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Finding Faeries

~ My continuing mission to explore … magic

Finding Faeries

Tag Archives: Jim Henson

Rediscovering Childhood Joy… part 2 “The Dark Crystal”

26 Thursday Feb 2015

Posted by Kathleen Palm in movie, Thoughts

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

childhood, doing the impossible, Jim Henson, magic, memories, movie, never giving up, other worlds, self-discovery, The Dark Crystal

“Another world. Another time, in an age of wonder…”

These fabulous words open this movie, one I know by heart, one that left its images, ideas, and feelings etched lovingly on my soul.

The Dark Crystal… Jim Henson and his amazing crew, 1982.

dark-crystal-the-three-geniuses-behind-the-dark-crystal-storyDarkcrystal

Jen, a Gelfling, the last of his kind, leaves his home on a great journey to heal the crystal, to save his world.darkcrystaljen

Once again Henson genius gives us marvelous characters and creatures wrapped in a wondrous world. And we all know how much I LOVE other worlds. The creativity. The magic.

darkcrystalworldScared and unsure, Jen embarks on his quest without a clue as to what to do. Yet finds friends along the way.

darkcrystalaughra

Aughra gives him the crystal shard, what he needs to complete his mission and explains of the Great Conjuction, the meeting of the three suns when the world will end… or begin. For 1000 years ago the crystal cracked, spiraling the world into darkness. The Skeksis appeared, taking over the Castle of the Crystal, using the power for their own selfish purposes.

darkcrystalkira

darkcrystalfizzgig2

Kira… WAIT, Jen isn’t the last of his kind!… and her fuzzy pet Fizzgig join Jen on his journey to heal the crystal before the suns meet in the sky. As Jen was raised by the kind-hearted, knowledgeable (and a bit hippie-ish) Mystics,

darkcrystalmystichome

she grew up in the care of the fun-loving (simple-minded) Podlings.

darkcrystalpodlings1For the race of Gelflings had been destroyed, taken by the Skeksis, their essence drained, granting immortality to the evil race.

darkcrystalskeksis2

Now they want Jen and Kira, but not just for their essence… because of the prophecy.

I know, there’s always a prophecy. The Skeksis’ power will end by Gelfling hand.

The scheming Skeksis send their henchmen the Garthim to capture the two travelers.

darkcrystalgarthimOur two heroes head out on their journey, facing the danger, running from the Garthim, and learning the truth of their race.  darkcrystalJenkiradarkcrystalworld2darkcrystalstrider2And finally arrive at the Castle of the Crystal.

DarkCrystalcastle

Even thought Kira is captured, Jen continues, desiring the end of the mission and finds the Chamber of the Crystal.

darkcrystalchamber

Kira fights her way to freedom and meets him there. Jen jumps onto the top of the crystal, but loses the shard, the missing piece of the crystal. Thinking only of saving the world and defeating the Skeksis, Kira braves the danger, retrieves the shard, and tosses it to him.

darkcrystalkiraenddarkcrystalhealing

But the Skeksis will not give up so easily. They grab Kira, threatening her life. When Jen heals the crystal, they kill Kira.

The Mystics arrive, knowing the time of the Conjunction is near.

darkcrystalmystics

The crystal, now returned to its true form, merges the good with the evil into a new whole, returning the world to its former glory.

darkcrystaljoining

And breathing life back into Kira, so she and Jen can begin to rebuild the Gelfling people.

darkcrystalsavingKira

“We leave you the Crystal of Truth. Make your world in its light.”

DarkcrystalCastle_of_the_Crystal_new-_Pure

This is the first movie I ever owned, receiving the VHS tape for my birthday when I was a kid. Of course, now I own it on DVD. The music, the visual effects, the story trapped my heart and imagination and never let go.

Jen leaves his home, the only place he’s ever known and enters the world, a big place full of the unknown. Like we all do. He finds friends and love. He finds himself, completing a task he thought too great for a simple Gelfling to accomplish. He faces the shadows, learning of the evil in the world, and does not give up.

And saves the world.

Maybe in our lives we can’t save the world, but we can save OUR world.

For when things go wrong and life seems to shatter into a million shards, we can put the pieces together.

Darkcrystallightbeingsdarkcrystalaughramadeone

Until next time, for part three of this wonderful trip down memory lane, sharing all the movies that touched my heart… “The Last Unicorn”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rediscovering Childhood Joy… part 1 “Labyrinth”

23 Monday Feb 2015

Posted by Kathleen Palm in Just for fun, movie, Thoughts

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

adventure, goblins, Jim Henson, Labyrinth, magic, movie, wishes

My Twitter header picture is a bunch of goblins, from a movie I love, yet a movie I don’t expect a lot of people to know. When a few people commented on it, saying they love that movie too, my little heart leapt with joy.

People DO know this movie, but what of my other childhood favorites? So I tweeted pictures from those.

Lo and behold, people not only know them, they love them. So I want to share three movies that forever changed my life in a blog series. Three movies that I owned on VHS and now own on DVD. Three movies that I discovered have touched others’ lives as well.

Movie magic, people. Magic.

Today, I want to share…

Labyrinthlogo

Labyrinth (Jim Henson and George Lucas… 1986)

Fifteen-year-old Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) wants to live in a fairytale, where no one can tell her what to do, where to go, or who she has to be.

labyrinth-sarahbook

She desires adventure, but the only excitement her life holds is babysitting her little brother, who won’t stop crying. So she makes a wish, that’s all it takes. The goblins scamper into the room and take Toby.

labyrinthgoblins

But Sarah isn’t exactly happy. I mean, who really thinks the Goblin King’s minions will actually grant a wish? Jareth, the Goblin King, (the fabulous David Bowie) comes to her… expecting gratitude, he saved her after all, but she demands her brother back.

labyrinthkingorb

Okay, sure. No problem. All she has to do is solve a labyrinth by a certain time… and she can have her brother back. *gulp*

labyrinthmaze

So Sarah journeys into the maze to get her brother, solving riddles and meeting friends. Jim Henson’s genius shines in this movie. The puppets. The characters.

labyrinth-sarah-and-friends

Sir Didymus on his trusty steed Ambrosius, Sarah, Ludo, and Hoggle. Aren’t they great?

Well, there is a bit of creepy weirdness. The Fireys… well, scare me.

labyrinthfirerys

As Sarah battles her way to the center of the labyrinth, Toby is having a grand time with Jareth and the Goblins.

Labyrinthkingand toby

And, of course, there is music… hello, David Bowie. I own the soundtrack. *hums*

labyrinthdance

But Jareth worries… what if Sarah can solve the riddles and make it to the center of the maze? So he tries to throw her off, trapping her in an oubliette, making her think she is home, and luring her into a ball.

labyrinthdance

But, in the end…

labyrinthwords

She finds herself at the center, facing Jareth, finally deciding what her life will be, what is important. To get her brother back. To save her family. Even though the Goblin King tried to help her, to give her what she desired, she won’t give up her brother’s life, his choices, for her own selfish wish.

labyrinthendstaris

labyrinthmovestars

Sarah takes control of her life, stops blaming the outside world for all her troubles. Something we all do now and then.

If only the Universe would stop being cruel…

If only so-and-so would get their act together…

If only…

There are things in life we can’t control. But one HUGE thing we can… ourselves, how we react, how we push forward.

Life isn’t easy. Life is work. You don’t get to live a fairytale because you want to, and we can’t blame others if our lives aren’t turning out exactly how we imagined. The life we have is ours… no one else’s.

So look at the world and all the problems it throws you and say…

labyrinthyou-have-no-power-over-me

Until next time, when I will share my love of The Dark Crystal…

May you conquer the labyrinth that is life.

 

 

Muppets’ Magic

21 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by Kathleen Palm in Thoughts

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Jim Henson, life, magic, movies, Muppets, thoughts

Why are there so many songs about rainbows?

It’s not easy being green.

Movin’ right along!

It’s time to play the music. It’s time to light the lights.

It’s time to get things started …

On the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational … this is what we call The Muppet Show!

So many memories. So many laughs. I grew up watching The Muppet Show. So today when yet another Muppet movie is released … I want to honor their special magic.

Even if you don’t know The Muppets, you know them. Everyone has their favorite. I’ve always been partial to Gonzo and Animal … and Beaker. The songs. The comedy. The life lessons.

Believe in yourself.

Dream.

Everyone has a place in the world.

Jim Henson’s dream came true. He shared his brilliance with the world and it was embraced.

I remember when he died, when the world lost a shining star. I cry thinking about all he didn’t get to do. However, look at what he added to our lives. He gave us The Muppets. He made us laugh. He taught us that even if we’re a karate-chopping pig who refers to herself as ‘moi’, a frog who plays the banjo and sings, or a strange blue whatever that talks to chickens, we all have something to give the world. Ourselves.

And his creative genius continues.

When the last movie ‘The Muppets’ entered the theaters, I was excited, but nervous. Would they still be my Muppets?

I left the theater, wiping the tears of joy from my face. All the magic was there as my favorite frog, pig, bear, whatever, and all their friends assembled on the screen. The Muppets never left the hearts of all those who love them.

Have you heard about the new show on the Sy-Fy channel? Jim’s Henson Creature Shop Challenge starts Tuesday the 25th! One of my crazy-dreamity-dream land dreams is to be a creature creator for the movies. Of course, I traveled a different path, so not likely, but that job would ROCK! With computer graphics such a huge part of movies now, this show comes out celebrating the great art of creature creation. Wow!

Thank you, Jim Henson! For being you, for sharing your magic, for believing in your dream. Look what you’ve done, so far.

And now another movie that I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE! A TV show I will watch with interest and dream of being on.

Come on! Get in your rainbow-colored Studebaker and take a left at the fork in the road. *Muppet flail*

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Kathleen Palm, Author

Kathleen Palm, Author

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