One of the weirdest films I’ve seen, ever, but makes one understand just how pioneering Zeman was for motion pictures of the time.
Having been an avid reader of Jules Verne years ago, I appreciated the adventurist and fantastical elements of the story. In this day and age of serious sci-fi, the film doesn’t take itself seriously and thus in my book succeeds in painting a picture that can only be found in between dreams and Jules Verne’s novels.
The marriage between live action shots and animation, in a weird way, became oddly seamless. The animation wasn’t aiming to be realistic, and given the context of the story that played to Zeman’s advantage.
I wish I could rank this film higher - I unfortunately just haven’t been used to these films and I was pretty fatigued when I viewed this. I may want to rewatch this with fresh eyes another time, if only it could be more readily available.
Some additional research piqued my interest in the art of Gustave Doré and Georges Méliès.
When I compare the experience of this film with what is shown in recent years, the title of the project that worked to restore Zeman’s films carries a new meaning: Restoring the World of Fantasy.
