About a week or so ago, I watched "Le Planete Sauvage," which gets called "The Fantastic Planet" over here. It was made in 1973 as a joint effort
between French and Czechoslovakian studios.
It's about an alien planet ruled by the Draags. They're blue giants with telepathic abilities who live extremely long lives. Human are also on this
planet. Some are kepts as pets by the Draags, some live wild and there are periodic exterminations of the wild ones. The story follows one particular
human who is taken as a pet when he is a baby. As he grows, he starts to gain knowledge from the headphones that young Draags get their education
from. He eventually escapes into the wilderness. You can probably guess where it goes from there.
It's an amazing movie. The animation style is pretty unusual, I haven't seen it a lot of places. It reminds me of Terry Gilliam more than anything
else. The story is very effective. From the very first moments I was involved. What's better is that the themes and interpretations of the movie are
varied. For me, it made me really think about how we treat all animals. The absolute best part is the visuals. Not just the art, but the crazy world
that's being created. It really does seem like an alien world. Sure, the creatures and plants are similar to stuff we have on earth, as far as,
"Hey, that looks like a bird. Hey, that looks like a tree," but other than that these creations are twisted and unique. Even the Draags, which are
like a lot of other sci-fi overlords, feel different.
I highly recommend watching it. It'll blow your mind in so many different ways. It'll stay with you for awhile. You can find it in entirety on
YouTube in both French and with an English dub. Just a warning: there's some non-sexual, non-erotic nudity.
I'm back after having watched it and yes that was amazing. I kept thinking through the whole thing, this is why I don't own pets. I don't believe
in it. I think it's wrong, but I know I am in the major minority on that opinion.