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 Labyrinth
(1986) on IMDb

Labyrinth (1986)

Jim Henson, George Lucas and David Bowie take you into a dazzling world of fantasy and adventure.

Sixteen-year-old Sarah is given thirteen hours to solve a labyrinth and rescue her baby brother Toby when her wish for him to be taken away is granted by the Goblin King Jareth.

Labyrinth
This is a poster for Labyrinth. The poster art copyright is believed to belong to Henson AssociatesLucasfilmTriStar Pictures.

Labyrinth is a 1986 musical fantasy film directed by Jim Henson, with George Lucas as executive producer, based upon conceptual designs by Brian Froud. It revolves around 15-year-old Sarah’s (Jennifer Connelly) quest to reach the center of an enormous otherworldly maze to rescue her infant brother Toby, whom Sarah wished away to Jareth the Goblin King (David Bowie). Most of the film’s significant characters, apart from Bowie and Connelly, are played by puppets produced by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.

The film started as a collaboration between Henson and Froud following their previous collaboration The Dark CrystalTerry Jones of Monty Python wrote the first draft of the film’s script early in 1984, drawing on Froud’s sketches for inspiration. Various other scriptwriters rewrote it and added to it, including Laura Phillips, Lucas, Dennis Lee, and Elaine May—although Jones received the film’s sole screenwriting credit. It was shot on location in Upper NyackPiermont, and Haverstraw, New York, and at Elstree Studios and West Wycombe Park in the United Kingdom.

The New York Times reported that Labyrinth had a budget of $25 million. The film was a box office disappointment, grossing $12.9 million during its U.S. theatrical run. It was the last feature film Henson directed, and the poor reception contributed to a difficult period of Henson’s career, according to his son Brian Henson. It was met with a mixed critical response upon its release, but it has since gained a large cult following. Tokyopop published the four-volume comic sequel Return to Labyrinth between 2006 and 2010. In January 2016, it was announced that a remake was in development, which screenwriter Nicole Perlman described as more of a “spin-off” in the same fictional universe.

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