Labyrinth (1986 film)

''Labyrinth'' is a 1986 musical fantasy film directed by Jim Henson with George Lucas as executive producer. Based on conceptual designs by Brian Froud, the film was written by Terry Jones, and many of its characters are played by puppets produced by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The film stars Jennifer Connelly as 16-year-old Sarah and David Bowie as Jareth, The Goblin King. In ''Labyrinth'', Sarah embarks on a quest to reach the center of an enormous, otherworldly maze to rescue her infant half-brother Toby, whom she wished away to Jareth.

The film started as a collaboration between Henson and Froud following their previous collaboration '' The Dark Crystal'' (1982). Terry Jones of Monty Python wrote the first draft of the film's script early in 1984, drawing on Froud's sketches for inspiration. Various other scriptwriters rewrote it and added to it, including Laura Phillips, Lucas, Dennis Lee, and Elaine May—although Jones received the film's sole screenwriting credit. It was shot from April to September 1985 on location in Upper Nyack, Piermont, and Haverstraw, New York, and at Elstree Studios and West Wycombe Park in the United Kingdom.

''The New York Times'' reported that ''Labyrinth'' had a budget of $25 million. The film was a box office disappointment, grossing $12.9 million during its U.S. theatrical run and over $34 million worldwide. It was the last feature film that Henson directed, and the poor reception contributed to a difficult period of Henson's career, according to his son Brian Henson. It was first met with a mixed critical response upon its release, but, over the years, it has been re-evaluated by critics and gained a large cult following. Tokyopop published the four-volume comic sequel '' Return to Labyrinth'' between 2006 and 2010. In January 2016, it was announced that a sequel was in development, which screenwriter Nicole Perlman described as more of a "spin-off" in the same fictional universe.

Plot

Sixteen-year-old Sarah Williams recites from a book titled ''The Labyrinth'' in the park with her dog Merlin but is unable to remember the last line; they are watched by a barn owl. She realizes that she is late to babysit her infant half-brother Toby. She rushes home and is confronted by her stepmother, who leaves for dinner with Sarah's father. Sarah finds Toby in possession of her treasured teddy bear, Lancelot. Sarah is frustrated by this and Toby's constant crying, so she rashly wishes Toby be taken away by the goblins from her book. Toby disappears and the Goblin King Jareth appears. He offers Sarah her dreams in exchange for the baby, but she refuses, having instantly regretted her wish. Jareth reluctantly gives Sarah 13 hours to solve his labyrinth and find Toby before he is turned into a goblin forever. Sarah meets a dwarf named Hoggle who aids her to enter the labyrinth. She has trouble finding her way at first and meets a talking worm who inadvertently sends her in the wrong direction.

Sarah ends up in an oubliette where she reunites with Hoggle. The two are confronted by Jareth, escape one of his traps, and encounter a large beast named Ludo. Hoggle flees in a cowardly fashion, while Sarah befriends Ludo after freeing him from a trap but loses him in a forest. Hoggle encounters Jareth, who gives him an enchanted peach and instructs him to give it to Sarah, calling his loyalty into question, as he was supposed to take her back to the beginning of the labyrinth. Sarah is harassed by a group of creatures called The Fire Gang, but Hoggle comes to her aid. She kisses him, and they fall through a trapdoor that sends them to a flatulent swamp called the "Bog of Eternal Stench", where they reunite with Ludo. The trio meet the guard of the swamp, the anthropomorphic fox Sir Didymus and his sheepdog "steed" Ambrosius. Ludo summons a trail of rocks to save Sarah from falling into the bog, and Didymus joins the group. The group gets hungry, so Hoggle gives Sarah the peach and runs away as she falls into a trance and forgets her quest. She has a dream where Jareth comes to her at a masquerade ball, proclaiming his love for her, but she rebuffs him and escapes, falling into a junkyard outside the Goblin City near Jareth's castle. An old Junk Lady fails to brainwash her, and she is rescued by Ludo and Sir Didymus. They are confronted by the humongous robotic gate guard, but Hoggle comes to their rescue. Despite his feeling unworthy of forgiveness for his betrayal, Sarah and the others welcome him back, and they enter the city together.

Jareth is alerted to the group's presence and sends his goblin army to stop them. Ludo summons a multitude of rocks to chase the goblins away, and they enter the castle. Sarah insists she must face Jareth alone and promises to call the others if needed. In a room modeled after M. C. Escher's ''Relativity'', she confronts Jareth while trying to retrieve Toby. She recites the lines from her book that mirror her adventure to that point, but she still cannot remember the last line. Jareth offers Sarah her dreams again, but she remembers the line: "You have no power over me!" Jareth is defeated at the last second and returns Sarah and Toby home safely. He turns into the barn owl and flies away.

Sarah realizes how important Toby is to her. She gives him Lancelot and returns to her room as her father and stepmother return home. She sees her friends in the mirror and admits that, even though she has grown up, she still needs them in her life, whereupon the labyrinth characters appear in her room for a raucous reunion party. Jareth the Owl watches their celebration from outside and then flies into the moonlight.

Cast

* David Bowie as Jareth, the king of the goblins.
* Jennifer Connelly as Sarah Williams, a 16-year-old girl who searches through the labyrinth to find her baby brother Toby.
* Toby Froud as Toby Williams, Sarah's baby half-brother.
* Christopher Malcolm as Sarah and Toby's father.
* Shelley Thompson as Irene, Toby's mother and Sarah's stepmother.
* Juggler Michael Moschen is credited with performing Jareth's elaborate "crystal-ball manipulation", which Moschen had created for his stage performances and is now known as contact juggling. He performed the manipulations blind, behind Bowie's back.

Creature performers

Goblin Corps performed by Marc Antona, Kenny Baker, Michael Henbury Ballan, Danny Blackner, Peter Burroughs, Toby Clark, Tessa Crockett, Warwick Davis, Malcolm Dixon, Anthony Georghiou, Paul Grant, Andrew Herd, Richard Jones, John Key, Mark Lisle, Peter Mandell, Jack Purvis, Katie Purvis, Nicholas Read, Linda Spriggs, Penny Stead, and Albert Wilkinson.

Influences

Richard Corliss noted that the film appeared to have been influenced by '' The Wizard of Oz'' and the works of Maurice Sendak, writing that, "''Labyrinth'' lures a modern Dorothy Gale out of the drab Kansas of real life into a land where the wild things are." Nina Darnton of ''The New York Times'' wrote that the plot of Labyrinth "is very similar to '' Outside Over There'' by Mr. Sendak, in which 9-year-old Ida's baby sister is stolen by the goblins." This almost got the film into legal trouble, as the similarity caused Sendak's lawyers to advise Jim Henson to stop production on the film. However, the legal complaint was eventually settled, with an end credit being added that states that, "Jim Henson acknowledges his debt to the works of Maurice Sendak." Sendak's ''Outside Over There'' and '' Where the Wild Things Are'' are shown briefly in Sarah's room at the start of the film, along with copies of ''Alice in Wonderland'', ''The Wizard of Oz'', and ''Grimms' Fairy Tales''.

The film's concept designer Brian Froud, who had previously collaborated with Henson on '' The Dark Crystal'', has stated that the character of Jareth was influenced by a diverse range of literary sources. In his afterword to the 20th anniversary edition of ''The Goblins of Labyrinth'', Froud wrote that Jareth references "the romantic figures of Heathcliff in ''Wuthering Heights'' and a brooding Rochester from ''Jane Eyre''" and ''The Scarlet Pimpernel''. Bowie's costumes were intentionally eclectic, drawing on the image of Marlon Brando's leather jacket from ''The Wild One'' as well as that of a knight "with the worms of death eating through his armor" from ''Grimms' Fairy Tales''. In his audio commentary of ''Labyrinth'', Froud said that Jareth also has influences from Kabuki theatre.

The dialogue starting-with phrase "you remind me of the babe" that occurs between Jareth and the goblins in the '' Magic Dance'' sequence in the film is a direct reference to an exchange between Cary Grant and Shirley Temple in the 1947 film ''The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer''.

''Labyrinth''s "Escher scene" features an elaborate staircase set inspired by the art of Dutch artist M. C. Escher. A print of Escher's lithograph ''Relativity'' is shown on Sarah's bedroom wall in the film.

Production

Origins and script

Brian Froud says that ''Labyrinth'' was first discussed between himself and director Jim Henson. Both agreed to work on another project together, and Froud suggested that the film should feature goblins. On the same journey, Froud "pictured a baby surrounded by goblins" and this strong visual image, along with Froud's insight that goblins traditionally steal babies, provided the basis for the film's plot.

Henson discussed the film's origins to say that he and Froud "wanted to do a lighter weight picture, with more of a sense of comedy since ''Dark Crystal'' got kind of heavy, heavier than we had intended. Now, I wanted to do a film with the characters having more personality and interacting more."

''Labyrinth'' was being seriously discussed as early as March 1983, when Henson held a meeting with Froud and children's author Dennis Lee. Lee was tasked with writing a novella on which a script could be based, submitting it at the end of 1983. Henson approached Terry Jones to write the film's script, as "his daughter Lisa had just read '' Erik the Viking'' and suggested that he try me as screenwriter." Jones was given Dennis Lee's novella to use as a basis for his script but later told ''Empire'' that Lee had produced an unfinished "poetic novella" that he "didn't really get on with." In light of this, Jones "discarded it and sat down with Brian rouds drawings and sifted through them and found the ones that I really liked, and started creating the story from them."

Jones is credited with writing the screenplay, while the shooting script was actually a collaborative effort that featured contributions from Henson, George Lucas, Laura Phillips, and Elaine May. Jones has said that the finished film differs greatly from his original vision. Jones states that, "I didn't feel that it was very much mine. I always felt it fell between two stories, Jim wanted it to be one thing and I wanted it to be about something else." Jones has said that his version of the script was "about the world, and about people who are more interested in manipulating the world than actually baring themselves at all." In Jones' original script, Jareth merely seems "all powerful to begin with" and is actually using the Labyrinth to "keep people from getting to his heart."

Jones has said that Bowie's involvement in the project had a significant impact on the direction taken with the film. Jones had originally intended for the audience not to see the center of the Labyrinth, prior to Sarah's reaching it, as he felt that, in doing so, it robbed the film of a significant "hook." Henson decided that he wanted Jareth to sing and appear throughout the film, which was something Jones considered the "wrong" decision, with the thought of Bowie starring in the film in mind. Despite his misgivings, Jones rewrote the script to allow for performing songs throughout the film. This draft of the script "went away for about a year." During this time, it was redrafted first by Phillips and subsequently by Lucas.

An early draft of the script attributed to Jones and Phillips is markedly different from the finished film. The early script has Jareth enter Sarah's house in the guise of Robin Zakar, the author of a play she is due to perform in. Sarah does not wish her brother would be taken away by the goblins, and Jareth snatches him away against her will. Jareth is overtly villainous in this draft of the script. His final confrontation with Sarah tells her that he would "much rather have a Queen" than "a little goblin prince." The early script ends with Sarah kicking Jareth in disgust, and her blows transform him into a powerless, sniveling goblin. In the extensive junkyard scene, Jareth operates the Junk Lady as a puppet, whereas, in the film, she is autonomous. There is actually a pub or bar in the Labyrinth where the Man with Hat and Hoggle gather, and the river Lethe in Greek myth is mentioned. As well as this, the ballroom scene features extensive dialogue between Jareth and Sarah, whereas, in the film, there is none (though there is in the novelization by A. C. H. Smith), and the goings-on with the dancers in the ballroom are more overtly sexualized.

The redrafted script was sent to Bowie, who found that it lacked humor and considered withdrawing his involvement in the project as a result. To ensure Bowie's involvement, Henson asked Jones to "do a bit more" to the script to make it more humorous. May met with Henson in several months, prior to the start of filming in April 1985, and was asked to polish the script. May's changes "humanized the characters" and pleased Henson to the extent that they were incorporated into the film's shooting script.

At least 25 treatments and scripts were drafted for ''Labyrinth'' between 1983 and 1985. The film's shooting script was only ready shortly before filming began.

Casting

Henson intended the protagonist of the film, at different stages of its development, as a king whose baby had been put under an enchantment, a princess from a fantasy world, and a young girl from Victorian England. They made the lead a teenage girl from contemporary America to make the film more commercial. Henson noted that he wished to "make the idea of taking responsibility for one's life, which is one of the neat realizations a teenager experiences, a central thought of the film."

Auditions for the lead role of Sarah began in England in April 1984. Helena Bonham Carter auditioned for the role but was passed over in favor of an American actress. Monthly auditions were held in the U.S. until January 1985, and Jane Krakowski, Yasmine Bleeth, Sarah Jessica Parker, Marisa Tomei, Laura Dern, Ally Sheedy, Maddie Corman, and Mia Sara all auditioned for the role. Out of these, Krakowski, Sheedy, and Corman were considered the top candidates. 14-year-old actress Jennifer Connelly "won Jim ensonover", and he cast her within a week. Henson states that Connelly was chosen, as she "could act that kind of dawn-twilight time between childhood and womanhood." Connelly moved to England in February 1985, in advance of the film's rehearsals, which began in March. Connelly discussed her understanding of her role with ''Elle'' magazine that the film is about "a young girl growing out of her childhood, who is just now becoming aware of the responsibilities that come with growing up."

The character of Jareth also underwent some significant developments during the early stages of preproduction. Henson states that he originally intended him as another puppet creature in the same vein as his goblin subjects. Henson decided that the role should be filled by a live actor and initially considered offering it to Simon MacCorkindale or Kevin Kline. Henson eventually wanted a big, charismatic star "who could change the film's whole musical style" to play the Goblin King and sought a contemporary musician for the role, considering Sting, Prince, Mick Jagger, and Michael Jackson before choosing Bowie.

Henson stated that, "I wanted to put two characters of flesh and bone in the middle of all these artificial creatures, and David Bowie embodies a certain maturity, with his sexuality, his disturbing aspect, all sorts of things that characterize the adult world." Henson met David Bowie in the summer of 1983 to seek his involvement, as Bowie was in the U.S. for his Serious Moonlight Tour at the time. Henson pursued Bowie for the role of Jareth and sent him each revised draft of the film's script for his comments. During a meeting that took place on June 18, 1984, Henson showed Bowie '' The Dark Crystal'' and a selection of Brian Froud's concept drawings to pique his interest in the project. Bowie formally agreed to take part on February 15, 1985, several months before filming began. Bowie discussed why he was involved in the film, stating that, "I'd always wanted to be involved in the music-writing aspect of a movie that would appeal to children of all ages, as well as everyone else, and I must say that Jim gave me a completely free hand with it. The script itself was terribly amusing without being vicious or spiteful or bloody, and it had a lot more heart in it than many other special effects movies, so I was pretty hooked from the beginning."
*

Gates McFadden was originally offered the role of Sarah's mother by Henson, and she signed up to do the choreography as well, but she was not allowed to act in the movie and had to accept the choreography role alone due to British labor laws. She is credited in the film as Cheryl McFadden (her first name), as she usually is when being credited for choreography work. She said that, "Even though that was the reason I took the job and had, for two years, been thinking that was what was going to happen. They would not allow us."

Filming

The team that worked on ''Labyrinth'' was largely assembled from talent who had been involved in various other projects with the Jim Henson Company. Veteran performers Dave Goelz and Steve Whitmire operated various puppets in the film, along with Karen Prell, Ron Mueck, and Rob Mills, who had all worked with Henson on ''Fraggle Rock''. Kevin Clash, a puppeteer from ''Sesame Street'' best known for performing the character Elmo, also worked on the film as various creatures, as did Frank Oz, who performed briefly as the Wiseman (while also directing ''Little Shop of Horrors'' around that time). Members of Henson's family also worked on the production, including son Brian (the voice and chief puppeteer for Hoggle) and daughter Cheryl (who assisted on one of the Fireys and is also credited for building the characters). Newcomers working on the production included puppeteers Anthony Asbury, Angie Passmore, Nigel Plaskitt, and Mak Wilson (the latter three of whom are credited for performing goblins) who had previously worked on the satirical puppet show ''Spitting Image'', while a few others, including David Barclay, David Greenaway, and Toby Philpott, were carried over from ''The Dark Crystal''. Other goblin puppeteers included Kathryn Mullen, David Rudman, Mike Quinn, Robin Stevens, Don Austen, and, briefly, Jim Henson himself. Louise Gold, a veteran Muppet performer who had gotten her start on ''The Muppet Show'', cameos in the film as a masked dancer during the "As the World Falls Down" sequence, while Kenny Baker and Warwick Davis, best-known as the performers of '' Star Wars''' R2-D2 and Wicket W. Warrick respectively, were credited as some of the "Goblin Corps". "Ambrosius", Sir Didymus' canine steed, was voiced by Percy Edwards, who had previously supplied the voice of "Fizzgig" in ''The Dark Crystal''.

Principal photography began on April 15, 1985, at Elstree Studios. ''Labyrinth'' took five months to film and was a complicated shoot due to the various puppets and animatronic creatures involved. In the making-of documentary ''Inside the Labyrinth'', Henson stated that Jim Henson's Creature Shop had been building the puppets and characters required for around a year and a half, prior to shooting, but "everything came together in the last couple weeks." Henson noted that, "even if you have the characters together, the puppeteers start working with them, they find problems or they try to figure out what they're going to do with these characters."

Each of the film's key puppets required a small team of puppeteers to operate it, but Hoggle was the most complex puppet of the production. Shari Weiser was inside the costume, while Hoggle's face was radio-controlled by Brian Henson (who also provided the character's voice and performed a few goblins) and three additional puppeteers. Brian Henson stated that Weiser "does all the body movement and her head is inside the head. However, the jaw is not connected to her jaw. Nothing that the face is doing has any connection with what she's doing with her face. The other four members of the crew are all radio crew, myself included," in the ''Inside the Labyrinth'' documentary. Brian Henson also said of the challenges involved with performing Hoggle that, "five performers trying to get one character out of one puppet was a very tough thing. Basically, what it takes is a lot of rehearsing and getting to know each other." The film's big, ogre-like monster Ludo, whose original build weighed over 100 pounds, was similarly challenging. It would have been too exhausting for performer Ron Mueck to inhabit the 75-pound suit for all of his scenes, so Henson decided to have Mueck and Rob Mills exchange performances inside Ludo, as they had the same size and body shape.

At the early stages of filming, stars Connelly and Bowie found it difficult to interact naturally with the puppets they shared most of their scenes with. Bowie said that, "I had some initial problems working with Hoggle and the rest, because, for one thing, what they say doesn't come from their mouths, but from the side of the set or from behind you." Connelly remarked that, "it was a bit strange orking almost exclusively with puppets in the film but I think both Dave owieand I got over that and just took it as a challenge to work with these puppets, and, by the end of the film, it wasn't a challenge anymore. They were there, and they were their characters."

The film required large and ambitious sets constructed, from the Shaft of Hands to the rambling, distorted Goblin City where the film's climactic battle takes place. The Shaft of Hands sequence was filmed on a rig that was thirty feet high, with a camera mounted on a forty-foot vertical camera track. Many grey, scaly hands integral to the scene were actually 150 live hands supplied by 75 performers and 200 foam-rubber hands. Connelly was strapped into a harness when shooting the scene and spent time between takes suspended midway up the shaft.

The set of the Goblin City was built on Stage 6 at Elstree Studios near London and required the largest panoramic back-cloth ever made. Production designer Elliot Scott states that the biggest challenge he faced was building the forest Sarah and her party pass through on their way to Jareth's Castle. The film's production notes state that, "the entire forest required 120 truckloads of tree branches, 1,200 turfs of grass, 850 pounds of dried leaves, 133 bags of lichen

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