive landing capability was pure science fiction in 1973.
It was a pleasure to rewatch this today. I am so drawn in with this film’s unique graphic style, and trance like pace.
Check it out!