Brian Henson didn’t work on The Dark Crystal. Though the son of Jim Henson worked at length with his father on films like Labyrinth, The Muppets Take Manhattan, and The Great Muppet Caper, Brian was in boarding school when Jim, Frank Oz, and the rest of the company made the legendary cult classic. Even so, who better than Henson, who went on to continue his father’s legacy, directing films like Muppet Treasure Island, The Muppet Christmas Carol, and producing shows like Farscape, to speak about the legacy of the film? Not many.
Which is exactly what we did. Last week, io9 hopped on a video call with the filmmaking legend to talk The Dark Crystal, in anticipation of the film’s 4K Fathom Entertainment screenings on October 12 and 13 (get tickets and more info here).
We spoke about his memories surrounding the film, the techniques it pioneers, how it would be done differently today, what’s next for the franchise, and so much more. So grab a glass of Essence, hug your favorite Gelfling, and check out our interview with Brian Henson.
Germain Lussier, io9: What are your memories of when your dad and the Henson Company were making Dark Crystal?
Brian Henson: Well, I was in boarding school at the time, which is why I can talk much more in depth about Labyrinth, because I was [there] right through the shooting. But with Dark Crystal, I was in boarding school when it was shooting, but obviously, my dad had been developing it for years before he shot it, and I can remember him doing tests even in our backyard in Westchester, New York. And he was clearly very intrigued. I mean, for him, that was the big reach. “Can I make an all-puppet movie? Can I make an all-fantasy movie where I’ve created the entire world and I’ve created all of the characters, and there’s nothing that the audience will recognize on screen?” I think that was really intriguing to him.
I actually remember the first time he met [designer] Brian Froud because I think I was on break from boarding school, so I was in England, and it was on The Muppet Show. I remember hanging out in The Muppet Show workshop, and this very unusual little man came into the shop, had a couple of sculptures and some drawings, and was waiting for my dad to finish on set to come back to the workshop. My dad was a huge fan of Brian’s work before he even met him, but I think once they met and talked through what he was trying to do, then that was when Brian Froud was glued to the project.
io9: What I love so much about the film and the franchise is how you lose the puppets and get sucked in by the mythology and the world-building. Is there any piece of lore that was created, or a character that you find most fascinating, beyond just the artistry of it?
Henson: Well, I guess sort of the simple concept of these god-like, powerful creatures, that then have been split into their dark sides and their light sides, and the impact that that stress and that conflict can create in this world. I find that very juicy, and something that you walk away with and you can look at our world and you can see reflections of that kind of happening all over the place. So yeah, the Mystics and the Skeksis, and then the UrSkek, which is what they were once they’re re-put back together. I guess those are probably what intrigue me the most. But again, this is as an audience. I didn’t work on it, so this is me watching it and appreciating it.
io9: Oh, totally. But you also obviously then, and since then, have become quite the expert on puppetry and films of this nature. So watching this film now, is there any character or scene that you watch and you still can’t believe that your father, Frank [Oz], and the whole team were able to pull it off?
Henson: Well, there are lots of them. Working with all those Skeksis in those crowded scenes. The scene where they’re all eating, that’s an amazing scene and unbelievably tough to accomplish. I mean, all the way through, what’s most impressive is that’s the first animatronic project that we did, where my dad said, “We’re not making puppets that people will immediately think, ‘Oh, those are puppets.'”
... continue reading