Labyrinth

On January 10th, 2016, the world lost one of its most famous musical stars in David Bowie. Known for being one of the most influential musicians of all time, his flamboyant stage presence, his distinct and often gender-bending presentation both in music videos and in real life, and his significance in popular music as a whole, he was an icon that the world will never forget. Ironically one of the properties outside of his music that showcased a lot of these special qualities was the often-overlooked 1986 Jim Henson film, Labyrinth.  The movie focuses on Sarah (played by Jennifer Connolly), who one-night wishes that her baby brother would be taken away by goblins from her book. As fate would have it, her command is heard by goblins from another world and the goblin king himself, Jareth (played by David Bowie), who quickly snatches Toby away. She is told that her brother will be turned into a goblin if she doesn’t manage to traverse his labyrinth in time, which is filled with all sorts of odd creatures and obstacles that will surely try to slow her down. Sarah must traverse this new world in order to save her brother while coming across some friends along the way including a goblin named Hoggle (voiced by Brian Henson/Shari Weiser), a big creature named Ludo (voiced by Ron Mueck/Rob Mills), and a small talking valiant fox named Didymus (voiced by David Shaughnessy/Dave Goelz), as Jareth, who seems to harbor a ”liking” for Sarah, watches from afar. Being known as Jim Henson’s strangest (as well as his last) movie, Labyrinth was a financial disappointment and did poorly critically, but managed to gather a cult following over the years. With contributions from Monty Python writer Terry Jones and director of Star Wars George Lucas, as well as a heavy focus around mythical creatures, dream-like scenarios, and songs by the late David Bowie, it was bound to be a messy project that carried with it awkward elements, but also a lot of cool distinct aspects as well.  Labyrinth proves to be an imaginative, charming, and surreal adventure that while not perfect, still brings so much fun and creativity to make it worth a watch.

In a movie where its environment and magical creations are the strongest and clearly the main focus of the movie, its bound to result in certain elements that are usually crucial to common storytelling to not be as well managed as they should be. Being an idea that was created by Henson along with children’s writer, Dennis Lee, along with uncredited rewrites done by Lucas, Laura Phillips and Elaine May, it clearly took inspiration from other emotional driven stories like The Wizard of Oz, Where the Wild Things Are, and Alice in Wonderland when constructing its narrative. Labyrinth thrives in its emotional complexity that has more than on the surface level, the unique atmosphere that can mystify as much as it can horrify, and its narrative framework that is simple in concept, but is great at engaging the audience and making them want to see where things end up. Like the previous examples, it knows what to keep vague and what to keep at the centre, resulting in a narrative that is bare bones in many ways and can come across as a little simplistic, but still works by keeping the objective clear, the obstacles prevalent, and the characters engaging. Sadly, the movie’s non-traditional manner means that the build-up to this adventure isn’t handled the best, leading to a sloppy opening (with bad exposition, awkward acting, and a rushed pacing) and a sloppy ending (with no climax and an inexplicable ending). Sometimes some of the fun encounters can drag out longer than necessary as well, where the tolerance for them can range from delightfully quirky to just random and like a waste of time only being showcased to show off some effects (a certain fire creature dance pops to mind), but for the most part, the movie is so engrossing with its chill pacing, wild and often oddball imagery and its whimsical tone that it makes people enjoy slowly going through this environment rather than feeling held hostage by it. It’s a movie that doesn’t struggle with dated material or forced cliches, rather enjoying its uniqueness and allows for a timeless story that can still be appreciated today for more than just what it displays visually.

A lot of the characters are simple but likeable faces that you enjoy being around. Jennifer Connolly, for the most part, does a good job acting as the out-of-her-element innocent thrown into a crazy world that you want to see get through this situation, but unfortunately, she starts off in a pretty awful way. Her acting in this first act is incredibly whiny, poorly delivered, and results in her coming across as very unlikeable and bratty, (despite Lucas not directing the film, the opening gives off of a strong Star Wars prequels vibe from its performances), and despite getting better as the film goes along, it’s a bit of a hard pill to swallow in the first few minutes. The side characters have good designs, are voiced well, and don’t overstay their welcome or hog too much screen-time when they don’t need to (although Didymus can be a little grating at times), they make for good supporting characters to experience the movie with. David Bowie is easily the strongest aspect of this film and is one of the reasons the movie was shaped as it was. The film is already very bizarre, strange, and distinctly 80s, so he strangely fits right into this environment, and it doesn’t just feel like a celebrity appearance without proper reasoning, he genuinely carries his scenes very strongly. He encompasses everything mysterious and cool about himself in his performance, giving a relatively boring script such presence and grandeur and taking a character that was originally either going to be a full monstrous puppet, or given to another popular musician of the time (like Mick Jagger, Sting, Prince or even Michael Jackson) and creating a great character that was theatrical and snide (as well as surprisingly sensual for a movie of this type), but strangely never unlikeable.

Being a Jim Henson product, the effects are incredibly impressive even years later and help bring a sense of physical grit to this magical realm while still feeling distinct inhuman. Everything that Henson excels at is amazingly captured in this film helped out by his talent as well as the craftsmanship from his team, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, that had extensive experience from other shows like Sesame Street, The Muppets, and Spitting Image. Every single creature that is made has a distinct walk, voice, and character, and even when they don’t look real, they have an ability to make you believe they are, and that comes through with great voice acting, great effects and a great puppeteer. Even the CGI involved is pretty groundbreaking for the time and still feels authentic. The imagination is the movie is amazing, coming up with some trippy ideas and some unbelievable creative scenarios. Like most 80s movies, it managed to create an environment that was whimsical and different, but also murky and off-putting, it makes the environment not so friendly and even slightly dangerous in parts which adds a nice harsh touch to what could easily be a light and soft adventure. The movie’s color pallet is mainly muted colors, there isn’t many moments of bright lighting or colors, which creates a grungier atmosphere, but it’s never visually uninteresting or dull to be in, it’s always throwing something either creatively fun or creatively dark at its audience. The songs are especially well done and lead to some great memorable pieces. They capture the time-period they were made in, and while that can usually be a hindrance to a project to have something feel so dated and specific in what’s supposed to be a magical realm, it’s still handled in a manner that works within the film and it also has a slightly fantastical feel that is both outlandish and hummable. Each one has a different tone or mood that they effortlessly capture, from slow and romantic, to upbeat and dance-worth, to trippy and climatic, it’s a great soundtrack all around, helped out by having Ziggy Stardust himself work on most of the numbers (Dance Magic Dance is amazingly catchy and surprisingly upbeat for the villain’s song).

Considering how back and forth people are on this movie, it’s no surprise that Labyrinth grew a cult following over the years rather than existing as a sure-fire hit from the beginning, and considering how its led to multiple extensions through books, games and even comics, it clearly struck a chord with people. While the story is nothing new and the movie does sometimes lose focus, the movie is just an excuse to play with cool ideas and visuals but does in it a clever way that remains timeless and admirable to this day. However even on top of that, there really is just a lot of charm to this movie involving the characters, the imagination and effects are beyond inspiring, and it’s a story that thrives as much as it does thanks to the inclusion of David Bowie, whose very nature within this story seems to encapsulate everything that made him equally as cool and impressive in real life. You feel that passion from so many talented people all throughout this film whether through allusions to past fiction, going above and beyond with the technology, or just allowing a weird and often times surreal film still be something that children and adults can experience and get sucked into. While it might not reach the levels of some of the material its inspired by, it has left behind a legacy for an ever-iconic star and for itself that is nothing short of magical.