The Dark Crystal

Fizzgig is a strange, fluffy creature that inhabits the fantasy world of Thra, in landmark movie The Dark Crystal. He is clearly a coward but has all the attributes of a watchdog. He is almost completely fur with two tiny paws. Standing about the size of a small cat he is currently posed, bearing teeth, on a custom made stand. Fizzgig is a glove puppet (sorry Muppet) with thick, soft, stripy fur, he has three rows of sharp, dirty teeth and piercing yellow eyes. The world Thra and the creatures that inhabit it, were designed by Brian Froud who later worked again with Henson on Labyrinth.

The Dark Crystal was released in 1982 and was the worlds first all puppet full length feature. Directors Jim Henson and Frank Oz created a classic of its genre still admired today. It is set in “another world, another time, in an age of wonder” The story revolves around the character of Jen, a Gelfling, who believes he is the last of his race. He begins a quest for the shard that will heal the dark crystal and restore light and goodness to the world. Ultimately Jen finds another Gelfling called Kira along the way and, joined by Fizzgig, they continue their journey to defeat the tyrannical Skeksis.

At the time of its release in 1982 it was billed as the first movie with no human characters and it took an impressive $40 million at the box office. The movie raised the bar for the animatronic control of puppets but like previous Henson productions, it was the basic creature movements done by human performers that audience marvelled at. The Dark Crystal was popular children at the time as it was a little darker than the usual Hollywood offerings.