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In the realm of “adult animation” there are few peers for René Laloux, whose reputation could rest almost entirely on Fantastic Planet. Making notable the 4K restoration of The Time Masters, his superbly entertaining 1982 sci-fi feature based on the work of Fantastic Planet author Stefan Wul, designed by Mœbius and co-written by France’s supreme crime novelist, Jean-Patrick Manchette. Janus Films will being a roll-out of said restoration at the IFC Center on July 26 (likely ahead of a Criterion disc), and with it comes a trailer.

Here’s the official synopsis: “Directed by visionary sci-fi animator René Laloux (Fantastic Planet) and designed by the legendary Jean Giraud (a.k.a. Mœbius), The Time Masters is a trippy, visually fantastic foray into existentialist space adventure. After his parents are killed on the dangerous planet Perdide, young Piel (voiced by Frédéric Legros) survives by maintaining radio contact with Jaffar (Jean Valmost), a...

René Laloux's marvelous animated Sci-fi tale is still in a class of its own, mainly because the creative level of its imagination is so high. Who would have thought that limited animation could look this good? The designs are by the impressive artist Roland Topor. Fantastic Planet Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 820 1973 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 72 min. / La plènete sauvage / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date June 21, 2016 / Starring Jennifer Drake, Eric Baugin, Sylvie Lenoir, Jean Topart, Jean Valmont (voices). Original Drawings Roland Topor Character and Scene Animation Josef Kábart, Josef Váňa Original Music Alain Goraguer Written by Roland Topor, René Laloux from the novel Oms en série by Stefan Wul Produced by Simon Damiani and André Valio-Cavaglione Directed by René Laloux

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

What a fine introduction to an excellent movie. The animated Sci-fi tale Fantastic Planet played frequently in Los Angeles in the middle 1970s, but I...

French animator and director René Laloux's made a number of *fantastic*, weird and wonderful animated sci-fi features, but his masterpiece is easily 1973's Fantastic Planet (Planet Sauvage) . The film is about humans living on a strange planet dominated by giant humanoid aliens who consider them animals. It is based on the 1957 novel "Oms en série" by French writer Stefan Wul.

Criterion Collection just announced that the film will be submitted into their collectoin on June 21, 2016. You can pre-order Fantastic Planet on Blu-ray here and I know there have been cries for this to happen for many, many years s [Continued ...]...

The French comic book illustrator and designer Jean Giraud, aka 'Moebius' has died.

Born Jean Henri Gaston Giraud in Nogent-sur-Marne, France in 1938, Giraud started his art career for the French advertising and fashion industries before going on to become of the country’s most popular comic strip artists, later finding fame in North America and Japan.

Among his most famous works is the long-running series "Blueberry", the story of a western anti-hero he co-created with writer Jean-Michel Charlier.

In 1975 he revived his 'Moebius' pseudonym and with Jean-Pierre Dionnet, Philippe Druillet and Bernard Farkas founded the magazine "Métal Hurlant" aka "Heavy Metal", showcasing Moebius' serial "The Airtight Garage" and the groundbreaking "Arzach".

In 1982 he collaborated with director René Laloux to create the science fiction feature-length animated movie "Les Maîtres du temps" (released in English as "Time Masters") based on a novel by author Stefan Wul.

He continued to contribute storyboards and...