I think “Tron” had sex with “Saturday Night Fever” and called the baby “Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem.”

A blue-skinned alien rock band is playing to adoring crowds on their home planet. Suddenly, masked astronaut ninjas drop in, gas the crowds, abduct the band and take them through a wormhole to Earth. There, the band is made over to appear human, crippled with mind-control devices and (Gasp!) put to work in the music industry earning gold records for an evil manager! A distress call from the band’s homeworld is received by Shep, a deep space savior and superfan who cruises around the galaxy in a starship shaped like a guitar. Shep’s deep love for the band’s bass player is reason enough for him to “hero up” and release the alien band from their enslavement, fight off the manager’s goons and get the group home again so they can continue to rock the cosmos.

French robot rockers Daft Punk pay tribute to, and collaborate with, one of their childhood heroes, Leiji Matsumoto (of Star Blazers and Captain Harlock fame) to bring us an anime unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The film is very interesting, set track-for-track to Daft Punk’s awesome 2001 record “Discovery.” It’s a timeless album in my honest opinion, one I’ve listened to for years, one I’ll be listening to 20 years from now. Funky, throbbing and head-nodding, the songs are solid and diverse. It’s rock and funk and house and classical, all smothered in a savory technological sauce, it’s just a killer record.

What’s that? You don’t think they’re cool? Kanye West thought Daft Punk were cool enough to steal an entire song from them. Uh… okay, fine, “sample.” And let’s not forget that dope Gap commercial they starred in back in the day.

I love the art direction here, the fresh, clean approach to sci-fi. Bright, colorful and lively. Red carpets, white limos, blue skin. The anime style is gorgeous, a visual mash-up like the musical concepts on the record. It’s old-school ’70s character and mechanical design with a 21st century Photoshop sheen and shimmer. The color design is beautiful; the movie glows. The pace and editing are spot-on with the record, which was not rearranged in any way. It’s the album straight through, and the film follows along perfectly. It’s a great achievement. It’s like John Williams saying to George Lucas, “Here, I’ve recorded this amazing soundtrack, now make a sci-fi movie to go with it.”

On how many different planes can the 2003 film “Interstella 5555″ exist? Let’s see: It’s an anime movie; it’s a silent film; it’s a sci-fi actioner; it’s a hallucinogenic stoner midnight movie; it’s an album-length music video; it’s a rock opera…. It also takes jabs at the music business, so would that make it social commentary? It’s “Heavy Metal,” “Rock & Rule” and it’s a French-pop disco-ball anime “Star Wars.” You can listen to the music, watch the anime or just invite friends over, have a party and put it on in the background as atmospheric wallpaper. It’s very cool. It’s uber-stylish. It’s also got a lot of heart.

Yes, even Daft Punk show up as animated versions of themselves in a brief cameo–robot helmets and all. They’re at an awards ceremony and lose to the alien band! But with this movie, they totally win. If you like music and are a retro anime fan, definitely give this a look.