I seem to be on a run of re-watching old films I enjoyed as a child and The Labyrinth is certainly one of them. I know a lot of people love this movie for David Bowie, but I have to admit that is not what attracts me I adore the Labyrinth for its glitter coated sets, its quirky creatures and most of all, its creativity.

The Labyrinth is really a masterpiece of multiple geniuses, when you put together Brian Froud, Jim Henson, George Lucas and Terry Jones you can’t help but to get something special. Much like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the story is twisted and nonsensical and has many layers, like a dream apon dreams I have always had a fascination with the surreal and metaphorical in to which this story delves.

The plot is fairly simple, an imaginative young girl named Sarah asks the goblins to take her baby brother away (having a brother myself, I completely understand this!) she is inspired by her favourite book. However when her wish comes true and the King of the Goblins, Jareth, snatches up the little boy she is left regretting her wish. Jareth gives her 13 hours to find her way to the centre of the Labyrinth and rescue her brother, otherwise he will become a goblin too. Along the way she most solve riddles, evade enemies and make new friends to help her succeed.

The entire set and creature design is stunning, being the joint project of the Henson company and Brian Froud who previously made The Dark Crystal Some of the scenes I love best include; the opening scene in which Sarah, dressed as a medieval lady is reading the lines of the story, the beautiful maquerade, the scene where Sarah is back in her own room briefly with all her things (for some reason I find this part the most touching) and of course the fabulous Escher inspired maze in the castle.

I reccomend this movie to anyone who loves fairy tales, surrealism or simply wants to relive a little of their childhood dreams. I think I shall be buying the recently released Manga Return to The Labyrinth, out of curiousity.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 30th, 2007 at 2:50 pm and is filed under Inspirations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.