Il pianeta selvaggio

In the world of the animation business there is a recent trends towards super- realism where computer graphics are being increasingly used. Although I appreciate animations like Finding Nemo or the Incredibles for they represent a renewal of the genre (in the same way the Disney movie did in the 50's), the artistic style of La Planete Sauvage is unmistakable and accords perfectly with the dark atmosphere of the movie. This animation is based on the book Oms (a deformation of the french word homme, man) from the French SciFi writer Stephan Wul who should also be credited for being the writer of The Time Masters (another SciFi animation worth your time). Wul's real name is still a mystery. The rare things we know about his life are that he wrote his 10 (or so) only books when he was studying dentistry at the University. He apparently graduated and became too busy to continue his writing activity. What a pity. I've read most of Wul's book and they are all unique and beautiful. The animation sticks true to Wul's vision. The art by the Czech master Topor is dark and oppressing, despite the bright color of the 60-70's-influenced graphism, adding to the uncomfort of seeing human beings treated as pets or pests by giant extraterrestrials. However, the roles are interchangeable and humans do behave too often in the way the extraterrestrials do in the movie with other living creatures on Earth. Hard to find but worth the search.

I believe this is a metaphoric view of classification of humans in political borders based on power and technology. One thing that I have noticed boldly is that the story successfully intends to explain the analytical capabilities among both advanced societies and undeveloped ones are almost the same. I won't go further in order to avoid spoiling the movie. However, I strongly recommend to consider political aspects while watching it. This was defiantly a unique experience for me, more like a conversation with people who care about history of civilizations and future of humans in different societies. I am very pleased and thankful to those who have made it possible for me to watch this unique animation. Considering the time it has been made, almost everything was great.

A delightful, original an odd French-Czechoslovakian animation movie by Rene Laloux that wan Cannes Jury's award in 1974.

The 2-D animation is something that you can expect from the seventies, but it is very original and innovative for the time. It has the detail and charm of all good illustration books, and, despite the limits in movement, the characters are very expressive and beautifully drawn, as well as the landscapes. The world and atmospheres created by Laloux are superb, both familiar and strange. The Recipe? Mix Dali surreal landscapes, Bosch architecture and fauna/flora creatures, add a hint of 19th century botanical drawings, slowly pour some Pink Floyd-ish music, and whisk all energetically with a fat-free faux-mythological metaphorical story, and you have The Savage Planet, which is the original title of the movie in French.

The story is very interesting and has many possible interpretations and readings: the role of humans in Nature, cohabitation and coexistence of different species and political systems, what makes different species superior and savage, among others. I found funny that the people in the story are called Oms (French word for people is Hommes and it sounds the same as Oms), and the main character is called Terr (the name of earth in French is Terre and sounds the same as Terr).

The main problem with the story and the characters is that they are not always engaging as they don't transmit enough emotion or feeling to the viewer. The viewer doesn't feel empathy towards the poor suffering human pets or towards the aliens, the first because they really act like a pest, and the second because they are too spiritual and developed to tolerate others than themselves. This is all intended, but still frigidly expressed. The lack of thrill is what kills the movie.

Nevertheless, this is one of those animation movies that everybody should see, full of imagination, talent, and landmarks in Animation. A cult movie that deserves the cult. Unique.

It's like something out of a Salvador Dali painting, but on screen in a science fiction movie. A film where humans are merely pets and insects to a more advanced, giant race of alien beings. The film is pretty awe inspiring and makes one quite philosophical after watching it. It's definitely a masterpiece of its own accord, creatures of strange designs never before seen in any other film that I know of. I would definitely recommend the film to any science fiction enthusiast.

Having just completed watching this film, I can say it was worth the wait. It will please fans of hard-core science fiction (not fantasy), and will seduce fans of animation (not just 3D animation, animation in general terms) with its mix of Czech style animation and illustration.

It is a good movie, but not a masterpiece. The narrative treads the science fiction tropes too strictly and ends up painting characters and events predictably when the setup seems to suggest something more interesting. In fact, I was very disappointed that the most developed and interesting relationship in the whole film is traded off for a kind of boring resistance story that does its best to not let the audience make connections with the characters. It is not picked up or revisited later... and none of the subsequent character interplay is as interesting or meaningful.

Where this film excels is in its weirdness and imagination. Strange and horrible creations are brought to life and move/eat/gestate/exist in ways that will make you go 'ew' and 'wow' at the same time. This is helped by the strong European styling of the animation (mostly limited in movement) and illustration, which reminded me of studio Zagreb..

There is something so mysterious about the atmosphere of this film - it may just grab you. Definitely watch it for the disturbing and somehow touching relationship between Tiva and Terr - you'll only wish there was more of it.