It is impossible to watch an action or sci-fi movie in today's new age without seeing at least a hundred scenes of computer generated imagery(CGI). Movies like "The Matrix", "Van Helsing", and "Lord of the Rings" are all completely mesmerizing to watch, as effects are created that would have been unthinkable even twenty years ago. As amazing as these movies are to watch on the big screen, it seems that Hollywood has lost it's true talent. They tend to churn out surreal worlds and almost life-like monsters and creatures while simply sitting at computers for hours on end. Where is the sweat? Where is the true talent?

Most people on this planet have heard of "The Muppets", created by Jim Henson. This puppeteer genius was also the mastermind behind an often-forgotten-about 1982 movie called "The Dark Crystal". Many of us who grew up during the early 1980's remember this movie, but few have seemed to pass it on to their children. Very few of those people who saw the movie ever knew what went into brining to life this amazing story. For five hard years, thousands of makeup artists, puppeteers, set designers, robotic creators, and of course directors and producers labored over this project. That is what I call true talent.

The storyline goes like so: Thousand of years ago, the world was a peaceful, green, happy place. At the center of the world was a castle that contained a large crystal. One day, the crystal cracked. Darkness fell over the land, as the castle's inhabitants divided, each one, into a good half and an evil half. The good race, the wise Mystics, left the castle and journeyed far away to live in peace on their own. The evil race, the Skeksis, remained at the castle to guard the broken crystal. Both races are aware of a prophesy that foretold a hero that would find the missing shard of the crystal and restore peace to the world. The main plot revolves around this hero, Jen, who is of the race of Gelflings, of whom all but himself have been wiped out by the evil Skeksis, who fear the prophecy. It is a race against time, as Jen must find the crystal shard and bring it back to the castle before the planets align and the world is thrown into eternal darkness.

The best part about this movie is that, though you do not see a single human being or living creature, Jim Henson and his group have made this movie almost life-like. Nothing has been left out. Every scene has movement from not only the main charcter on screen, but from hundreds of moving plants, creatures, and even dust from wind in the background. This movie is so indepth that you have to watch it several times to catch every little thing on screen. The DVD version of this movie has a long documentary on the making of this wildly imaginative movie. Anyone who watches that documentary will be simply amazed how this entire world, with literally thousands of species of animals and plants exist, was created.

In conclusion, this is one of the most thorough and creative movies ever made. Buy the movie. Watch the movie. Watch the documentary. Then compare that documentary to ones on the Matrix movies and you will see a huge difference. These are not men sitting in rooms filled with high tech computers and equipment. These are craftsman who build entire worlds and whole new species and races of creatures out of wood, fabric, rubber, metal, plastic, yarn, and anything that they can find. People of all ages would be fascinated with this movie.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up to Age 4