With sad news of David Bowie's passing, the film itself being nearly thirty years old and the recent announcement of a reboot, it felt like the right time to look back at Jim Henson's little cult classic.
When a young girl, Sarah Williams, accidentally wishes that her baby brother, Toby, would be taken away by the goblins, the Goblin King, Jareth, offers Sarah the chance to get Toby back if she can make her way through through labyrinth to his castle. Along the way she solves various riddles and meets up with various friends, including Hoggle, Rudo and Sir Didymus, The fact that the film includes a 'Wizard of Oz' book among Sarah's belongings makes it clear the film doesn't mind you knowing the obvious influences behind the work. There are also hints of Alice in Wonderland and a showdown in an M.C Escher inspired castle.
The main theme of this film is growing up. Sarah is a well off young girl who is moody to her father and stepmother. She starts off attached to her material goods and by the end is ready to give them up to save Toby. We get the usual fantasy as therapy with toys and books from Sarah's bedroom providing the bedrock. Still, it's nice that the film stresses the importance that fantasy is necessary every once in a while.
Jennifer Connelly is decent enough int the role of Sarah. She gets the balance right by showing the spoiled side of Sarah without making the character too unlikable. She doesn't particularly outshine the other actors but is alright.
David Bowie, on the other hand, is perfect at the Goblin King. At some moments he is camp, at others sinister and attractive. Where Jennifer Connelly's Sarah might get lost among the weirdness, Bowie's Jareth owns the screen every time he is on it. The biggest challenge a reboot would face is finding an actor who can make Jareth his own and not just create a weak homage to Bowie.
Hoggle might be considered the third main character of the film as he is the only one of Sarah's fantasy friends who gets any character development. When we first meet him he is pissing in a pond and killing fairies. We also find out he's a bit of a coward. Over time he becomes more sympathetic. The combination of puppet and voice work make him feel genuine. You enjoy watching this character.
As for the other characters, Ludo is sweet but has very little personality. Sir Didymus feels like a weird homage of Basil Brush. He is an amusing comic relief character. Jim Henson's team create a whole range of amusing little characters from the tiny worm with a cockney accent to the evil Junk Lady.
Labyrinth came after The NeverEnding Story and Return to Oz and has a very similar tone to the films. The soundtrack is a nicely sinister in places and certain sets, like the junk pile and the crumbling walls of the labyrinth entrance give the thing a sombre tone. The creatures that Sarah faces are nasty and funny at the same time. From the talking hands that pull her into the abyss to the crazy red furry creatures that threaten to take Sarah's limbs from her body all while jaunty music plays in the background, there is always an element of danger in this film that is fun to watch.
Labyrinth is not exactly a life changing film but not a particularly bad one either. It is certainly worth watching at least once.
7/10
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