Les Maîtres du temps

"Les maîtres du temps" is as good as french animation movies are rare. Designed by Moebius (Fifth Element...), inspired from a novel of Stephan Wul (french science fiction writer) "L'orphelin de Perdide", it remains one of the most powerful animation movie I have ever seen.

Evidently, It is pretty old and the animation cannot be compared to today's movies, but the rest is very impressive. Characters are mature and have interesting personnalities, the design of ETs and plants is original and the scenario is full of surprises. This movie is different from all others and it is a real victory to be better than the book it has been taken of.

I can't speak to a novel I haven't read, but what quickly comes across in watching this film is that at least compared to other contemporary titles, and filmmaker René Laloux's other works, it's rather distinctly primed for a younger audience. By no means is this to say that it's inherently any less worthy, but in centering a preteen child as a major character, and including two non-human creatures who speak and behave with a childlike mentality, there's little mistaking the more family-friendly slant. More substantively, enjoyable and engrossing as the story is, it arguably feels a bit more simplified as one sometimes anticipates of features tailored to a younger audience - or at least, it seems that way as it's better about communicating big ideas in the narrative rather than all details that should theoretically round out that narrative and enrich it. To that end, the result feels marginally incomplete, as though we're seeing a jigsaw puzzle that's been assembled but with a scattered few pieces missing. Even so 'Les maîtres du temps' is much more enjoyable than not, and pretty good if one happens to come across it.

There's no rule that says every picture has to be a perfect, grabbing masterpiece; sometimes it's enough for one to suitably serve its purpose. I think that's rather the case here as I'm glad I took the time to watch, but I just don't feel like I'd ever been inclined to watch again. If a tad deficient the plot is nevertheless modestly compelling, with great ideas providing firm foundation like cairns on a snow-covered hiking trail. Meanwhile, though active animation elements (characters and creatures) may not be as richly detailed as we've seen elsewhere (including even in Laloux's later film 'Gandahar'), the designs thereof are nonetheless splendid. Above all, the painted backgrounds that fill our vision at any given time are a real joy, and surely the chief highlight of the movie overall. Structures and landscapes are a veritable dreamscape of far-out visuals that boast a level of texture and careful complexity that's otherwise not always present in the title, and no small amount of the value here stems just from the illustrators' work. Kudos all around!

I did have a good time watching, and whether one is specifically a fan of someone involved, the genre, animation at large, or just looking for something to fill eighty minutes, I think 'Les maîtres du temps' earns a fair recommendation. It's not necessarily something one needs to go out of their way to see, but despite its weaker points I think the feature is fine just as it is. If you have the opportunity to watch, this is worth checking out.

I saw this film when I was about 15 when it was shown on British television. I was already a big fan of Alien and Bladerunner but didn't realise then that Jean Giraud (moebius), the concept artist behind some of the costumes on those films was the artist behind this film. The film made a big impression on me and I spent years trying to find out what it was. Finally I described it to an anime-fan friend of mine and he knew it. Although animation has moved on I still think the look of the film is really good, and the story is quite unsettling especially when you're on the planet with the boy, there is a real sense of menace. There's a body count! okay so it's a little bit dated, there are two pretty cheesy songs in it and a cute moppet kid but that's part of it's charm. Don't forget it was made in the early eighties (in fact it looks more seventies). I'll give it an 9/10, i'm afraid it loses one because of the songs.

Animation is the perfect medium for sci-fi. Unfortunately, few animated sci-fi films have lived up to their potential. French animation master René Laloux is definitely one who let his imagination run amok in his medium. He is best known for his 1973 film Fantastic Planet. He must have had a difficult time getting funded for other projects, because he only ever made two more features. He died just a year ago. Time Masters is his second feature (he made another in 1988, called Light Years). The animation is very primitive, and not in the inventive primitiveness of Fantastic Planet. But, what it lacks in animation, it more than makes up for with its imagination. It's simply wonderful to behold. I especially love those two little telepathic creatures, referred to as "gnomes". The story is good, if not great. The ending is quite clever. I was wishing that it had gone on for at least a half an hour longer, but I won't complain, given the limited amount of material Laloux was able to produce in his lifetime.

Designed by the great graphic novelist Jean Giraud - AKA Moebius – Time Masters is a fascinating piece of animated sci-fi from France, that is well recommended for lovers of the genre and of the artist. Though the animation looks somewhat primitive by today's standards – though not for 1982, it looks quite better than any American cartoon of the time save Disney's, and don't forget that it wasn't a corporate effort like G.I. Joe or Transformers but an independent film with limited budget – but quickly enough you can learn the look past the rather bulky movements and simplistic faces of the characters and find yourself amazed at Moebius' amazing, seemingly endless imagination and creativity. The film is directed mainly at younger viewers – so it's not as liberated and wild as his more independent comics work or his contributions to Heavy Metal magazine – but his incredibly original vision is all there, in the out-of-this-world designs for the landscapes, the structures and the alien characters. Every minute of the film is a complete innovation in terms of design.

Plot-wise, there's not that much to be said for it; it's an intelligent but simplistic sci-fi story with a nice twist ending, which will, I think, appeal mainly to younger viewers. The characters are mostly simplistic and cartoonish, and largely unconvincing. These are the only reasons why I couldn't give Time Masters full marks; but these flaws take very little away from the pleasure of this film. As long as it focuses on the child character Piel, who is largely unaware of what goes on in the larger picture and is therefore touching and interesting, and not on the flat characters of Jaffar (good and brave for the sake of goodness and bravery), Matton (bad and greedy for the sake of badness and greediness) and the other adults; then it manages to be beautiful and gripping. And when any of the alien races are on screen, be they cute and cuddly or bizarre and frightening, you won't be able to look away. Time Masters is essential viewing for any lover of Moebius' work, and is well recommended for fans of science-fiction and of classic animation, and will surely become a treasured favorite for any of these.