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The Crystal

This came from what might be described as a concept description or pitch brochure. With text based on Jim and Cheryl Henson's initial story outline, the brochure/pitch document was created in 1978 by Jim Henson, Brian Froud, and Michael Frith to sell the concept of the movie to potential backers. As both The Muppet Show and The Muppet Movie were in production at this period, they didn't really begin to pitch the movie in earnest until mid-to-late 1979. However, they did continue with development and did conduct numerous test shots. Actual shooting of the movie didn't begin until April 15, 1981.

A Fantasy Adventure Film

conceived by Jim Henson

dimensionalized by

The Muppets

THE CRYSTAL takes place in a world unlike anything we have ever seen---beautiful, mysterious, sometimes frightening, always magic, it is a world inhabited by creatures unimaginably strange, a world where even the forces of nature are possessed of intelligence, where mountains move and rivers whisper the songs of the ages.

Over all this rules a cruel and evil race called THE SKEKSES.

THE STORY is that of a youth named JEN who has been raised in a remote and quiet valley by a gentle race of wise but unworldly mystics known as the OO-RUS. Jen is suddenly wrenched from this secure and tranquil life and thrust into the midst of a cosmic struggle between Good and Evil, a struggle upon which depends the future of his entire world.

THIS WORLD is an unfamiliar one to the sheltered Jen. The forests are filled with all manner of CREATURES. They hop, crawl, skitter and dart through the tangles of trees and vines, some sweetly singing, some shrieking, some chattering in their own almost decipherable languages.

Some are charming.

Some seem filled with menace.

IN this world, there are no clear lines between the kingdoms of plant and animal. ROCKS and ROOTS, WEEDS and WATERFALLS, all are aware and, in their various ways, can converse. There are fast-moving, flesh-eating "flowers"; there are "bears" that stand rooted to the spot and draw their nourishment from the sun.

ALONG the way, Jen meets a girl, DEE. Jen and Dee are of a race called GELFINS; they are the only creatures of their kind left in their entire world. Because of a prophecy that some day the Skeksis dynasty would be destroyed by the Gelflins, there cruel rulers have methodically exterminated them - all but Jen, brought up under the protection of the Oo-urs' magic, and Dee, who has survived hidden deep in the wildest swamps and forests where even the terrible warriors of the Skekses fear to go.

BUT the swamps and forests have become a home for Dee. She knows the language and the ways of their creatures and they hold no danger for her.

THE PALACE of the Skekses was once magnificent. The Skekses have inherited it from the previous rulers, a legendary tribe of wise and noble beings that vanished mysteriously long ago. Now the Skekses move through its elegant halls dressed in decadent splendor - velvets chased with gold, luxurious laces and jewel-encrusted brocades - surrounded by opulence beyond the dreams of avarice. But all around them are evidences of corruption and decay, and the grandeur of the past has dimmed by their filth and by the shadow of their evil.

BENEATH the palace wind miles of labyrinthine caverns where a gentle race of tireless burrowers, enslaved by the Skekses, endlessly mines for gems and precious metals.

AROUND the palace are the houses of the Earth-people, farmers who live in constant terror of the raids of the Skekses' warriors, raids in which some will be carried off to become mindless palace slaves.

THE BRUTAL WARRIORS through whom the Skekses exert control over their world are called THE GARTHEM. These fierce and remorseless creatures are encased in massive, shell-like armor through which only their piercing eyes are visible. The Garthem follow the commands of the Skekses unquestioningly: if a Skeksis is displeased with a warrior, he gives a signal, and the Garthem instantly turn on their fellow soldier, crush this armor with their powerful claws, and devour him.

-THE CRYSTAL-

Deep in the heart of the Palace, closely guarded, lies the mysterious Crystal, focal point of the Skekses' twisted rituals, the key to their awful power, the vital missing link in the lives of the mystic Oo-urs, and the shimmering end to the young Gelflins' perilous quest. Only through the magic of the Crystal can Jen and Dee bring an end to the terror that blights their land. Together they struggle through terrible dangers and hardships as they make their way toward the Palace, the glowing stone hidden within it, and a startling climax which fulfills their destiny and restores harmony to their world.

THE END

The Crystal was a limited-edition publication that gave shape to the creative musings of the Jim Henson Company and Brian Froud's "The Dark Crystal". At the same time it served as a device for Jim to attract financial backing for the project. The booklet was assembled from Brian Froud's first conceptual drawings and designed by Michael Frith, a Henson art director and Muppet designer at the time. The Crystal marked the end of the first stage of their creative journey, the early development phase of the picture. It would be another four and a half years of continuous work until they saw their dreams on the big screen, and certain story elements changed during those years. But this concept booklet set out their film with sepia-tones line drawings and a simple statement of their tale.

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