I first got turned on to Fantastic Planet when it aired as part of Night Flight's programming during the 1980s. The film was directed by René Laloux with production design by Roland Topor, written by both and animated at Jiří Trnka Studio. The production itself was handled by French and Czechoslovakian companies and after winning the special jury prize at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival, distribution rights in the United States was picked up by Roger Corman's New World Pictures.
The film's source material was the 1957 French science fiction novel Oms en série (lit. Oms Linked Together) written by Stefan Wul. The film's plot concerns a human like race, known as "Oms" who are existing on the Draags' planet. The Draags are somewhat humanoid is appearance but are much larger and live longer than the diminutive Oms. Some of the Oms are brought into the Draag's homes as domesticated pets but periodically the Oms are hunted and exterminated. A group of Draag children accidentally kill an Om female and take her orphaned offspring home to raise the child. The story continues on filled with curious alien creatures and fauna found throughout the film.
the trailer
the feature