The Dark Crystal

On the blighted planet Thra 1,000 years earlier, a powerful crystal cracked and two new races appeared: the cruel Skeksis, who use the crystal's power to extend their lives, and gentle Mystics, the urRu, who dwell in a secluded valley. Among the Mystics is Jen, a young Gelfling adopted after the Skeksis slaughtered his clan. As the Great Conjunction of the world's three suns draws near, the dying Mystic Master instructs Jen to fulfill a prophecy to heal the crystal by first retrieving a missing shard from Aughra. If Jen fails to complete his quest before the three suns meet, the Skeksis will rule forever. The Master then dies, and the Skeksis Emperor dies simultaneously. The Skeksis General successfully challenges the Chamberlain for succession in a "trial by stone" and banishes him from the castle. When the Skeksis learn of Jen's existence, they send their army of giant crab-like Garthim to capture him, with the cunning Chamberlain following. Jen meets Aughra and enters her orrery. Offered several shards, he chooses one that responds when he plays the Mystics' chord on his flute. Before Aughra can explain Jen's mission, the Garthim arrive and destroy the orrery, taking Aughra prisoner as Jen flees. Hearing the crystal's call, the Mystics leave their valley and journey to the castle. On his journey through a forest swamp, Jen meets Kira, a female Gelfling. The two learn more about each other when they accidentally "dreamfast", sharing each other's memories. They stay for a night with the Podlings who raised Kira, only for them and Kira's pet Fizzgig to flee when the Garthim raid the village. They are nearly caught, but the Chamberlain orders the Garthim back. Jen and Kira discover a ruined Gelfling city where a prophecy is inscribed: Jen realizes that he must take the shard to the castle. The Chamberlain approaches and begs them to come to the castle with him. The Gelflings flee and reach the castle on Landstriders, intercepting the Garthim that raided Kira's village. They attack to free the Podlings but are cornered. Kira grabs Jen and Fizzgig and reveals wings, an attribute possessed only by female Gelfling, that she uses to glide into the castle's dry moat. They enter the castle through the catacombs while, above, the Skeksis Scientist uses the crystal's rays to extract vital essence from Podlings. The Emperor drinks the essence and finds that it has only temporary restorative effects, unlike Gelfling essence which was more potent. The Chamberlain tries again to seize the Gelflings, and Jen stabs his hand with the shard; elsewhere the Mystic Chanter notices a wound on his hand. Enraged, the Chamberlain buries Jen in a cave-in and takes Kira as a gift to the Emperor. The Emperor reinstates him and orders Kira drained of essence. Aughra, imprisoned in the laboratory, tells Kira to call the captive animals for help. They break free and attack the Scientist, who deflects the draining prism before falling into the fiery crystal shaft; on a rocky plain, the Mystic Alchemist vanishes in flames. Aughra frees herself while Jen, awakened by Kira's call, climbs up the shaft to the laboratory. The Gelflings make their way to a hall overlooking the crystal chamber, where the Skeksis gather for the conjunction ceremony. When the Skeksis spot them and order the Garthim to attack, Jen leaps onto the crystal but drops the shard. Kira glides down to the chamber, grabs the shard and throws it to Jen before the High Priest stabs her fatally. As the suns align Jen plunges the shard into the crystal, producing a force that throws him aside. The Garthim disintegrate and the drained Podlings regain their vitality while the dark stone covering the castle crumbles to reveal a crystalline structure. The Mystics arrive and use the crystal's light to draw the Skeksis to themselves, merging into angelic urSkeks. The urSkek leader tells Jen that they sundered themselves and damaged the crystal a thousand years ago, upsetting the world's balance. They revive Kira in gratitude and ascend toward the suns, leaving the crystal to light the rejuvenated world. ==Cast==

• Jim Henson as: • Jen, a Gelfling raised by the Mystics and entrusted to restore the Dark Crystal. Stephen Garlick provides the voice of Jen. • The High Priest, a Skeksis ritual master. Jerry Nelson provides the voice of the High Priest. • The Emperor, the incumbent Skeksis emperor who dies at the beginning of the film. Nelson provides the voice of the Emperor. • Kathryn Mullen as Kira, a Gelfling raised by the Podlings who joins Jen's quest. Lisa Maxwell provides the voice of Kira. • Frank Oz as: • Aughra, the Keeper of Secrets and an astronomer. Billie Whitelaw provides the voice of Aughra. • Chamberlain, a conniving Skeksis official who covets the throne. Barry Dennen provides the voice of Chamberlain. • Dave Goelz as: • Fizzgig, a dog-like animal that is Kira's loyal pet. Percy Edwards provides the voice of Fizzgig. • The General, the easily angered Skeksis Garthim-Master who becomes the new Emperor. Michael Kilgarriff provides the voice of the General. • Steve Whitmire as the Scientist, a Skeksis researcher of the crystal's power and ways to exploit the world's creatures. • Louise Gold as Gourmand, the Skeksis organizer of banquets. Thick Wilson provides the voice of Gourmand. • Brian Muehl as: • Ornamentalist, the Skeksis designer of garments and decor. • urZah, the Mystic Ritual-Guardian. Seán Barrett provides the voice of urZah. • The Mystic Master, who dies at the beginning of the film imparting wisdom to Jen. • Bob Payne as the Scroll Keeper, the Skeksis castle historian. John Baddeley provides the voice of the Scroll Keeper. • Mike Quinn as the Slave-Master, the Skeksis overseer of the drained Podlings. David Buck provides the voice of the Slave-Master. • Tim Rose as the Treasurer, a soft-spoken Skeksis who keeps the castle's riches. Charles Collingwood provides the voice of the Treasurer. • Jean Pierre Amiel as the Mystic Weaver • Hugh Spight as the Mystic Cook • Robby Barnett as the Mystic Numerologist • Swee Lim as the Mystic Hunter • Simon Williamson as the Chanter, Mystic counterpart of the Chamberlain • Hus Levant as the Mystic Scribe • Toby Philpott as the Mystic Alchemist, counterpart of the Scientist • David Greenaway and Richard Slaughter as the Healer • Joseph O'Conor as the Narrator and voices of the urSkeks. Kiran Shah, Mike Edmonds, Peter Burroughs, Malcolm Dixon, Sadie Corré, Deep Roy, Jack Purvis, Gerald Stadden, Mike Cottrell, John Ghavan, Abbie Jones, Natasha Knight, and Lisa Esson are credited as additional performers with Shah providing the stunt body doubles for Jen, Kira, and Aughra. Miki Iveria, Patrick Monckton, Sue Weatherby, and Dennen also provide the voices for the Podlings. ==Production==

Development Jim Henson's inspiration for the visual aspects of the film came around 1975–76, after he saw an illustration by Leonard B. Lubin in a 1975 edition of Lewis Carroll's poetry showing crocodiles living in a palace and wearing elaborate robes and jewelry. The film's conceptual roots lay in Henson's short-lived The Land of Gorch, which also took place in an alien world with no human characters. Henson formulated his ideas into a 25-page story he entitled "The Crystal", which he wrote whilst snowed in at an airport hotel. This draft contained elements in the final product, including the three races, the two funerals, the quest, a female secondary character, the Crystal, and the reunification of the two races during the Great Conjunction. "Mithra" was later abbreviated to "Thra", due to similarities the original name had with an ancient Persian deity. while Odell stated it was he who created it, and that it was formed from Indo-European roots. This idea was dropped after test screening audiences found the captions too distracting, but the original effect can be observed in selected scenes on the various DVD releases. with Amiel himself performing the Weaver Mystic. Both Jen's dying Mystic master and the Ritual Guardian were performed by Brian Muehl, who was a recurring puppeteer on Sesame Street at the time, and many of the other Mystic performers would go on to work on the Star Wars film Return of the Jedi, as would two of the Skeksis' puppeteers, Mike Quinn (Slave Master) and Tim Rose (Treasurer). When conceptualizing the Skeksis, Henson had in mind the seven deadly sins, though because there were ten Skeksis, some sins had to be invented or used twice. but later designed them as "part reptile, part predatory bird, part dragon", with an emphasis on giving them a "penetrating stare." The Chamberlain Skeksis, in particular, was built with 21 electronic components. One Skeksis puppet, identified as "SkekZok", is displayed at the Museum of the Moving Image. National Museum of American History In designing the Mystics, Froud portrayed them as being more connected to the natural world than their Skeksis counterparts. Henson intended to convey the idea that they were purged of all materialistic urges, yet were incapable of acting in the real world. Froud also incorporated geometric symbolism throughout the film in order to hint at the implied unity of the two races. Jones initially wanted to compose a score which reflected the settings' oddness by using acoustical instruments, electronics and building structures. This was scrapped in favor of an orchestral score performed by the London Symphony Orchestra once Gary Kurtz became involved, as it was felt that an unusual score would alienate audiences. The main theme of the film is a composite of the Skeksis' and Mystics' themes. Jones wrote the baby Landstrider theme in honor of his newly born daughter. ==Release and reception==

Box office The Dark Crystal was released in 858 theaters in North America on December 17, 1982, and finished third for the weekend with a gross of $4,657,335, behind Tootsie and The Toy, performing better than some people expected. In its initial weekends, it had a limited appeal with some audiences for various reasons, including parental concerns about its dark nature when contrasted with Henson's family-friendly Muppet franchise. In its third weekend, it moved up to second place nationally with a gross of $5,405,071 from 1,052 screens. It made $40,577,001 in its box office run, managing to turn a profit. The film became the 16th highest-grossing film of 1982 within North America. To date, it remains as one of the highest-grossing puppet films of all time, particularly for its domestic gross. It made £2.4 million in the UK. The Dark Crystal was re-released by Fathom Entertainment in select theaters on October 12 and 13, 2025. Critical reception The film received a mixed response upon its original release, but has earned a more positive reception in later years, becoming a favorite with fans of Henson and fantasy. Vincent Canby of The New York Times negatively reviewed the film, describing it as a "watered down J. R. R. Tolkien... without charm as well as interest." Kevin Thomas gave it a more positive assessment in the Los Angeles Times: "Unlike many screen fantasies, The Dark Crystal casts its spell from its very first frames and proceeds so briskly that it's over before you realize it. You're left with the feeling that you have just awakened from a dream." Richard Corliss of Time magazine wrote: "The invention is impressive, but there is little indication of the Henson-Oz trademark: a sense of giddy fun. Audiences nourished on the sophisticated child's play of the "Sesame Street" Muppets and the music-hall camaraderie of The Muppet Show may not be ready to relinquish pleasure for awe as they enter The Dark Crystals palatial cavern." Variety praised the film as "a dazzling technological and artistic achievement ...that could teach a lesson in morality to youngsters at the same time it is entertaining their parents." Gary Arnold of The Washington Post wrote the main characters were "the softest and potentially weakest figures" in the film, but nevertheless, "The Dark Crystal leaves no doubt that Jim Henson and his colleagues have reached a point where they can create and sustain a powerfully enchanting form of cinematic fantasy." Gene Siskel of The Chicago Tribune awarded the film out of four stars in which he felt "...the resultant absence of dramatic tension cripples 'Crystal,' which doesn't have much going for it save for weird characters, who look like they just walked in from the bar scene in Star Wars. In fact, a lot of this movie looks like it was ripped off from Star Wars." Colin Greenland, reviewing for Imagine magazine, stated that "The Dark Crystal is a technical masterpiece with splendid special effects work by a team two dozen strong. It may be that they did well to keep the story simple and then lavish a wealth of detail on it, rather than go for a more complicated fantasy and fail." John Nubbin reviewed The Dark Crystal for Different Worlds magazine and stated that "it very well may be that he who laughs last actually does laugh best. The Dark Crystal has all the earmarks of a winner, at exactly the time when we need one." On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads: "The Dark Crystals narrative never quite lives up to the movie's visual splendor, but it remains an admirably inventive and uniquely intense entry in the Jim Henson canon." On Metacritic it has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100 based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In 2008, the American Film Institute nominated this film for its Top 10 Fantasy Films list. Accolades Home media The Dark Crystal was first released on VHS, Betamax, and CED by Thorn EMI Video in 1983. The company's successor HBO Video re-released it on VHS in 1988 and also released it in widescreen on LaserDisc for the first time. On July 29, 1994, Jim Henson Video (through Disney's Buena Vista Home Video) re-released the film again on VHS and on a new widescreen LaserDisc. On October 5, 1999, Columbia TriStar Home Video and Jim Henson Home Entertainment gave the film one final VHS release and also released it on DVD for the first time and it has had multiple re-releases since including a Collector's Edition on November 25, 2003, and a 25th Anniversary Edition on August 14, 2007. It was also released on UMD Universal Media Disc for PlayStation Portable (PSP) on July 26, 2005. It was released on Blu-ray on September 29, 2009. Another anniversary edition of The Dark Crystal was announced in December 2017, with a brand-new restoration from the original camera negative, and was released on Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray on March 6, 2018. Prior to the 4K/Blu-Ray release, Fathom Events presented the restored print of The Dark Crystal in US cinemas on February 25 and 28, and March 3 and 6, 2018. On January 1, 2024, a worldwide distribution agreement signed between Shout! Studios and the Jim Henson Company for The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth as well as associated content went into effect. The agreement grants Shout! Studios streaming, video-on-demand, broadcast, digital download, packaged media and limited non-theatrical rights to the films. The company released the films on all major digital entertainment platforms on February 6, 2024. ==Novelization==

A tie-in novelization of the film was written by A. C. H. Smith. Henson took a keen interest in the novelization, as he considered it a legitimate part of the film's world rather than just an advertisement. He originally asked Alan Garner to write it, but Garner declined on account of prior engagements. Henson and Smith met several times over meals to discuss the progress of the manuscript. According to Smith, their only major disagreement had arisen over his dislike of the Podlings, which he considered "boring". He included a scene in which a Garthim carrying a sackful of Podlings fell down a cliff and crushed them. Henson considered this scene to be an element of "gratuitous cruelty" that did not fit well into the scope of the story. In order to assist Smith in his visualizing the world of The Dark Crystal, Henson invited him to visit Elstree Studios during filming. In June 2014, Archaia Entertainment reprinted the novelization, with included extras such as some of Brian Froud's illustrations and Jim Henson's notes. ==Cancelled sequel==

During the development phase of The Dark Crystal, director Jim Henson and writer David Odell discussed ideas for a possible sequel. Almost 25 years later, Odell and his wife Annette Duffy pieced together what Odell could recall from these discussions to draft a script for The Power of the Dark Crystal. Genndy Tartakovsky was initially hired in January 2006 to direct and produce the film through The Orphanage animation studios in California. However, faced with considerable delays, the Jim Henson Company announced a number of significant changes in a May 2010 press release: It was going to partner with Australia-based Omnilab Media to produce the sequel, screenwriter Craig Pearce had reworked Odell and Duffy's script, and directing team Michael and Peter Spierig were replacing Tartakovsky. In addition, the film would be released in stereoscopic 3D. During a panel held at the Museum of the Moving Image on September 18, 2011, to commemorate the legacy of Jim Henson, his daughter Cheryl revealed that the project was yet again on hiatus. By February 2012 Omnilab Media and the Spierig brothers had parted ways with the Henson Company due to budgetary concerns; production on the film has been suspended indefinitely. In May 2014, Lisa Henson confirmed that the film was still in development, but it was not yet in pre-production. Ultimately, plans for a feature film were scrapped, and the unproduced screenplay was adapted into a 12-issue comic book series The Power of the Dark Crystal from Archaia Comics and BOOM! Studios, released in 2017. ==Spin-offs==

Prequel comics Legends of the Dark Crystal, an original English-language manga written by Barbara Kesel with art by Heidi Arnhold, Jessica Feinberg, and Max Kim, was published by Tokyopop. Its story is set hundreds of years before the events of The Dark Crystal, after the Great Conjunction which saw the splitting of the urSkeks into the Mystics and the Skeksis, but before the extermination of the Gelflings. The first volume of the series came out November 2007, followed sometime later by the second in August 2010. A third installment had been originally planned but was canceled and subsequently merged into the second volume. Another comic book prequel, The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths, was published by Archaia Entertainment as a series of three graphic novels. The Henson Company and Archaia began collaborating on this project in late 2009. A brief preview was made available on Free Comic Book Day in May 2011, and the first installment was released January 2012, shortly thereafter spending two weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list of hardcover graphic books. In February 2013, the second installment was officially released. The third and final part was released in October 2015. Prequel novels On July 1, 2013, an announcement was made by The Jim Henson Company, in association with Grosset and Dunlap (a publishing division of Penguin Group USA) that they would be hosting a Dark Crystal Author Quest contest to write a new Dark Crystal novel, as a prequel to the original film. It would be set during a Gelfling Gathering. The winning author was J.M. (Joseph) Lee of Minneapolis, Minnesota, whose story, "The Ring of Dreams," was selected from almost 500 contest submissions. The novel series consists of four books: Shadows of the Dark Crystal, released on June 28, 2016; Song of the Dark Crystal, released July 18, 2017; Tides of the Dark Crystal, released December 24, 2018; and Flames of the Dark Crystal, released on August 27, 2019. Together, the novels serve to establish the setting of the Netflix series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, focusing on adventures of some of the series' side characters. Prequel series In May 2017, it was announced that The Jim Henson Company in association with Netflix would produce a prequel series titled The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Shooting began in the fall of 2017 with Louis Leterrier as director. The prequel was written by Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, and Javier Grillo-Marxuach. The series premiered on August 30, 2019 and explores in ten episodes the world created for the original film. ==In other media==

• A book entitled The World of The Dark Crystal, written and illustrated by Brian Froud, was released at the same time as the film. The book, written as the annotated translation of the Book of Aughra by fictional Oxford professor "J.J. Llewellyn", expands greatly on the world of "Thra", detailing its conditions and history, as well as providing some additional story background. • An illustrated children's storybook version, The Tale of the Dark Crystal, written by Donna Bass and illustrated by Bruce McNally. • A board game called The Dark Crystal Game was also released in 1982 by Milton Bradley. • A book-and-cassette adaptation was released in 1983 by Disneyland Records as part of its Read-Along Adventures series. • In 1983, a graphic adventure based on the film was released for the Apple II and Atari 8-bit computers. • Marvel Comics published a comic book adaptation of the film by writer David Anthony Kraft and artists Bret Blevins, Vince Colletta, Rick Bryant, and Richard Howell in Marvel Super Special #24. • Vogue commissioned six of the film's costume designers to fashion clothes based on the characters of the film. • Music duo The Crystal Method used samples from the film in the song "Trip Like I Do", released on their 1997 album Vegas. • In February 2011, Sandstorm Productions – a firm that partnered with various design studios to facilitate the development and distribution of board games and collectible card games – revealed that it had acquired the license to produce games based on various Henson properties, including The Dark Crystal. Before any definitive plans were made, however, Sandstorm went out of business in June 2012. • Archaia announced plans for a role-playing game based on The Dark Crystal at the August 2011 Gen Con gaming convention, intending to publish it later the following year. Like its Origins Award-winning Mouse Guard game, The Dark Crystal was to be designed by Luke Crane and use mechanics similar to that of The Burning Wheel, but it was not released. • In August 2013, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - a company that produces body and household blends with a dark, romantic Gothic tone - debuted the first of their licensed The Dark Crystal perfumes. The debut included four Skeksis blends: skekUng the Garthim-Master, skekNa the Slave-Master, skekTek the Scientist and skekZok the Ritual-Master. • In the ''Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge'' episode "Return of the Skeksis", the competing creature designers had to work in teams of three to build a Skeksis that has been banished to different parts of Thra and has been called back to the Skeksis Castle. • The song "Return to Oz" by the band Scissor Sisters on the album Scissor Sisters (2004) features a reference to the film's antagonists the Skeksis: The Skeksis at the rave meant to hide deep inside their sunken faces and their wild, rolling eyes, But their callous words reveal that they can no longer feel. • The song "Skeksis" on the album Alien by Canadian band Strapping Young Lad is named after the film's antagonists; the song itself contains an interpolation of the film's theme melody. Singer-songwriter Devin Townsend would later base Ziltoid the Omniscient on the characters from the film. • Dark Crystal Tales by Cory Godbey, a children's book of short stories, was released in August 2017. • A book entitled The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance: Inside the Epic Return to Thra was released in November 2019, two months after the Netflix series premiered. It details the making of the series and features concept art, interviews, set photography, and more. • In October 2020, a guide to the characters and creatures from the Dark Crystal universe called The Dark Crystal Bestiary: The Definitive Guide to the Creatures of Thra was released. • In January 2021, the River Horse company has announced that it is developing a role-playing game set in the world of both the original film and the Netflix prequel series called The Dark Crystal Adventure Game that was released in November 2024. • In March 2021, it was announced that the Royal Opera House will adapt the film into a ballet entitled The Dark Crystal: Odyssey. It was directed and choreographed by Wayne McGregor with music by Joel Cadbury and is described as a "coming-of-age story" for family audiences. It ran from May 13 to June 4, 2023, under the name UniVerse: A Dark Crystal Odyssey. • In the video game Lost Records: Bloom and Rage, a tape of the movie can be found in the character Swann’s room. ==See also==