Review of Fantastic Planet (1973) by Kevin N — 05 Feb 2012

As far as visuals are concerned, this may be the most beautiful looking animated film I've ever seen. Thick, vibrant colors fill the screen at every moment, and strange, hand-drawn creatures, walk, wiggle and swoop through every frame, making good on its title's promise.

It's an adventure story with a powerful message, a film but primitive and far more advanced than most live-action movies. Perhaps most amazing of all, the setting and characters have no connection to ours or us (although the Oms, admittedly, are perfectly human, physically).

The story is concerned with a planet in which giant, blue creatures keep Oms (the human-like people aforementioned) as pets, controlling their environment, food, sleep patterns, clothing, etc. But a group of rebell Oms, of which our central Om eventually becomes a part of, decides to fight back, defending their civil rights and proving their equal intellect.

It's a story that certainly has a point to deliver, but that message goes down easy and beautifully. In fact, the images it's delivered with are so beautiful that one digests the message almost distractedly.

It's a wonderful piece of art that makes less subtle, less imaginative films of its kind look like wastes of celluloid.