If you happen to meet a cynic at Kaboom, who proclaims: “It’s all been done before”, please point them to Dandelion’s Odyssey: an epic interplanetary space adventure, with as its heroes... four dandelion seeds. Without people, without dialogue, but with remarkable sound design – like a kind of flora version of Flow (2024) – four dandelion seeds manage to escape the nuclear destruction of Earth and embark on a breathtaking journey through the cosmos, to boldly seek a new home planet.

‘Planètes’ is also the original title of this debut feature by Japanese animator Momoko Seto, who has been refining her exceptional technique with the shorts Planet A (2009), Planet Z (2011), Planet Σ (2014) and Planet ∞ (2018). Her CG seeds, each with their own personality, move through a universe of smooth live-action timelapses and extreme slow motion, handmade maquettes and macro footage from a seed’s perspective – making a frog look like a gigantic monster and an aggressive praying mantis like something straight out of Jurassic Park (1993).

This is drama, not comedy. No Silly Symphonies trees with faces using their branches as arms, as director Seto emphasised in interviews, but actually trying to empathise with a plant. Flora, usually only the décor, here becomes the main subject. Seto also draws on her own experience as a Japanese immigrant trying to put down roots in Paris, for her deeper message: a holistic vision of life, in which everything is connected to everything else. Won the Paul Grimault Award at Annecy and a Fipresci Award in Cannes.

Don’t make a dash for the lobby just yet! Stick around after the credits for a 15-minute brain-tickle with the talk and performance You May Call Me a Big Mermaid from Your Stomach by Sol Enae Lee (Saturday 14 March) and talk with Ying Yi Wu (Saturday 21 March). 
But that’s not all—if you’re feeling inspired, head over to the Kaboom Café for a 30-minute hands-on session. Join the workshop Botanical Art – Inner Landscape with Ying Yi Wu (Saturday March 21) to dive deeper into the themes of the day.

Conversations supported by Het Filmgesprek. 

This program screened as part of Kaboom Animation Festival 2026

Showing in this program

Dandelion’s Odyssey

• Momoko Seto
• France / Belgium, 2025
• 76 min.

The heroes of this epic interplanetary space adventure are… four dandelion seeds! Japanese director Momoko Seto spent years refining her exceptional technique, combining CGI characters with slowed-down and sped-up footage of real-life nature. No humans, no words – like a flora version of Flow. Paul Grimault Award, Annecy; Fipresci Award, Cannes.

Don’t make a dash for the lobby just yet! Stick around after the credits for a 15-minute brain-tickle with our guest philosopher and the creative visionaries from Asian Movie Nights. We’re bridging the gap between popcorn cinema and deep theory to unpack the film’s biggest "wait, what?" moments. Whether you’re here for the aesthetics or a minor existential crisis, this quick-fire Q&A is the perfect digestive for the soul. Conversation supported by Het Filmgesprek.