Labyrinth is a fantastic children’s fantasy film

My daughter pulled half my DVD collection from the shelf this weekend. Most were horror and dramas she definitely shouldn’t be watching. I don’t want to deal with those nightmares for the next few years.  Only one she could watch, and it happened to be the Jim Henson classic Labyrinth. Something on the bland early 2000s DVD cover grabbed hold of her attention, and it immediately went into the player.

Would Labyrinth hold my daughter’s attention? I wasn’t sure it would. She loves Disney princesses. How would Sarah compare to Elsa and Ana? Most of her media is animation. Brian Froud’s art style is beautiful and dark, but rendered in real life it can be off putting compared to the family friendly Disney style.  The odds were stacked against this 80s live-action fantasy classic. 

“She’s not being very nice.” A surprisingly insightful comment on our protagonist Sarah’s behaviour during the film’s opening scenes. “The goblins can’t take her brother. He didn’t doing anything bad.” My daughter insisted Sarah should be happy spending time with him.  It took Sarah begging the Goblin King to give Toby back before my daughter began liking the character.

From that point on, she was invested in Sarah’s story until the end. There’s no higher praise for a Jim Henson production than that of a child. Labyrinth is meant for children to enjoy, and that’s exactly what happened.  Hoggle’s sway between hero and villain thrilled her. Farting rocks in the Bog of Eternal Stench had her doubling over in laughter. David Bowe’s Goblin King had to hiding behind my back in fear one scene, and dancing along with him the next.

The story is easy to follow, while not being too simple.  The plot twists and turns, but the goal of saving Toby before time runs out remains crystal clear. That simple through line meant that no matter what strange events unfold, my daughter understands the stakes and what the story was building toward. Complex when it can be, but simple to follow.

Sarah’s character arc is another example of this. She’s a petulant child at the start of the film. Comparing her comfortable suburban lifestyle to slavery is the pinnacle of her dramatics. She wishes away her baby brother in a fit of teenage angst, but the moment he vanishes, she’s terrified. Confronted by the Goblin King she pleads for her brother’s return. The story quickly shows she’s not a teenage stereotype. She’s a human with real emotional range.

From then on out, she’s tested and forced to grow as a person. My favourite example is with the door guardians. It’s a classic fantasy situation. Two characters, one always lies and one always tells the truth. Behind one is the path forward and the other the path to doom. Having overcome a few obstacles along her journey, Sarah’s confident she knows which creatures tells the truth, but her reasoning is utter nonsense. She’s dropped into a pit of darkness.

Strange hands stop her fall. Forming into faces, classic Henson puppetry, they offer her a choice. Up or down. Choosing down they mock her “she said down.” Sarah cries out, wanting to know if she made the wrong choice. “Too late.” Like the door above, she acted without thinking things through and paid for her mistake.

Sarah learns from her mistakes. Her character develops in a believable manner.. A terrible roar cracks the air. A massive beast hangs from a nearby tree. Knights attack the creature while claws at them. Sarah stops and takes the scene in. There’s no rushing into the unknown. That approach doesn’t benefit her. This gives her time to realize the beast isn’t the problem. She helps him escape and makes a new friend. Ludo’s proves invaluable in helping her throughout her journey.

Didymus, a fox knight, holds sacred his oath that none shall pass over the bridge leading out of the Bog of Eternal Stench. The little fox  gives no ground, despite their great need.  Old Sarah would have gotten frustrated and done something rash, but after all her trials, Sarah thinks through the situation. She thinks through the situation and asks for the oath’s details.

Didymus

I have sworn with my life’s blood. None shall pass without my permission.

Sarah

Well…may we have your permission?

It’s exceedingly simple, but the absolute best solution to the situation. A solution she would never have come to earlier in the story. There’s nothing revolutionary in her hero’s journey, but it’s well done. Sarah isn’t a paragon. She fails and learns from those failures. She’s a typical annoying teen, and a real person with depth. Simple storytelling with added complexity. A great children’s hero.

Props to Jennifer Connelly for showing her talent at such a young age. Certainly her later career is full of stronger performances. Requiem for a Dream and Dark City are favorites of mine, but her Oscar win for A Beautiful Mind is well deserved. Here she gives a believable performance that grounds the film through her character arc.

Hoggle is the only other character to show much depth. A self-described coward, he spends much of the movie flipping between doing the right thing and doing the easy thing. The Goblin King threatens him throughout the film, giving him every reason to turn against Sarah. The risk to Hoggle is always clear, but she’s the only person to ever call him a friend. His feelings for her are a constant conflict.

Learning how to be a friend, and sacrificing for others is never easy. It’s an excellent journey for any child to follow. Friendship can often be reduced to an unbreakable bond between characters, but that’s rarely reality. His inner turmoil is what makes Hoggle so endearing.

The rest of the characters are solid, but none compare to Sarah and Hoggle. David Bowie’s Goblin King is a solid villain. Ludo and Didymus are fine sidekicks.  The rest of the crazy denizens of the Goblin realm are fun story dressings. I can’t think of a single weak link. Even the Fieries, the red bird-like creatures, are menacing enough to make for a decent villain moment.

Stepping away from the story, the production of Labyrinth holds up remarkably well. The reality of the Henson Company’s puppetry never broke down for my daughter. As an adult, the Fieries are a weak implementation of black screen puppetry. The compositing is incredibly noticeable to the point of distraction, but not for my daughter. Nothing on a technical level pulled her out of the movie. It was a world full of real characters and situations. One can’t ask for a better fantasy experience.

From start to finish, Labyrinth was a hit with my daughter and myself. Nostalgia can blind, but her eyes came to the film fresh. Without a single preconceived notion she loved the movie. I’ve seen it a dozen times over the years, and my phone never entered my hand while watching it with her. There’s plenty of bad children’s films that I can’t say the same for, even during a first viewing.

The Muppets, Fraggles, Dark Crystal, Sesame Street and Labyrinth are fantastic storytelling accomplishments. Jim Henson’s left an amazing legacy with his treasure trove of television and films.