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A Lucy and Charlotte Special!

After the success of our Labyrinth episode, we thought we’d have a bit of fun and take another look at one of our favourite films: The Dark Crystal.

If you haven’t seen this cult Henson classic, The Dark Crystal tells the story of Jen, the last – or so he believes – Gelfling, who is prophesied to bring about the fall of the evil Skesis and heal a powerful relic, the titular Dark Crystal. His story is modelled on the classic chosen one trope, where a young and inexperienced boy holds the fate of the world in his hands.

This film was made in 1982, so how does it hold up? The advantage of fantasy is that it has the potential to avoid looking as dated as films like The Terminator or The Lost Boys. At the time it was made, TDC was hailed as the only live action film in which a human character makes no appearance. So is it the use of puppetry that keeps the years at bay?

And can we forgive the film its stereotypes that – after 30 years of commercial fantasy – now make us cringe? Listen on…

Mentioned in this episode:

• Krull
• The Dark Crystal Prequel: Age of Resistance
• The failed sequel: The Power of the Dark Crystal
• The failed sequel magically transformed into a graphic novel: Jim Henson’s The Power of the Dark Crystal
• Lessons Learned by Toby Froud