Back in January 2015, I did a big retrospective on the eight theatrically-released films from one of the most famous franchises in pop-culture history, the Muppets. The Muppets, of course, were the creation of Jim Henson, who first conceived the characters along with his wife Jane Nebel in 1955 as part of their show Sam and Friends. In the years since, these characters have gone onto become some of the most beloved icons of both the big and small screen. However, this isn’t the only major franchise that Jim Henson was known for, as he and his titular company, the Jim Henson Company, were also responsible for hit shows like Fraggle Rock, Dinosaurs, and Bear in the Big Blue House just to name a few. And, of course, Henson was also famous for playing a major part in the development of one of the most iconic kids shows of all-time, Sesame Street. But today on Rhode Island Movie Corner, in anticipation of his company’s upcoming film The Happytime Murders that will be hitting theaters this August, we’ll be focusing on the feature films that Henson himself directed. And because we’ve already looked at his feature-length directorial debut, 1981’s The Great Muppet Caper, we’ll instead be looking at the two other feature films that he directed, which happen to have one major thing in common. While neither film was a major critical/commercial success upon their initial releases, both have gone onto become some of the biggest cult classics from the 80’s to the point where ‘follow-ups’ to both are currently in development. Thus, it’s time to ‘remind you all of the babe (“What babe?”) the babe with the power (“What power?”) the power of voodoo (“Who do?”) you do (“Do what?”) remind me of the babe!’… ahem, sorry… as we look at the two films that Jim Henson directed in the 80’s that weren’t about his most iconic creation, the Muppets.
THE DARK CRYSTAL (1982)
One year after he made his official feature-length directorial debut with The Great Muppet Caper, Jim Henson teamed up with fellow Muppet performer Frank Oz to co-direct The Dark Crystal. In this dark fantasy (no pun intended), two young elf creatures known as ‘Gelflings’ named Jen and Kira embark on a journey to restore a powerful crystal that had split 1000 years ago and led to the creation of two species, the wise Mystics and the terrifying vulture-like creatures known as Skeksis. And I do mean it when I refer to this film as a ‘dark fantasy’ because it is very much an example of an 80’s PG-rated film that far exceeded the boundaries of what one would normally see from a film that’s targeted towards younger audiences. Whether it’s through a scene where one of the Skeksis crumbles into dust or another where a young creature known as a Podling has his life essence sucked out of him, it’s easy to see how this film left quite a psychological impact on kids back in the 80’s. And while I personally don’t have any major nostalgic connections to this film, that doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate the visual mastery that is on display here. While some of the film’s blue-screen effects have aged a bit, the puppetry and animatronic work to create its wide array of creatures is superb, which is then paired perfectly with the film’s excellent visual designs that come courtesy of illustrator Brian Froud. Really, the only thing holding this film back is that while its visuals are impressive, the writing is a little more problematic. Some scenes feel a little unfocused and drag on a bit while character development is rather light. Still, for what its worth, The Dark Crystal is an engaging and imaginative fantasy adventure, and I am interested in seeing how this universe will be explored further courtesy of an upcoming prequel series on Netflix directed by Louis Leterrier.
Rating: 3.5/5
LABYRINTH (1986)
Just like the 3-D short film Captain EO that was produced for Disney parks, Labyrinth was a huge collaboration between three titans from the world of pop culture. Not only was the film directed by Jim Henson, but it was also executive-produced by George Lucas and starred ‘Ziggy Stardust’ himself, David Bowie, in the role of the main antagonist, Jareth the Goblin King. Plus, it served as another collaboration between Henson and illustrator Brian Froud, who once again worked as the film’s main conceptual designer. Sadly, upon its initial release, the film was not a big hit with critics and it bombed at the box-office. This proved to be an extremely demoralizing moment for Henson and it was ultimately the last feature film that he ever directed before his death in 1990. However, just like Dark Crystal, Labyrinth has gone on to amass a sizable cult following; in fact, Labyrinth’s fandom is arguably even bigger than Dark Crystal’s. It got a manga sequel in 2006, Return to Labyrinth, and an official film sequel is currently in the works that is set to be helmed by Evil Dead reboot director Fede Alvarez. But as for the original Labyrinth, while I once again don’t have as big of a personal nostalgic connection to this film compared to those who grew up in the 80’s, I do appreciate it just as much as I do Dark Crystal when it comes to its visuals. Sure, this film also has a few visual effects that haven’t aged well (e.g. the sequence involving the ‘Fireys’ that even Henson wasn’t fully satisfied with), but the puppetry and animatronic work from Henson’s crew is still top-notch all around. And whereas Dark Crystal truly lived up to the first half of its name as an extremely ‘dark’ fantasy, Labyrinth sports a much lighter tone by comparison that’s very much in the vein of classic films like The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland. This ultimately produces a lot of Muppet-esque humor that is handled effectively enough to keep the film’s proceedings from becoming ‘too goofy’.
But, of course, the biggest highlight of the film is David Bowie in the lead role of Jareth the Goblin King. Simply put, the same great stage presence and charisma that made the late performer the icon that he still is today is on full display here, as he perfectly embodies the role of the film’s seductive villain. He also wrote much of the music for this film, which paves the way for some enjoyable musical numbers highlighted by the iconic ‘Magic Dance’ (which I alluded to in the intro to this post). Jennifer Connelly is solid as well in one of her earliest film roles as the film’s main protagonist Sarah, a young girl who embarks on a journey within Jareth’s labyrinth when he kidnaps her baby brother Toby. Admittedly, Connelly is a tad bit wooden in the film’s early moments, though this quickly fades once Sarah enters the labyrinth. She’s joined along the way by an entertaining collection of side characters, including a lovable beast named Ludo and a grumpy dwarf named Hoggle. All of this makes up for the film’s only real shortcoming in that, like Dark Crystal, it does suffer from the occasional narrative lull. That and the film’s ending is, without spoiling anything for those who haven’t seen it before, rather anti-climactic. At the same time, though, the film also does a great job of handling its coming-of-age plot in what is a rare instance of a female-led fantasy story. Thus, while both films are enjoyable in their own unique ways, Labyrinth does sport a tighter narrative compared to Dark Crystal with the added benefit of a great lead performance from David Bowie. And even though this is the first time that I’ve ever watched the film in full, it’s easy to see why this delightfully weird fantasy adventure has spawned the following that it has. Jim Henson may not have lived to see this happen but, per his son Brian, he was at least aware of it before he passed away.
Rating: 4/5
And that concludes this little ‘retrospective’ on the work of one of the film industry’s most beloved visionaries, Jim Henson. Thanks for following along and be sure to sound off in the comments below with your own personal memories of these 80’s cult classics.
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