Labyrinth

Labyrinth

In 1986, movies like Top Gun and Ferris Bueller's Day Off were ruling the box office. Then a little movie called Labyrinth came out and did absolutely nothing to change that.

Although Labyrinth was a huge bomb upon its release (not even making half of its budget back), it soon gathered a massive cult following, and both of these facts make perfect sense to me. It was doomed to fail at the box office because of how bizarre and ugly it is. The Muppet characters are disgusting monsters, the sets are dreary, and everything in it is off-putting and scary. These are also the reasons it's a cult hit, with the added reasons of David Bowie's cheesy performance and songs, but mainly all of the imagination and creativity that was put into this bizarre project.

Jim Henson is a visual genius. The Muppets and the sets alone have so much thought and effort put into them that it's nearly impossible not to marvel at all of it. From the pit of hands to the removable door that changes results each time, it's fantastically clever all throughout. Even just the technical logistics of it are baffling. There are shots where the frame is completely full of Muppets, so how did he hide all of those puppeteers? Is there a second floor that they're all under? That would take an insane amount of work, but I'm sure it's the kind of effort Henson was willing to go to, and also what would eventually kill him.

Oof. Sorry.

The acting style is very strange, almost as though the cast is very purposefully performing for children. Everyone speaks slowly and clearly, and they all make sure to say everything they're feeling out loud. Jennifer Connolly, as incredible of an actress as she eventually becomes, is not very good in this. In her defense: she was a child, it's not a well-written character, and all of her co-stars (including David Bowie) are Muppets. But still, she's very grating. Bowie is having a grand old time as the Goblin King though, hamming it up as much as he can with his fellow Muppet creatures, singing fairly forgettable songs (except "Dance Magic Dance" which might still be playing in my head), and sending many children unexpectedly through puberty. While the "real" actors are a little awkward, all of the Muppets are wonderfully articulate and funny, as is to be expected.

The odd acting style is largely because the story and dialogue are very simple and child-like, which is even odder when it's revealed that the brilliant Terry Jones wrote the screenplay. You'd think one of the most underrated Monty Python members might write something a bit more advanced, but if he had anything to do with the ideas for the sets or the magic then all is forgiven. The talking-down makes sense given that the movie is meant for children, but it can feel a bit too corny at times.

It makes sense that the movie bombed, it makes sense that it's become incredibly popular, and none of it makes any sense at all. While it's not my favorite work of Henson's, it very well may be the cleverest and most imaginative thing he's ever done. It's definitely worth checking out at least once, if not just for Ludo. Ludo's just so cute.