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© Baek Heena, Toei Animation

For nearly eight decades Toei Animation, the legendary Japanese studio behind iconic franchises like Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon has been a powerhouse in the world of animation. Now, the acclaimed studio has reached a new historic milestone with its first-ever Oscar nomination for Best Animated Short Film – joining the exclusive list of five alongside Yuck!, Beautiful Men, In the Shadow of the Cypress and Wander to Wonder. The film in question, Magic Candies, is a stunning adaptation of Heena Baek’s beloved Korean picture books, brought to life by producer Takashi Washio and veteran director Daisuke Nishio. Known for his work on Dragon Ball Z, Pretty Cure and Interstella 5555, Daisuke and his team have used their considerable talents to create a visually rich and emotionally resonant short. Magic Candies’ textured, lifelike animation style blurs the line between CGI and traditional claymation, creating a world...

A new film claimed the top spot of the box-office weekend as Sonic the Hedgehog 3 debuted this week $27 million ahead of its closest competition.

Paramount Pictures saw its latest offering, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 take control of the box-office weekend top ten by bringing in $62 million during its first weekend in release. This easily bested second-place finisher Mufasa: The Lion King which debuted in second place with $35 million for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Meanwhile, last week’s second-place film, Wicked dropped to third place where it took in $13.5 million for Universal Pictures to lift its five-week total to $383.9 million. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures also saw Moana 2 fall from first to fifth place as it brought in $13.1 million this weekend, lifting its four-week tally to $359.1 million. Angel Studios enjoyed a debut in fifth place for Homestead where it brought in $6.1 million for the studio.

Gladiator II dropped...

In 2003 came out what can only be described as an unidentifiable grooving object from another music galaxy, the fascinating outcome of the collaboration between French electro duo Daft Punk and manga and anime master Leiji Matsumoto. The resulting musical science fiction anime, “Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem”, is now primed for rediscovery by a new generation of electro and anime fans in a new 4K remastering.

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The film, directed mainly by Kazuhisa Takenouchi for Toei Animation but supervised by Matsumoto, is essentially a visual companion piece to Daft Punk’s 2001 album, “Discovery”, with no dialogues and few sound effects. For many years since its release. the movie was mainly available as a series of music video clips set to such world-famous tracks as “One More Time” (the opening act in the film) or “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger...

There weren't any early Christmas presents for this week's new releases. With a mere $11 million, Aaron Taylor Johnson's Spiderverse film Kraven The Hunter is shaping up to claim the worst opening for a Sony/Marvel release of all time, per Deadline. To jog your memory, that includes Morbius (which...

For the third weekend in a row, Moana 2 held the top spot of the box-office weekend top ten; this weekend holding on by a margin of $4.1 million.

In its third weekend of release, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures’ Moana 2 brought in $26.6 million, allowing it to remain in the number one slot for a third consecutive weekend. The film now sports an overall total of $337.5 million. Meanwhile, Universal Pictures’ Wicked remained fixed in second place where it took in $22.5 million over the course of its fourth weekend in release, bringing its overall total to $359 million for the studio. Third place was claimed by newcomer Kraven the Hunter with $11 million earned for Sony Pictures Releasing. This debut pushed Paramount Pictures’ Gladiator II to fourth place where it added $7.8 million, bringing its four-week total to $145.9 million. The second debut of the weekend, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim...

Awards kudos, critics’ lists, varied nominations and wins are boosting indie film standouts this weekend. The market is crowded as indies vie with each other, studio tentpoles and fare from Pusha: The Rule – Part 2 and the remastered Daft Punk & Leiji Matsumoto: Interstella 5555. But many specialty distributors are more upbeat now than at any point this year.

The Last Showgirl from Roadside Attractions debuted at $50.3k on one screen. It’s a one-week Academy-qualifying run for the contender by Gia Coppola and starring Pamela Anderson, now a Golden Globe nominee. Both showed up for Q&As at LA’s AMC Century City, helping push the story of a fading Vegas showgirl to the fifth best per-screen opening of the year.

The three-day number also marks Roadside’s second-highest opening PSA in its 20-year history. The distributor said the run featured sellout screenings on both Friday and Saturday across select...

One of the most unique anime-musical collaborations of all time, Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem, is returning to theaters for a one-day-only special event screening. Interstella is a visual album to accompany Daft Punk’s iconic Discovery. The remastered version of the anime, originally released in 2003, offers audiences the rare chance to experience the groundbreaking anime on the big screen. The announcement comes in the wake of Daft Punk's retirement, making it a bittersweet celebration of their legacy and their extraordinary collaboration with anime legend Leiji Matsumoto.

Daft Punk, the French music duo known for their robotic personas, redefined the music landscape of electronic music over their 28-year career. Their second album, Discovery (2001), was a breakout success featuring timeless hits like "One More Time," "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger," and "Digital Love." The album, heavily inspired by disco and sci-fi themes, cemented their global status and...

“Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem” has returned to our solar system.

The Japanese animated feature, built around Daft Punk’s 2001 breakthrough album “Discovery,” was released back in 2003 and has long been unavailable. But all that changes this week. After a series of special screenings (including one earlier this year at the Tribeca Festival in New York), the movie will have a wide re-release – in over 800 cinemas in 40 countries. (Get your tickets here.)

TheWrap spoke to Pedro Winter, the former manager of Daft Punk (nee Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo), about the creation of the movie and its long overdue return.

“Interstella 5555” follows a band of blue-skinned alien musicians (later labeled the Crescendolls) who are abducted and forced to battle an ancient evil. The project, directed by Kazuhisa Takenouchi and written by the band and Cédric Hervet, the band’s creative director.

According to Winter,...

When Daft Punk parted ways in 2021, fans around the world were left devastated, holding on to the legacy of a duo that redefined electronic music. So the rare chance to see the band's 2003 movie, Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem, in movie theaters will be a welcome treat, celebrating the significant contributions the band made to art.

Cinemas across the planet, from LA to Tokyo to Berlin, will host a special screening of the anime film for one night only, Dec. 12, 2024. The screening offers to unite their extensive fandom and presents a chance for new admirers of the band to experience an audiovisual treat of allegorical storytelling on the big screen for the first time.

An Interstellar Fusion of Music & Animation

Interstella 5555 is more than a film; some say it's one of the longest and most satisfying music video to ever exist. Daft Punk members Thomas Bangalter...

Over 20 years ago, the world was taken by storm by yet another creative music video by pop duo Daft Punk. In anime style, the video promoted the group's single "One More Time," which went on to become one of Daft Punk's most famous songs. At the time, however, most people had no idea that the music video was actually a small fraction of a visual companion that Daft Punk set up with Japanese director Kazuhisa Takenouchi to promote their new album Discovery. This year, Daft Punk and anime fans will have the chance to experience Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem in cinemas. The movie will be exhibited across the world in a 4K remastered version, and tickets are already rolling out for a one-night only December 12 screening. A new trailer was also unveiled to promote the event, and you can check it out on this article.

Daft Punk and Leiji Matsumoto’s 2003 anime film Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem will screen in theaters worldwide for one night only on December 12th, 2024.

Essentially an anime visual album of Daft Punk’s seminal sophomore record Discovery, Interstella 5555 follows the abduction of an alien music band by an evil human character with some dark plans. It was created by Daft Punk and Cédric Hervet in collaboration with Leiji Matsumoto (who passed away in early 2023) and Toei Animation, and was originally cut as individual music videos — now, fans will finally have the chance to view the film in its entirety.

Interstellar 5555 will be screened in over 800 cinemas in 40 countries on December 12th. A list of participating theaters and on-sale ticket info can be found here.

Following the one-day-only screening, Daft Punk will unveil a limited-edition physical release, Discovery: Interstella 5555 Edition, on December 13th. This special...

Daft Punk and Leiji Matsumoto’s 2003 anime film Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem will screen in theaters worldwide for one night only on December 12th, 2024.

Essentially an anime visual album of Daft Punk’s seminal sophomore record Discovery, Interstella 5555 follows the abduction of an alien music band by an evil human character with some dark plans. It was created by Daft Punk and Cédric Hervet in collaboration with Leiji Matsumoto (who passed away in early 2023) and Toei Animation, and was originally cut as individual music videos — now, fans will finally have the chance to view the film in its entirety.

Interstellar 5555 will be screened in over 800 cinemas in 40 countries on December 12th. A list of participating theaters and on-sale ticket info can be found here.

Following the one-day-only screening, Daft Punk will unveil a limited-edition physical release, Discovery: Interstella 5555 Edition, on December 13th. This special...

Back in 2003, Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem saw electronic duo Daft Punk teaming up with late manga and anime legend Leiji Matsumoto for an anime visual album like no other. Now the feature—which had Kazuhisa Takenouchi directing and Toei Animation producing—is coming back to cinemas around the world in a 4K remaster. A curated selection of Daft Punk music videos—from the likes of directors Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, Seb Janiak, Roman Coppola and Warren Fu—will play after the film. Check out the poster and screening details: Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem Screening Date: December 12, 2024 Tickets for the global showing from Trafalgar Releasing will be available starting November 13 at the official website . Description: Interstella 5555 tells the story of the abduction of an alien music band by an evil human character who has dark plans. The hour-long...

A post-metal band plays at a screening of a vintage Viking saga. Björk shows up to check out the latest films by Pedro Almodovar and Athina Rachel Tsingari. Filmmakers relax in warm mineral-laden waters at the ocean’s edge. Industry members are invited to the President of Iceland’s house to chat about the state of the film business. It’s a typical day at the Reykjavik International Film Festival.

But Iceland isn’t just hot springs and Vikings — well-situated between Europe and North America, the country is booming as a shooting destination. Riff provides a key place for filmmakers to network and learn more about the production scene in the small country with the big production incentives.

“The festival is a very good place for people to meet,” says Riff director Hrönn Marinósdóttir. “The Icelandic industry is really growing. I think we have a new generation of really talented...

Daft Punk’s “Intersella 5555” is ready to touch down in Los Angeles.

The animated feature, based on the band’s 2001 album “Discovery,” from director Kazuhisa Takenouchi with supervision from Leiji Matsumoto, recently received a new 4K remaster and had screened in various cities across the world. Now, it finally comes to Los Angeles on Monday, Sept. 30, at the United Theater on Broadway. Tickets go on sale at noon, September 23.

The screening is being put on by Daft Punk and Iheartcomix. A moderated panel with “Interstella 555” co-writer Cédric Hervet and Pedro Winter, Daft Punk’s former manager, who was instrumental in the creation of the movie, will follow the screening. After that will be an after-party with a DJ set by Winter (in his Busy P guise), plus secret guests.

“Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem” was a unique project, especially at the time. It was conceived during the production of the album,...

The Tribeca Festival has unveiled its reunions, retrospectives and talks series for the 23rd edition unspooling in June including a Storyteller Series with Judd Apatow, Andy Cohen, Kieran Culkin, Kerry Washington, Laverne Cox, Jon Batiste, and Michael Stipe.

The Directors Series features Gus Van Sant in conversation with art dealer, filmmaker, and actor Vito Schnabel (Van Sant directed Schnabel in Ryan Murphy’s FX series Feud: Capote vs the Swans.)

The fest will celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Sopranos at the Beacon Theatre with the world premiere of Alex Gibney documenary Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos with a reunion of creator David Chase, EP Terence Winter, and stars Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli, Aida Turturro, Annabella Sciorra, Robert Iler, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Drea De Matteo, Steve Schirripa, Michele Chase, Kathrine Narducci, and Dominic Chianese.

Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, with rapper Nas, will talk Mean Streets on its 50th anniversary.

Daft Punk is a duo that hardly needs an introduction. From Grammy-winning hit songs like "Get Lucky" to their work on soundtracks to blockbuster movies like "Tron: Legacy," the electronic musicians have conquered the world. But long before Hollywood came calling, the French beat-makers got a boost from the folks at Cartoon Network. Specifically, when the band's anime-inspired music videos aired on Toonami.

Complex did a deep-dive into the history of the anime-focused gamble that was Toonami back in 2017. While the programming block certainly helped give anime a profile boost in the U.S., it also helped out several popular musical acts, Daft Punk among them. As Toonami co-creator Jason DeMarco explained at the time, the duo reached out to them when they were in the midst of premiering an ambitious music video project titled "Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem" tied to their second studio album,...

Interstella 5555 is a groundbreaking international collaboration and a scriptless "musical" that tells a story through a series of music videos. The movie incorporates the soundtrack of Daft Punk's Discovery album, making it a unique and experimental experience. Interstella 5555 played a significant role in bringing anime further into the mainstream, proving that the medium could be relevant and internationally appealing.

Even after 21 years, Toei Animation's work on the 2003 anime series Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem, is a unique entry in the medium's history. Besides being one of the venerable Leiji Matsumoto's sweeping space tales, it is also an example of an international collaboration early in the modern resurgence of anime. That it incorporates the soundtrack of the now-retired Daft Punk only makes it more important to remember now.

It's not an exaggeration to say that clips from this movie helped bring anime further...

From Robert Johnson’s alleged deal with the devil to Alice Cooper’s monster-filled performances, rock ‘n roll has always had a foot in the horror genre. Hell, even the world’s most successful metal band has some horror-inspired hits up its sleeves, with eerie songs like The Call of Ktulu and The Thing That Should Not Be adding some Lovecraftian flavor to Metallica’s discography.

That’s why it makes sense that a narrative concert film produced by Metallica would also borrow from some of their favorite genre thrills. And with Nimród Antal’s experimental masterpiece Metallica: Through the Never celebrating its 10th anniversary this month, I’d like to take this opportunity to dive into how this unique film uses its genre influences to tell a surprisingly compelling story accompanied by one of the band’s best live performances.

The idea for Through the Never spawned from the...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI, and sign up for our weekly email newsletter by clicking here.REMEMBRANCEIsland in the Sun.The singer, actor, and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte has died, aged 96. Christina Newland wrote a piece on Belafonte for Notebook in 2020, praising his politics, his style, his music, and his work ss stage and screen. "His impact on American mid-century life has been so significant that it’s difficult to define him as any single thing, or to see him occupying only one role."NEWSNo Bears.Jafar Panahi has left Iran for the first time in fourteen years, it is being reported. Posting from an airport, his wife Tahereh Saeedi tweeted that, “after 14 years, Jafar’s ban was cancelled" and, that finally, the pair are "going to travel together for a few days…”The Cannes Film Festival have...

The music of Daft Punk has always gelled beautifully with cinema. As early as the Spike Jonze directed video for their debut single “Da Funk” – a surreal but melancholy tale about an anthropomorphic dog wandering through the moonlit streets of New York, solidifying their music as the eternal soundtrack for nocturnal meditations – the electronic duo exhibited a mastery of visual iconography unlike anyone else. Their continually evolving sound and perchance for experimentation resulted in some of the most imaginative videos of their era, but it’s clear that Daft Punk’s obsession with film could not be contained to such minor excursions. Some of these flirtations were better than others – their directorial debut Electroma produced an honorable (if not altogether successful) result, while their tremendous work composing the soundtrack for Tron: Legacy elevated a potentially middling watch into an enthralling exercise in audio-visual synergy – but it was in 2003 that they...

Leiji Matsumoto, the popular Japanese manga and anime artist known for his work with Daft Punk, has died at the age of 85.

Among his many works, Matsumoto created the popular manga series Space Pirate Captain Harlock. In an interview, Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo cited the manga as one of their biggest early influences. “At around the age of 5 years old, we would watch Captain Harlock,” they explained. “The music we have been making must have been influenced at some point by the shows we were watching when we were little kids.”

Alongside co-writer Cédric Hervet and director Kazuhisa Takenouchi, Daft Punk collaborated with Matsumoto on Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem. The 2003 animated film served as the visual companion to the group’s second album, Discovery. Scenes from the film were also released as standalone music videos for songs like “One More Time,...

Leading Japanese manga artist Matsumoto Leiji, whose space operas became known to fans globally in animated incarnations, died on Feb. 13 in Tokyo at age 85.

His representatives announced on Monday that the cause of death was heart failure.

Born Matsumoto Akira in 1938 in Kurume, a city on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, Matsumoto began drawing manga professionally after his arrival in Tokyo at age 18. He made his debut in 1954 with a comic titled “Mitsubachi no Boken” (Adventure of the Honey Bee).

He drew successful manga about ronin (masterless samurai), cowboys and other subjects, but became best known for series about adventures set in outer space, including “Space Pirate Captain Harlock” and “Galaxy Express 999,” both of which bowed in 1977. Animated versions became enduringly popular in Japan and around the world.

Matsumoto collaborated with producer Nishizaki Yoshinobu on the 1974-75 “Space Battleship Yamato” TV animated series that was shown in the U.

No stranger to the world of film, Daft Punk has provided the scores for Tron:Legacy and Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem, made their own film with Daft Punk’s Electroma, and were even depicted (briefly) in this year’s stellar Eden. They’re now getting the documentary treatment in Daft Punk Unchained and today brings the first trailer.

Airing this summer in France, it’ll now hit worldwide sometime later this year and comes from director Hervé Martin Delpierre. This first preview seems to go deep into the mystery surrounding Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, but hopefully it also explores the process of making their distinct music.

Featuring interviews with Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers, Giorgio Moroder, Kanye West, Michel Gondry, Paul Williams, Peter Lindbergh, Leiji Matsumoto, Pete Tong, and much, check out the trailer and poster below.

Daft Punk Unchained, directed by Hervé Martin Delpierre,...

Below you will find a list of movie that Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz director Edgar Wright has never seen. Not long ago Wright went out and asked his friends and fans to recommend some movies they thought he may have missed over the last thirty years of his life. He got recommendations from Quentin Tarantino, Daniel Waters, Bill Hader, John Landis, Guillermo Del Toro, Joe Dante, Judd Apatow, Joss Whedon, Greg Mottola, Schwartzman, Doug Benson, Rian Johnson, Larry Karaszeski, Josh Olson, Harry Knowles and hundreds of fans on this blog.

From these recommendations, Wright created a master list of recommended films that were frequently mentioned. The director now wants the fans to choose which of the films on the list he should watch on the big screen.

Wright is holding a film event at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles called Films Edgar Has Never Seen.

Edgar Wright's latest epic project [1] has him partnering with Quentin Tarantino, Judd Apatow, Joss Whedon, Bill Hader, Guillermo Del Toro, Joe Dante, Greg Mottola, Harry Knowles, Rian Johnson and, probably, several of you. Like all of us, Wright has a bunch of classic and cult films he's never seen. Unlike all of us, he has the means to see them for the first time on the big screen and will do just that in December [2] at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles during Films Edgar Has Never Seen. The director of Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World asked both his famous friends (some of which are listed above) and fans to send in their personal must see lists and, from those titles, Wright came up with one mega list from which he'll pick a few movies to watch December 9-16. After the jump check...

Rank the week of October 4th’s Blu-ray and DVD new releases against the best films of all-time: New Releases Fast Five

(Blu-ray & DVD | PG13 | 2011)

Flickchart Ranking: #803

Win Percentage: 57%

Times Ranked: 5781

Top-20 Rankings: 40

Directed By: Justin Lin

Starring: Dwayne Johnson • Vin Diesel • Paul Walker • Jordana Brewster • Elsa Pataky

Genres: Action • Action Thriller • Chase Movie • Crime • Drama • Thriller

Rank This Movie

Scream 4

(Blu-ray & DVD | R | 2011)

Flickchart Ranking: #1420

Win Percentage: 49%

Times Ranked: 6843

Top-20 Rankings: 26

Directed By: Wes Craven

Starring: Alison Brie • Neve Campbell • David Arquette • Hayden Panettiere • Courteney Cox

Genres: Horror • Mystery • Slasher Film • Thriller

Rank This Movie

Submarine

(Blu-ray & DVD | Nr | 2010)

Flickchart Ranking: #2772

Win Percentage: 60%

Times Ranked: 1079

Top-20 Rankings: 10

Directed By: Richard Ayoade

Starring: Craig Roberts • Yasmin Paige • Sally Hawkins • Paddy Considine • Noah Taylor

Genres: Comedy Drama • Coming-of-Age • Drama

Rank This Movie

Classics & Re-releases Salo, Or The 120 Days Of Sodom

(Criterion Blu-ray & DVD | Nr | 1976)

Flickchart Ranking: #4386

Win Percentage: 43%

Times Ranked:...

Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases to Blu-Ray Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

‘Twas The Night Before Christmas: 2-Disc Deluxe Edition (1974)

Synopsis: For some unexplained reason, letters to Santa Claus are being returned to the children of Junctionville. It seems some resident has angered St. Nick by calling him “a fraudulent myth!” Skeptical Albert Mouse has to be brought to his senses “and let up a little on the wonder why.” How Albert is persuaded to change his tune paves the way for Santa’s jolly return to town – and the joyous finale of the animated fable inspired by Clement Moore’s poem and produced by the merrymaking conjures of Rankin/bass studios. The voice talents of Joel grey, Tammy Grimes, John McGiver and George Gobel make this festive fable even more fun. (highdefdigest.com)

Special Features:

Tba

The 12 Dogs Of Christmas (2005)

Synopsis: A girl who uses dogs to...

Not much has changed since the debut of the Tron 2 trailer at last year's San Diego Comic-Con: The Dude will still be reprising his role from the first, and the flick is still pegged for a 2011 release. But now we can add one more item to that list. In what is sure to be Daft Punk's greatest contribution to animated film since Interstella 5555 (pictured above), the French electronic wizards have just been given the go-ahead to write and produce Tron 2's music score.

If there was ever a marriage made in heaven it would be Tron and Daft Punk, seriously, it's like peanut butter and jelly. But, before anyone gets too excited, it is best if you remember that this is just a rumor at this point...an awesome rumor, but a rumor nonetheless. So even though it may not be the most reliable source, Upcoming Film Scores has announced that the French electronica duo have signed to write and perform the score for the follow-up to the sci-fi classic.

So it would seem that Tron 2 is finally kicking into high gear, now that we finally have more to go on than a few rumored cameos, and various casting announcements. Yesterday, Elisabeth managed to score some plot points from AICN as well as news of yet another title change for the sequel, and I have to tell you; I am right there with...

Even though Tron 2.0 isn't slated to hit theaters until 2011, we keep hearing big updates on the project, surrounding everything from the plot to CGI cloning of Jeff Bridges. But here's an announcement that I am truly giddy about reporting. The always reliable Upcoming Film Scores blog is claiming that Daft Punk has signed on to do the score for Tron 2.0! They say that Disney has actually confirmed this with them, which means I'm also going to say that it's accurate until proven otherwise. And let me be the first to say, this could be absolutely unbelievably phenomenal, but that may be because I'm such a big fan of Daft Punk. While their songs have been used in plenty of movies, Daft Punk has never actually scored an entire movie before. They did provide almost all of the music for the Interstella 5555 anime, and they did also direct...

An animated science-fiction musical without dialogue, “Interstella 5555” pairs the music of Gallic electronic duo Daft Punk with the intergalactic manga designs of Leiji Matsumoto. The elementary story seems purely a preteen confection: Musicians from another galaxy are abducted by a sinister corporation chief and reprogrammed to become the most popular supergroup on earth. But the film’s psychedelic visuals and pulsing soundtrack are a tight fit, and the triple demographic of Japanimation aficionados, sci-fi geeks and, most of all, dance-music fans should make this medium-length feature a steady seller to MTV-style youth webs and specialty video/DVD labels.

Conceived and written by Daft Punk members Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, with Cedric Hervet, the film was designed by Matsumoto, working with regular collaborator Shinji Shimizu as animation producer and Kazsuhisha Takenouchi (whose credits include kid-cult comic “Sailor Moon”) as director.

Credited with having reinvented the ’80s electronica...