5/16/2023 0 Comments Dark crystal puppetsThe ten-part Netflix series, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance pits Gelfling heroes against the nefarious Skeksis, as they attempt to save their world. Highlights include the Hunter Skeksis, the General Skeksis, a Fizzgig, and the All-Maudra and Seladon Gelflings, as well as a series of detailed maquettes, created by Toby Froud, which were used as models for the characters. The exhibit features a selection of concept art, maquettes, puppets, and behind-the-scenes images, tracing the collaboration between concept artist Brian Froud, who originated the world of Thra in The Dark Crystal, and Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, which built the puppets for the series. 40, reatures from the Land of Thra: Character Design for The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance explores the process of designing the fantastical characters for the new Netflix series, a prequel to the 1982 film co-directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. Center for Puppetry Arts, 1404 Spring St. $12.50 children younger than age 2, free. “Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: World of Myth and Magic” The event is timed to coincide with the Dragon Con science fiction and fantasy convention, and should lure some of those cosplaying fans across town to the puppetry center. 30, for “The Dark Crystal Ball.” Like the fabulous Labyrinth Ball held in 2016 (and 2017), the masquerade will feature revelers in elaborate outfits, and a costume contest to be judged by Henson’s son, Brian Henson, chairman of the Jim Henson Co. “The Dark Crystal” was screened at the center last week for members of the puppetry center, many of whom will gather Thursday, Aug. A Netflix prequel from the Henson company called “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance” is in the planning. “The Dark Crystal” has grown in the public’s estimation since 1982, and has been spun off into several young adult novels, a series of comic books and a fashion line. These puppeteers, inside the Landstrider costumes, would safely carry the Gelflings Jen and Kira across the alien Thra countryside. Jill Malool, director of the World of Puppetry Museum at the center, said Henson was a natural collaborator, and when he discovered that his crew of puppeteers included a stilt-walker, it helped him visualize a creature that would become the Landstrider.įascinating scenes from the development of the character show a performer with stilts attached to both hands and both feet, walking on all fours, whirling, running and leaping. The movie was the directorial debut of Henson’s longtime collaborator Frank Oz, who, at the same time, was working for George Lucas, bringing life to a little green man named Yoda for “The Empire Strikes Back.” They used relatively primitive rods and wires - Henson was still a few years away from the remote-control servo-motors that he would use in “Labyrinth.” Some of the creatures such as the Skeksis required four people to operate them simultaneously. On one wall, we can see a monitor showing scenes from “The World of ‘The Dark Crystal,’” a behind-the-scenes documentary which shows just how complicated puppetry can be. Some of Froud’s original paintings and drawings are included in the show, and they reveal the evolution of the characters. Henson was inspired by the fairies and dwarves of British fantasy artist Brian Froud, who became the film’s conceptual designer. RELATED: Why 2018 Dragon Con is a grand slam for puppet lovers We see a fiberglass shell that is a skull from one of the fearsome, reptilian Skeksis creatures, and a series of studies for Skeksis hands, fashioned from wood and cloth. An oversized version of Jen, the Gelfling hero of the movie, stands in one corner, while the scribe UrAc wields a pen, preparing to scribble a note. The exhibit has more than 50 items on display, with maquettes and prototypes of familiar characters, and actual puppets used in the film. 31, the Center for Puppetry Arts will open a new exhibit of artifacts from the movie called "Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal: World of Myth and Magic." It will remain in the special exhibitions gallery at least through the winter. It also gave Henson training in new and experimental special effects that helped him make "Labyrinth" four years later. It coincided with the advent of VHS tapes and home VCRs, so fans could play the movie over and over. It was saved from obscurity by a couple of things. Some parents were ambivalent about a kids movie that might give kids nightmares. Ambitious and costly, “The Dark Crystal” received mixed reviews.
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