The Fantastic Planet is a gem of science-fiction animation from a by-gone era. Produced in 1973, it provides all the elements of a proper psychedelic film – a heavy, guitar-laden soundtrack, bizarre settings, weird creatures and surreal situations. It also provides all the elements of a proper science-fiction film – surreal situations, weird creatures, bizarre settings and a heavy, guitar-laden soundtrack. 
The Fantastic Planet tells the story of Terr, a human raised as a pet by the Draags – giant blue humanoids who are only just getting their minds around the idea that the Humans (the Draags call them “Oms”) might actually be intelligent and self-aware. This doesn’t stop their efforts in periodically “controlling” (meaning, exterminating) the nests of wild Oms outside, though.
This delay in recognizing the Oms’ intelligence proves to be The Draags’ undoing, as Terr escapes the Draag child who keeps him. Terr, stealing the Draag child’s Headphones of Learning, falls in with a group of savage Oms. Together they use Terr’s knowledge and that of the headphones to survive the Draag’s horrific extermination sweeps and implement a daring plan of escape to a sister planet nearby.
There are no epic space battles, no laser fights (well, there is sort of one), no mind-controlling computers, but there is tension and survival and an intriguing story line. It keeps well the feel of a good science-fiction short story. There is some blood, some nudity, and some violence, but for the most part it is handled non-gratuitously and is – by today’s standards – pretty tame. The extermination scenes are the hardest, due primarily to the sheer numbers of Oms being killed, rather than the amount of blood being shown. Not for very young children, in other words, but adults who enjoy the less “space-battle-oriented” science-fiction tales of a by-gone age – not to mention those who just need a break from the Anime stories so prevalent today – will enjoy The Fantastic Planet.
I should note that I did NOT see this when it was first released in 1973. I caught it at the drive-in some time in the late 70’s, playing in a double-bill with a terrible movie called Starcrash. I may have to dig that one up again in order to exorcise it from my brain.
It is interesting to note that “La Planète Sauvage” (the original French title) translates literally to “The Wild Planet” or “The Savage Planet”, either of which would have been a more-than-appropriate title for the English version of the film. Perhaps the distributors, hoping to cash in on a particular demographic, thought “Fantastic” was more of a hook into the psychedelic nature of the film.
Learn more about The Fantastic Planet on IMDB.
If you can, find The Fantastic Planet on DVD, for a full, rich viewing experience.
