The Dark Crystal (1982)

The Dark Crystal (1982)

Dirs. Jim Henson / Frank Oz

TDC is a tale set in an "age of wonder," populated with creatures that are bizarre, cute, and often colourful. The world is rarely at rest; flora and fauna react when something shuffles by, while things scuttle in and out of the frame often, helping the world seem alive.

A v/o narration at the film's beginning is our introduction to the land's history and of the races that populate it. The majority of the story revolves around three of them:

The gentle urRu Mystics, who are like benevolent druids with sad, dog-like faces; they live at peace with nature and appear to be accepting and respectful of its seasons.

Their antithesis is the evil Skeksis, selfish and cruel vulture-like beings that shuffle and stoop menacingly. Terrifying nightmare fuel, the Skeksis give the impression that if you were to get up close to them they'd smell of carrion and mildew (and perhaps a whiff of aristocracy). They scared the crap out of me as a kid... and I loved every minute of it.

I also love how the end credits give each of the Mystics and Skeksis a function/role, even though only a few of them are actually referred to as such in the film itself.

- The wicked Skeksis  |  The gentle Mystics -

The third important race is Gelfling, an elf-like species of which the film's protagonist, Jen, is a member. Jen is the story's Frodo, a youth given a momentous task, on whose shoulders sits the burden of healing the world and restoring the balance that the Skeksis want to destroy forever.

If you distil it to a basic level, it's a standard fantasy story, but within the framework is nestled a simple but rewarding coming of age journey for the young Gelfling hero. In addition, and what makes TDC really, really special, is that it's a production that's 100% puppetry, animatronics, miniatures, men in suits, matte paintings, and all that good stuff. Pure. Movie. Magic.

Character and conceptual designs are by renowned fantasy artist Brian Froud, who would go on to work with Henson again when he made Labyrinth (1986).

There have been a number of print media tie-in works over the years, including prequel novels, comic books and even a manga, but I've not read any of them.

More worryingly, there have been attempts to get a sequel in production for many years. I'd prefer it be left as it is, a singular work that's unique and enduring.