Labyrinth (1986)

Director: Jim Henson
Writer: Screenplay: Terry Jones Story: Jim Henson, Dennis Lee Uncredited: Elaine May
Cast: Jennifer Connelly, David Bowie
Voice-Cast: Brian Henson, Ron Mueck, Rob Mills, Dave Goelz, David Shaughnessy, David Alan Barclay, Karen Prell
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Family, Musical

Labyrinth is a fantasy story from the good old days. The days prior to animated successes and CGI magic. It relies on puppetry, fantasy and a old school attitude. It's nothing short of magical to follow Jennifer Connelly's quest as 'Sarah' through the Labyrinth to save her little brother from the 'Goblin King'. It's charming, playful, well written and even if it got the usual moral always added in these movies targeting a children audience, it never steps outside of the importance of telling the story well. I can hold my breath for David Bowie's skills, but the young Connelly is refreshing. Recently reviewed her in Blood Diamond, and it's fun to watch her again only a few days later in a role twenty years earlier.

The story is an equal amount of old fashioned fairy tale story like those collected by the Grimm brothers, and children's television-like from the golden era of such. It's a story filled with charm, humor and funny characters. They've also added a lot of familiar fantasy elements in there, but done with their own twist. Keeping in mind it's 24 years since they made this, way before Toy Story, The Lion King, 'Harry Potter' and such, it's nothing short of an imaginary early masterpiece within its target audience. For the rest of us it's both a warp zone back into the 80's, entertaining fun and a moral tale still worthy of our children.