In 1982 ITC Entertainment and The Jim Henson Company released ‘The Dark Crystal’, a dark fantasy puppet film directed by Jim Henson and Frank oz. The film follows a young Gelfling named Jen trying to reunite the heart of Thra with a fragment of the crystal that broke off. On his journey he befriends a girl named Kira who helps him stop the evils of the Skeksis.
Jen is the primary protagonist in the film but is strangely written to be the most incompetent hero I have ever seen in I film. This is not a critique of the acting or puppeteering, Stephen Garlik and Jim Henson do a wonderful job making Jen feel like a real person, but a critique of the writing. I find it hard to root for him when he can do hardly anything on his own save for playing a flute for some rocks. Kira, however, performed with the same level of talent by actor Lisa Maxwell and puppeteer Kathryn Mullen is a much more compelling character. Despite being a secondary protagonist, she is the reason the plot progresses in the film as she carries Jen through chaos. Her background also provides great worldbuilding in the film, elaborating on the group known as the Podlings and the wildlife of Thra. The Skeksis are a group of horrifying lizard-like creatures that function as the antagonists of the film but there is a particular focus on two of them: the Chamberlain, voiced by Barry Dennen and puppeted by Frank oz, and The Scientist, voiced and puppeted by Steve Whitmire. Everything about them (and every other Skeksis) makes them the most unsettling villains in any film from the design and writing to the acting and puppeteering. The Chamberlain is my favorite character. He is played with so much desperation that it manages to make him scarier than all the other Skeksis because you do not know what he is willing to do to get what he wants. The scientist on the other hand, introduces one of the most haunting concepts of the movie and is responsible for scarring many children throughout the decades.
For most puppet films, especially if it is a Jim Henson production, they typically have elaborate and beautiful creatures and set design and The Dark Crystal is no exception. Every single scene and every single character oozes with passion and care that makes the film feel as if you had been watching a documentary filmed on a foreign planet. The world of Thra is populated with strange and beautiful creatures from the Skeksis and mystics to the Landstriders and Aughra every creature more unique than the last. Every creature feels so alive it makes you believe in Thra. Then there is the set design which outmatches any other set to this day. Headed by Ricard Holland, the sets are these beautifully rich and expansive environments. The forests are filled with strange plants that bring the settings to life while the buildings whether for Skeksis or Mystics or Podlings give a feeling of rich history and culture to each group. Every part of this movie is so expansive, it is hard for me to imagine how they managed to make all of it and just goes into this magnificent world building that the dark crystal has.
A primary theme that the dark crystal is trying to display is surprisingly complexly conveyed in what is considered a family film. There is a reoccurring theme of respecting, protecting, and restoring nature in a kind of cautionary tale that feels relatable to the modern world in a strange surreal way. Kira is one of the main vehicles for this theme and teaches Jen to respect the wildlife of Thra. The message is also delivered through the Skeksis as the attempt to stop their natural aging in any way possible, in the process, harming the planet.
Overall, the dark crystal is one of the best films I’ve ever seen thanks to its creature design, set design, puppetry, world building and so much more. The only problem I have is how frustrating Jen is as a main character. I would give it a strong 86% and if you watch it and like it, the franchise has an equally incredible show on Netflix as well as a great comic series that builds on the world of Thra.
