There is no doubt that Jim Henson was a genius in his own right. The famous puppeteer is most well known for creating several unique and memorable characters for The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock and even Sesame Street. However, Jim was also known as an experimental filmmaker as he continued to push the limits of what Puppetry could be capable of as its own form of art. After directing the cult classic known as The Dark Crystal, Henson got to work on another ambitious project that like Dark Crystal would gain an audience over time, but would suffer from lukewarm reception and a low box office income. The movie is called Labyrinth and despite what some might say, there still is a lot to love from this flawed but imaginative experience.
16-year-old Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) is forced by her parents to watch over her baby brother Toby which angers Sarah deeply. During the night she shouts out a plea to The Goblin King to take the baby away from her only for her to realize very quickly that Toby has suddenly vanished. The Goblin King or Jareth (David Bowie) comes to Sarah and makes a deal that if she can reach Toby at his castle which is in the middle of the Labyrinth in thirteen hours, Jareth will give Sarah her baby brother back. Having regretted her wish, Sarah starts heading for the castle through a difficult but imaginative maze where she comes across many interesting characters including a dwarfish named Hoggle (Brian Henson) and timid large beast named Ludo (Ron Mueck). They'll have to move fast though as there are many inconveniences and dangers that await them inside the labyrinth if Sarah is ever to reach the castle in time.
Unlike the Dark Crystal, the storytelling is much more memorable but at the cost of not always being consistent with its tone. Then again, that is also kinda the strength of the movie even despite its inconsistencies. The movie feels like an inspired mix of source materials like Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz and a hint of Where the Wild Things Are. Believe me there is nothing wrong with being inspired by different source materials as long as you can create something that is uniquely its own. The Labyrinth setting itself is so mysterious and magical that the main storyline can almost be lost in the mix of everything which can be seen as either a good thing or a bad thing. Our main hero comes across many interesting characters and each of them have their own personalities that work wonders off each other. The big show stealer though is the late David Bowie as the Goblin King. His charisma and over the top performance steals the whole show and you can tell he had a lot of fun being a main antagonist for the heroes to overcome.
Henson never fails to create interesting and unique worlds. The look of labyrinth has a very unsure but endlessly creative setting that incorporates many uses of special effects and puppetry. One of the most remarkable scenes is when Sarah is trapped in a hole full of grey severed hands and the hands can actually form into taking creatures or interesting gesture shapes. Puppets share the same screen with the human actors and they blend in with the rest of the effects almost seamlessly. The set designs are elaborate and fun to look at and you can tell a lot of passion and love went into making the world of labyrinth so intriguing. Trevor Jones composed the music for the Dark Crystal beforehand, so it seemed only fitting that he would return to score the soundtrack for Labyrinth as well. While I do admit that the songs written for the movie are anything but household tunes, they still work in their own right as David Bowie brings his own talents and skills to make the songs he sings feel intriguing and fun.
Labyrinth is an imaginative and visually impressive movie that is much bigger on style than substance but the style is so interesting that it's easy to forgive the movie’s more awkward acting and constant tonal shifts. It's passionate direction and elaborate sets and character designs make this movie worth seeing not just for Jim Henson fans but fans of anything fantasy related. This would be the last film Jim Henson would direct and all I can say is that it is quite the way to go out on such a good note.
(Final Grade: B)