The basic plot of the feature concerns human creatures called Oms living on the planet Ygam where they are dwarfed (literally) by the alien creatures Draags who see the Oms the way we might see an ant. Some Oms get to be pets for young Draags and that's the fate that befalls orphan Terr (Jean Valmont), who becomes a pet for the daughter of a Draag family. Terr is able to gain a greater sense of intellect thanks to him retaining information that the aforementioned daughter is taught through school lessons. Eventually, Terr makes a run for it and happens upon a civilization of wild Oms, who are suspicious of the newly arrived Terr as they grapple with the fear that their extinction is inevitable considering the hatred the Draags have for all Oms.
Typically, the visual default for movie aliens has been to depict them as either reptilian or insect-esque. Fantastic Planet deviates from this mold by adhering more to an aquatic sensibility in designing the non-human creatures inhabiting Ygam. Considering images of underwater critters typically look like something from another world, this feels like a mighty sensible visual choice reflected in even The Draag who have a skin color that matches the color of the ocean while having what appear to be fins on the side of their heads. The assorted wild beasts that Terr comes face-to-face with during his travels in the wilderness feel like alien ancestors to something we would be able to find under the sea here on Earth while Ygam's landscape is littered with what appears to be coral.
Fantastic Planet's visual approach to aliens that owes more to Jacques Costeau than to H.G. Welles is a distinct trait in its hand-drawn animation, as is elements of the animation that feel like homages to iconic writers like Jules Verne or Johnathan Swift (the latter authors influence emerging during a scene of Oms taking dow a Draag straight out of Gulliver's Travels). But perhaps even more perceptibly unique in the production's animation are the recurring deviations into surrealist visual tendencies. When the Draag daughter that owns Terr stumbles onto her father and his friends engaging in a form of meditation not unlike how Earthlings use drugs, these tendencies are especially on full display.
The alien creatures father and his associates begin to disassemble into what looks like string before our very eyes as their mental escape causes their bodies to deteriorate. In the way it's executed, particularly in the heavy use of bright colors, things are at once nightmarish and beautiful. Those two words heavily influence the entire world of Ygam, which is full of uniquely designed creatures struggling to make it through a self-centered vicious world. Why, a newborn wild animal can't even exist for a few seconds before some seemingly friendly critter gobbles them up! That scene of gruesome dark comedy is just one example of how the land of Ygam is a nightmare for its inhabitants but a fascinating watch for viewers at home.
Helping to make things all the more fascinating is the not so subtle social commentary informing the whole story. The way Oms are treated as mere objects by Draag inhabitants is shown to be both absurd and cruel, a reflection of how slavery on Earth lives up to both of those descriptors. One can't help but watch the seemingly insignificant Oms rising up against their Draag oppressors and see a reflection of instances on Earth where common individuals (whether it's slaves, women, members of the LGBTQA+ community) fought back against oppressive elite classes for their own rights. That's all quite thought-provoking and a great example of how stylized animation can be used to evoke reality so effectively. Of course, if all that flies over your head, not to worry, Fantastic Planet has plenty of dazzling visuals to offer that'll keep your brain plenty occupied.
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