Jul 15, 2024

Film “Time Masters” Restored and Released in 4K - Watch Exclusive Trailer

Janus Films has restored French animation director René Laloux's impressive animated feature The Time Masters (Les maîtres du temps) and will release it theatrically in a new 4K restored version. The film, with original French subtitles, will open in New York on Friday, July 26, followed by a nationwide sequential release.

The trailer for the newly restored 79-minute film is available exclusively on Cartoon Brew:

Best known for his 1970s science fiction masterpiece Fantastic Planet, Larue completed Time Masters in 1982. The film boasts a stunning universe designed by the esteemed illustrator Jean Movius Giraud, who was also a co-founder of Métal hurlant magazine (republished in the US as Heavy Metal magazine). Movius storyboarded the entire film and designed the characters, costumes, and backgrounds.

The animation was done by Pannónia Studios in Budapest, Hungary. Unlike “Fantastic Planet,” which was produced at a leisurely pace, “Time Masters” was produced on a limited budget and tight schedule. The language barrier between Larue and Movius and the Hungarian animators also hampered the production. However, the film's original conception is so powerful and unique that the limitations did not detract from the work, but rather added to its appeal. Time Masters remains a must-see masterpiece, a milestone in science fiction animation.

The film is an adaptation of the novel L'orphelin de Perdide (The Orphan of Perdide) by Stephan Ur. On the dangerous planet Perdide, young Pierre (voiced by Frédéric Legros), whose parents were killed, survives by radio contact with Jafar (Jean Valmost), the pilot who transports the exiled Prince Matton (Yves-Marie) and Princess Belle (Monique Thierry) from their former kingdom. Jafar seeks help from a jovial old-timer, Silvado (Michel Elias), who knows how to avoid Perdido's dangers, such as brain-eating insects and water tombs. Along the way, Jafar and his friends encounter a pair of cheeky stowaway homunculi, unidentified angels ruled by an amorphous collective consciousness, and the Rulers of Time, mysterious beings who can bend reality and perhaps reveal their secret origins and destiny to the protagonists.

Beyond the release of “Time Masters,” art house distributor Janus Films has recently been focusing on animation. The company, along with Sideshow, recently acquired North American distribution rights to Gins Zilvarodis' “Flow,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and won four awards at the Annecy Animation Film Festival last month.