LABYRINTH. Directed by Jim Henson; written by Terry Jones; produced by Eric Rattray for Tri-Star. Starring Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie. Rated PG (some situations and characters may frighten very young children).
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The Muppets took Manhattan a couple of years ago. Now they (or at least, their distant cousins) have their eyes set on even stranger realms ... like Oz, Wonderland and that place Where the Wild Things Are.
And, miraculous as it may seem, they're equal to the challenge of such lofty inspiration. Labyrinth is a tour-de-force of puppetry, sets and special effects, a haunting fable about growing up, and just a great movie for young and old to enjoy.
Sarah (Connelly) is a typical put-upon teenager asked to babysit her younger brother just once too often. She vents all her adolescent rage (figuratively) on the poor kid, and wishes for the goblins to come take him away. Fairly harmless, as sibling interactions go. But, unknown to Sarah, real goblins are listening in, and take her at her word.
Determined to rescue the child, and undo her childish act, she's transported to the Labyrinth. This is a forbidding maze, loaded with spells, enchantments, etc., that she must navigate to find the baby.
The story sounds like a good fairy tale. And that's what Labyrinth turns out to be. Paced just right, and with plenty of humor to keep modern kids interested, it still has all the solid qualities of the classics.
The movie couldn't succeed as it does without a good story. But, to be sure, a lot of its appeal comes from the effects and the fantastic characters. The sets are superb, enhancing the dream-like aspect of the plot even before Sarah reaches the Labyrinth.
But there and in the castle where the baby is hidden, the scenes are truly out of this world. I have to mention especially a scene which takes place—at least it seems to—in a three-dimensional version of an M.C. Escher drawing. Wow!
As one would expect in a movie directed by Kermit's father, the puppet characters are well-made and play a large part. The goblins, dwarves and others at work here are occasionally similar to puppets in The Dark Crystal or TV's Fraggle Rock. But there is a lot that is new as well, both in looks and in techiques.
Some of the characters might frighten children sensitive to creepy-looking things. But probably not as much as you would think, just to look at pictures of the beasties. The humor which is present throughout Labyrinth undercuts the spookiness just enough.
At least it worked that way for my 6-year-oId, who wasn't quite sure about those goblins at first. But then the puppets started wisecracking, he started laughing, and everything was cool. Amazingly, the humor is, for the most part anyway, accessible to at least the 6-year-old mind.
But the movie is sophisticated enough to interest and even delight the adults in the audience at the same time—quite an achievement. I suspect a lot of the credit goes to scenarist Jones, who is not only a Monty Python alumnus, but who has also written some children's books.
The human characters aren't as interesting as the puppets, but they are adequate for their jobs. Connelly is pretty and spunky, and Bowie, as the king of the goblins, is creepy and vaguely threatening, but not gross or truly frightening.
Unless you just can't stomach fantasy at all, see Labyrinth and take the kids. None of you will be disappointed.
July 16, 1986