Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem

I hardly ever listen to Daft Punk's kind of music and hardly ever watch an Anime, but this one really got me. The animation and the music is a winning combo together here and I enjoyed every minute of it, even for the second and third run. In fact, I even looked for a recent album of Daft Punk and 'discovered' those moments when I like to listen to it, and even in the gym or at the Friday night parties the tunes come up making me smile. I don't thing to go that far to purchase a complete set of the plastic dolls (Shep, Stella, Arpegius, Octave, Baryl from the movie). But don't be mislead, Daft Punk is a French band of only two guys making electronic music. They started back in 1997 with 'Homework', then released 'Discovery' in 2001 - this movie builds mostly on the music of this album -, and 'Human After All' is dated to March 2005. Interstella 5555 is among the few titles in my collection that I like to watch over and over and each time I got the same addicted to it, 10/10! '… don't stop, come a little closer…'

Despite not really being a Daft Punk fan, i enjoyed this film. Looking at this as a film & not just an extended film clip, i thought it took a little while to move into full swing, the middle sections were very good, while the end tended to drag on a tad. I know it was based on a Daft Punk album, but the end would have been better if it was a couple of minutes shorter.

Well worth checking out if you are a fan of Daft Punk and/or a fan of anime, especially 1970's & 1980's style anime. 7/10

This is freakin' tremendous stuff. I love Daft Punk - and I loved their Discovery album. This is basically an animated manga film to the Discovery album - and if you think this sounds crazy - well it doesn't as everything makes sense! If you are a Daft Punk fan - then you probably saw the first three or four video clips for the singles on TV (One More Time, Aerodynamic, Digital Love and Harder Better Faster Stronger) - and it tells a short story of a rock and roll band from outer space get kidnapped by some evil looking guys and get taken to Earth. But all hope isn't lost - as a funky guy in a Gutair rocket ship attempts a rescue mission. There isn't any dialogue - it is all cartoon with a Daft Punk soundtrack! The story tends to fit the mood of the music (of course!) and this really does have an intriguing story of mystery and music. All of the characters and artwork is very stylish in a 1970's-1980's Japanese cartoon sort of way (reminds me of Voltron!). So if you are a Daft Punk fan, a anime / manga fan - or just a fan of things different or cool - then get a copy of this today!

It is curious that "Discovery", the hit record by Thomas Bangalter and Guy Manuel de Homem-Christo (AKA Daft Punk) was launched in the year 2001. Perhaps it was some kind of hommage to that coincidence and the legendary picture named after that year, but it inspired a whole movie. And the result is this one. Some years later, it comes out, and what to say? At first, I remember I didn't like the singles, I remember thinking that "One More Time" was too commercial and bubble-gum. And I thought also that this kind of japanese animation wasn't something that wondered me at all. But there is something magical about this movie, which starts to glory with that same tune, the one I thought I didn't like. The animators really had a field day here, working hard to revive every feel of that 70's style, adding a fantastic feeling to the listening of the music, and making the viewing experience sheer pleasure. The movie never loses breath as long as the music stays up to it, and we are greeted with bone-chilling renditions of "Aerodynamic", "Digital Love" et al. Beautiful sounds, that find their true meaning when married to these pictures and when they come out of theatre speakers. The concept may have looked like risky, since the animation looks so old fashioned, but the revival goes all the way to the music, and the result is a fascinating journey in time. Fantastic achievement, that will change the way we look at "Discovery" forever.

In its way a remarkable film, and a genuine one-off, which deserves to be better known amongst animation lovers. Co-director Leiji Matsumoto, who during his long career in anime has been associated in one capacity or another with such cheesy epics as Space Battleship Yamato, the Harlock Saga, Star Blazers & etc, worked with Daft Punk (a French two-man band specialising in electronic rock) on this unique feature. Deliberately recreating the extreme glam stylisation of the 1970's/early 80's Japanese animation style, albeit done with more fluidity and detail which modern day budgets and software allow, Matsumoto has married image and sound to hypnotic effect in a movie which in effect is both unique and unforgettable. A "digital love story" of a kidnapped technoband - who incidentally travel together in a Scooby-Do like 'Mystery Machine' as events unfold - and an evil music impresario (echoes of the obscure Toomorrow here (1970) - anyone seen that?). Despite some snipes at pop exploitation, there are no great depths here story-wise, although there are dark elements, such as the painful burial of a deceased major character. But the characterisation is not important, as it was not what the creators were after, leaving the graphic designs and timings to unfold. What makes the film so great is the peculiar manga-music hybrid that results, as the stylised visual design and editing rhythms join with a contemporary soundtrack (the entire film is wordless outside of lyrics)in a way which is both culturally nostalgic as well as being strikingly modern in effect. The plastic surface which results entirely transcends the original pulp manga inspiration. In short it's a film which sounds naff but, somehow, works. As an achievement the result is miles ahead of the director's previous, briskly produced juvenelia and ought to be required viewing.