Labyrinth

Originally, the idea of reviewing "Labyrinth" came a bit more than a year ago, after we reviewed this movie. In that review the scribester randomly lamented about the size of Jennifer Connelly’s breasts then and now... (Aaah, scribe, what would we do without ye?)

GREEN'S "NICE YOUNG GIRL, TERRIBLE BLACK UBLIET" REVIEW:

UTTERLY RELEVANT TRIVIA QUESTION! Do you know what the connection between Labyrinth and Star Trek: The Next Generation television series is? Something to think about as you read. {BTW, the answer is not obvious.}

What do you get when you have George Lucas as co-Executive Producer, Jim Henson as the director, and Terry Jones (of Monty Python fame) as the writer, David Bowie writing songs, singing and acting plus a cadre of Muppets and Jennifer Connelly, a 14 year old future Oscar winning actress starring in your movie? Throw in bit parts for Star Wars alums Frank Oz, Kenny Baker and Warwick Davis and what do you have?

Obviously, the answer is Labyrinth, a truly wonderful movie.

It's hard for me to believe that this film was released 23 years ago. However, it is not hard to believe that this film is still as captivating now as it was then.

It's the coming of age (well, sort of) story of Sarah (Connelly) who is forced to baby-sit her step-brother, Toby. When he won't stop fussing she wishes that the Goblin King (Bowie) would take him away.

Until he does.

Sarah immediately regrets the wish and begs for his release. Suddenly, before she realizes it, The Goblin King himself is standing in her room! He, quite frankly, is having none of her whining. That is until he decides to make a deal with her, one which (he thinks) she cannot possibly win: If she can solve the Labyrinth and reach the Goblin City at the center of the maze and enter the castle in less than 13 hours, she'll get her brother back. But if she can't, he'll become a goblin and be lost forever. On the journey she meets all sorts of wonderful and imaginative characters, some friendly and some not so friendly. Can she remember how to defeat the Goblin King and save her little step-brother in time?

Don't be fooled. This is not just a movie geared for kids. Adults ought to enjoy this movie, too - especially if you're a fan of David Bowie and his music. {BTW, what's up with the Speedo-like costume? Female viewers must loove that.}

Jim Henson's incredible genius as a puppeteer and innovator can not be overstated. He and his crew of muppeteers do a fabulous job of making the non-human characters real and relatable. We can identify with them to some degree, so we care about them.

I hardly need mention, but I will anyway, that one of the great tragedies in the last 20 years for true movie fans happened when Jim Henson died suddenly in May 1990 at the way too young age of 54 from bacterial pneumonia. Can you imagine the great movies that he might have made, had he lived, possibly combining muppet magic with CGI wizardry? Fortunately his legacy lives on with this film and the many other films and television shows that he worked on throughout his career. Coincidentally, Jim Henson would have turned 73 on Sept. 24^th, had he lived.

I watched the 1999 DVD release of this film because it was readily available to me at the time. Included on the disc is an excellent 'making of' featurette, which is primarily narrated by Kermit the Frog, er, Jim Henson. I’ve since purchased the Anniversary Edition of this DVD because its a two disc deal which has many more cool special features on it. Just the kind of extra stuff that I love to watch.

This is an all around excellent movie which, if you haven't watched in a while, is definitely worth revisiting.

***** out of *****

Oh yes, I almost forgot to tell you what the Star Trek: TNG connection is! Did you cheat and find out the answer? Well here it is: The title of 'Director of Choreography and Puppet Movement' for this film was none other than Cynthia McFadden, aka Gates McFadden aka Dr. Beverly Crusher. I didn't believe it either until I saw her for myself in the featurette. Recognized her right away, I did. Want more proof? Here you go.



SCRIBE'S SUCH A PITY REVIEW:

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my co-reviewer over these past few years, it’s that he loves child-friendly movies and wussy, contrived romantic comedies. So it came as no surprise that he chose “Labyrinth” for us to review on this blog. Actually, he chose it a long time ago but I kept shuffling it off to the side because I wasn’t in the mood to watch this Eighties Jim Henson film.

I finally knuckled down and watched a film I hadn’t seen in at least ten years and found myself enjoying it a lot more now than I had before. To give you an idea of my frame of mind, most of my experience was spent staring at a young Jennifer Connelly and saying, “Man, does she get hot in a few years!” But the movie was entertaining as well.

Unlike the superior and much more artistic “The Dark Crystal,” Henson and company decided to go a more child-friendly route with this one. Featuring two principle human actors, Connelly as the female protagonist and David Bowie as the “Goblin King,” this is a faster paced fairytale with songs and goofy characters.

The plot is rather thin when compared to “Crystal,” but this is a film about mood and imagery and it works very well in that regard. The loss of Jim Henson was a far more serious one than I’d thought. The incredible imagination at work in his films is sorely missed in this era of off the shelf software CGI flicks.

Connelly is a tad awkward in her role at the beginning but she grows into it nicely as things go on. Bowie is a natural as the Goblin King, menacing yet charming at the same time, much like a seductive and charming vampire with a New Wave haircut. The muppet characters are amazingly rendered. The plot is thin, basically revolving around Connelly angrily wishing her baby half-brother would be taken away by goblins and her struggles to get him back by traversing a…LABYRINTH, that’s right. Thanks for following along at home.

The music, provided by Bowie, might sound dated if not for the overall bizarre quality of it. Yes, it’s a tad annoying to sit through the scene with Bowie and the goblin muppets boogieing down but one must expect such cheese when watching such a film. Besides, this isn’t one of your happy-go-lucky Disney adventures. It’s pretty dark and mentions death rather bluntly. Some of the imagery is downright disturbing, especially the “helping hands” and stench pit sequences. The latter actually features something that looks like a multitude of flatulent rectums protruding from a swamp at random intervals! Sid & Marty Kroft couldn’t have done enough bong hits to come up with that one!

None of those things detract from an enjoyable film. If you have small children, which I don’t, some of the darker aspects of the film might bother them, but on the bright side you can always threaten them with banishment to the Goblin king’s realm if they don’t do as you say.

*** out of *****

Labyrinth (1986, PG, 102 minutes) starring David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Shari Weiser and Brian Henson (voice). Story development by Dennis Lee and Jim Henson, written by Terry Jones and directed by Jim Henson.