Labyrinth (1986)

Goblins, ghouls, and little kids take over the screen in Labyrinth, a reminder to be careful what you wish for. This musical film has something for everyone who loves an adventure and a few good challenges. It’s charming, frustrating, exciting, and will keep you on edge the entire time.

Plot Summary

As a lover of fantasy stories, teen Sarah Williams was just like many of her peers. She had to go to school, watch her little brother, and was constantly looking for reasons read. One day, she was pretending to be part of her favorite story, Labyrinth, when she realized she was an hour late to watch her baby brother while her parents went out for the night.

She rushed home to frustrated parents and was eventually left alone with her fussy baby brother, Toby. Toby would not stop crying and when Sarah discovered that her stepmom had given Toby one of her favorite teddy bears named Lancelot, she nearly lost it. She was shouting that she wished someone would take her away but eventually caved and began telling Toby stories to soothe him.

When she told him the story of Labyrinth, repeating the lines of the story, she quietly wished that the goblins in the story would come take Toby, sure that the story wasn’t actually real. However, Jareth, the King of the Goblins, showed up and took Toby, offering him back to her only after she solved the puzzles and got to the center of his labyrinth. If she didn’t make it in 13 hours, Toby would be turned into a goblin forever.

Hoggle

Upon entering the kingdom, Sarah met a dwarf named Hoggle, who, unbeknownst to her, was ordered by Jareth to send her back to the beginning of the maze. Sarah and Hoggle began to develop a friendship during the quest, and when Hoggle was forced to feed Sarah a poisoned peach that would erase her memory, he certainly felt remorse.

After eating the peach, Sarah figured out what she was supposed to be doing and continued on her mission. With help from some others in the kingdom, Sarah reached the castle just in time, navigating a maze to get her baby brother back. She had defeated the goblin king and returned her baby brother home safely! What a stressful babysitting experience.

Labyrinth Cast

David Bowie – Jareth
Jennifer Connelly – Sarah Williams
Toby Froud – Toby Williams
Christopher Malcolm – Robert
Shelley Thompson – Irene

Fun Facts

• Filled with make-believe creatures, Labyrinth utilized puppets in a lot of the film. In the iconic ‘Dance Magic’ scene, 48 different puppets were controlled by 52 puppeteers.
• Today, the film is known as one of the greatest puppet films of all time.
• The puppet for Hoggle had 18 motors in its face and required 4 people to operate it.
• Several actresses auditioned for the role of Sarah, including Helena Bonham Carter, Jane Krakowski, Yasmine Bleeth, Ally Sheedy, Maddie Corman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Marisa Tomei, Laura Dern, and Mia Sara. All were turned down in favor of Jennifer Connelly
• Labyrinth was produced with a huge budget of $25 million but it only made $12 million on it’s initial US theatrical run
• Hoggle was lost on a flight and is now displayed at the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Alabama.
• Some say that inspiration for this film was driven by the Wizard of Oz.
• Labyrinth was produced by George Lucas, the legendary creator of Star Wars