Labyrinth: An Appreciation

Labyrinth, made in 1986, is an adolescent girl's fever dream that mashes up The Wizard of Oz, the works of Maurice Sendak, M.C. Escher, the Muppets, David Bowie as the Goblin King, and Jennifer Connelly in her first major film role as Sarah.

At 14, Jennifer Connelly beat out a Who's Who of up-and-coming young actresses for the part of Sarah.

The script could have used a few more revisions, as it does not quite come together, and the special effects are dated and many just do not work.

The film, a collaboration between Jim Henson and George Lucas, was made within a few years of The Dark Crystal and is considered more ambitious than that film because of the inclusion of human actors working with the Muppets.

Receiving mixed reviews and little box office success, Labyrinth has come to achieve a cult following much like The Dark Crystal, but seems to have retained greater popularity over time.  Labyrinth has been adapted to other media, including a novel, comic miniseries, and manga miniseries.  While there has been no direct sequel, MirrorMask grew out of attempts to further develop the property.

Archaia Entertainment is reportedly working to develop a prequel miniseries focusing on the Goblin King.

Read about Labyrinth at Wikipedia.

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