by Temujin

I remember parts of this film from when I first saw it. My first viewing was around the end of the 80s and I don't think I'd seen it for about 15 years. So I decided to get the DVD. Would Labyrinth live up to my childhood memories? Would it be too childish to enjoy?

Neither. It exceeded my expectations remarkably. Although clearly children are the prime market for such a film, it has enough of everything to appeal to adults too.

Cunningly, it's all about a Labyrinth. Sarah gets dumped babysitting her stepmother's sprog, and is so angry she quotes some lines from her favourite book "Labyrinth". She asks the goblin king to take him away, but, to her horror, her wish is granted! Bowie, oozing 1980sness, appears, and tells her that if she wants him back she has 13 hours to get through the labyrinth and into his castle. Along the way there are numerous puzzles and tricks she has to solve. There's also quite a good number of little moral messages that pop up. As well as the obvious one that she didn't really want Toby to be taken away, Sarah also learns that material objects are just junk really and Hoggle learns how to be brave.

Making her way through the fiendish maze, Sarah meets up with the cowardly Hoggle, the hulking Ludo and Sir Didymus, a tiny but heroic knight. Sarah (played by Jennifer Connelly) and Jareth (the goblin king) are the only actual humans you see outside the first ten minutes (not counting Toby, the baby). All the characters are likeable, particularly Hoggle who is torn between his fear of Jareth's bullying and his liking for Sarah. Even minor characters who appear only for a scene or two are great, such as the worm and the little creature that lives underneath the stone ("Your mother was a fragging aardvark!")

The effects are not based on computer graphics or stopmotion (think that's the term) like in Clash of the Titans. Instead, everything is based on the puppets of Jim Henson (muppets man). Because of this, they don't really look dated at all. They're extremely well done, with Hoggle, Ludo, Didymus, the scores of goblins and various other creatures looking top notch. It's not Jurassic Park or the new batch of Star Wars movies, but that's a good thing in my view. Muppets and puppets have an incredible charm that overused CGI lacks.

There are also a small number of songs performed by (except one) and written by Bowie, which is a definite plus. The Magic Dance in particular called up fond childhood memories.

So, how would I rate it? I'm loathe to give tens out, but this film probably deserves it. It was a fiver when I first spotted it, and rose to eight quid by the time I'd stopped procrastinating and bought it. Clearly worth swapping your baby brother for.