Genndy Tartakovsky to Direct Dark Crystal Sequel

An anonymous reader writes "The folks at Jim Henson productions announced almost without fanfare that a sequel to the impressive The Dark Crystal is in the works and will be directed by the award-winning Genndy Tartakovsky, who created the hit series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Samurai Jack and Dexter's Laboratory, will direct 'Power of the Dark Crystal,' the sequel to the 1982 classic fantasy film."

Forgot The Powerpuff Girls

[Anonymous Coward]

C'mon, you know you liked watching them ;)

And I'm being quite truthfull. That's good "X" viewing.

Re:The Crystal Method

[Narcocide]

Just for the record this man is responsible for Samurai Jack and The PowerPuff Girls arguably the most influential and creative American cartoon works of the post-anime era.

Some advice to any 30-somethings

[Anonymous Coward]

If you're in your mid-30s like me, and are tempted to run out and rent the Dark Crystal DVD now that you've heard about this sequel, be prepared to be disappointed.

I was absolutely enthralled by the original when I saw it on the big screen back when it first came out, so I was excited about watching it again for the first time in 20-odd years when I saw the DVD in Blockbuster a couple of years ago.

Wow, do I regret it. Watching it as a 34 year old is a totally different experience from watching it as an 11 year old. I should have left it on the shelf.

In fact, the first thing I said to my girlfriend as the ending credits started rolling was "wow, that movie sure seemed a lot better when I was 11." And her reply (she hadn't seen it in 82) was pretty much along the lines of "yeah, that movie sucked."

I'll probably avoid this sequel like the plague. I have a hunch it'll be like watching Phantom Menace all over again. You know, that sinking feeling about 10 minutes into the movie where you realize this movie wasn't made for you at all, but that group of 11 year old kids sitting a few seats down the aisle.

Plus, I don't think anyone can possibly underestimate the impact that Jim Henson's absence will have on this sequel. That man was a freakin genius.

Re:Genndy Tartakovsky?

[Stinky Fartface]

Sorry mate, got to disagree (mostly) with you on this one. Dexter was pretty damn good- an honestly funny show which is rare in children's animation these days. The voices were partcularly sharp and the art direction was very good. Samurai Jack was fantastic in almost every aspect- great plots, beautiful artwork and superb direction. The Star Wars stuff was ok- but his hands were tied by the Lucas people in many respects. The second series was better than the first, and had a lot more of his style reflected in them. I am pretty jazzed about him directing the Dark Crystal sequel, although I am a bit leery of the distance between films. My main worry is that they will replace the excellent puppets and costumes with some over animated and underwhelming CG crap.

Re:A Sequel....

[Anonymous Coward]

Everything you've just speculated upon how a Dark Crystal prequel could be so awesome, is essentially the exact same ideas everyone had in mind about the Star Wars prequels before they came out. Show the fall from good to evil; show the "purge"; the great descent into darkness; etc. Look how those turned out.

The problem with detailing the back-story is that you will screw it all up for most fans, since a damned good story like Dark Crystal and Star Wars gives the viewer just enough about the history for you to fill in the blanks with your imagination.

It's a puppet film

[Teko]

Lots of odd comments here about how "Genndy will screw it up 'cuz I hate his style of animation" or even "The original had crappy animation."

Quick and simple: the original was an entirely live-action, puppeteered film. It's the only movie like it ever made, actually: the only all-puppet feature film with no humans or live animals present at all. The sequel will be, as well, although they're using CG sets to cut costs.

As for the story, keep in mind that the first movie didn't have a story either. Jim Henson literally brought Brian Froud in, said "make me a world", and then wrote a story around the creatures and world he'd created. With Froud on board again, combined with the fanboy geeky brilliance that Genndy showed with Clone Wars, I have high hopes for this.