(I LOVE THIS FILM, BUT I THINK IT CAN TAKE A BIT TONGUE IN CHEEK!
DON'T TAKE THIS IRREVERENT LOOK AT THE FILM TOO SERIOUSLY!)
Labyrinth is, without a doubt, a cult. It's huge. And, contrary to popular belief, its fanbase is not just made up of little girls. Dear me, no. Its much bigger than that - just follow the LINKS, well, link above if you don't believe me. Somehow, it conjurs up a feeling of magic in all who watch it, and they keep wanting more. They fall in love with it (or Jareth, I'm not sure), and can't help sharing their feelings with the world. That's what this website is all about. Saying I LOVE LABYRINTH and being proud of it.
Hold on, here comes the science bit.....
The magic that is Labyrinth was unleashed onto an unassuming public in 1986, the same year I was Toby's age. It stars Jennifer Connelly, currently a huge star off the back of Oscar winner 'A Beautiful Mind', and David Bowie as Jareth, the Goblin King - Sarah's nemesis. Of course, she only has herself to blame for his existance - she did create him. The film is directed by Muppets creator Jim Hensen, and the executive producer is George 'Star Wars' Lucas. Quite a line up
Now all that's out of the way, onto the story...
Our story focuses on Sarah Williams, a girl with far too much free time and an over-active imagination. Not a good combination. When her 'wicked stepmother' and seriously inept father ask her babysit for Toby for, like, the millionth Saturday night, she decides enough is enough. With the her favourite book, Labyrinth, as inspiration, she calls for Jareth to take Toby away. He does. Bummer. Suddenly, Sarah's 'my dad and stepmom don't understand me' problems are put into perspective. She HAS to get her brother back. Jareth, alwasy one with an eye for a bargain, says that if she lets him keep Toby he'll give her her dreams. Or a crystal ball at least. At this point, however, I don't think she's even the slightest bit tempted. Her step mum would flip if she came back to find she's minus a son, anyway. Jareth's not exactly the kind of guy you wan't to mess with, (he's kinda evil) so when he only gives Sarah 13 hours to solve the labyrinth, which is, let's face it, a bit harsh, she doesn't argue.
So, Sarah sets off on her jolly way, meeting a whole host of wierd and wonderful characters, some of whom are slightly less help than others. (Ahem, blue worm). Well, they try, bless'em. She actually gets on rather well, So well in fact that Jareth has to resort to below the belt tactics. He falls in love with her. Oooh, harsh. And the worst thing about it is, she nearly falls for it. Nearly. But can she really fall in love with the personification of her childhood hopes and dreams? Is that legal? Thankfully, we never need to find out, and in the mother of all one-on-one showdowns, Sarah tells Jareth he has no power over her. He doesn't like that, and before you can say 'turn into a snowy owl', she's back home. And, in true 1980's-happy-ending style, the film closes with a big Goblin party. Aaahh.
