When someone thinks about Jim Henson, words such as happy, warm and fuzzy enter the mind. These thoughts usually associated with shows such as “Sesame Street,” “The Muppet Show” and “Fraggle Rock.”
In the early 1980s, Henson teamed up Brian Froud to bring forth a movie that was in dark contrast and featured cold and harsh characters compared to the Muppets.
That movie was “The Dark Crystal.”
“The Dark Crystal” is about the journey of a Gelfling named Jen, who must find a crystal shard and destroy the sinister Skeksis.
Jen doesn’t know what to do once he finds the shard, nor does he know what will destroy his formidable opponent.
While on his journey, Jen meets up with many creatures, along with another Gelfling by the name of Kira, who helps him on his journey.
He meets his female counterpart during a hilarious scene featuring a dog-like creature named Fizzgig.
The villains of the film, the Skeksis, have many different qualities in physical attributes and dialect. It has been rumored that both Henson and Froud created them to represent the seven deadly sins.
A good example scene that portrays the Skeksis’ different personalities is the dinner scene, where they sit at the royal table.
Throughout the movie, there are hints to the viewers on what needs to be done to rid the world of the Skeksis, yet the final outcome is still a surprise.
The movie is unlike anything Henson has done in his movie career, even in comparison to “Labyrinth.”
The movie features no actors on screen.
Instead the characters are portrayed by puppets using animatronic technology. Separate actors were hired to provide voices to the beloved characters of the movie.
In the end of production it was revealed Henson wasn’t completely happy with the final product due to technical limitations at the time.
Yet, this film has developed a bit of a cult following due to the story, the locations of where the film was produced and the characters. It was because of this following the Henson family and Disney attempted to bring a sequel to the fans.
Due to production changes, the sequel will never see the light of day. That’s OK with some fans.
People were worried the movie industry would have ruined the beauty of the story with too many computer-related special effects.
In the DVD release of the of “The Dark Crystal,” minor details were changed or cleaned up.
The scene that got the majority of the edits was the end scene. In the end scene on VHS, the white lights were so bright it blurred out the faces of certain characters, and the crystal itself.
With the DVD release, people can now see the end scene with clarity, seeing the faces of all the characters and again, the crystal itself.
This film is a must see. This is truly a work of art.
