Join us at the Rio Theatre on Tuesday, August 1 as we take “a sublime trip to a fine new world,” with one of the all-time great midnight movie cult-classics, director René Laloux‘s 1973 animated marvel FANTASTIC PLANET.

Nothing else has ever looked or felt like this film, a politically minded and visually inventive work of science fiction. The film is set on a distant planet called Ygam, where enslaved humans (Oms) are the playthings of giant blue native inhabitants (Draags). After Terr, kept as a pet since infancy, escapes from his gigantic child captor, he is swept up by a band of radical fellow Oms who are resisting the Draags’ oppression and violence. With its eerie, coolly surreal cutout animation by Roland Topor, brilliant psychedelic jazz score by Alain Goraguer, and wondrous creatures and landscapes, this Cannes-awarded counterculture classic is a perennially compelling statement against conformity and violence.

“Surreal and wonderful.” (Empire Magazine)

“A beautiful mixture of art, theme, story, and symbolism.” (Nerdist)

“An animated epic that is by turns surreal and lovely, fantastic and graceful.” (Rotten Tomatoes)

“It’s not every fancifully encoded cautionary tale that can survive the demise of its historical villains, and it’s not every stoner midnight movie that can stand a second viewing in the sober light of day.” (Village Voice)

Tuesday, August 1
Doors 8:30 pm | Movie 9:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Advance tickets HERE

FANTASTIC PLANET “La Planète sauvage” (René Laloux, 1973, 72 mins / PG / French with English subs)  This futuristic story takes place on a faraway planet where giants rule, and oppressed humanoids rebel against the machine-like leaders.

*Minors OK. Must be 19+ w/ID for bar service.
*Rio Theatre Groupons and Rio Theatre passes are OK for any single film screening only. Please redeem at the box office.
*Online sales end an hour before showtime; unless otherwise noted, tickets are always available for purchase at the box office prior to showtime. All Rio Theatre tickets are final sale. Our box office is typically open 30 minutes before showtime. All seating is General Admission; please arrive 20-30 minutes prior to showtime to ensure great seats and time for treats.
*If you are looking to redeem either a Rio Theatre gift certificate or Groupon to any regular Rio Theatre screening: You can either email us in advance <[email protected]> and give us a “heads up,” or do it at the box office prior to showtime. (We seat 400+ people and our regular screenings are very rarely at capacity – you should not have issues being admitted.)