When Sarah wishes her little brother to be taken away by the goblins, her wish is granted by the Goblin King played by David Bowie and now she must pass through the labyrinth and into the Castle Beyond the Goblin City to get her brother back before he gets turned into a goblin.
This was a fantastic movie, I think it’s my fav fantasy musical of all time. It came out in 1986 but looks visually breathtaking even today, so many of the films set and characters that are mostly of the fantasy type took me by surprise at how amazing they look.
It’s not just the visuals too, there is something to be said about the story and cinematography as well. The movie feels from every frame like a fantasy movie, even the starting scene where Sarah is raining to her home from the rain looks strange and fantastical because of the way it’s shot as if she’s running from a dark to her sanctuary, the houses in the distance looking like evil looming castles. The story works so well because it excels as a Bildungsroman and a grand adventure, managing to balance without either overshadowing the other because of the film’s beautiful pacing that makes sure you are kept wondering and awe at what new strange creatures or locations may come next. It is ultimately a heartwarming and delightful feature.
David Bowie as the handsome, evil Goblin King is charming as hell while being menacing and evil as the plot requires him to be. This is matched perfectly and makes the movie work as a whole in my opinion with Jennifer Connelly’s performance as Sarah. While her character at it’s most basic is a girl that could have been played by anyone, she manages to find the imaginative spirit of her character who isn’t scared of monsters and manages to find the goodness in everything while always always being the teenager and acting like one, she has really given a believable compassionate performance in this film.
All the side characters and companions that she meets are fantastical and otherworldly but they are all just so charming and it isn’t long before you start caring for every single one of them.
Overall Labyrinth feels like a unique movie that comes once in every decade. 9.5/10
Yeah in 1986 they didn’t have much in the way of CGI so all those sets, props, and goblins had to actually be made. They were also made to scale since they had to appear in shots with people. So you can imagine how much work went into building everything.
I don’t know if they used motorized/remote control parts, traditional puppeteering, or both, however. I also don’t know what happened to everything after they finished filming. I think it all got sent back to Henson’s studio for safekeeping and storage.