'Dark Crystal' prequel debuts Friday on Netflix

Jim Henson made two creepy fantasy flicks in the 1980s, two movies aimed at an audience that was perhaps growing out of “Sesame Street” and “The Muppet Show.” I was definitely a “Labyrinth” kid.

Its tale of angsty teen Sarah (future Oscar-winner Jennifer Connelly) trapped in a creature-filled maze spoke to the gamer in me — not to mention the actual Commodore-64 game based on the movie. Oh yeah, and some cool guy named David Bowie played Jareth, the goblin king who kidnapped Sarah's baby brother.

But some of my pals and peers were “Dark Crystal” kids, and they'll be very happy this Friday when Netflix launches a 10-episode series based on the 1982 film.

“The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance” combines the Henson company's trademark puppeteers and today's visual effects tricks to bring the conflict between the ugly buzzard monsters, the Skeksis, and the elfin humanoids, the Gelflings, to life. That combination of techniques may have you thinking that the making of this prequel series might be more fascinating than the series itself, and Netflix has you covered: “The Crystal Calls,” a feature-length documentary, also will be available on the platform.

The voice cast is stacked with big names — far too many to mention here — so let's leave it at Mark Hamill, Sigourney Weaver, Simon Pegg, Helena Bonham Carter, Akwafina, Harvey Fierstein and Taron Egerton. Oh, and “Game of Thrones” alums Lena Headey, Nathalie Emmanuel and Natalie Dormer. Oh, and funnymen Andy Samberg, Keegan-Michael Key and Eddie Izzard.

The original “Dark Crystal” is of course streaming on Netflix, but is also available from Amazon Prime and for rental and purchase on platforms like iTunes and Vudu. (Sorry, fellow “Labyrinth” fans: Our movie is only available for rental or purchase. The good news is that the fully loaded Blu-ray of the film can be had for cheap online.)

• Follow Sean on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.