Movies From Austin (Part 4 of 4) - The Dark Crystal

Had to save the best for last. I've been a fan of the Jim Henson company for as long as I can remember. Probably for as long as I have been a Disney fan. As such, I consider Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal to be the company's best work as far as full length features go. Thing is, I never saw the movie in its entirety until just now.

Set in another time and place, the world of fantastic creatures in The Dark Crystal has been thrown out of balance. An evil race known as the Skeksis rape the land of natural resources and even defenseless people for their own selfish bidding. It is up to Jen, the last member of the Gelfling race, to fulfill a prophecy that, to be perfectly blunt about it, he has no clue as to why.

This is a classic story with characters from the peak of Muppet Technology. The character designs and sets are magical and very memorable. The kind that make people smile whenever they see something that looks like one of the races in the movie.

While pretty to look at, I found the plot to be rather long. This was filmed in a time where epics like Star Wars were bringing in the cash, but the story didn't really benefit from it. It did create some very beautiful scenes and several elements to make the characters feel real, but at the same time it made the film feel very long.

The art in the film is classic Henson, with vivid colors and characters with so much detail and life. You sometimes forget that you are watching puppets some of the times. I just wish they made the Gelfling race look a little more human. The ears, I don't mind. It's the nose that bothered me. However, the best character models would have to go the Skeksis. It's hard to believe that there was someone underneath all that fabric controlling what was suppose to be a vulture-like creature that was nothing but skin and bones. The race known as the Mystics come in at a very close second, mostly because they way they were built is in the classic two-person-puppet form that Henson made a staple of his company.

The music and acting could be better, but then again, given the time, it was still grand as it could be.

Like one person said on Gaia Online when I said I was going to watch this movie. "Dark Crystal is love!" There's something in this film for most everyone to enjoy.