Did you know that The Dark Crystal was originally meant to be darker and more serious, without narration or English-speaking Skesis and Mystics? I had never heard this, but the other day on Reddit I saw someone post their own fan-edit using original dialog and bits of the work-print that had never been seen. Christopher Orgeron worked on the edit for 2 years and you can now watch it on YouTube (or download it in 720p with a browser extension). From Christopher’s description:

Early versions of The Dark Crystal were a bit different than the version we see today. Jim Henson and Frank Oz originally sought to create a much darker story that relied more on the audience and less on voice-overs and inner monologues explaining the plot. In this version there’s no narrator, Jen’s inner monologues are gone, and the Skeksis hardly ever say anything in English (Aughra speaks some Skesis too!). This version is much more modern and a little darker with this original audio and the slightly different score. Some of the scenes are moved around too, which adds to the surreal feel of the original film. Some test audiences were more casual moviegoers and responded negatively to this version so the Henson team redubbed the ENTIRE film to help explain the plot to the audience up front and make things more obvious.

The Dark Crystal is one of my favorite movies and I’m excited to watch this alternate version over the weekend. Besides my love of anything by Jim Henson, I’m a huge fan of world-building in movies and I think Crystal is one of the best examples of this, right up there with Star Wars.

Watch it on YouTube

Edit: Mental Floss just posted a Q&A with Christopher about his edit, check it out!

PS – Dark Crystal Trading Cards are available from Boxsome!

As a huge Muppet geek, Tough Pigs is one of my favorite blogs on the interwebs and today they posted an amazing article. Recently they had the pleasure of interviewing Kathy Mullen, the puppeteer and voice behind Mokey Fraggle. I didn’t realize this, but Kathy is married to famous illustrator and frequent Henson collaborator Michael Frith and while they were interviewing Mullen they managed to snap a ton of pics of some rare Michael Frith art.

If you’re a Henson fan you need to go check this out, it’s full of awesome unused art, sketches, and ideas Frith had for pretty much all of Henson’s characters.

Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal has always had a special place in my nostalgia. I watched it as a kid but came to appreciate it more as an adult. An example of world-building right up there with Star Wars, the design and execution of the film has always left me wanting to know more. For years I kept up with rumors and updates about the possibility of a Genndy Tartakovsky helmed sequel called Power of The Dark Crystal, but that fell through.

Recently I got an iPad Mini and fell back in love with comic books. Not sure what I should read and what I should avoid, I stumbled onto a comic book prequel to The Dark Crystal in Comixology. The price was right so I downloaded it, not knowing what to expect. I thought it would at least look great since Brian Froud, the film’s original designer, was involved. Needless to say, I was pretty blown away.

From the first few pages I was hooked. The art in Creation Myths is gorgeous and the story is (in my opinion) very strong and a worthy prequel to the film. I was sucked in as I learned the history of Thra, Aughra, and the mystery surrounding the Crystal.

The Premise

If you’re a fan of Crystal than you surely remember the epic ending where the evil Skeksis and the gentle Mystics are merged into one race after the shard is returned to the crystal. Creation Myths starts from the absolute beginning as a mysterious storyteller unveils the history of Thra, and the birth of Aughra.
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