9 / 10
Labyrinth is the strangest mainstream studio film of 1986 and the last great Jim Henson production. Henson directed it. Terry Jones, of Monty Python, wrote the screenplay. George Lucas served as executive producer. Brian Froud, the conceptual artist behind Henson’s earlier The Dark Crystal, designed the creatures. David Bowie plays Jareth the Goblin King. Jennifer Connelly plays Sarah. The baby Toby is played by Toby Froud, Brian’s son. The film is a coming-of-age fantasy in which a fifteen-year-old girl has to navigate a magical maze to rescue her infant brother from a goblin king who is also, increasingly clearly, in love with her in some uncomfortable way.
The film flopped at the box office. It made approximately twelve million dollars on a twenty-five million dollar budget and effectively ended Henson’s ability to mount large-scale fantasy productions. Henson died four years later. The film became a cult classic over the next decade and is now one of the most-watched fantasy films of the 1980s, helped substantially by Bowie’s performance and by repeated home video and cable airings.
David Bowie
The casting of David Bowie as Jareth is one of the more inspired decisions in 1980s fantasy cinema. Bowie was thirty-nine years old and had been a major rock figure for fifteen years. He could sing. He could move. He had the right kind of androgynous menace for a goblin king pursuing a teenage girl. The script lets him write what he writes. He performs five original songs across the film, all written for the film.
The performance is sustained by Bowie’s specific ability to be both threatening and ridiculous in the same scene. Jareth is dangerous. He is also wearing a wig that becomes increasingly elaborate as the film progresses. The audience cannot decide whether to be afraid of him or amused by him. Bowie understands this and plays both registers simultaneously.
For Writers
An antagonist who is simultaneously threatening and absurd is one of the harder character types to write. Most attempts collapse into one register or the other. Bowie’s Jareth works because the script and performance commit to both at once without trying to reconcile them. The lesson is that contradictions in a character can be features rather than bugs. If you can hold two opposite registers without resolving them, the character becomes harder to predict and more interesting to watch.
Jennifer Connelly
Jennifer Connelly was fourteen years old during principal photography and fifteen when the film was released. She had to carry the central role of the film against David Bowie and a cast of puppet creatures. The performance is the major reason the film holds together. Connelly plays Sarah as a young woman who is genuinely childish at the start and meaningfully less childish at the end. The arc is small but earned.
The fact that the character ages emotionally across the runtime, while the actress was also aging emotionally during the runtime of production, gives the performance a specific texture that adult casting could not have reproduced. Connelly was doing in real life what her character was doing in the film, and the line between them is thinner than the script probably intended.
For Writers
Casting a young performer at the actual age of the character preserves something that older casting cannot replicate. Connelly’s Sarah is a teenager because Connelly was a teenager. The performance carries that texture. The lesson is that age-appropriate casting matters in ways that adult-actor performances cannot reproduce. Some characters can only be played by people the age of the character. Accept the production complications and cast accordingly.
The Puppets
The creature work in Labyrinth is the foundation of the film. Hoggle, the bitter dwarf gatekeeper, is operated by multiple puppeteers including Brian Henson, with the face controlled by remote servos. Ludo, the rock-summoning beast, is a man-sized creature suit with a remote-controlled face. Sir Didymus is a smaller puppet. The Goblin City is populated by hundreds of additional creature designs, each operated by Henson’s puppeteer team. The opening sequence of goblins in Sarah’s bedroom involves approximately fifty puppets in the same shot.
None of this could be reproduced today at reasonable cost. The labor required to operate so many practical creatures simultaneously is no longer economical when CGI alternatives exist. The film is a document of what Henson’s company could do at the height of its capabilities, which was more than has been done since.
For Writers
Practical effects have a tactile quality that digital effects struggle to reproduce. The creatures in Labyrinth are physically present on set. The actors are reacting to objects in the same space as them. The audience can feel that the creatures have weight, scale, and texture. The lesson is that the production methods you choose affect what the audience receives. Digital is not always cheaper than practical in the dimension that matters, which is whether the audience believes what they are seeing.
Craft Note
Jim Henson directed. Terry Jones wrote the screenplay. George Lucas executive produced. Brian Froud designed the creatures. David Bowie as Jareth. Jennifer Connelly as Sarah. Toby Froud as Toby. Henson Creature Shop produced the puppets. Trevor Jones composed the score. Five original Bowie songs. Released June 1986. Approximately twenty-five million dollar budget. Twelve million dollar domestic gross. Box office failure on release. Subsequent home video and cable distribution rehabilitated the reputation.
The Verdict
9/10. The strangest and most committed fantasy film of 1986. Bowie’s performance is unique in his filmography. The Henson creature work is foundational. The score is excellent. The film should not be watched as conventional fantasy. It should be watched as a Henson production made with maximum resources at the moment Henson was working at peak capacity. Watch it.
FAQ
Did David Bowie really write five songs?
Yes. “Magic Dance,” “Underground,” “As the World Falls Down,” “Within You,” and “Chilly Down” were all written specifically for the film. Trevor Jones composed the instrumental score.
Is Jennifer Connelly really fourteen?
She was fourteen during principal photography and turned fifteen during production. Bowie was nearly forty. The age gap is part of why the film has aged in complicated ways.
Did it really flop?
Yes. The film made approximately twelve million dollars against a twenty-five million dollar budget. It was considered a major commercial failure on release.
How did Henson take the failure?
Hard. He returned to television production after Labyrinth and did not direct another feature. He died in 1990 at age fifty-three.
Is there a connection to The Dark Crystal?
Yes. Both films were Henson productions designed by Brian Froud. They share creature design sensibility. The Dark Crystal is darker and more committed to its world. Labyrinth is more accessible.
How does it compare to The Dark Crystal?
Both are great. The Dark Crystal is the more ambitious world-building project. Labyrinth is the more entertaining narrative.
Should I watch this?
Yes. One of the foundational 1980s fantasy films.