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'Light Years' is a work of sci-fi animation that really stands apart from the pack. In order to enjoy this film, one must have an appreciation of science fiction altogether. For those individuals such as Leonard Maltin, whom dismissed this movie as a pretentious 'talky' cartoon, you must understand that 'Light Years' tells a very human story about irresponsible inventions and ignorance in a completely ALIEN setting; this is the true magic of the film! I thought the dialogue was creative and the story was fascinating. The creatures and characters are beyond description, and the ending will blow you away. True sci-fi fans I think should dismiss Leonard Maltin's review and rent this one!

French animator Rene Laloux of "Fantastic Planet" renown, attempted to make another surreal sci-fi adventure with the 80's "Ghandar" or as Isac Asimov and Harvey Wienstien decided to call it for those of us in the states "Light Years", which since no... space travel takes place, and since the movie is about a fictional country called "Gandahar" is probably a bad title. "Light Years" I guess sounds more sci-fi-ish, and if this film was to succeed in the states(it didn't) it was gonna need every bit of conventionality it could muster.

The story is a complex one involving the standard sci-fi tropes of eugenics, time travel, death, and utopia, and though it's certainly more involved than most animated sci-fi (a good deal of the time were watching the characters talk), it's really the visualization of the world and it's inhabitants which makes this movie worth seeing.

Like "Fantastic Planet" before it, Laloux's environments are some of the most alien that have ever been imagined. The landscape is often undulating Daliesuqe deserts, which strange trees which resemble simultaneously bodily organs and geysers, a young girl offering her breast to a new born who looks like a tapir, born out of a grown embryonic plant, a city of underground mutants who resemble Blemmyes, ancient African monsters with heads beneath their shoulders, an army hollow soldiers who turn people into statues, video camera like birds who can lift entire buildings in swarms, and of course a colossal mile wide sentient brain in the middle of the ocean.

Laloux uses sci-fi story structures to create, very evocative images that do not look like anyone else's, ever, something few filmmakers in any medium or genre, can claim with straight face.

That being said the English voice acting is just decent, not great but decent, it keeps the story moving, but doesn't draw you into any of the characters. "Light Years" like "Fantastic Planet" or the animated films of Svankmajer are more concerned with form than content, but not oblivious of the latter.

So if you like heady sci-fi, visually stunning design, and unique animation, this is not to be passed up. If not it's probably not bad to see once anyway, just for the visual treat of it all, and the more I mull over the story, not the plot, I'm more impressed with how well and vividly it told me a story I've heard a hundred times before.

Even though the story was not originally from Asimov, for those who have read most of Asimov's classic science fiction (as a friend says, Asimov's Science fiction written in the 40's will always be science fiction even in 2006), the world 'Gandahar' represents an Asimov' Utopia-not in our galaxy- just like in the books, "The Gods Themselves", and "Foundation's Edge" (Gaia). The movie is very surreal and artistic but compared to other contemporary science fiction animations, it is not that technically sound. Some of the ideas I liked in the movie are: Before the beginning credits, one sees a fisherwoman using music to catch flying fish, the illustration of banished deformed people, and the use of genetically modified creatures in transportation, war and reconnaissance (one- eyed "mirror birds"). I also really liked the idea of a society leaded by a matriarchal system. This movie receives a rating of 8 out of 10 from me.

It's not an outstanding movie by any means, but it gets the job done and entertains. One has to remember that when viewing sci-fi often the plot takes precedence over character. Most plot driven films and stories are like that: We're given the bare bones of our protagonist, and watch him or her weave their way through a story.

Such it is with "Light Years." The animation is certainly above the quality of your typical commercial studio, but is not as dazzling as say a Japanese Anime space opera, nor a Disney Production feature; but it does have a certain quality unto itself. Even so the movie could've used more shots (cutaways and general coverage) to help move the story and highlight the characters more. As it stands more the shots are rather static, and the animation in them shifts gears a little too often. In some scene the animation is very smooth, where other times is seems very long and drawn out, or just not well staged.

The film itself has action, but some of the it is stilted and painfully slow, where other times it moves quite well. The dubbing is adequate, though, like all dubbed films, one gets the sense that it doesn't quite catch the tones and inflections of the voices from the original French cast.

Technology and regimented existence are pitted against the organic and under-dogs of Ghandahar in a typical sci-fi theme. The film's worth a night's rental, and if you like collecting rare sci-fi this might be one to add to your collection. Otherwise it may only be worth a single viewing.

*EDIT* French Region 2 DVD review, Jan 3, 2010

Well, I finally saw the original French film in all its entirety. As an American I have to say that I appreciate the additional footage, and can nod at the more subtle pacing, but I do have to say that I think the Americanized version has some pluses going for, namely in the music. The original French score underlines the basic theme of what is being presented. There are no heroics on the battlefield nor purely desperate moments as would be conveyed by the American musical score. The other subtleties are apparent, and I think I better understand why the American producers did what they did by sexing up what they could. The French film is more prosaic and "European" (for lack of a better term) in its presentation of a world in crisis. There's an emotional malaise characteristic of European cinema as a whole that comes across in the original French version. There's a subtle (and not so subtle) nihilistic quality here. Perhaps there's a bit of Nazi occupation still resonating within this film.

All I can really say is that it's a different film from the American version. I'm not sure I prefer one too much over the other. There's a lack of celebration in the French film. There's a kind of fatalistic quality to that is twisted but still present in the American version. Whereas the French version of this film emphasizes weathering the storm and completing the objective, the American version emphasizes confronting the challenge in a way that we Americans have always done. There's a lack of ambient depression that seems to hang and mildly envelope European art, film included. A kind of ethereal drawn out emotionalism that you'd never see in an American film, but is fairly strong in Russian and Swedish cinema, and hits French and Italian films in a less powerful vein.

I would be interested in seeing a DVD of the American version to make a more thought out and proper comparison. But I guess that'll have to wait.

I noticed this movie at a local rental place the other week and thought, 'What on Earth is THIS?'

My dad has a book with 17,000 movie reviews--just reviews ranging from a sentence to a couple of paragraphs--and they gave it 2 1/2 stars--3 being good--so it was almost good (to them). They chastised the almost non-existent characterizations, which I agree; we're given a character, we're given about half a minute background on them, and then this is what the character has to do. I was surprised that they didn't mention the almost non-existent voice "acting" (note the quotes), as everyone just pretty much mumbled their lines...even such a big talent as Glenn Close (playing the queen) didn't help.

However, please note these are VERY minor gripes. I would've given the movie three stars myself. It's not the typical sci-fi, with the stupidity of childhood geniuses and robots with feelings abound (and I don't think the stereotypes of "oh no, it's sci-fi AND a cartoon!" help either). It's very imaginative, but pretty dark and apocalyptic; probably not for kids under the age of 6, if not 8.

And on a side note, there was some pretty good music in it, too, and a lot of it.

GANDAHAR is an imaginative little science fiction feature from Rene Laloux, who directed the acclaimed FANTASTIC PLANET. I haven't seen that one but I did enjoy this one; I saw the version showing on Prime which had been dubbed into English with the voices of Christopher Plummer, Glenn Close et al. Intriguingly, the animation (which I like a lot) was handled by a North Korean studio. The story gathers together many familiar themes from 20th century science fiction including time travel, eugenics and technology, weaving them into a satisfying story involving rebel characters battling against a merciless robot army. Put it this way, it has far more heart, soul and insight than any film in the STAR WARS franchise made since the original trilogy.

It's not as bad as some people want to make you think. "Time Masters" is much better, but if you like "Time Masters" (and like it much more than "The Fantastic Planet") then you'll probably like "Gandahar" (aka "Light Years") too.

It's true, it has a lot of talk, but that's because it HAS a real story instead of other so called adult animation movies. The music wasn't bad (I even find it good), but especially one music was getting on my nerves at the end of the film. The animation isn't a breakthrough either, but with it's light effects and the fantastic backgrounds it was 100 times better than the animation in Fantastic Planet. On the other hand it's falling to dust if compared to the best Japanese animation films at that time like "Akira" for example.

Go and decide for yourself!

It truly is a shame that no one's ever heard of this breathtakingly beautiful piece of animation. It's also a shame that animation is not usually employed in America as an adult art form. Animation shows us lifeforms and landscapes the likes of which cannot be seen on this Earth. Anyway, this is an amazing film that should be checked out by all anime fans as well as fans of films like Heavy Metal, or master animator Ralph Bakshi's works. Light Years is one of the most enlightening animated works on this planet.

I have started watching all of the Rene Laloux animation films. They are imaginative, intriguing, original. For me, Fantastic Planet was a perfect film, for example. Gandahar starts with a similar story: sometime in the future, a colony of Earth where people have achieved nirvana by using biotechnology is attacked by metal men. They are in essence the Cybermen of Doctor Who. Spoiled by their perfect world, Gandaharians don't know how to defend themselves anymore. They send "their best, but inexperienced, agent", whatever that means, to investigate. Thus we get to see the strange alien planet, meet their nemesis and understand the story.

So strange alien planet it is. Nice absurd ecosystem: check. Unabashedly naked women, European style? Galore. Weird and spooky soundtrack, too. But the story was weak, the cautionary moral not really well detailed and, worst of all, the arrogant cerebral intonation of all dialogue did not work in this film. While in Fantastic Planet it lent authority to the race of Traggs, here it just sounds like lazy voice acting. Perhaps the American voice-over, with huge stars like Glenn Close and Christopher Plummer would have been better, but I make a point of sampling the original version of a movie.

My conclusion: after 15 years since La Planete Sauvage (Fantastic Planet) a movie with a similar alien theme, but a much weaker story and no real increase in animation quality, cannot impress me. It is still a nice film to watch, but my expectations were very high to begin with. Also, for 1988, the year of Grave of the Fireflies and even Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the animation feels really outdated.

This film was one of the first science fiction cartoons I had seen. Perhaps that is the reason for my high praise of the film. I was engrossed from the very beginning. The dialouge was masterful. What the animation lacked, the combination of the writing and my imagination more than made up for. This film has a PG rating for brief nudity, but I think that children ages 10 on will be very pleased. It treats the audience not as a child or an adult. If you are a fan of hardcore science fiction then this film is for you. If you have never seen a single sci-fi film before, then this is the perfect blend of action and thought provoking images to introduce you to the genre. I will not get into details about the story. You can read the synopsis. In short, I highly recommend this film.

I watched this (French language version with subtitles) back-to-back with Fantastic Planet, which made for quite the double bill. You can still see the hand of Topor in the animation style of production designer Caza, although the 80s have seemingly exerted an influence with Masters of the Universe-styled fantasy characters and movements. That said, the design of the world of Gandahar and its inhabitants is brimming with creativity and many wonderful little details and is a joy to lose yourself in. The simply satire and poetry of the earlier film is still here, but lost somewhat under some rather convoluted high-concept fantasy/SF story-telling. The ideas presented are compelling (e.g. the utopian society built on a dark, forgotten secret that will return to destroy it; concepts of future and past, and their bearing on the present; sex and procreation; organic vs. synthetic etc.) but perhaps hurried through too rapidly in the film's relatively short running-time. There are also some plot and character holes that nag at the back of your mind as you're swept towards the (foregone) conclusion. All in all, an intriguing and enjoyable film with a unique vision. Just a little muddled.

about time and utopic realities. The animation is wonderful and detailed. Everything serves perfectly the telling of the story. And the hand of Asimov is not only in the novel, but also in the adaptation to the screen, so that is faithful to his representation of life. Worth watching a few times.

René Laloux never did make another movie as intriguingly bizarre as "Fantastic Planet". But Gandahar comes close. It provides not only a sci-fi world, but one with no relation to our planet Earth. Its culture, environments, and fauna are quite foreign.

Sadly, Gandahar doesn't have the artistic tone to make it truly stand out. Fantastic Planet's use of color, stop motion, and music emphasized the alien feeling. Gandahar doesn't particularly amaze in any of these areas. It has more focus on plot, but it isn't very strong. The protagonist has little character to him, and some elements were cheesy. The robots look like they came from the 50s, and the "rebellion" at the end has been seen dozens of times after Star Wars.

Still, there are some cool, weird scenes and concepts in the movie. If you don't expect something as great as Fantastic Planet, its a fun distraction. Make sure NOT to watch the "Light Years" English dub cut! D:

I rented this film because I am a fan of 'adult' animation, and because it was directed by Rene Laloux, who also did 'Fantastic Planet'. And tho' there are a few impressive scenes, for the most part this is a very talky, very plodding movie. The animation is not that good, and the music is very cheesy. Skip this movie, and rent 'Fantastic Planet' instead.

Well, I have to admit that I hunted this particular movie for 10 years. I've seen it for the first time when I was in my early teens (12 or 13, not sure), and I was really impressed by the animation and the plot. Besides, I didn't have a chance to see a lot of sci-fi movies (let alone animated movies) back then.

Now, that I've been able to see it again, I find it really outdated (or "old-skul") - pretty much, it felt like Kubrick's "Space Odissey" animated, only that "Gandahar" came out in late 80es, when "Akira" set a new industry standard. The plot is more or less predictable, the sci-fi backgrounds looked like something from mid-70es, and the battle scenes are even worse than those of cheap Japanimation TV series.

Despite all the bad things above, this movie got a touch of a master. First, I have to admit that movement animation feels highly original (I can't think of anything similar) and is done with a lot of skill. Second, the voices (in French) are much better than anything I've heard. Finally, I find character design very good.

To sum up, I don't think that this is quite the right movie to see "just for fun", but for those who are interested in animation it is definitely a must.

In my 87 years on this good planet I have to give it to the French to make something truly unique.

My favorite thing to do while watching the movie was looking at all the mutoids and their crazy designs. Absolutely diabolical with a stunning resemblance to my great-grandson who was born with three arms, two faces, and glowing eyes. I was also enchanted by Metamorphis, who had a certain resemblance to my own manhood, and his resolute determination to absorb the pink man.

Like Jimmy Carter, I have lusted in my heart. This movie taught me person I should actually be with should not be my wife but actually the planet. Is the lesson of this movie to not entertain glans shaped geological features?

#gooning

-"Titanic" Rupert Gindersburg (M, 87)

René Laloux was a very talented French film director of animation films. His most successful film is Fantastic Planet (1973) La planète sauvage (original title). This Gandahar, made 15 years later in 1988, is a success too, not at the same high level as the Fantastic Planet, but still successful. The film is enormously beneficial to the famous voices of Christopher Plummer, Glenn Close, Bridget Fonda, Anny Duperey, Georges Wilson and John Shea. Very beautiful drawings, unlimited imagination, special music signed by Gabriel Yared.

I was going through what had been labeled "bad", so bad they are funny to watch movies, online when I came across this movie. Like the others I was only watching a minute here or a minute there to see how ridiculous or bad these movies really were, but when I found this movie it was different. When I skipped around I found myself getting pulled in by the movie more and more. What started as a quick moment here or a minute there evolved into me staying over 10 minutes each time I skipped around. I eventually got to the point though where I stopped skipping around at all, I just watched the last half hour of the film in whole. Now that night I had 0 plans of watching a whole movie, just spend maybe an hour jumping around different old animations on a playlist until a certain point that night where I had plans. I was so pulled in by every moment of this movie I canceled my plans that night and started the movie over to watch it fully again start to finish. This out of nowhere movie has cemented itself in my recommended list from this point forward.

One of my all time favorite movies from my childhood. Up there with Fantastic Planet, Hey Good Looking, and many other of similar nature. Spent some time searching for those movie on disc.. Turns out they did do many dvd and even bluray copies for country of origin (france) along with all the Euro nations. As many if not all have the same video codec. I ordered that, even though I knew it wouldn't work on the typical dvd or bluray player. Will work on your PC.. But to find the American copy. You can check out a hidden gem of a website called "Times Forgotten". Where I was able to purchase a copy of the American version..

Version watched: Gandahar - with English subtitles.

I have a suspicion that most of the people who regard this film with such high esteem first saw it when they were kids and watch it now in a glow of happy nostalgia. Coming to it for the first time as a middle-aged man this film is a clumsily animated, ponderously slow, soporific bore; the much lauded 'truly alien' landscapes and animals are disappointingly dull compared with the lurid and fertile illustrations that filled the pages of the SF magazines I grew up reading in the Sixties and Seventies, and the story is very clichéd and thin. Which is a pity, because I came to Gandahar with fond childhood memories of René Laloux's 1967 film La planète sauvage and was hoping for some real screen magic.

I always try to learn something from every film I watch, this time I think I learnt that maybe sometimes the memory of a film is more vital, interesting and real than the film itself. I very much doubt if this is a new idea but I'm not going to put it to the test. I haven't seen La planète sauvage for many many years and having seen this I doubt if I ever will again, just in case I destroy the fond memories I have of it.

I also learnt that if you read really really fast you can watch subtitled films on fast forward and not miss a sodding thing.

I recently watched Gandahar (1987) on Prime. The story follows a unique society residing in the city of Gandahar. The inhabitants live in harmony with their planet, enjoying a utopian existence under the guidance of a wise and compassionate queen. When invaders wielding indestructible robots threaten their city, the queen must devise a plan to protect her people, uncover the source of the attack, and bring an end to the war.

Directed by René Laloux (Fantastic Planet), the film features voice performances by Glenn Close (The Wife), Christopher Plummer (Knives Out), Jean Saudray (The Man Without a Face), and Georges Wilson (The Longest Day).

This movie has a striking resemblance to MTV Oddities or Liquid Television. The unique animation style, imaginative characters, and vibrant universe stand out as highlights. The blend of science fiction, spirituality, and alien elements is seamless and captivating. The film's psychedelic qualities pull you into its world, making it a visually and conceptually fascinating experience. While the plot is somewhat predictable, it's still engaging to watch unfold. The action sequences are solid, and the violence feels appropriate for the era. The soundtrack and the ending evoke the magic of Studio Ghibli, adding another layer of charm.

In conclusion, Gandahar is a unique and mesmerizing animated gem that stimulates the imagination. I'd rate it a 9/10 and strongly recommend it.

It can't possibly be overstated what wonderful, extraordinary imagination went into the creation of this feature. The designs of every visual element to greet us are wholly unique, far removed from most anything that the worlds of fantasy or science fiction have ever given us elsewhere. There are slight points of reference that may come to mind here or there, but these are rather few and far between, and minor when compared to the magnificent splendor before us. The landscapes, the animal life, the plants, and the inhabitants are all birthed from the furthest reaches of the wildest dreamscapes, impossible to even describe. In what glimpses we are given of the world of Gandahar and its people, even the cultures are exquisitely inventive, and this goes for manners of speaking, vehicles, structures, sartorial arrangements, and more. Barely has 'Gandahar' begun and it's completely entrancing: this is outstanding!

It's a feature that's plainly beautiful to even look at before even taking into account the active facets thereof. It's unfortunate to learn in retrospect that this was a production sourced to SEK Studio; given the nature of that organization, the collaboration of anyone with these animators is questionable in the very least. Such as it is, however, the animation is fabulous, rich with detail recalling the best of contemporary fare, and I can only commend the artists for their work. It's noteworthy, too, that this picture is very adult in nature, and doesn't shy away from portraying nudity and sexuality. That level of maturity also extends to the storytelling. I claim no familiarity with the source material, yet the narrative in 'Gandahar' plays with themes and ideas that aren't just dark but altogether bleak, and discretely chilling, not least as they can connect so readily with concepts in real life. Or rather, I should say - plays with, and then twists in curious, far-flung directions that are as extravagant and whimsical as the visuals. Even putting that aside, the tale as it presents is terrifically absorbing, with vivid, varied, vibrant scene writing that keeps us actively engaged and invested - perhaps in part because, let's be honest, the plot is so strange that to lose focus even for a short time is to get lost entirely. That's before even thinking about the convolutions of time, which are a layer of complexity in their own right.

All this excellence and ingenuity is further met with a host of swell voice performances, and superb sound effects. And as if all this weren't enough, Gabriel Yared's score is incredibly dynamic, enticing, and flavorful all by itself, lending tremendously to what is already a striking, bewitching viewing experience. Truthfully, 'Gandahar' is a lot to take in in every regard, both sumptuous and somewhat challenging for everything it throws at us. Whatever we as an audience are required to put into our viewership, however, the profit therefrom is exceptional. I didn't know what to expect when I sat down, but assumed I'd enjoy it, and the end result is far more and greater than I could have anticipated. As a matter of personal preference I can understand that this won't appeal to all, yet to watch is so stupendously engrossing that I'd be hard-pressed not to offer a blanket recommendation. Whether you're a fan of international features, of animation, of fantasy or sci-fi, cinema at large, or just looking for something good to watch, 'Gandahar' is a dazzling spectacle that's truly one of a kind, and is well worth seeking out if you have the chance.