Random Movie Review - The Dark Crystal

Jim Henson is a man who we all know for making puppetry (which would've probably ended up being a dying trend had he not done anything) popular. He has been involved with some of the most beloved franchises we grew up with such as Bear in the Big Blue House, Star Wars, Fraggle Rock and Labyrinth. But of course he is most famously known for being the creator behind The Muppets and Sesame Street. But when this film came around, the child and family friendly nature of his company was over. The Dark Crystal is widely regarded as one of the darkest franchises to come out of Jim Henson but it is as beloved as his other works. It was considered groundbreaking with its animatronics and the fact that it was all that, puppets and not a single human being in sight. So I guess its time to review it and see whether its still as good as it was back in the 80s:

A long time ago (though unlike Star Wars, its a thousand years ago) on the planet Thra, two races who are seemingly the opposite of one another, came to be when the titular crystal began to crack. The first race known as the Skeksis are considered evil and use the crystal to replenish themselves continually. The second race known as the urRu are considered good and are known by another name; Mystics after it became apparent that they are wizards. A prophecy is revealed that one being must find a crystal shard in an attempt to heal the crystal before the alignment of the planet's three suns. Otherwise the Skeksis rule forever. This one being ends up being a Gelfling called Jen (voiced by Stephen Garlick, puppeteered by Henson himself and performed by Kiran Shah) who sets out to find the shard and end the rule of the Skeksis forever. But remaining unaware of the existence of another being like him.

I'd think this has aged pretty well. Its one of the rare times where using more realistic effects and designs tend to work better than CGI overkills like the Star Wars prequels. Its as ground breaking as it was back in the day and its good old fun despite the darker tones when compared to other Henson productions. Plus with a new Netflix show, its good to know that the franchise hasn't been forgotten and I may even look at the show tomorrow. 9/10