The Dark Crystal never quite reached the heights of being a cultural touchstone, instead lingering in a state between fondly remembered or completely forgotten. Like anything with a timeless flavor, the property has picked up steam, and is now in the midst of a renaissance.
From a lovingly crafted 4K restoration of the original film, to newly created comics exploring the world of the Dark Crystal to a brand new 10 episode Netflix series, it seems like this unique product of Jim Henson’s tireless imagination is finally getting the respect it is due.
I’m a strange fan of Dark Crystal, having never seen the movie as a kid but instead reading and re-reading the comic adaptation over and over. It wasn’t until the 25th anniversary edition of the movie was released in 2007 that I was finally able to watch the source material, and was able to see the comic adaptation fully realized. I now own what I feel is the pinnacle of home cinematic versions of the movie with an excellent 4K version.
Funko previously released a brief line of toys for the original movie, covering all the main characters and beasts. They were firmly in the 3 ¾ inch retro line, featuring minimal articulation like one would expect had they been released in 1982. While archaic in style, they were, from a sculpting standpoint, some of the strongest of all of their retro, 5 POA offerings.
Funko has stepped up their game this time around with a companion line to Netflix’s Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance by giving us the same scale, but this time utilizing their slightly more advanced 9 POA format. It’s still retro in size and overall aesthetics, but the additional articulation gives you more options than their stiff-armed counterparts.
I have to admit that despite the series already having premiered, I have not seen it, and will no doubt not be able to see it for quite some time. My internet capabilities where I live are not compatible with Netflix. So until they changes, or until the series hits Blu-ray or whatever, I’m walking blind.
But that didn’t matter. I still had to have these figures, because I love the world, the aesthetics and the overall feel of Dark Crystal.
The number of characters for the series is far larger than the original movie, so there was no chance of getting everyone. Instead, we get a handful of characters that I’m assuming are the most important. The one holdover from the original movie and toy series is Aughra, the long-lived all-seeing all-knowing archetype character that you need in a property like this. Along with Aughra, you get two members of the Gelflings–Deet and Rian–and a Podling, Hup. You need some villains to go with the good guys, and this time we get a Skeksis kown as The Hunter. Taking the terrifying beast role previously held by the Garthim, we have the Silk Spitter, a spider-like nightmare.
Minimal and throwbacky as they are, I really dig all of these. The sculpting is absolutely excellent, on par with much larger figures. They’re very advanced when compared to so many of the other current retro-aesthetic figures out there. The faces have a ton of detail and expression. Aughra’s craggy face is laden with character. The Hunter’s bone-armor is well-detailed, and his disturbing desiccated vulture face looks great.
Rian, Deet and Hup each have 9 POA: head, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees. Aughra has head, shoulders, elbows and a torso joint, but is solid from the torso down. The Hunter has head, shoulders, elbows and hips, along with swivels for the two arms on his back. The Silk Spitter fares better than everyone, and is articulated in multiple places along his creepy creepy legs.
Where applicable, each character comes with appropriate accessories. Rian comes with a blade and an essence vial (that carries the life force drained from a Gelfling). Deet comes with a pair of wings (only female Gelflings have wings). Hup comes with a pair of spoons. Aughra comes with a cane. The Hunter comes with four blades, two large and two small, one for each hand. He also has a bone mask that fits snugly onto is face, as if he wasn’t disturbing enough as is.
The paintwork is very clean across the board, and exceptional in many places. The design on Aughra’s back is beautifully done, but to me the work on the faces is where it gets nuts. I can’t get over how precise the paint on Rian and Deet’s faces are. Look at those eyes! Despite being far smaller figures, that eyework is better than the average Marvel Legend figure. They’re staring into my soul.
Despite not knowing the characters (yet), I’d be in for any more that are made. If this is it, then it’s a good companion set to the original movie figures. Funko stepped up their game and delivered a great set of figures for a property that’s getting a well-deserved second wind.
