A closer look
Jim Henson was exhausted from being known solely as the cheerful frog guy, so he decided to traumatize an entire generation with a grim fantasy epic. The Dark Crystal featured no human actors on screen, relying entirely on monstrous animatronics and foam-latex suits. To operate the lumbering, four-armed Mystics, performers had to bend over at a punishing 90-degree angle, extending their right arm to operate the creature's head while their left arm handled the jaw. This medieval torture masquerading as special effects resulted in some of the most seamlessly organic, non-CGI fantasy world-building ever committed to celluloid.
