Airelle's Song For Gandahar

"In a thousand years Gandahar was distroyed. A thousand years ago Gandahar will be saved. And what can't be avoided, will be."

This pic is a tribute to a forgotten animation that was released from France in 1988 (in colaberation with Korean animators). "Gandahar" (AKA "Light Years" in the US) was an animation that would address the issues of prejudice, ignorance, and the dangers inherent in both, as well as the clash of a natural environment with encroaching technology. This fan art is in fact a recreation of the very first scene of the movie, which remains this one's favorite becuase of the harmony and tranquility expressed in it.

When brought to the US for production, it was considered a groundbreaking animation, and featured the voices of Hollywood greats such as Glenn Close, Bridget Fonda, Christopher Plummer and even comedians Penn and Teller. It was thought that "Gandahar" would join the ranks of it's predecessor "Fantastic Planet" and be remembered as a legendary film. This was not to be. At nearly the same time "Gandahar" was released in the US, under the title "Light Years", another animation was released that not only changed the standards for animation for time, but SET the standards for nearly all the animations of today: the legendary Japanese anime "Akira". With "Akira" in theaters, "Gandahar" was virtually forgotten.

Although hard to find, "Gandahar" can be seen on YouTube, and this one highly recommends this film to anyone who loves animation. The nudity throughout the film, is actually tasteful and reflective of a utopia that is "a civilazation that prefers the organic" which is the focus of the film. This one understands that a DVD will soon be released of "Gandahar" in the UK, in it's original, unedited format.

You can see the US version here:

[link]

And read more on the background of the movie here:

[link]

It is a truly unique story and animation.

This one closes this lengthy comment with a wise quote from the film's director Isaac Asimov:
"We speak of Time and Mind, which do not easily yeild into categories. We separate past and future and find that Time is an amalgam of both. We separate good and evil and find that Mind is an amalgam of both. To understand, we must grasp the whole." -- Isaac Asimov

Edit: As of 2008 both "Gandahar" and the US release "Light Years" have been made available on DVD.