Jim Henson’s kids explain why Dark Crystal and Labyrinth would never get made today
polygon.com“They don’t make ’em like they used to” is a phrase you’ve heard a thousand times. But for famously puppet-forward, dark fantasy films like Jim Henson’s Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal, the reasons seem apparent, from the Game of Thrones-ification of fantasy to the decline of the musical.
Still, Lisa Henson, producer and CEO of The Jim Henson Company and daughter of Jim Henson, says there’s one reason she encounters the company may never replicate the cult success of Labyrinth or The Dark Crystal. “Technique-wise, these movies would be very hard to get made [today], because there’s so much pressure to do things with CG.”
Polygon sat down with Lisa and director, performer, Jim Henson company chairman (and her brother) Brian Henson, on the occasion of this month’s rerelease of The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth on digital platforms like iTunes, Amazon, and YouTube. The films are available separately, or in a bundle with an impressive collection of material usually left out of digital purchases, including commentary tracks and behind-the-scenes features.
To Lisa, the rerelease, in partnership with Shout! Studios, in part reflects the changing ways that people are watching movies — but also that the special features were just as important as the movies themselves.
“We never want these movies not to be available, or not to be explored in the full depth of getting to see the behind the scenes,” she told Polygon. “The more you know about these movies, the more you appreciate them. [...] For years we have had those box sets or those Blu-ray releases that have so many ways to interact with the movie — you watch the movie, then you watch the extras and you see the interviews, and you see how things are done, and you go back and watch the movie again. And if you don’t have the supplemental materials, you might be missing a whole layer to it.”
The making of The Dark Crystal in 1981 was an inflection point for Hollywood special effects, as a group of prop makers, puppeteers,
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