#Dark crystal puppets movie
#Dark crystal puppets series

Brea, the bookish youngest princess of the ruling tribe, is skeptical about everything, while Deet hails from an underground clan known as the Grottan, viewed as the lowest of the Gelfling tribes and one that gives little thought to the surface world, including the Skeksis. Lee’s prequel novels, although showrunners Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews (with the help of a prologue narrated by Sigourney Weaver) take care to establish their own vision of the seven matriarchal Gelfling clans, loosely allied but governed by social hierarchy and afflicted by common bigotry.įealty to these lords is not universally passionate. But when she encounters Rian, Brea and Deet, she refocuses on the survival of Thra and the Crystal.Įlements of “Age of Resistance” are informed by J.M. Aughra was lured away from her responsibilities by the Skeksis, and is only somewhat in contact with the reclusive Mystics, with whom the Skeksis have a connection. When Rian witnesses a horrific act that presages a dire threat for all his kind, he becomes a hunted fugitive.Īt this point in “The Dark Crystal” mythology, the Gelfling still pay to homage to the Skeksis, parasitic beings purporting to be the keepers of the Crystal of Truth, out of respect to Aughra (Donna Kimball), the ancient wise-woman originally entrusted with its care. This is no small undertaking for Rian (voiced by Taron Egerton), Brea (voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy) and Deet (Nathalie Emmanuel) - an outcast, a renegade and an emissary, in that order. “Age of Resistance,” set in a time long before the events of “The Dark Crystal,” follows a trio of Gelfling hailing from separate and distinct tribes, each of whom starts out on separate missions but, owing to a looming crisis, joins forces to find out what’s happening to the Crystal of Truth, the manifestation of Thra’s balance. The answer may seem obvious except for, well. Better still, its writers add several societal branches and geographic locales onto Henson’s relatively simple narrative, and the result is extraordinary.īut it nevertheless raises the question of who, exactly, is this story's target audience. “Age of Resistance” drops on Netflix Friday, and it comes to us in an era where puppets appear in all kinds of films, thanks to Henson's legacy.

#Dark crystal puppets series

You also know the resistance ignited in this new prequel series does not end happily.

#Dark crystal puppets movie

If you’ve seen the movie - since it’s running on Netflix, you should - then you know that the quest embarked upon by the heroic Gelfling Jen and Kira, the last of their elf-like kind, is more or less a straight line. “The Dark Crystal” is not outwardly child-friendly, nor was it overly concerned with narrative complexity. What seemed to confuse Ebert and his contemporaries was that, in their estimation, puppets are kid’s stuff. Yet somehow, a movie whose hero opines that what is best in life is 'to crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women' is estimated to be canny preadolescent entertainment, while 'The Dark Crystal' was considered a flop. In 1982 nobody had seen anything like the Skeksis, or the wise, painfully slow Mystics, or any serious film completely inhabited by beings shaped from man-made materials and animated by puppeteers. I liked a lot of it myself, and with me, a few broadswords and leather jerkins go a long way.Įxcept when the broadswords are being wielded by Skeksis, the shriveled, vulture-like villains of Henson’s Thra. Not since Bambi's mother was killed has there been a cannier movie for kids than 'Conan the Barbarian.' It's not supposed to be just a kids' movie, of course, and I imagine a lot of other moviegoers will like it. In contrast, here’s what Ebert said about another movie that opened in 1982:

Ebert gave “The Dark Crystal” a mixed-to-negative review. Take Roger Ebert, who reportedly cited the sight of Kermit the Frog riding a bicycle in “The Muppet Movie” as “one of the great moments in cinema,” as an example of this. They couldn’t have known that many modern popular fantasies following in its wake would do that, too.Īlso bear in mind that even the most highly respected critics are but humans whose tastes are formed at an early age by very specific works.

Back then, however, critics slammed “The Dark Crystal” for being derivative of J.R.R. Hindsight and the profound affection of those of us who loved “The Dark Crystal' and saw the wonder for what it was redeemed Henson’s vision as something far ahead of its time.