web analytics
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
No Result
View All Result
Budapest Reporter
  • industry
  • reviews
  • production
  • interviews
  • Find Your Partner
  • industry
  • reviews
  • production
  • interviews
  • Find Your Partner
No Result
View All Result
Budapest Reporter
No Result
View All Result

The everlasting animation – Time Masters

Budapest Reporter by Budapest Reporter
2021-08-24
in industry
Reading Time: 4 mins read
The everlasting animation - Time Masters

The everlasting animation - Time Masters

ADVERTISEMENT

Let’s take a look at the French-Hungarian co-production, which has won several awards and makes much more sense as an adult than as a child, Times Masters.

The giant bugs with their loud wings who are scalping children. The scary, faceless angels. The ugly tentacles devouring friendly “horses”. As children, these are the things we remember most from the “Time Masters”, the cult 1982 French-Hungarian co-production sci-fi film that is still considered the crown jewel of Hungarian animation – and although we only saw it in cinemas or on TV in Hungary from ’83 (and later on VHS and double-disc DVD), it became known around the world as “Time Masters”.

The cartoon changed the way many of us thought. Some people loved it, some hated it, many didn’t understand what it was trying to get at, and some even found its ending illogical and far-fetched. However, it cannot be forgotten.

sci-fi, Hungary, Moebius, Time Masters, animation, Pannónia Film Studios

Because „Les maîtres du temps” is a French-Hungarian co-production, it is also based on the visual designs of Jean Giraud, better known as Moebius. He is also responsible for the visuals for films such as “Alien”, “Tron”, and “The Fifth Element”.

The story doesn’t seem too complicated: a young boy named Piel crashes with his father Claud on the planet Perdide. After losing his parents, the child is forced to venture into the strange jungle alone. His only companion is a transmitter, whom Claud has named Miki so that Piel can talk to him in case of trouble. On the other end of the line is Claud‘s best friend Jaffar, somewhere far out in space.

He immediately comes to his aid, but understandably it’s not an easy task. On the one hand, because he has to change his route, and on the other hand, he has to find a way to keep him away, to protect him from the dangers on the planet, while he is only a bystander. To complicate matters further, the spaceship’s passenger, Prince Matton, is not happy about the change of destination and tries to thwart the plans.

sci-fi, Hungary, Moebius, Time Masters, animation, Pannónia Film Studios

At the first stop, Jaffar visits his old friend Silbad, where they rest until the right conditions are right to continue the journey. In the meantime, all three except Matton (Belle, Matton‘s wife, protects little Piel as a mother) take a liking to the little boy and give him good advice, trying to calm him down. At Silbad‘s residence, they witness a wonderful event that enriches the crew of the spaceship with two more companions.

But that’s all we want to say about the story because the focus is always on the nature of the journey and the dialogue. Although the direction of René Laloux (“The Fantastic Planet”, “Gandahar”) has been criticized by many, and some have called his plot incoherent, we think he has made a very good science fiction film. Stefan Wul‘s “The Orphan of Perdide” (1958) was made into the “Time Masters”, thanks to a collaboration between Moebius and the Hungarian Pannonia Film Studios.

sci-fi, Hungary, Moebius, Time Masters, animation, Pannónia Film Studios

In my opinion, the creators have not only created a gem of Hungarian animation, but also a sci-fi film with a pithy, yet somewhat simple storyline, infused with social criticism. Of course, every message is not only worth finding, but also worth recognizing and dealing with.

Although the work is billed as a children’s film (it won 2 awards in 1982: Best Children’s Film – Fantafestival, Best Feature Film – International Animated Film Festival), we would say that it also has much deeper ideas than many people realize at first glance.

While it does cleverly hide the critical overtones of individuality vs. societal expectations, we think that the open-minded can easily spot what “Time Masters” is all about. If you also pay attention to the dialogue of the gnomes, it becomes a little clearer what they are trying to get at.

The animated film deals with several fascinating themes, as well as being entertaining. One is greed, which overrides all needs and survival. When one wants it all, one’s common sense is often off, capable of driving oneself or one’s companions to suicide in the hope of reward.

sci-fi, Hungary, Moebius, Time Masters, animation, Pannónia Film Studios

This is paralleled by self-sacrifice, which is the exact opposite. But all of this is linked to a fascinating set of questions, which Psycho-Pass also explores. The collective consciousness is a popular premise in science fiction.

The concept can be approached from several angles, including assimilation. The aim is always to ensure that society has all the knowledge and can make decisions based on that knowledge. But behind this strength lies a weakness, because uniformity and the absence of secrets make the group vulnerable.

The importance of the individual is inescapable, although many ideas try to kill its presence. The nationalist, fascist, and communist mindsets also work to weed it out, but a race, a nation, society will only be truly diverse, so thorough and analytical, victorious and surviving if there is no exclusion of this kind and opinion remains free.

Last but not least, we would like to mention that “Time Masters” was released at almost the same time as Attila Dargay‘s “Vuk” (“Vuk”, “Pom Pom’s Tales”, “Szaffi”, “Vili the Sparrow”, “Lúdas Matyi”, and “Captain of the Forest”), which has since become one of the biggest Hungarian hits.

Tags: animationhungaryMoebiusPannónia Film Studiossci-fiTime Masters

More like this

DIGIC - The Next Chapter
interview

DIGIC – The Next Chapter

2023-03-21
Gaining Trust and Bridging Gaps in the Film Industry - Interview with László Hargittai
interview

Gaining Trust and Bridging Gaps in the Film Industry – Interview with László Hargittai

2023-03-08
Shooting of New Alien Movie to Begin, Synopsis and Cast Revealed
production

Shooting of New Alien Movie to Begin, Synopsis and Cast Revealed

2023-03-07
”The world of films is one blessed by God: Filmmakers create their own special world” – 91 Years of André Libik
featured

”The world of films is one blessed by God: Filmmakers create their own special world” – 91 Years of André Libik

2023-03-05
Trailer for Four Souls Of Coyote Arrives
filming

Trailer for Four Souls Of Coyote Arrives

2023-02-20
Hadik – Upcoming Hungarian Historic Adventure Movie Will Be Based on Real Events
made in hungary

Hadik – Upcoming Hungarian Historic Adventure Movie Will Be Based on Real Events

2023-02-17
Load More

Latest news

The Box Office Failure of Shazam! Fury of the Gods Highlights the Risk of Superhero Fatigue
featured

The Box Office Failure of Shazam! Fury of the Gods Highlights the Risk of Superhero Fatigue

2023-03-27
BPR Newsflash - New Projects by Gunn, Del Toro and Tarantino
featured

BPR Newsflash – New Projects by Gunn, Del Toro and Tarantino

2023-03-23
Hungarian Oscar Dinner to Celebrate Past and Present Accomplishments
featured

Hungarian Oscar Dinner to Celebrate Past and Present Accomplishments

2023-03-18
Medium Voltage - Shazam! Fury of the Gods Review
review

Medium Voltage – Shazam! Fury of the Gods Review

2023-03-16
Int’l Quorum of Motion Picture Producers to Meet in Budapest This Year
industry

Int’l Quorum of Motion Picture Producers to Meet in Budapest This Year

2023-03-16
Origo Studios Successfully Scales Up Post-Prod Environment
industry

Origo Studios Successfully Scales Up Post-Prod Environment

2023-03-14
ADVERTISEMENT
Budapest Reporter

© 2022 BPR Publishing

Navigate Site

  • Impressum
  • Advertisement
  • Business Directory
  • Privacy and Data Protection

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Industry
  • Review
  • Production
  • Interview
  • Gossip

© 2022 BPR Publishing