Forbidden Planet

This article is about the movie Forbidden Planet. For information about the bookstore chain of the same name see Forbidden Planet (bookstore).

About the film

Overall, though it preceded the television series by some years, Forbidden Planet is remarkably like one of the better Star Trek episodes: it could easily have been (but never was) adapted as an episode in that series, complete with the starship captain's amorous entanglements with the girl. Gene Roddenberry admitted in his biography Star Trek Creator that Forbidden Planet was one of the inspirations for Star Trek. Some would dispute that the captain of Forbidden Planet was of this character - he only was described as such by another character who himself several times attempted to take advantage of Altaira's naiveté (once in a scene not included in the DVD but previously seen in TV releases), and the captain's actions and perceived intentions were always beyond reproach - both in his command duties and in his personal relations.

Related Topics:
Star Trek - Gene Roddenberry

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For contemporary viewers, some of the technologies featured on the human starship are interesting, both in their relationship to how human technology has actually developed, and in terms of their influence on later science fiction. The starship has an unspecified drive system that allows travel over interstellar distances in short times. By contrast, the ship is navigated manually - at the film's conclusion, the fact that Robby can navigate the ship is considered a novelty. Approximately a half-century later, faster-than-light travel seems as impossible as ever, but the idea of requiring manual calculations to navigate a ship is now ridiculous in an age of ubiquitous computers. Another notable device featured in the movie is a small crew communication device that may have inspired Star Trek's "Communicator".

Related Topics:
Computer - Star Trek

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Robby the Robot was possibly the most expensive film prop ever constructed at the time: he also featured in the film The Invisible Boy. He made a cameo appearance in the 1980s film Gremlins; he can be seen in the background during a telephone conversation scene at an inventor's convention.

Related Topics:
Robby the Robot - The Invisible Boy - 1980s - Gremlins

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The animated sequences used for the special effects (especially the attack of the Id Monster) were animated by veteran FX animator, Joshua Meador who was loaned to MGM from Walt Disney Pictures for the film. Curiously, shots showing the shape of the invisible Id Monster outlined in the blaster beams were evidently removed from some prints shown on TV -- presumably because its monstrous appearance was considered too terrifying for younger viewers -- and it was many years before these shots were restored. The Id Monster also resembles the Looney Tunes character "The Tasmanian Devil".

Related Topics:
Joshua Meador - MGM - Walt Disney Pictures - Looney Tunes - The Tasmanian Devil

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The adamantine steel of the Krell towers which fell into the soil of the planet and which were used by Morbius to create protection for his residence share a common etymological origin with the fictional metal adamantium.

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After the movie came out, there followed a novelization by W.J. Stuart. In some ways, the book is superior to the film, because of its insights into the mystery of the Krell, and Morbius' relationship to them. Readers find that, unlike in the movie, Morbius repeatedly exposed himself to the Krell Mind Machine, which expanded his brain power far beyond the most intelligent human. Unfortunately, Morbius retained enough of his imperfect human nature to be afflicted with hubris (his contempt for humanity is obvious), which was ultimately his downfall.

Related Topics:
W.J. Stuart - Hubris

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The movie is also an example of Cooper's Law ("All machines are amplifiers"), as exemplified by Morbius's Id using the Krell machines to murder.

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As mentioned above, the film was influenced by William Shakespeare's The Tempest, though the plot of the film only superficially resembles the plot of the play. Some of the characters can clearly be lined up with one another:

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• Prospero = Dr. Edward Morbius
• Miranda = Altaira
• Ariel = Robby the Robot
• Caliban = Monster from the Id

However, although the identification of Ferdinand with Captain John J. Adams and Stephano and Trinculo with Cookie is tempting, the characters do not really match up. There are no further identifications for important characters such as Alonso, Antonio, or Sebastian. The "monsters from the Id" can be identified with Caliban ("This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine," said Prospero in The Tempest); and they also may have been inspired by the spirits controlled by Prospero.

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