Рене Лалу

Moebius
Time Masters

source: drgrobsanimationreview

In the science fiction film ‘Les maîtres du temps’ Jaffar, the muscular pilot of a spaceship, tries to rescue the little orphan Piel, who is the sole survivor of a massacre on the dangerous planet Perdide.

Jaffar’s only means of contact with the little boy is through an egg-shaped microphone which Piel calls ‘Mike’. Jaffar is aided by a jolly old man called Silbad, and two little telepathic creatures Silbad rescued from a flower, called Jad and Yula. His only passenger, however, the evil prince Matton, on escape with a treasure, tries to kill Piel in order to get sooner to Aldebaran…

‘Les maîtres du temps’ was René Laloux’ second animated feature film and it shares many characteristics with his first, ‘Le planète sauvage‘: it’s a science fiction film based on a novel by Stefan Wul and using designs by a famous french illustrator, this time comic artist Moebius (Jean Giraud). ‘Les maîtres du temps’ nevertheless is less outlandish than ‘Le planète sauvage’: it’s an ‘ordinary’ cel animation film and Moebius’s drawings are less surreal than Topor’s. Yet, they still manage to give the film an otherworldly quality. Especially his designs of Perdide are disturbing, rendering it an uncanny, dangerous planet, indeed.

Moebius’s style is very visible throughout the picture, except for the humans, who are drawn pretty uglily and fail to live up to Moebius’s own high standards. Only the little orphan Piel and the jolly old man Silbad are true to Moebius’s designs. Consequently, they are both very believable and likeable characters, where the others remain flat cardboard examples of ‘the hero’, ‘the beautiful woman’ and ‘the villain’. Their animation, too, remains stiff and unconvincing In contrast, the funny little gnomes Jad and Yula are rendered very flexible and are responsible for some of the most beautiful animation in the film, which was practically all done by the Hungarian Pannonia Film Studio.

‘Les maîtres du temps’ is far from perfect, but mainly thanks to Piel’s character, with whom we can identify immediately, it’s a film with a heart. This, combined with some impressive science fiction images, especially of Perdide and of the planet Gamma 10, make the film one to return to over and over again.

After ‘Les maîtres du temps’ Laloux would make yet another Science fiction feature, now based on drawings by French comic artist Caza: ‘Gandahar’. Unfortunately, it would prove to be the weakest of the trio.
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source: amazon

Time Masters (Les Maitres du Temps) is a dazzling animated space epic from the director of the cult classic “Fantastic Planet” and the celebrated graphic artist Moebius, best known for his work on Heavy Metal magazine. Jaffar, a hero for hire, finds himself on the adventure of a lifetime as he races across the galaxy to save a young boy from a menacing evil. Can he stop the heartless Masters of Time from turning back the clock and stealing his home planet?
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source: bloggokinit

Vera icona senza pari del fumetto mondiale, un artista che va ben oltre i confini del fumetto e diventa arte contemporanea, moderna. La mostra attraversa tutto il suo lavoro, dalle storie a fumetti al suo primo film animato in 3D, personagi in perenne trasformazione, disegni che esplorano il fantastico e l’inconscio fino a creare mondi immaginari. Moebius è stato negli anni capace di fantasticare nello spazio infinito e di creare magazine a fumetti (Metal Hurlant), una carriera unica nel suo genere, dallo stile unico e innovativo, dall’Incal a Blueberry, da Arzach al Garage Ermetico.
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source: infopediapt

Realizador de animação francês, René Laloux nasceu em 1929, em Paris (França) e faleceu a 14 de março de 2004, em Angoulême, em consequência de uma crise cardíaca.
Começou a trabalhar, na década de 60, como monitor da clínica psiquiátrica de Laborde, em Cour Cheverny. Aprendendo animação como autodidata, iniciou a sua carreira de realização, com a curta-metragem Les Dents du Singe (1960), utilizando os pacientes da clínica como atores, segundo a teoria da ergoterapia.
Seguiram-se, com a colaboração do desenhador Roland Topor, as curtas-metragens Les Temps Morts (1964) e Les Escargots (1965). Em 1973, ainda com Topor, René Laloux produziu o filme La Planète Sauvage (O Planeta Selvagem), uma coprodução franco-checoslovaca, adaptado da novela de ficção científica OMS en Série do francês Stefan Wul (pseudónimo de Pierre Pairault) e com o qual ganhou o Prémio Especial do Júri, em Cannes. Este filme fantástico, que teria sido inspirado na ocupação da Checoslováquia pelos Russos, ilustra a história de humanos, os Oms, que foram domesticados por extraterrestres gigantes de raça azul chamados Draags.
Em 1982, ainda sobre o romance de Stefan Wul, L’Orpheline Perdide, o realizador concebeu o filme Les Maîtres du Temps (Os Mestres do Tempo), com desenhos de Jean Giraud e Moebius.
Em seguimento de La Planète Sauvage, realizou Gandahar (1988), baseado no romance de Jen-Pierre Andrevon e com desenhos de Caza. A última curta-metragem de Laloux foi Comment Wang-Fô Fut Sauvé (1987, A Salvação de Wang-Fô), uma adaptação do conto de Marguerite Yourcenar.
Em 1996, estabeleceu-se em Angoulême (a sudoeste de França), aceitando a proposta do Centre National de la Bande Dessinée et de l’Image (CNBDI) para assumir a direção do Laboratoire d’Imagerie Numérique e aposentou-se em 1999. O realizador dedicou-se também à pintura e à escrita.