---
title: "Fantastic Planet"
year: 1973
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/fantastic-planet"
fi1m_id: "fantastic-planet"
imdb_id: "tt0070544"
tmdb_id: 16306
wikidata_id: "Q477687"
fi1m_score: 80
critics_score: 78
critics_reviews: 6
published: "2026-09-26T17:46:59.317314+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-26T17:47:17.517736+00:00"
region: "RS"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Fantastic Planet (1973)

Directed by René Laloux · 1h 12m · Animation, Science Fiction

## Identity

Fantastic Planet

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/fantastic-planet
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** fantastic-planet
- **IMDb ID:** tt0070544
- **TMDB ID:** 16306
- **Wikidata ID:** Q477687
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070544/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/16306, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q477687

**Fi1m score: 80** · Critics 78 from 6 reviews

*In a sentence:* A planet worth visiting for the music, provided none of the wildlife notices us

> René Laloux’s animated science fiction is worth seeing for its disturbing creatures and Alain Goraguer’s music. The characters are less absorbing, but the drawings make its warning about coexistence difficult to shrug off.

## Synopsis

On an alien planet, living creatures occupy a landscape full of unfamiliar and dangerous life. Terr’s story is narrated by his adult self (Jean Valmont), with Éric Baugin voicing Young Terr and William Coryn voicing Teenager Terr. Tiwa (Jennifer Drake) and Master Taj (Gérard Hernandez) also inhabit this world. The relationships between its inhabitants raise the question of how different creatures can coexist. René Laloux directs this animated science-fiction story, based on a novel by Stefan Wul.

## Review

*Fantastic Planet* is worth an evening for its creatures and landscapes, with the caveat that its characters are less absorbing. René Laloux makes an unfamiliar world sufficiently unsettling that simply looking around becomes a good reason to stay. At 72 minutes, the film gives its strange inhabitants time to register without demanding an expedition from the audience. We recommend it warmly, though anyone hoping for a close attachment to Terr may find the scenery doing most of the work.

Roland Topor’s designs are the principal attraction, and their unpleasantness is an important part of their appeal. The scenery seems as alive and potentially dangerous as the creatures moving through it, making the distinction between a place and something inhabiting it feel unreliable. We were unsettled by the creatures because their unfamiliar shapes gave us so little help in deciding what they might do. The drawings reward close attention without making that attention particularly comfortable.

The cinematography by Lubomír Rejthar and Boris Baromykin serves those designs well, allowing their odd proportions and unfamiliar surroundings to remain legible. The relatively simple animation occasionally makes the figures feel stiff, but fluid movement would not necessarily improve their disturbing appearance. There is pleasure in having enough time to examine a drawing rather than merely following something across it. Some of the images invite a longer look than the action strictly requires, and the film is sensible enough to allow one.

The screenplay by René Laloux and Roland Topor, adapted from a novel by Stefan Wul, is less consistently rewarding. Its concern with coexistence is clear, but the characters do not always acquire enough individuality to make that concern feel personal. Jean Valmont’s adult Terr supplies the narration, which helps us follow the story without bringing us especially close to its central figure. We understand the warning readily enough; the difficulty is finding somebody whose company matters as much as the next strange creature.

Marta Látalová and Hélène Arnal’s editing gives the film a measured pace that generally suits its drawings. There is room to take in the surroundings, and the story remains manageable despite how unfamiliar everything looks. A short running time does not automatically make a film brisk, nor does this one need to hurry through its chief attraction. The weaker passages are those in which the characters have to sustain our attention without much help from their environment.

Alain Goraguer’s music makes a substantial difference here. Its unhurried ease offers a welcome way into a film whose inhabitants can be difficult to warm to, and it keeps the solemnity from becoming oppressive. We enjoyed listening even when the storytelling had become rather thin. The score gives the images room to disturb us without insisting that every unusual creature must arrive accompanied by an instruction to be afraid.

Science fiction often spends so much effort explaining an unfamiliar place that it makes the place sound like somewhere we already know. This film leaves enough strangeness intact to make exploration worthwhile, even when its lesson is plain. Its imagination is more persuasive than its characterisation, and that remains a meaningful limitation rather than a reason to dismiss it. Choose it when a remarkable collection of unsettling drawings sounds like sufficient company for the evening.

*Fi1m score 80, published 26 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews are uniformly positive, with praise concentrated on Fantastic Planet’s surreal imagery and unsettling creatures. Most critics find its alien landscapes more than decorative: they make the film eerie, imaginative and capable of connecting unfamiliar life to recognisable horrors. Roland Topor’s designs receive particular praise from The AV Club, while the wider consensus values the visual invention that gives the film’s ideas such a distinctive setting.

The differences are chiefly matters of emphasis, and the spread of opinion is narrow. The AV Club finds the surreal details more enduring than the broad allegory, whereas Eye for Film praises the allegory’s layers alongside the painterly animation. Empire acknowledges the basic animation style but finds it transformed by the organic landscapes and nightmarish creatures. These are qualifications within a favourable consensus, rather than signs of a substantial dissent over the film’s merits.

## Straight answers

**Is Fantastic Planet worth watching?**

*Fantastic Planet* is worth watching for its unsettling creatures, strange landscapes and Alain Goraguer’s music; we score it 80 out of 100. We recommend it warmly to viewers drawn to imaginative animation, though its characters are less absorbing than its drawings, and Terr’s story can feel thin.

**How long is Fantastic Planet, and what is it rated?**

*Fantastic Planet* runs 1h 12m. It is an animation and science fiction film.

**Where can I watch Fantastic Planet in Serbia?**

*Fantastic Planet* is streaming on MUBI in Serbia. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How does Fantastic Planet compare to The Adventures of Prince Achmed?**

*Fantastic Planet* is the more unsettling choice beside [*The Adventures of Prince Achmed*](https://film.one/film/the-adventures-of-prince-achmed), whose silhouette fantasy is warmer and more inviting. Both make elaborate worlds feel alive through simple movement, while their storytelling is less absorbing. We favour *Prince Achmed* for expressive animation that earns our affection, and *Fantastic Planet* for disturbing creatures and music that makes their world approachable.

**Is Fantastic Planet based on a true story or a book?**

*Fantastic Planet* is based on a novel by Stefan Wul, adapted for the screen by René Laloux and Roland Topor, rather than on a true story. Familiarity with the book is not necessary: Terr’s narration keeps the story manageable, and the film makes its concern with coexistence clear.

**What should I watch after Fantastic Planet?**

After *Fantastic Planet*, try [*The Adventures of Prince Achmed*](https://film.one/film/the-adventures-of-prince-achmed) (1926, Fi1m 80): Simple movements make an elaborate fantasy world feel persuasively alive. Then [*Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind*](https://film.one/film/warriors-of-the-wind) (1984, Fi1m 85): A more emotionally direct encounter with dangerous creatures and the difficulty of coexistence.

### Reviews we read (6)

- **Empire**, Alan Morrison (85/100, inferred): Morrison finds the film surreal and wonderful, calling it a distinctive European animation oddity. He praises how its organic landscapes and nightmarish creatures transform the basic animation style. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/fantastic-planet-review/)
- **The AV Club**, Mike D'Angelo (B+): D’Angelo finds the film’s strange, singular visual imagination still striking and says it has aged remarkably well. He especially praises Roland Topor’s mesmerizing designs and the surreal details that outlast the film’s broad allegory. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/fantastic-planet-looks-as-strange-today-as-it-must-have-1798188151)
- **Los Angeles Times**, KEVIN THOMAS (75/100, inferred): Thomas presents the film as an eerie, imaginative allegory with a clear warning about the need for living creatures to coexist. He especially praises its surreal imagery and bizarre, dangerous creatures. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-oct-09-ca-30586-story.html)
- **Time Out** (75/100, inferred): The review recommends the film as a worthwhile, thoughtful experience. It praises the concept for being more than merely interesting on the page. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/fantastic-planet)
- **Slant Magazine**, Carson Lund (3.5/5): The review calls the Criterion package merely pro forma, while noting it remains the best version of the film available. It praises the film’s unsettling visual form and its ability to connect an alien world to familiar horrors. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/fantastic-planet/)
- **Eye for Film**, Anton Bitel (80/100, inferred): The critic finds the film well worth revisiting for its psychedelic imagination and layered allegory. He singles out its painterly animation and boundless visual inventiveness as qualities that make it unforgettable. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/fantastic-planet-film-review-by-anton-bitel)

## Details

- **Director:** René Laloux
- **Director:** René Laloux
- **Screenplay:** Roland Topor, René Laloux
- **Novel:** Stefan Wul
- **Cinematography:** Boris Baromykin, Lubomír Rejthar
- **Editor:** Marta Látalová, Hélène Arnal
- **Music:** Alain Goraguer
- **Producer:** Anatole Dauman
- **Cast:** Gérard Hernandez as Master Taj (voice); Jean Valmont as Adult Terr / Narrator (voice); Jennifer Drake as Tiwa (voice); Yves Barsacq as Om (voice); Jeanine Forney as Terr's Bride (voice); Éric Baugin as Young Terr (voice); Jean Topart as Master Sinh (voice); William Coryn as Teenager Terr (voice)
- **Runtime:** 1h 12m
- **First release (France):** 11 May 1973
- **Genres:** Animation, Science Fiction

## Where to watch in Serbia

- MUBI: streaming, hd

*Checked 2026-09-26.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, BE, BG, BR, CA, CL, CO, EE, ES, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IT, JP, LT, MX, MY, NL, PA, PH, PL, RO, RS, SG, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Son of the White Mare* (1981): For another animated world whose creatures and landscapes demand close attention.
- *Angel's Egg* (1985): Patient, unsettling animation that lets strange surroundings explain almost nothing.
- *The Adventures of Prince Achmed* (1926), Fi1m 80: Simple movements make an elaborate fantasy world feel persuasively alive. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-adventures-of-prince-achmed.md)
- *Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind* (1984), Fi1m 85: A more emotionally direct encounter with dangerous creatures and the difficulty of coexistence. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/warriors-of-the-wind.md)
- *The Wolf House* (2018): For those who find shifting surroundings more disturbing than a pursuing monster.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/fantastic-planet