Poll: Dark Crystal or Labyrinth?

happyninja42

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So I was watching Nash's "Here There Be Dragons" last night, and he mentioned the next movie he would discuss would be one of my all time favorites, The Dark Crystal. And this got me thinking about a curious trend I noticed when talking to people about this movie.

There seemed to be a very distinct line in the sand about Dark Crystal, and it seemed to be on gender lines. Just about every guy I talked to who was roughly my age, and who was semi nerdy/geeky, saw Dark Crystal. But most of the women I spoke to hadn't seen it. They had however, almost to a woman, seen Labyrinth and loved it.

Now of course, there is the David Bowie In Tight Pants Effect, as illustrated by the late JewWario in this clip.

Timestamp 1:40+ pretty much says it all. But it could also just be because the main character was a woman, and thus more appealing to girls at that age.

So I'm curious, which do you prefer? I didn't like Labyrinth, but mostly because it was a musical, and I HATE musicals. What about you? Have you seen them both? Only one? Loved them both, hated them both, liked one over the other? Let's Poll It! And NOT using David Bowie's poll! :p

Now, since this site has become a hotbed for transgender debates, my very binary statement of genders in the poll questions are just for simplicity. Whatever you identify as, pick that. I'm not providing any other options because given the track record of this site of any thread discussing that subject devolving into a war, I'm just not including it. Sorry, you want to debate that subject, go make your own thread about it. This is about Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. And yes, I do feel that disclaimer is necessary to keep the thread on topic.

Capcha: let me know. very fitting for a poll!
 

theevilgenius60

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I'm a guy and I love em both. Love Labyrinth better just because of the music and because it was a touch less serious(yeah, kidnappings serious, but the movie wasn't, bog of eternal stench, etc). Of course I was a huge Muppet fan as a kid, so Dark Chrystal, Labyrinth, Star Wars, Muppet Show, any of that was what I loved
 

Casual Shinji

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Dark Crystal hasn't aged too well story wise. There's a ton of exposition, and the characters come across as painfully one-dimensional. It might also be the fact that it solely features puppets with no more easily relatable live-action humans inbetween. Those rabbit stilt walkers are still pretty cool though.

Labyrinth has way more fun with itself, and the characters have a bit more going on. Some of the songs are a bit cringeworthy now, but the intro/outro song still kicks ass. I also feel the puppet design is much more solid and imaginative. And David Bowie in a movie..?! You can't beat that.
 

Thaluikhain

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Both are good, but in many ways the Dark Crystal is a bit of a generic high fantasy story. Done well, but we've seen that sort of thing before. Labyrinth stands out a lot more. There was also more creative use of puppets. The Dark Crystal creatures tended to be more alien, and less weird, if you see what I mean. The Skexis or Garthim seemed to be believable ish monsters, while stuff like the Fireys weren't trying to be believable and weren't restricted by it.

Also, the Labyrinth songs.

"You remind me of the babe"

I daresay a fair few people to read that have that song stuck in their heads now.
 

Scarim Coral

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I'm a guy and I prefer Labyrinth.

I guess I am bias since I watched Labyrinth at primary school so it was fun watching it with others and it was some time later that I watched The Dark Crystal.

Even then I still prefer Labyrinth for its light hearted theme per say and I also liked the comedy/ humour aswell. Watching the Dark Crystal as a kid was kinda too dark for me as I clearly remember I felt sorry for those stilts mounts creatures and those little creature being eaten by those crow monsters!
 

DrownedAmmet

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thaluikhain said:
Both are good, but in many ways the Dark Crystal is a bit of a generic high fantasy story. Done well, but we've seen that sort of thing before. Labyrinth stands out a lot more. There was also more creative use of puppets. The Dark Crystal creatures tended to be more alien, and less weird, if you see what I mean. The Skexis or Garthim seemed to be believable ish monsters, while stuff like the Fireys weren't trying to be believable and weren't restricted by it.

Also, the Labyrinth songs.

"You remind me of the babe"

I daresay a fair few people to read that have that song stuck in their heads now.
Fuck. You.
"The babe with the powah."
Nah, we're cool, that song kicks ass. I'm a dude and I think Labyrinth is a better movie, partly because of Bowie (and his package,) but Dark Crystal just didn't seem to stick with me as much. Still enjoyed both, though
I watched them both for the first time about a year ago so I don't really have a nostalgia problem
 

CaitSeith

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Labyrinth, but just because of the music. And by the way, I think it still lacked music to be considered a musical (I mean, the protagonist and her companions never sing).
 

Johnny Impact

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DrownedAmmet said:
thaluikhain said:
Both are good, but in many ways the Dark Crystal is a bit of a generic high fantasy story. Done well, but we've seen that sort of thing before. Labyrinth stands out a lot more. There was also more creative use of puppets. The Dark Crystal creatures tended to be more alien, and less weird, if you see what I mean. The Skexis or Garthim seemed to be believable ish monsters, while stuff like the Fireys weren't trying to be believable and weren't restricted by it.

Also, the Labyrinth songs.

"You remind me of the babe"

I daresay a fair few people to read that have that song stuck in their heads now.
Fuck. You.
"The babe with the powah."
What power?

OT: Gotta go with Labyrinth. Both movies have brilliantly realized worlds and the kind of incredible puppets that made Henson famous. But Labyrinth has songs, the Bowie Effect, and lest we forget, the Connelly Effect. Yeah, I know she was underage in that movie, but I was underage when I saw it, so it's okay. I had the hots for her before I even liked girls.
 

Sniper Team 4

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Dark Crystal gets my vote. The world, the story, and the design of everything was just amazing to me me as a kid. Made me extremely uneasy, but it also fascinated me to no end.

That, and it has the best justification for anything I have every heard:

"Wings? I don't have wings."
"Of course not. You're a boy."

The way that line was read...it's just amazing. One of my favorite movie quotes of all time.
 

Dizchu

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The Dark Crystal is better in terms of sheer intrigue, escapism and the fact that it relied exclusively on puppetry/non-human characters.

Labyrinth to me has better pacing, more memorable setpieces and those god damn Bowie songs.

They're equal to me. Though Labyrinth shows its age a lot more because of the big hair and cheesy music.
 

The Rogue Wolf

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I'm sort of split myself. Labyrinth had the more memorable characters; The Dark Crystal had the more memorable world. They were both fairly advanced (as far as special effects) for their day, and of course they both had the awesome mind of Jim Henson guiding them.
 

Silverbane7

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i cant really vote, because there is no 'im a girl and i like both equally' option unfortunately.

i saw both movies when i was younger, loved both of them for what they were, and how they told their stories.
though the dark crystal kind of makes more sence (when you are younger) if you have read 'the world of the dark crystal' a large print and large format book with not only the story in it, but lots of drawings and pictures and images.
(though i read the book to death *after* seeing the movie on video)
 

rorychief

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Guy for dark Crystal. I'm an art guy and the concept design for dark crystal has always trumped labyrinth imo. I'm a superfn though with two copies of The World of the Dark Crystal. (Both cover variants)
The designer for both films is Brian Froud, but if anyone knows his artwork then dark crystal is the most froudian of the two, an entire world built according to his tastes and aesthetic preferences. The level of detail is amazing. It's a fleshed out, lived in universe with its own complex ecosystem, multiple languages, alphabets, mythologies, architectural schools etc. though in fairness, alot of that stuff sneaks around in the background and you would need the book to appreciate just how comprehensive and fully worked out all those small details are. Nothing is arbitrary. It all has a place and history.
One thing i always loved as a kid was the idea that every skeksi has a personality and role each with a mystic counterpart. Once you know all the names its easy to tell who is who by their dress and appearence, so while you could say they're non characters, they become a lot more once you've drawn them all a thousand times.
The counterparts go:
Skeksis-Urru(or 'mystic' to gelflings)
Emperor- Master
Chaberlain- Chanter
Garthim Master- Healer
Ritual Master- Ritual Guardian
Scientist- Alchemist
Gourmund- Cook
Slave Master- Herbalist
Treasurer- Numerologist
Scroll Keeper- Scribe
Ornamentalist- Weaver

Edit.* Dunno why more guys would prefer Dark Crystal and girls Labyrinth. Maybe it's because Labyrinth is more focused on presenting a contained story , Dark Crystal then is more focused on exploring a world. As in Labyrinth is all about Sarah and her experience. The antagonist is a hot guy because the embodiment of temptation takes the form of her desires, she's the glue that holds her bickering friends together, its a story of her growing up, so on. This all appeals to young girls. Weird complex fantasy worlds and all the obsessive compulsive detail within will appeal to guys more. Regardless of the paper thin plot dark crystal is more about the end of an age with the characters being stock representatives of different affected groups.
Girls would appreciate a personal journey, guys an immaculately detailed setting. Generally speaking.
 

happyninja42

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Silverbane7 said:
i cant really vote, because there is no 'im a girl and i like both equally' option unfortunately.

i saw both movies when i was younger, loved both of them for what they were, and how they told their stories.
though the dark crystal kind of makes more sence (when you are younger) if you have read 'the world of the dark crystal' a large print and large format book with not only the story in it, but lots of drawings and pictures and images.
(though i read the book to death *after* seeing the movie on video)
Just use the gender neutral "liked/disliked them equally" I tried to add some new entries to the poll in the edit page, but it didn't let me for some reason. Dunno why.
 

LongAndShort

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Labyrinth all the fucking way mate (bloke by the way). I can't even remember anything about Dark Crystal, but god forgive me if I don't occasionally burst into "Magic Dance" at comically appropriate moments.
 

BeeGeenie

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I'm a guy, and as much as I like the Dark Crystal, I feel like Labyrinth has a better story.

And of course, David Bowie's tight pants do always make for good conversation.

The Skeksis just don't remind me of the babe.
 

happyninja42

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Imperioratorex Caprae said:
Love them both, don't think they're comparable beyond the puppetry which done by the same company is a moot point.
Yeah, I'm not trying to say which one is the better film, I'm simply expanding something I noticed in my personal life to an online format to see if the trend holds up.

So far the personal experience isn't holding up with the numbers. Interesting. Though more female entries would help balance out the figures. xD