Here’s a piece of antiquity from your childhood. Simply speak the name of the film and many people will issue a sigh of remembrance that you might think of as fond and a nod that takes them back to a time when movies were still filled with magic and not CGI. Labyrinth was a movie that was fairly simply in form but very difficult in function as the Goblin King threatened to take away that which was most important to Sarah. Upon beating the Goblin King the young girl returns home with her little brother and realizes that no matter how much she grows up she will always need a bit of wonder in her life. It’s a touching story complete with a great moral that a lot of people easily take to heart.
But did you know these facts about it?
10. The owl in the title sequence is CGI.
It was the first attempt at CGI in this form and it went over pretty well I think. It might have seemed strange but it was still pretty impressive.
9. There were over 48 puppets and over 50 puppeteers in the dance sequence.
That’s a lot of motion for one sequence. You might have noticed that some of the puppets didn’t move a lot during the scene, but back then puppets still had a pretty limited range and aside from that a lot of them were simply for effect.
8. The Hoggle costume got lost for a while.
It actually got lost on a flight and went missing for a while before the airline finally found it and returned the costume to its rightful place.
7. The only way that Toby could sit on Jareth’s lap was to have a sock puppet off screen for him to look at.
The kid just wouldn’t stop screaming when he was sitting on Bowie’s lap, but once Bowie had the puppet in his other hand he couldn’t look away.
6. There were a few different stars that wanted to play Jareth.
Michael Jackson and Mick Jagger were a couple, and Jim Henson was going to try to get sting before his kids convinced him to ask David Bowie.
5. There are representations of many characters in the film in Sarah’s bedroom.
If you look around her room you’ll find toys that resemble the main characters that she meets within the labyrinth.
4. The Ludo outfit weighed about 75 pounds.
Originally it weighed about 100 pounds but Jim Hensen had it redone so that it could be carried around easier. It still took two people to move and operate.
3. Toby was only crying during the Magic Dance because he was tired and hungry.
He had no fear at all of the goblins, which made things difficult. But when he was tired he started crying so it worked out.
2. Jim Henson’s son Brian did the voice of Hoggle.
Nothing like having family help out on occasion.
1. This was the first time Jim Henson included a baby in his film.
Babies are notoriously hard to work with since there’s really no way you can direct them. You just have to pick your moments.
This is one of the absolute classics from childhood.
Follow Us
I did mean to put in the juggling but somehow forgot about amidst the other facts.