A Double-Dose of Henson

spanning_time misses Jim Henson. His creations are a cornerstone of our childhood, and his genius remains unmatched when it comes to breathing life into the inanimate. The fine folks at Pixar come close, but their engaging storylines are more self-contained than Henson's fully-developed multiverse (plus, pixels aren't really tangible). This weekend offers an opportunity to revisit two of Henson's non-Kermit-related works, Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal.

Labyrinth of course stars both a young Jennifer Connelly and David freakin' Bowie, who kidnaps her baby brother as the Goblin King. It's a bit like a trippy, Muppet-driven Alice in Wonderland, but with a Bowie soundtrack. It's got a bit of a cult status surrounding it, with its video releases and lore lasting far longer than the lack of theatrical success would suggest. It's playing this weekend (and for the next week) at the Northwest Film Forum with a new 35mm print.

The Dark Crystal marked a darker turn for the Muppet empire in 1982. I have no problem admitting that I actually haven't finished the movie since it used to scare the crap out of me when I was younger. I always thought I could handle it, but it all just seemed too real (a Muppet Uncanny Valley I suppose), so I would always leave before it ended. Maybe now I can finally see how this quest tale ends. It's playing as the Midnight Movie both Friday and Saturday nights at the Egyptian, which is both awesome and a little scary. If you see someone leaving early, that will likely be us, having an irrational Muppet moment.

[via Seattlest, MetBlogs, and MetBlogs]