I haven\u2019t been able to escape \u201cThe Dark Crystal\u201d lately. On Saturday I heard a radio commercial for the new Netflix series based on characters created by head Muppeteer Jim Henson for his classic 1982 film. At a flea market the same day, I saw a vintage metal lunchbox from the original movie, rather worse for the wear after nearly four decades of dents and rust. Even the dealer\u2019s price tag had turned brown, ignored by shoppers like me who beheld its misery and passed by on the other side of the aisle.
\nBut these minor brushes with the fantasy world of Gelflings, Skeksis and Mystics were nothing compared to the thrill I had this summer to view those actual characters in person. The day before my epic trip to the Waffle House Museum (see last week\u2019s column), I toured the Center for Puppetry Arts. Part theater, part workshop and part wonderland, the center tells the story of our centuries-old fascination with puppets.
\nLong an Atlanta institution, when the center doubled in size a few years ago from the Henson family donated Muppets \u2014 all of them. Hundreds of puppets from every phase of their storied television and film career. The displays started with the simple characters Henson created in the 1950s for TV commercials, and then moved on to \u201cSesame Street,\u201d the ground-breaking children\u2019s program now in its 50th year. It\u2019s difficult for adults not to get misty-eyed in the presence of Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Kermit, and other icons, inches away from us behind glass.
\n\u201cThe Muppet Show\u201d is well represented, with rotating displays that feature different characters every six months. It was my luck that day to see the puppets from \u201cPigs in Space,\u201d a skit that spoofed the old \u201cStar Trek\u201d TV series. They took me back to elementary school, where I carried my \u201cPigs in Space\u201d lunchbox every day to the cafeteria.
\nOther exhibits featured characters from \u201cFraggle Rock\u201d and \u201cLabyrinth,\u201d the 1986 fantasy film starring David Bowie as a goblin king. Walking past those glass cases was like a virtual march through my childhood. I was obsessed with Henson\u2019s creations for years. I drew Muppet characters, I imitated Muppet voices, I collected Muppet swag.
\nActually, not much has changed. Less than a month ago, I bought a vintage Cookie Monster puppet. Purely for investment purposes, of course.
\nBut what drew me back to the Center for Puppetry Arts \u2014 my second trip there \u2014 was a special exhibit on \u201cThe Dark Crystal.\u201d It\u2019s difficult for audiences who have grown up with digital animation to appreciate how incredible the original film was. To this day, it remains the only live-action film made entirely with puppets \u2014 without a single human actor. The lengths to which co-directors Jim Henson and Frank Oz went to create the fantasy world of the movie are amazing. At age 5, I was blown away by \u201cStar Wars.\u201d At 10, it was \u201cThe Dark Crystal.\u201d
\nThe plot in short: A thousand years ago, the breaking of a magic crystal split a benevolent alien race into two: the wise and gentle Mystics, and the cruel and vain Skeksis (pronounced Skek-SEEZ). For a millennium, the Skeksis have ruled through murder and intimidation. Because of a prophecy about their eventual ruin, they have systematically exterminated a race of small, elf-like creatures called Gelflings. Only two remain, and they unite on a quest to restore the crystal and end the Skeksis\u2019 reign.
\nEach puppet in the film was meticulously drawn, crafted and operated by hand. All special effects had to involve the actual figures \u2014 no CGI in those days. The ancient Mystics \u2014 who looked like shriveled armadillos with multiple arms \u2014 were operated by puppeteers who had to hunch over so severely to fit into the costumes that they could only film in character for a few minutes at a time. The towering Skeksis had bird-like faces, with beaks that were made to talk by actors watching TV monitors inside their costumes.
\nAnd there they all were behind glass. Nearly 40 years old, the puppets were stunning, crafted with a level of detail that is not always visible on screen. Time will tell how the Netflix series does with the story. But as I stood there, face-to-face with the architects of my childhood, I was 10 years old again, back in a world of fantasy with no human adults in sight. I am not sure exactly when I will make it back to age 47, but I doubt it will be before Christmas. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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