Confession: never saw The Dark Crystal, or Labyrinth for that matter. Could someone provide a good synopsis of the story and themes? I'd prefer hearing it from people who enjoy it, over say IMDB or other website reviews.
BlackBird, I won't spoil it, but will instead describe it in terms of atmosphere. It is one of those movies that absolutely melts your real world surroundings completely away. It's evocative and thematically dark, which is a compelling contrast to the medium (puppets). I think of it as a kind of precursor to an outfit like Pixar, which makes movies that work brilliantly for two audiences: at once: 1)the children they are obviously targeting, and 2) their parents, which they entertain with adult humor that goes over the kids heads (yet doesn't detract from the kids enjoyment). Except in the Dark Crystal, the two audiences are not seperated really and he isn't trying to make you laugh. It's dark and wonderful.