I couldn't tell you if the movie used puppets like in never ending story or was animated, it was too long ago. It was probably around the time of The Last Unicorn, another movie I had sketchy memories of but recently found.

The characters weren't people, and the setting was not like normal earth, very fantasy like. I remember three or four scenes. One (I think near the beginning) the main character (young) is talking to another thing, much much bigger than himself, maybe a friendly species not the same as him, there's something wrong happening and he tells the main character about it, the history I think. They're in a big cavern or something, I remember the room was large and everything in the scene was earthy coloured. The second scene I remember the main character finds a cage with lots of prisoners of his own race inside, everything in that scene is red coloured. Mood is very high tension (has to get them out and escape enemies I guess) He's penetrated into the place of the enemy by that stage. Another scene, not sure if it's after or before the last one, is he's in a big room, in the enemy's place, there's a huge machine I sort of remember it being silver and either blue or purple. I think the colour of this scene is white. The machine had lots and lots of tubes and things, very big and impressive. The mood was one of low tension. The next scene I remember is where he has to get a ball or balls of shining crystal, they are somehow the answer to the troubles back home, that are on short ornate poles in the enemy's place (he can see them through a window or hole or something). The room is circular I think and kind of dark except for the crystals on the ornate poles. I think the room reminded me of a library for some reason. The enemies may appear in that scene, hulking lizardine kind of things? I could be wrong. Please tell me if you know this movie. Again it'll have been released in the 80's, I would have watched it on cassette (I was born in '86)

The characters might look similar to the ones in the book Brog the Stoop (that I found recently in the garage) but I'm sure the film isn't that, the story wouldn't be the same and I can't find anything about a Brog the Stoop film on the net...

Thanks heaps for helping!

The Dark Crystal perhaps? Or maybe The Chronicles of Narnia?

Thanks! Dark crystal was it. It's weird how wonderful nostalgia makes you feel isn't it?

I must have seen that movie when I was like 4. if you hadn't have given me that name I'd never have found it.

You are welcome!