Gandahar
A surreal French animated odyssey sends a utopian prince across time to confront the monstrous scientific legacy threatening his world.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- dreamy
- eerie
- surreal
- arthouse animation night
- science fiction double feature
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Gandahar is defined by genetic experimentation, mutation, rare beauty, and a serene society shaped by biological invention.
The Metamorphis is revealed as the ultimate failure of Gandaharian scientific experimentation and uses its creations against Gandahar.
Sylvain travels far into the future to confront the Metamorphis and its metal army, linking Gandahar's present to its distant consequences.
The film's surrealism, visual poetry, robots, giant brain, and genetically transformed world create an intentionally dreamlike visual language.
Films like Gandahar, and why
Fantastic Planet
surreal adult animation, speculative world-building, and visually poetic science fiction
The King and the Mockingbird
ambitious animated science fiction, strange creatures, and philosophical themes about technological creation
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
animated fantasy adventure with dreamlike imagery, ecological imagination, and a young hero confronting a powerful enemy
The City of Lost Children
inventive animated science fiction centered on mutation, future societies, and unsettling technological transformation
Movie Details
- Director
- René Laloux
- Release Date
- 1987-12-11
- Runtime
- 83 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (154)
Cast
- Catherine Chevallier
- Pierre-Marie Escourrou
- Anny Duperey
- Christine Pâris
- Georges Wilson
- Jean-Pierre Ducos
- Olivier Cruveiller
- Zaïra Benbadis
- Claude Degliame
- Jean-Pierre Jorris
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video
- Buy
- Amazon Video
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Gandahar about?
- A surreal French animated odyssey sends a utopian prince across time to confront the monstrous scientific legacy threatening his world.
- What is Gandahar like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Gandahar as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Gandahar violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Gandahar as mild.
- Which films are like Gandahar?
- Films with a similar feel include Fantastic Planet, The King and the Mockingbird, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and The City of Lost Children.
- How long is Gandahar?
- Gandahar runs 83 minutes.
- Where can I watch Gandahar?
- In United States, Gandahar streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
