Musical Mondays: Labyrinth (1986)

      Labyrinth was released on June 27th, 1986. Directed by Jim Henson and written by Terry Jones, the film was a box office failure upon its initial release, but has since attained a cult following and reemerged as an underrated classic. Recently re-released in theaters for a limited three day run by Fathom Events, I was able too view Labyrinth for the first time on the big screen.

     The film has a somewhat messy production history. Drawing inspiration form The Wizard of Oz and Maurice Sendak, Jim Henson and Brian Froud originally conceived the film shortly after completing The Dark Crystal as a more lighthearted counterpart to that film's Tolkien-esque, world-building quest. Terry Jones, of Monty Python fame, was brought on to write a script based on Henson and Froud's ideas. The casting of David Bowie as the Goblin King, however, proved somewhat problematic, as the actor felt that the story needed more humor and Jim Henson decided that the film should feature musical numbers in order to take advantage of Bowie's peculiar talents. Consequently, Jones script would go through edits from Henson, Laura Phillips, Elaine May and the film's producer, George Lucas. The resulting film, while far from perfect, is a ton of fun.

     The main plot centers around Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) a fifteen year old girl who has an unhealthy obsession with fantasy and fairy-tales. The film opens with her arriving home late to babysit her brother Toby on her parents date night because she lost track of time while reenacting a play called The Labyrinth in the park, a play from which she can never remember the last line. Sarah resents her parents for making her watch Toby, preferring to indulge in her fantasies and becomes even more frustrated when she finds him playing with her old teddy bear, Lancelot. She unwittingly wishes for goblins to come and kidnap him, like in her play. When this actually comes to pass she is visited by the Jareth, the goblin king (Bowie) who gives her 13 hours to navigate his labyrinth before Toby is turned into a goblin.

     On her journey through the labyrinth Sarah meets Hoggle (voiced by Brian Henson and puppeteered by him and Shari Weiser), an irritable dwarf with a heart of gold; Ludo (voiced by Ron Mueck and puppeteered by him and Rob Mills), a large but kind-hearted beast; and Sir Didymus (voiced by David Shaughnessy and pupeteered by Dave Goelz and David Barclay), a Don Quixote-esque Fox-Terrier. Hoggle goes through something of a character arc, gradually becoming friends with Sarah over the course of the film and eventually saving her from as giant mechanical guard outside of the castle.

     Sarah, like so many protagonists in fantasy stories, must come-of-age and leave her childhood fantasies behind. She must also learn to recognize and better manage her emerging sexual desires. At one point in the film, she is given a drugged peach which makes her forget about Toby. She falls into a trance and has a dream where she is seduced by Jareth at a masquerade ball, but she resists him and wakes up. She is then returned (seemingly) to her own room, where an old women tries to brainwash her, reminding her of all her possessions that distract her from Toby. She rejects this temptation, proclaiming that Toby is more important to her. Finally, on reaching the castle, she is confronted by Jareth, who tells her that the whole adventure has been for her benefit. It's everything she wanted. He offers to love her and to fulfill all her dreams if only she'll obey him. She resists him once again, remembering the line she forgot at the beginning of the film, "You have no power over me" which defeats him. Returning home, she gives Lancelot to Toby, having come to appreciate how important he is to her. The film ends with the characters from the labyrinth appearing in her room, suggesting that, while it's important not to get carried away with fantasy and imagination, it can be a positive and even necessary part of one's life.

     The biggest problem with the film is that much of it, with Sarah wandering through the labyrinth, contributes little, if anything, to her character arc, instead coming across as a series of loosely connected adventures. This isn't a deal-breaker. Many beloved children's fantasy stories are very episodic in nature (Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz) and, while movies as a general rule are expected to be more streamlined I am not amiss to a more fragmented narrative. But this is a film with a clear character arc and it would have been better to carry that arc through the entire narrative, instead of just dealing with it in a few key scenes.

     Then there's the music. While Trevor Jones instrumental score is quite good the musical numbers, written and performed by Bowie, are a more of mixed bag. "Underground", which serves as the films opening and closing theme, is suggestive of Sarah's confusion at the beginning of the film, of her desire to escape into the world of her childhood fantasies but also her emerging adolescent sexual desires. "Life can be easy; It's not always swell" "But down in the underground; You'll find someone true." It's well sung by Bowie, whose deep howling vocals contrasts the more upbeat instrumentals. It seems odd to play it at the end of the film however, when Sarah has finally reconciled her imaginative life with her everyday real-world existence. "Magic Dance" which is, I guess, the film's "villain song" is an incomprehensible mess. The lyrics make no sense, the song does nothing to advance the story nor does it reveal anything about the characters, the staging is lazy and the lip-syncing is pretty poor. The same can be said for "Chilly Down", sung by the Fireys as they attack Sarah, but at least in this case the song is supposed to be confusing and strange. "As the World Falls Down" is easily the best song in the film. Playing over Sarah's dream sequence, it has a seductive and dreamlike but also vaguely sinister quality that really complements the scene. "There's such a fooled heart, Beating so fast in search of new dreams." Finally, "Within You" plays over the films climax, bringing the contrast between Jareth's villainy and his seductive, Byronic qualities to the forefront. "Everything I've done, I've done for you." "Your eyes can be so cruel; Just as I can be so cruel; Though I do believe in you."

     Visually, Labyrinth is one of the stunning looking films I've ever seen. The puppetry is absolutely jaw dropping. The expressiveness that Henson and co. are able to imbue in these characters is unequaled. Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus all look just as convincing, if not more so, as today's most painstakingly rendered CGI characters. It may not allow the same range of expression as motion-capture but the concrete, tactile feel of these puppets can never truly be replicated. Of course, a lot of credit has to go to the puppeteers, without whom these characters would be little more then impressive looking special effects. The sets too are a sight to behold and Henson wisely gives them a dirty, lived-in look that helps to make them feel more real. He also fills them with his puppets: door knockers that talk, plants with eyes that follow your movement, tiny creatures that move floor boards when your not looking. The world of Labyrinth is teeming with life. Some of the compositing hasn't aged well, particularly the blue screen effects in the scene with the Fireys but, overall, it's a really impressive achievement.

     Labyrinth may not be a perfect film. It's narrative is a little messy and its themes can get lost in all the misadventures. Nevertheless, it spoke to a lot of kids who grew up with it and found its message about balancing imagination and reality and its themes about coming-of-age really powerful. I may not have grown up with it myself but, nevertheless, I can appreciate how important this film is to many people. Besides this, the film is something of a visual masterpiece, a landmark in movie puppetry that remains unequaled all these years later. It's also a really charming, fun adventure that can be appreciated even without aforementioned historical context. I highly recommend it to any fan of fantasy, fairy-tales, or creative film-making.

Score: 9/10