As many of you, already know The Dark Crystal was an awesome movie from 1982. The movie was written, directed, and starred Jim Henson and his Muppets. This was a family-level adventure movie that stayed in the hearts and minds of many. It’s also a movie which has stood the test of time and is still as enjoyable as the day it was first released.
With that said, when I heard Netflix was making a sequel I was quite skeptical. I was thinking they were taking another classic movie I love and making a mess of it. Then I saw the trailers and they gave me some hope. The characters looked great and I hoped they could recreate the magic of the first movie. The fact that this was also a prequel and not a sequel, as I first thought, intrigued me.
I don’t know how many of you have seen the The Dark Crystal Age of Resistance yet, but if you are a fan of the first you will enjoy this prequel. Me, I was glued to the TV.
My hat is off to the writers, staff and creators who worked so hard on this series. Yes, I did say series. This should be put on your binge-worthy list. Make snacks and use the washroom beforehand, because you won’t want to leave during it, for fear of missing the magic.
The special effects and puppetry were on par with, or in many cases surpassed, the original. Kudos need to go out to the Creature Shop, which brought the world of Thra to life. The characters where astonishingly varied in appearance. I was amazed how the Gelflings and Skeksis all had individual looks. I don’t mean just different clothing, their faces were as different as you and I.
The series starts out by introducing you to the fact the Gelflings were divided into various clans, which dwelled in different areas and had their own clan leaders called Maudras. But to keep the clans united, they would elect one overall leader called the All Maudra, who held sway over all the clans.
There were many new and interesting creatures in this series, as well as all the old favorites, such as the Land Striders and Fizgig. You’re introduced to a new enemy called the Arathim, or Silk Spitters, which are large hive-minded arachnids whose offspring can take control of the minds of the Gelflings, thereby adding them into the hive mind.
Netflix put time and effort into this production and it shows. There was a handful of surprises when it came to the voice acting. There were some well-known names such as Mark Hamill as The Scientist, Helena Bonham Carter as the All Maudra, Sigourney Weaver as the Myth-Speaker, Eddy Izzard as Cadia, Simon Pegg as the Chamberlain, and Andy Samberg as the Heretic. The list of names continues, what an amazing cast.
For me this was a walk down memory lane with a quick dash into the past to see what happened before there were only two Gelflings.
I give it 4.5 Stars out of 5
