... Good news....?

[litharriel]

The Jim Henson Company is planning to make a sequel to its 1982 fantasy classic The Dark Crystal, reports Variety.

Titled The Power of the Dark Crystal, the new movie is written by David Odell (The Dark Crystal, The Muppet Show) and Annette Duffy. No director is yet attached to the film which starts shooting this fall for a 2007 release. It will combine live-action animatronic characters with CG animation.

The story is set many years after the original, which was helmed by Frank Oz and Jim Henson. Original heroes Jen and Kira are now king and queen, and must fight to save their kingdom when the crystal is once again split.

Comments

Re: Nrrrggg......

[litharriel.livejournal.com]

I've seen all three Matrix films, and I think you're right not to bother with the other two. They're okay, great visually, but the storylines are mediocre at best--particularly in comparison with the first.
I do agree with you on An American Werewolf. Hands down my favorite lycanthropy film.

The things that give me hope, here, is that both Brian Froud and the original script-writer are in on it... Plus it says in World of Froud that the puppets will again be used, so there's good news. I'm going to approach it with much the same spirit of open-minded skepticism that I did Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Good people working on it, good source material, but a lot can go wrong.

What did you think of Charlie, btw? (The oompa-loompas and Danny Elfman stole the show, in my opinion. I found Depp's Willie endearing, his darkness more subtle, but not as instantly likable as Wilder's interpretation of the role... )

Re: Nrrrggg......

[aureantes.livejournal.com]

I still haven't seen Charlie.....I liked the first one fine if they'd just taken out the whole bloody score, 'cause I thought Wilder struck a great note as the enigmatic creative type, at least for most of the movie (the sappy bit at the end sucked). Danny Elfman has definitely been stealing the show since Batman, Edward Scissorhands, and originating the theme for The Simpsons, and I think he's great--Tim Burton too, only I tend to prefer a dark naturalism/surrealism to candy-coloured, ultrabright surrealism--hurts my preturnaturally sensitive eyes, ya know.....

If Froud's on, the puppets are on, and the original scriptwriter is too, then it has a definite chance (they better get Trevor Jones for the score, too). I'd still rather see a prequel first (my sister agrees)--and really, I doubt that it will have anywhere near the profundity of the original, which was so great a part of my basic "enlightenment". The thing that I worry about majorly with the post-Henson era ('cause I've seen it before) is the crappifying-down of things to "family-friendly" level of intelligence and intent--I mean, The Dark Crystal is *not* a cute fluffy G-ratable movie, imho--nor would I treasure it so much if it were. On the note of fairytales again, they're best when they come with a certain amount of mental challenge and disturbance....>:)....

Re: Nrrrggg......

[litharriel.livejournal.com]

Yes, darkness is much more cozy. I think the thing that hurts this new one of Burton's is its PG rating, and all the things that come with it. There were a couple of pleasantly disturbing bits, but I think they could've gone a good bit darker (both thematically and visually), and had a better movie for it.
A Prequel for TDC would make a lot of sense, and I agree that this new one will be ruined if they try to "sanitize" it for our protection. Too many good ideas are ruined that way.