Labyrinth

Context & Trivia

Labyrinth is a 1986 musical fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and executive produced by George Lucas. The film originated from a collaboration between Henson and conceptual designer Brian Froud, following their previous work on "The Dark Crystal" (1982). Unlike their prior all-puppet film, Henson aimed for "Labyrinth" to feature interactions between puppet creatures and human characters, emphasizing character personalities and relationships. The screenplay was written by Terry Jones of Monty Python, though it underwent several revisions by Laura Phillips, George Lucas, Dennis Lee, and Elaine May. David Bowie, who stars as Jareth the Goblin King, also wrote and performed five songs for the film. Filming took place from April to September 1985 in locations in New York and at Elstree Studios and West Wycombe Park in the United Kingdom. Jim Henson's Creature Shop spent approximately a year and a half building the puppets and characters before shooting began. Hoggle, a prominent character, was the most complex puppet in the production, requiring five performers to operate, including Shari Weiser inside the costume and Brian Henson controlling facial movements via radio and providing the voice. Veteran puppeteers from The Jim Henson Company, such as Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Karen Prell, Ron Mueck, Rob Mills, Kathryn Mullen, and Kevin Clash, also operated various puppets, including goblins, the Worm, Ludo, and Sir Didymus. Frank Oz briefly performed the Wiseman. The film also utilized "in-camera substitution" for some goblin appearances, where one puppet would leave the frame and another would reappear to perform different actions. The "Helping Hands" scene, where Sarah is caught by a column of hands, involved over 100 performers operating foam rubber hands designed to form talking mouths. Despite underperforming at the U.S. box office, "Labyrinth" was a success in the United Kingdom and internationally, and has since garnered a significant cult following, being re-evaluated positively by many critics. It was the last feature film directed by Jim Henson before his death in 1990.