Nostalgia is a dangerous thing. It clouds the mind, warps the soul, and sets expectations that cannot be met. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, they say, and it is never truer than with a treasured childhood artifact.

In this case, I'm talking about The Dark Crystal. When I was a kid, it was one of my favorite movies. I watched it over and over, reveling in the puppetry and adventure. Fade to black, advance twenty-some years, and try again. This time, though, I wanted to introduce this film to my nieces, something I'd been waiting for for several years, wanting them to be old enough to appreciate it. I'm not sure I blame them much for being bored.

The Dark Crystal is a live action puppetry film from Jim Henson and Frank Oz, the pair that formed the heart of The Muppet Show and Sesame Street. This film features no muppets and takes a decidedly different tone. It's darker, more serious, and epic in scope, but still appropriate for children. It has that wide-eyed feeling of wonder that the best children's adventures carry with them at all times. That sense of awe and of hope that this brings also carries an implicit danger: hope becomes naiveté; awe becomes indulgence. The Dark Crystal neither avoids the dangers, nor misses the glories of this approach.

The story is set in an alien world, one that was once lush and beautiful, but has often given way to barren wastes, the peace that once was now torn by fear and violence. The vulture-like Skeksis are to blame. They lord over the land from the castle of the Crystal, self-appointed masters of an innocent land. Their greed knows no bounds, draining the essence of the peaceful Podlings to extend their lives and turning them into zombie-like slaves. The Skeksis enforce their power with the help of the Garthim, terrifying huge insectile monsters.

But there is a prophecy that tells of an end to the reign of the Skeksis. A Gelfling will make the crystal whole again during the time of the great conjunction and heal the land. Or not. And if not, then the world's in for a heaping helping of hurting. So the Skeksis do what any self-respecting evil race does: they killed off all of the Gelfings. Or almost all of them. Jen is the last Gelfling (at least, that's what he thinks). He lives with the Mystics, a kindly, spiritual race that seems to be the mirror opposite of the Skeksis. They send him off into the world to find the missing shard of the crystal and fix things so that all will be right in the world.

One of the problems with the film, as you may have grasped from the plot summary, is that if you start questioning the premises, the holes begin to show. And a curious five-year-old girl is a master at finding the holes. Her: "Why is the Crystal broken?" Me: "They broke it some time ago because they were arrogant or angry or something." Her: "How come the crystal is so important? What will fixing it do?" Me: "Uh... it's a metaphor, maybe?" Her: "Why are the Skeksis so mean to the little guys?" Me: "Because they are constipated. Just watch the freakin movie."

To dig this movie, you have to take everything at face value, unless you want to try to puzzle out the underlying metaphor that holds it all together. The Crystal seems to be central to the world, shooting power-giving laser beams into the Skeksis' eyes, rending the world asunder when it is cracked, and providing the impetus for the film. The prophecy is not really prophesized by anyone; it just seems to be something that everybody knows about. Plus, why is the alignment of the suns so important? Does everybody check their mood rings and astrological charts before heading to the tavern?

One of the reasons it's so confusing is that reliance on pseudo-mystical, new age-y mumbley jumbles. The crystal is important because it's important. So when it is broken, being the soul of the world, everything else becomes out of alignment. And every good crystal-polisher knows the best time to put things back into alignment is when the stars are in alignment. For every good there is a counter-balancing evil. Everything has its place, as foretold by the stars, and the wisest of people can find the path to enlightenment and peace by following the fortune cookie crumbs. This, of course, is wishful-thinking, oriental-flavored horseshit.

But that's me the cynical adult talking. If you can quell the questions and the urge to give the guy with the incense the finger, then The Dark Crystal really is a glorious thing to watch. The scope is epic, with a classic coming of age/heroes journey at its core. Jen is a hugely sympathetic character, lost in this great, mysterious world as he is, with a mission of ultimate importance. The Skeksis are appropriately abhorrent, not really murderous, but more petty and gross and scary. The landscapes are gorgeous as well, almost completely alien in their flora and fauna, but completely convincing and fascinating.

Jim Henson and his brilliant puppetry is really the star of this picture, though. Every one of them is wonderfully crafted, from the incidental animals and plants along the way to the Skeksis, Mystics, and Gelflings that make up the major players. Each is given individual character and flavor through their design, movements, and voice. Amazingly, it's all done through puppets and some small animation sequences and inserts. Of particular note are the Garthim, nightmarish creatures that chitter and gnash, massive things that scuttle with surprising speed.

Of course, Henson and company can't help but love their creations to where they give them some unnecessary screen time. The incidental creatures are cute and interesting, but a sequence in the woods where Jen briefly runs across a number of them is mostly fluff. And a Skeksi dinner is entirely so, only serving to show the wondrous designs of these creatures and the magic they can do. Each even eats in character, quite a feat for cloth and wood contraptions with a man's hand up it's ass. Certainly, it's a sin I can forgive, as their love for their creations comes blaring through, loud enough for us to feel it, too.

Still, I enjoyed this movie, even as I can now see the seams. The Dark Crystal will be something I pass to my children, something I can enjoy with them, even if some of the pleasure I get is the warm blanket of nostalgia.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8