Jim Henson once remarked that it’s unhealthy for kids to NOT be scared. That was surely part of the motivation for The Dark Crystal, one of the most gloomy children’s films of all-time. They don’t make ’em like this anymore—and I’m not just talking about the great analog special effects in which every personality onscreen is a masterfully detailed puppet. This thing is so dark that the happy ending is almost a surprise. The setting is a fantasy otherworld full of death and suffering, predators and prey. Directors Henson and Frank Oz aren’t afraid to show us something cute and then kill it. The rulers are a pack of brutes who look every bit as scary as cockroaches do under a microscope. Meanwhile, our hero is an adolescent castaway of an extinct race. He’s an elfin orphan who’s only parent figures are some elderly slugs who are about to die any minute now. Before they drop though, they impose a whole heap of trouble on the young one by giving him a mission to save the world with nothing but a mysterious shard of magic crystal and some vague information. Much mayhem, freaky creatures—eerily realistic puppets as imaginative as anything from Star Wars—and deep dark shadows follow. It’s an entertaining 80s adventure classic that got overshadowed by other family films of the time that didn’t give the kiddies nightmares. Worth a look today.