movie monday...

yes, it's time for that five minutes of life that you'll never get back because you read this blog! this week, i bring you an obscure 1973 French sci-fi animated feature called...

The Fantastic Planet

it was on KBDI this past sunday morning at 1:20. i thought i would watch it because i had heard many good things about it from my brother.

well, after watching it, i no longer consider him my brother ;) actually, i had confused this movie with another sci-fi movie made in 1966, Fantastic Voyage, which he claims to be a classic...either for its mid-sixties sci-fi creativity/innovation or because Raquel Welch is a space vixen. hmmm, it's probably the latter because my brother would have been that perfect puberty age of 13 when that movie came out.

anyway, Fantastic Planet is a strange tale about how humans are used as pets/trinkets in another galaxy...far, far away (sorry, i couldn't resist). initially, we humans are regarded as playthings, extravagantly small (enough to fit in the palms of our masters) and simple beings that must be controlled/kept domestic. however, humans should never be underestimated, right? and with that 'brilliant' deduction, the viewer witnesses the eventual human uprising over its masters. supposedly, this storyline was unceremoniously plagiarized by L.Ron Hubbard for his book, Battlefield Earth, which was consequently made into a movie in 2000 and became a cinematic pariah with a $73 million price tag of only which $21 million was recouped at the box office. still, it DID reap many awards. in fact, of the eight razzie awards it was nominated, it won seven...what a feat! even today, it is considered to be the worst movie made of our young millennium...


Fantastic Planet was not the best of movies...but for 1973 sci-fi animation, it wasn't that bad either. the animation was truly weird and the soundtrack even eerie. the music was reminiscent of the space scenes in this movie, which i've always liked.

i guess the movie even won a special award at the Cannes Film Festival. i don't know exactly for which category, but my best guess is 'Best Animated Sci-Fi to watch while you're dropping acid' which is still better than garnering a razzie...