Labyrinth is a 1986 British-American fantasy film. The film was directed by Jim Henson and produced by George Lucas. The film stars David Bowie as Jareth and Jennifer Connelly as Sarah. Sarah must rescue her baby stepbrother from the hands of the Goblin King before he becomes a goblin and is lost forever. The film was the last to be directed by Jim Henson himself before his death in 1990. The film was originally a financial disappoint and received mixed reviews from critics. It has since gained a large and devoted cult following, and a four volume manga sequel, Return to Labyrinth, was published by Tokyopop between 2006 and 2010. A prequel graphic novel to the film was announced in 2012 to be developed by Archaia Studios.
The film features some of the most imaginative and loveable of Jim Henson’s puppet creations. With the upcoming series premiere of SyFy’s Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge fast approaching, we went back to some of our favorite works of Jim Henson, and thought about some characters we didn’t get enough of. Fitting so many amazing characters into one film means limited screen time for each. Aside from wanting more, we also wanted more background on each character. We compiled our top 10 characters from Labyrinth that left us with the most questions, or just left us missing them.
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[ new page = 10: the door knockers]
The doorknockers, Left and Right, were guardians of the two doors that would lead out of the Hedge maze. Left Door Knocker was made deaf due to the placement of his door ring. Right Door Knocker had his ring in his mouth, and was more than happy to help, that is until Sarah wanted to put the ring back in his mouth.
The biggest unanswered question for these two was simply, what was behind the Left Door Knockers door?
[ new page = 9: the Four Guards ]
You remember these two…er, four. These guards guarded two doors that appeared out of a dead end. One would lead to the castle, and the other would lead to “babababum, CERTAIN DEATH!” the four were both mischievous and highly confused at the same time. The two offer heroine Sarah a Knights and Knaves puzzle, a problem in which one character can only answer truthfully, and the other falsely.
The guards were to close with each other, and their other halves, that they were quite the whimsical duo (or quartet), and we wish they could have gotten a little more screen time.
[ new page = 8: The Wiseman and The Hat]
A personal favorite comes the Wiseman and his Hat. The Wiseman is an elderly, almost human-like creature. He sits and waits for those seeking wisdom to seek his cryptic but valuable advice. He appears to be slightly senile, and falls asleep easily, sometimes during conversations. He also gets a lot of rebuff from his own Hat, a talking bird with a Spanish accent. The Hat doesn’t seem to take the Wiseman very seriously, and the Hat gives a Señor Wences performance after arguing with the Wiseman, saying “s’alright” repeatedly.
We have no idea how these two came to be together, or what the Hat wants to buy with his contributions.
[ new page = 7: The Junk Lady ]
The Junk Lady was one of many Junk People, who carry their possessions on their backs and live in Junk City, right outside the Goblin City. The Junk Lady tries to keep Sarah unable to remember her mission, occupying her with things, including a recreation of her bedroom with all her things. Sarah however deems all the empty possessions “junk”, and goes on to the Goblin City to rescue Toby.
We wonder what makes the Junk People different from goblins, while they look similar, they don’t appear to be goblins. If they’re not goblins, then why would they want to keep Sarah from her goal, as they would presumably do the bidding of the goblin king.
[ new page = 6: Sir Didymus ]
Sir Didymus is a fox-terrier, and the noblest knight in the Labyrinth. He is chivalrous to a fault, and likes to show off his bravery by running blindly into danger. He refers to Sarah politely as “my lady” and through an oath becomes “brothers” with Ludo.
Sir Didymus took an oath that no one may cross a bridge without his permission (which is easy enough to get, really). Who did he make this oath to, and why? Furthermore while always vigilantly guarding the bridge, we wonder how he and his canine stead, Ambrosius, came to be together?
[ new page = 5: Sarah’s Stepmother and Mother]
Sarah’s biological mother is only seen in quick glimpses of photos in the background of Sarah’s room. Her stepmother is only seen briefly early on in the film. Sarah’s stepmother is only seen arguing with Sarah about having promised to babysit Toby and coming home late. Sarah, with her love of the dramatic and fairy tales, of course can only feel under attack from her wicked stepmother.
We get very little about Sarah’s family in the film. Her mother appears to be a successful stage actress who has remarried. To look deeper she probably chose her career over her family, but young Sarah would refuse to see this, and want to follow her mother’s footsteps into the unreal. Either way, there’s a lot left unanswered about her family.
[ new page = 4: Helping Hands ]
The Helping Hands catch Sarah after going through one of the Four Guards doors. The Hands very politely ask Sarah is she’d like to go to the bottom of their vertical corridor, or go back up. The Hands communicate by coming together to form different faces. Sarah decides to go down, and they laugh as they drop her.
These amazing characters leave only questions in their wake, however. Who and what exactly are they, how did they come to be? Mostly, are they happy in their corridor, do they have the ability to go anywhere else within the Labyrinth?
[ new page = 3: Ludo ]
Ludo was the most loveable creature in the entire labyrinth. Large and covered in fur, Ludo was a simple beast, speaking broken rudimentary English and referring to himself in the third person. Sarah rescues Ludofrom goblins that have him hanging upside from a tree while they torture him. After his rescue, Ludo is thrilled to have made a friend, and follows Sarah faithfully throughout the rest of the film.
There are many questions that remained unanswered about Ludo. Where was he from, and why were the goblins after him? While we don’t think Ludo actually did anything wrong, we still wonder how they crossed paths and the goblins managed to get the large creature up in that tree.
[ new page = 2: The Worm]
Next we have everyone’s favorite, the Worm. With his cockney accent and fashionable scarf, he only wishes to help. While giving his advice, he tries desperately to invite you inside for a cup of tea, and to meet the missus.
Mostly, we wanted to see his adorable little home, and what magic trick that was going to allow us human sized types inside. But our biggest regret was that we never got to meet the missus.
[ new page = 1: Jareth]
Who do we most want more information on? None other than the film’s villain, Jareth. Performed by David Bowie, Jareth had a little more sex appeal than was needed for a children’s film, but it ensured older sisters would watch too.
Jareth, in love with Sarah, takes her baby brother away, upon her request. Sarah however spends the film trying to rescue her stepbrother, Toby. Throughout the film Jareth’s only drive is to get Sarah to reciprocate his feelings, but alas, all is naught.
There is so much to Jareth, and so little development. How exactly did he fall in love with Sarah? Where do his various powers come from? Are all the goblins in his domain former little boys and girls?