Labyrinth (DVD, 1999, Subtitled Spanish)

Labyrinth (1986)

Where nothing is what it seems

Starring:

Brian Henson
David Bowie
Jennifer Connelly
Shari Weiser
Toby Froud
Directed by:

Jim Henson
Rating: 7/10

Running Time: 98 minutes

Certificate: UK: u

On DVD

Country: United States


Long before FX departments started relying on computers to supply their more weird and wonderful characters, Jim Henson was using good ol' fashioned puppetry (or should that be 'muppetry'?) to bring his fantastical tales to life.

While that inevitably means parts of this 1986 fairy-tale adventure have aged better than others, the ambitious Terry Jones-scripted “Labyrinth” remains as enjoyable as ever. Jennifer Connelly plays Sarah, the tantrum-throwing teen whose baby brother Toby gets on her nerves once too often during another night's babysitting. If truth be told she's a bit of a weirdo, hence her decision to wish for goblins to come and take her bothersome sibling away. Of course, when her wish comes true she lives to regret it, and what's worse is she only has 13 hours to retrieve the squealing tot before the goblins get official custody (which would surely never stand up in court).

Helping – and occasionally hindering – Sarah as she fights her way through goblins, caverns and even the Bog of Eternal Stench (hold your nose for that one) are fairy-hating midget Hoggle, gentle giant Ludo, and a talking dog named Sir Didymus.

David Bowie dons an uncomfortably-tight set of leggings and a Kajagoogoo-style spiky mullet for the role of Jareth the Goblin King, who it has to be said has a slightly unhealthy interest in our 15-year-old heroine. Thankfully, she's having far too tough a time making her way through the maze outside the Goblin Castle to take any notice of Jareth's increasingly desperate advances. Perhaps he should consider getting a nice haircut and a new wardrobe?

It's Got: A cracking soundtrack from David Bowie – who performs five original songs during the film.

It Needs: More extra sections for DVD viewers.

DVD Extras Theatrical trailer, filmographies, and a 56 minute documentary which, amongst other things, reveals that Sting and Michael Jackson were also up for the role of Jareth. Given one particular scene where Jareth throws the baby around the Goblin Castle, it’s probably for the best that Jacko was kept away from this one. DVD Extras Rating: 6/10

Summary
At times extremely dark but always hugely entertaining, another winner from The Jim Henson Creature Workshop.

I have seen this movie so many times and I love it each time a little more than the last. Starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly. Director is Jim Henson. You will see some puppets but not like Kermit. Some are even scary, but most are cute in a strange way. The story is about a girl and her wish for the goblin king to take her baby brother away (who would have thought the goblin king was real?). She has only a few hours to find her way through the labyrinth and rescue her brother before its to late and the goblin king disappears with him. A very mystical story, almost like a fairy tale.
The music is wonderful and here years later I still remember the words to most of the songs! Great for kids, families, or just about anyone!

This is an entertaining fantasy film starring a young Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie. Jim Henson's muppets are key players in this story of Sarah (Connelly) who, tired of babysitting her baby brother Toby, summons goblins from the pages of her favorite book "Labyrinth", to take him away. When he actually is kidnapped, she summons the courage to follow him into the suddenly real world of her storybook. Along the way she encounters numerous, sometimes dangerous, often humorous, characters, and she has to summon hidden courage from deep within her to rescue Toby from the Goblin King (well-played by Bowie). George Lucas produced this fantasy.
The tagline is: "Where everything seems possible and nothing is as it seems." It's an apt description.

Sarah is a 15-year-old who loves fantasy and make believe. She loses track of time, forgetting that she must babysit her infant half-brother, she runs home only to find her stepmother waiting for her angry. They argue and then her stepmother leaves with Sarah's father on a date, while Sarah remains behind to babysit. Finding her favorite teddy bear missing she storms in her brothers room finding it there. Quoting lines from her fantasy book she asks the goblin king to come take her brother away. The lights flash and her brother no longer cries.

A barn owl flutters through the opened window and transforms into the goblin king Jareth who tells her that he has taken the baby as she had requested. Appalled at the realization of what she had done, Sarah begs for the return of her brother. Jareth gives her 13 hours in which to solve his great maze, called the Labyrinth, and find the baby. If she fails, Jareth will turn him into a goblin and keep him forever.

The Labyrinth is not a simple maze; the pathways and openings in the walls of the maze change from time to time, and are riddled with logic-puzzles and tests. Sarah acquires companions along the way that are chivalrous and assist her in her quest.

Sarah and her friends experience a variety of adventures, including an encounter with detachable-limbed revelers, a detour through the Bog of Eternal Stench, a stop at the Four Guards, a junkyard-like recreation of her own bedroom, and a hallucinogen-induced masquerade ball. At the ball Jareth attempts to keep her until the 13th hour by dancing with her. She breaks free of his spell and makes her way into the castle.

Recollection of her purpose with the aid of her friends, she realizes most of the obstacles are put in her path by Jareth, who seems to have become enamoured of her and desires her to forsake her task and remain with him.

The film climaxes in Jareth's castle, wherein he makes a final appeal for her to abandon her quest and stay with him. She defeats him by reciting a line from her book. The room crumbles away and Sarah finds herself in the front hall of her home with the clock striking midnight and the barn owl (Jareth) flying away.

The film turned out to be a failure at the box office, but all in all I think it was a enjoyable film to watch.

A few months ago I purchased "The Labyrinth". It is a movie from the late 80's by Jim Henson/George Lucas starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly. I purchased it for my son because I remembered watching it with my sister over and over as children. It has always been my favorite movie and now it is his. He falls asleep watching it every night (no exaggeration whatsoever). Although this is a Jim Henson movie (creator of the Muppets) this is no Muppet movie. The goblins may look a bit scary and the dark castle foreboding, but there is a lot of comedy and music. It brings me so much joy to see my 2 year old son dance to David Bowie's "Magic Dance" song. He makes me rewind it over and over. This is overall a wonderful movie--- especially if you like David Bowie (in very tight pants).