The first animated feature lauded by the Cannes Film Festival, Fantastic Planet has for many years been available only in washed-out and choppily edited bootleg prints. At last, an uncut print of René Laloux's 1973 masterpiece is rolling into theaters - just in time for its 25th anniversary.
On a distant planet in an unknown time, humans live in fear of the Draags, a blue-skinned, red-eyed race standing 40 feet tall. When a Draag child casually kills a human mother with the flick of a finger, she makes amends by adopting the dead woman's child as a pet. However, the new pet quickly taps into the secret of Draag brainpower and escapes to share her knowledge with a band of humans. Together, they bring down the reign of the Draags.
Fantastic Planet puts contemporary animation to shame. Don't expect cartoon cutesy here: The focus is closer to Dali than Disney, with a touch of Che Guevara thrown in.
Fantastic Planet: in theaters this winter. Cinnequanon Pictures: +1 (213) 658 6043.
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