Editing Forbidden Planet (section)

==Production==
[[File:Encina Drive-in Ad - 4 May 1956, CA.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Drive-in theater|Drive-in]] advertisement from 1956]]
The screenplay by Irving Block and [[Allen Adler]], written in 1952, was originally titled ''Fatal Planet''.<ref name="FP-book-2005">Wierzbicki [https://books.google.com/books?id=TcwYVjYIFH0C&q=%22Fatal+Planet%22&pg=PA5 2005, p. 5.]</ref> The later screenplay draft by [[Cyril Hume]] renamed the film ''Forbidden Planet'', because this was believed to have greater box-office appeal.<ref name="Articles">Thompson, Lang. [https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1114/forbidden-planet#articles-reviews "Articles: Forbidden Planet"] . ''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: January 16, 2015.</ref> Block and Adler's drama took place in the year 1976 on the planet [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]]. An Earth expedition headed by John Grant is sent to the planet to retrieve Dr. Adams and his daughter Dorianne, who have been stranded there for twenty years. In this version, there is no Krell or a monster from the ID. The invisible ape-like beast simply appears to be a native of Mercury. Hume's first story outline from November 1952 fleshed out and rewrote much of the original concept.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B7kUCwAAQBAJ&dq=Fatal+Planet+Nayfack+Mercury+Visibeam&pg=PT755|title=Keep Watching the Skies!: American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties, The 21st Century Edition|first=Bill|last=Warren|year=2017|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1476625058 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

The [[set construction|film sets]] for ''Forbidden Planet'' were constructed on a [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] (MGM) [[sound stage]] at its [[Culver City, California|Culver City]] film lot and were designed by [[Cedric Gibbons]] and [[Arthur Lonergan]]. The film was shot entirely indoors, with all the Altair IV exterior scenes simulated using sets, [[visual effect]]s, and [[matte painting]]s. As the art director of the film, Lonergan took the liberty to build sets that were much larger than the budget allowed. The sets were already half done when the budget department found out and it was too late to do anything about it.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owxqZoIXEmM&t=583s|title=Forbidden Planet documentary|date=January 31, 2020|via=YouTube|access-date=May 20, 2024|archive-date=May 20, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240520061035/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owxqZoIXEmM&t=583s|url-status=live}}</ref>

A full-size mock-up of roughly three-quarters of the starship was built to suggest its full width of 170&nbsp;ft (51&nbsp;m). The starship was surrounded by a huge, painted [[Cyclorama (theater)|cyclorama]] featuring the desert landscape of Altair IV; this one set took up all of the available space in one of the Culver City sound stages. Principal photography took place from April 18 to late May 1955.<ref>[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1114/forbidden-planet#film-details "Original print information: Forbidden Planet"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241127043200/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1114/forbidden-planet#film-details |date=November 27, 2024 }} . ''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: January 16, 2015.</ref>

At a cost of roughly $125,000, Robby the Robot was very expensive for a film prop at this time; it represented almost 7% of the film's $1.9 million budget and equates to at least $1 million in 2017 dollars.<ref name="MovieDiva-Forbidden-Planet" />{{refn|The robot was voiced by [[Marvin Miller (actor)|Marvin Miller]], who also played Michael Anthony, the narrator of ''[[The Millionaire (TV series)|The Millionaire]]'', a 1950s TV show.<ref name="MovieDiva-Forbidden-Planet">[http://www.moviediva.com/MD_root/reviewpages/MDForbiddenPlanet.htm "Forbidden Planet"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061115092327/http://www.moviediva.com/MD_root/reviewpages/MDForbiddenPlanet.htm |date=November 15, 2006 }}. ''MovieDiva''. Retrieved: January 16, 2015.</ref>|group=Note}}<!-- dubious reference. authoritative? --> Both the electrically controlled passenger vehicle driven by Robby and the truck/tractor-crane off-loaded from the starship were also constructed especially for this film. Robby later starred in the science fiction film ''[[The Invisible Boy]]'' (1957) and appeared in many TV series and films.

The [[animation|animated sequences]] of ''Forbidden Planet'', especially the attack of the Id Monster, were created by veteran animator [[Joshua Meador]],<ref>Lev 2006, p. 176.</ref> who was loaned to MGM by [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Walt Disney Productions]]. According to a "Behind the Scenes" featurette on the film's DVD, a close look at the creature shows it to have a small [[goatee]] beard, suggesting its connection to Dr. Morbius, the only character with this physical feature. Unusually, the scene in which the Id Monster is finally revealed during its attack on the Earth ship was not created using traditional [[cel animation]]. Instead, Meador simply sketched each frame of the entire sequence in black pencil on [[animation stand]] translucent vellum paper; each page was then photographed in high contrast, so that only the major details remained visible. These images were then photographically reversed into negative and the resulting white line images were then tinted red, creating the effect of the Id Monster's body remaining largely invisible, with only its major outlines illuminated by the energy from the force-field and blaster beams. The monster was considered so scary that in some states its image was edited out of the film so as to not frighten children. Meador was also responsible for the other visual effects, like the ray gun beams and disintegration scenes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cdispatch.com/lifestyles/rufus-ward-josh-meador-and-the-forbidden-planet/|title=Rufus Ward: Josh Meador and the 'Forbidden Planet'|first=Rufus|last=Ward|date=August 21, 2011|website=The Dispatch}}</ref>

Although [[workprint]]s of cinema films were normally destroyed, the workprint of ''Forbidden Planet'' was not destroyed, and was discovered in 1977. There are differences in characterization, dialogue and scenes between the workprint and the [[release print]].<ref>Clarke and Rubin, "Making Forbidden Planet", 1979, pp. 50, 54, 55, 58 & 62.</ref>