Into the realm of imagination

Press, 6 May 1983, Page 3 (Supplement)

Into the realm of imagination

About five years ago, Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets, took on a fascinating challenge. Its goal was to travel deeper into the realm of the imagination than film had gone before, investing fantasy creatures and dreamlike surroundings with vivid reality.

The effort attracted a deep pool of talent, led by Gary Kurtz, producer of “Star Wars” and “The Empire Strikes Back”; Brian Froud, Britain’s foremost fantasy artist; and Henson’s long-time associate, Frank Oz.

To spin a ~tale of myth, mystery and adventure, this project needed to evolve its own technology, based on arts -old and new . . . painting, mime, puppetry, electronics, makeup, acting, costuming, hydraulics and modelcraft

The result is “The Dark Crystal,” which starts at the

Savoy tomorrow.

The world of “The Dark Crystal” began with deceptive innocence. Glancing at a children’s book, based on a Lewis Carroll poem, Jim Henson saw an illustration of a well-dressed crocodile in an elegantly decorated bathroom.

The idea of a reptilian race, assuming control over some splendid past society intrigued him. He found himself thinking about it in terms of story fragments and half-formed images which he described to his children and close friends like Frank Oz.

Soon, an imaginary landscape, dominated by a castle on a dark craggy peak, took shape. Here, where servants and seers once dwelt, ophidian creatures now roamed the decaying corridors and slept in chambers of musty magnificence.