When Netflix released The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance in 2019, the look and feel of Jim Henson’s world stunned audiences and critics alike. This 10-episode prequel to Jim Henson’s 1982 masterwork used intricate puppetry and necessary CGI to create an immersive feel to the world. Their techniques allowed audiences to follow a group of brave Gelfling on a quest to save their world, Thra, and fight off the darkness of the Skesis.
While the puppetry skills used in the show are extraordinary, you can’t overlook the importance of CGI. It played a huge role in heightening this fantasy world and make it come to life. In this new VFX breakdown reel (via io9), you get to see just how the team at Double Negative (DNEG TV) added to the extensive physical sets and puppetry to enhance the world.
The use of puppetry and CGI clearly had to work in tandem to get to the final Dark Crystal product, but when asked about the use of CGI in the series last year, director Louis Leterrier told Empire magazine, “Nobody’s fooled by CG any more. We know when something is CG. Puppets, we know someone had to [work them],” he said. “We’re pushing puppeteering beyond anything anyone has done before.”
As much as we loved the first season of Dark Crystal though, we want more! So when exactly will Netflix grace us with season two? The jury is still out on that one. Netflix hasn’t made an official announcement if we’ll get a second season, never mind when it could begin production. Jason Isaacs, who voiced Skeksis Emperor SkekSo, told SYFY WIRE this month that, “It was an unusual experience, to be honest … I’ve never done what we did on Dark Crystal, which is record after the ‘animation’ is done…It’s a very, very strange thing to do. They had shot the puppets for over a year, I think, on these gigantic Hollywood sets with the world’s greatest puppeteers.”
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is a wonderful example of how two important fields of work can come together to create one great final product.
Featured Image: DNEG/Netflix