Dark crystal

La conception visuelle est tout simplement superbe (de la sophistication de l’environnement à l’excellent design des personnages). Et si j’avais vu ce film étant enfant, avec ses marionnettes terrifiantes, j’en aurais probablement encore des cauchemars aujourd’hui. Dommage que je ne l’aie pas vu quand j’étais petit. Mais pour moi, tous ces visuels impeccables ne servent que des personnages uniformes et une intrigue rachitique qui tombe plus ou moins dans tous les clichés des films fantastiques de héros. En plus, le fait que Dark Crystal est sorti quelques années après le premier opus de La Guerre des étoiles crève les yeux, ce qui souligne encore le fait que le producteur est Gary Kurtz (des deux premiers Star Wars). Et comme le réalisateur Frank Oz prête sa voix à plusieurs personnages, j’avais l’impression d’entendre Yoda à tout bout de champ. Dark Crystal emprunte rarement un chemin propre et c’est bien dommage, mais à part ça, c’est une aventure franchement divertissante et réussie de A à Z. (03/01/2020)

There are certain things one should not return to. I remembered The Dark Crystal as a great dark puppet fantasy, but the ravages of time have painfully affected it. The film is now exhausted and lives on the nostalgia of memories, and it doesn't even come close to current puppet movies like the Danish film Strings. Many animated works have stood the test of time with honor, but the famous The Dark Crystal is not one of them. Overall impression: 40%. (23/09/2017)

This excellent puppet fantasy fairy tale from the creator of The Muppets Jim Henson is certainly no jolly with singing and wacky figures. For children it will probably be too slow, with not enough action, too dark and sometimes even brutal. Older viewers, however, will appreciate the stunning visuals that can evoke a sense of wonder and open up a believable and elaborate world full of strange places and creatures. Although the film may seem dated nowadays, it still remains the pinnacle of the vanished art of non-animated puppetry. Just to clarify: classic animation puppets are moved around with post-cinematic animation, while non-animation puppets are filmed in real time as live actors. The puppets here may look like puppets, but they move as if they were actually alive. Compared to modern digital characters that seem to defy gravity, they feel more authentic in some ways because they really fit into their environment and inhabit their world, where sunlight, fog, rain or wind have a real effect on them. And that's very important in a film that's about the connection between beings and nature. (14/01/2004)

I won't claim that the story is great, but the movie "The Dark Crystal" is visually stunning thanks to puppet animation, that I was simply left breathless at times. It's not just about how flawlessly it's executed, but also about the character designs and the entire world itself. And that is simply a beauty to behold. (18/03/2018)