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A movie that no one should ever have to live with out seeing at least once is
Labyrinth. This movie is simply amazing. Many things that went into the making
of this movie made it so great. Things such as the casting, the costume, make
up, sound, and use of computer graphics. People watching this movie will feel
both caught up and detached at the same time. The plot and sub-plot really work
quite well with the setting, it wouldn't work as well with anything else. One
can compare this movie with other movies by the same people who made Labyrinth,
such as Star Wars.
The movie starred David Bowie (The Hunger, Bsat)
as the scheming, time manipulating, Goblin King, Jereth; Jennifer Connelly as
Sarah, a feisty teenaged girl with the imagination of a child; and Toby Froud
as Sarah's adorable baby brother who's kidnapped and taken into the Labrinyth
by the goblins and held captive by the goblin king, Toby. The amazing
conceptual and costume design was done by Brian and Wendy Froud (The Muppet
show, The Muppet movie), Toby's real life parents. Produced by George Lucas
(Star Wars), written by Terry Jones (Monty Python), and Directed by Jim Henson
(The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock), when this movie was released in
theatres in 1986, it was an instant hit and cult film.
The setting is
split in two worlds. It goes from a suburb area in the 80's, to a fantasy land
of no location or time, where everything is manipulated and never the same, in
the form of a labrinyth, in a seemingly never ending maze, back to a suburb
area in the 80's.
As far as plot goes, Labyrinth is the story of how
Sarah, the teen girl with an imagination as strong as a child's, wishes that
the goblins would take her baby brother away, and when they actually do, she
must make her way through Jereth's, the Goblin King, labyrinth to retrieve him.
Along the way, she encounters all sorts of creatures, some friendly, others
dangerous. They include the grouchy little Hoggle, the chivalrous and
courageous Sir Didymus and his trusty steed Ambrosius, the gigantic & very
hairy Ludo, and many others. In the end, Sarah faces Jereth and withstands his
temptation in order to save Toby (her brother) from the fate of becoming a
goblin himself. It ends with Sarah confronting Jereth and him pleading for her
to be his queen. "Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have
fought my way here to the castles beyond the Goblin City, for my will is as
strong as yours. And my kingdom is great. You have no power over Me." she tells
him. As soon as the last words leave her lips, the fantasy world falls apart
and she lands back in reality in her very own living room where she realizes
where she runs up to her room and lays down. She awakes and realizes it was all
a dream, finds Toby asleep in his crib, sits back in her room, looks in the
mirror, only to find her friends from the other world and bring them back to
the real world ending the movie with a party of all the characters in the
movie.
The subplots are all the little run-ins with the various
Labrinyth creatures on Sarah's way. These include her travels with Hoggle,
which were quite confusing to her due to the fact she could not tell if he was
friend or foe. Also she found the lovable Ludo a giant goblin with a giant
heart. And of course there were odd events that included talking door knockers,
walking bombs, Sarah thinking she was back at home when she had just been
poisoned, a talking worm ("Allo" "Did you just say 'hello'?" "No, I said 'Allo'
but that's close enough"), and my personal favorite, the forest goblins that's
body parts are detachable.
This movie has a very distinct message. A
few of them, actually. The most evident message is that things are not always
as they seem. The messages to never give up and to not take things for granted
are also woven in with the constant message of things not always what they
seem.
This movie is a true fantasy movie, but it is also a cult
movie. I consider it a fantasy movie, because it seems so realistic, but it's
something that would likely never happen. The amazing costuming and puppeting
(or muppeting), made it seem so possible, but so far out there at the same
time. As for it being a cult film, just the fact that a Monty Python writer,
Jim Henson, AND George Lucas were involved, that pretty much makes it a cult
film right there. The movie has had quite a following; there are quite a few
events that take place in its honor, including Jereth's Masquerade Ball in New
Orleans and Sydney.
There were so many good things about the movie;
to narrow it down to what makes it so good is nearly impossible, because every
little detail was what made it so great. I was especially impressed with the
casting, costumes, make up and, the sound, as well as the early use of computer
in it. The casting wasn't at all an all star cast, but the people playing the
characters, even though I know very well they weren't, seemed to be the
characters, always good quality in actors, to be able to make the audience get
lost in the movie, or play, etc. The costuming was amazing. The goblin king
truly came across as an evil entity, and Sarah as a teenager trapped in a
child's imagination. Also part of costume, the make up made the characters that
were actually were people (as many of the characters were muppets), to be what
they were, it gave them character and it gives a real feel for what they are
supposed to be like. With the movie being a musical, the sound was very
important. It was all very clear, the musical pieces that were with out singing
gave it all a unreal feeling that detached you just enough to make you be in
complete awe of what was happening at the time. Mostly David Bowie did the
vocals to the pieces with words. The early use of computer graphics was simply
awesome. Being put out in the 80's, there wasn't too much that you could do
with graphics then, but when you watch the owl that flys around during the
opening credits, and you sit completely amazed because it looks almost real.
When one is watching this movie, they feel caught up enough to feel as if they
are part of it, yet detached enough to sit and truly appreciate how great it
is. I was hooked into it right from the beginning, I could have been Sarah, and
I knew exactly what she was feeling by the music pieces they set to the scenes.
Others may feel detached if they do not have enough imagination to let the
inner child take over.
I would recommend this movie to all audiences
of all ages. It would especially appeal to those who enjoy Sci-Fi, but anyone
can watch it and fall in love with it. I would take my parents, my nephew, my
friends, and someone who I had just met on the street, to this movie in a
second with confidence that they would enjoy it.
This movie can be
compare to many other movies, but one that sticks out is Star Wars. Many of the
same puppeteers worked on both movies. Jim Henson is amazing at bringing
characters to life with his skill. George Lucas was involved in both movies as
well. They share none of the same plot, but the movies are the same in the
sense that the same dedication, devotion, and hard work by the same people went
into making both of them.
This movie will be remembered for a long
time by being passed on from the people who loved it from the beginning to
other people who will want to remember it and pass it on. This movie has lasted
for fourteen years, and will continue to live on for many more.
Purchase Labrinyth from amazon.com
and support Toronto-Goth.
review by tinka
May 8th, 2001
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