Labyrinth (1986)

15-year-old Sarah accidentally wishes her baby half-brother, Toby, away to the Goblin King Jareth who will keep Toby if Sarah does not complete his Labyrinth in 13 hours.

Director:

Jim Henson

Writers:

Dennis Lee (story), Jim Henson (story),

Stars:

David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Froud

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Bowie	...	Jareth the Goblin King
Jennifer Connelly	...	Sarah
Toby Froud	...	Toby
Shelley Thompson	...	Stepmother
Christopher Malcolm	...	Father
Natalie Finland	...	Fairy
Shari Weiser	...	Hoggle
Brian Henson	...	Hoggle / Goblin (voice)
Ron Mueck	...	Ludo / Firey 2 / Goblin (voice)
Rob Mills	...	Ludo / Firey 3
Dave Goelz	...	Didymus / The Hat / The Four Guards / Left Door Knocker / Firey 3 (voice) (as David Goelz)
David Alan Barclay	...	Didymus / Firey 1
David Shaughnessy	...	Didymus / The Hat / The Four Guards / Goblin (voice) (as David Shaughnessy)
Karen Prell	...	The Worm / The Junk Lady / Firey 2
Timothy Bateson	...	The Worm / The Four Guards / Goblin (voice)

Storyline

Young Sarah is left home alone by her parents and she has to babysit her little brother Toby. But the baby keeps crying and Sarah, while telling him a story to make him sleep, inadvertently conjures from a fantasy world the Goblin King who steals the child and brings him to his castle in the middle of a labyrinth. Sarah has to rescue him before midnight, or the baby will became a goblin...

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Plot Keywords:

goblin | labyrinth | baby | child | castle | 

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Taglines:

Jim Henson, George Lucas and David Bowie take you into a dazzling world of fantasy and adventure.

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 June 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Laberinto

Filming Locations:

West Wycombe Park, West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$12,729,917 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Henson Associates (HA), Lucasfilm, Jim Henson Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There are pictures of David Bowie on Sarah's mirror along side of a model figure of King Jareth on the vanity in Sarah's room.

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Goofs

Sarah enters Toby's room when he is crying, picks up the stuffed bear and puts it on the bed next to the pillows. In the next shot the stuffed bear is not in the same place.

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Quotes

Stepmother: She treats me like a wicked stepmother in a fairy story, no matter what I say.

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Connections

Referenced in Suburban Knights (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Magic Dance"
Performed by David Bowie
Written by David Bowie
Produced by David Bowie and Arif Mardin

User Reviews

I wish someone had handed me over to the Goblin King when I was a kid!

Cool film! Way too good for children. Jim Henson, as ever, is the absolute master of every kind of puppetry known to man or muppet.Particularly adorable is the little punk worm who invites Sarah to "Come inside and meet the missus"... very cute. The plot has all the essential elements of a good fairy tale with the added bonus of a heroine who manages to get through all her trials and tribulations without squealing feebly or fainting into the arms of any poxy bloke. David Bowie is wonderfully sexy (despite the fright wig) and his natural humour shines through although his character does a pretty good job of being spiteful and menacing. I get the feeling the he really enjoyed making this film. The soundtrack is excellent and "As the World Falls Down" is quite hauntingly beautiful ('though I have to agree with an earlier reviewer that the ballroom sequence in which it was played did slow the action down a little - but it was a visual feast).

All in all, a beautiful film with a wonderful cast of creatures and humans. Makes me miss Jim Henson's talents lots but at least we've still got Brian (his son). My friend's three year old now has a crush on the Goblin King (I dread to think how that's gonna shape her life!).