The ballroom and crazy staircases scenes live rent free in my head 30+ years later! I mean David Bowie singing "As The World Falls Down" and "Within You" make me melt and get me in the feels every time ❤
Labyrinth, The Neverending Story, and Dark Crystal make up the trifecta of my childhood fantasy films. Coincidentally Jim Henson did the puppet work on all three of them. The man could do anything.
Same! and I really can't imagine my childhood without them. I'm so thankful for having been exposed to such a wide variety of creative and unconventional films, books and stories while growing up. I understand the protective desire, of course, but I also really think over-insulating kids from these kinds of stories isnt giving them enough credit. I remember when Jim Henson died, they made a tv special to both celebrate his life and creations but also to address children's earnest questions about death and loss. They did it in such a beautiful, honest, and touching way, I never forgot it, even though I was very little at the time. I think, looking back.. though there was reassurance, warmth, and familiar trusted friends to dispense the information (Kermit, Fozzie, Piggy etc).. it meant a lot not to be talked down to or told untruths to gloss over the hard things in life when we as children had difficult questions and feelings.
Henson's shop was involved in "Neverending Story 3" but they were not involved in the original "Neverending Story." Just in point of fact. I think it might have been Stan Winston studios? I've had difficulty finding out. But it was not Henson in that first one. "Labyrinth" and "Dark Crystal" *were* original Henson productions from start to finish!
The Three Lessons of The Labyrinth: 1 ) There comes a time when we must learn to put aside the ways of childhood and move on to adulthood. 2 ) There are times in adulthood when we must learn to reclaim the joys and innocence we knew from childhood. 3 ) No matter how foreboding the challenges we face, they only ever have as much power as we are willing to give them.
The Dark Crystal, Fraggle Rock, and The Labyrinth were groundbreaking shows that opened the doors for so many other worlds that just tickled our imaginations. This was 40 years ago, the humor was different, the movie ratings were different. This movie was amazing, it wasn't supposed to be understood, just fun to watch. We didn't examine it, we just enjoyed something different.
@@danieljohnson2005 They absolutely do. It's not like media got any less weird since 1986. This was a bizarrely stodgy reaction from two people who seem to be less than 35 years old.
So true! Childrens entertainment in the 80s was veeerrrryyy different 😂 much darker and with way less regard for our future mental and emotional health.
@@Qu33nMary444 LOL so true, not sure where you’re from but in Aus we had a van that had a Harold the Giraffe 🦒 who taught us about life n shit n we would have sit in the back of this carpeted like van/ trailer box thing- dafaq
I have found that anyone who watched this as a child continues to love it. If you watched it the first time as an adult, you are just like wtf. I've stopped showing it to friends. Maybe, children are more likely to accept the weird in this world building. My high school theater friend group watched this and nightmare before Christmas regularly.
This is a coming-of-age story but in the end, where Sarah does grow up and mature, she still keeps her sense of fantasy and wonder. It's a fun tale of magic and music. And us 80’s babies grew up with darker tones and elements in our films and it truly gave us an appreciation of this genre. Also I feel like muppets were huge at this time and today's kids aren't as familiar with the Jim Henson puppetry wonder. Yes this movie is wonderful.
You guys were thinking that this is not suitable for your kids as it would scare them. Jim Henson believed that being scared was good for kids. Seriously. Jim felt that it was important for kids to deal with being scared and then surviving the scare. This is part of growing up. Never dealing with fear is unsustainable and when real fear comes along, you will not have had any practice. So yes! It's supposed to be scary.
I was babysitting a 5, 7 & 9 year old and they had me rerun the dance sequence over and over while they threw their Cabbage Patch dolls in the air. One of my best memories!
I really dig the As The World Falls Down. My wife looked like Sara except a little shorter, and when we were teenagers we danced to that song all dressed up one night, it was pure magic.
The important thing to realize is this isn’t a story about a Goblin King kidnapping a baby and his step sister trying to rescue him It’s a story about Sarah realizing she can become an adult while still keeping the things from childhood that make her happy… that she can have both
The idea of the fantasy world of Labyrinth was meant to be a combination of all of the fantasy worlds of the books in Sarah’s bedroom. It’s a brilliant concept and a fantastically designed movie that stays with you.
It's definitely very Feywild too - basically every DND thing set in the Fey Realm after this has a little bit of that influence, conscious or otherwise. For the ttrpg show Dimension 20, during A Court of Fey and Flowers which is set in the Feywild and has a lot of palace intrigue between ruling houses including a goblin court, there is an appearance made by the Goblin King, and even though Aabria the GM never overtly says "and he looks like David Bowie", the fact the cast all made that connection unprompted speaks to the film's influence.
3 easy keys for understanding why this was so iconic to children of the 80s: 1. It was our generation’s version of the Wizard of Oz. Young girl is taken away to a magical land and forms unlikely friendships to get to the man running everything so she can go home. After facing a series of attacks with her new friends, they find new self-worth and she finally stands up for herself, and is sent home and rewarded with a newfound appreciation for her home life. And it’s a musical with some weird-looking characters, just puppets instead of costumes like in Oz. 2. For many of us, this was the very first time we found ourselves attracted to someone (David Bowie; this was the first time many of us youngsters had ever seen him) who was really hot in a very unconventional look (he rocked those costumes), which opened up a whole new world of possibilities, making us very fond of this movie as we look back at it because it opened our minds just a little more. Non-conventional masculinity can be very appealing. 3. Every time you hear a male voice in a song in this movie/soundtrack, that’s Bowie singing. Go listen to his range, from Chilly Down (the head-throwing puppets) to the choral version of Underground over the credits. Bowie’ s songs made this sort of like a series of music videos and he sounded amazing. This is one of the first soundtracks I ever bought on CD, and I still listen to some of the songs. Funniest joke summary of this film I’ve ever heard: “Jareth has spent his life giving a home to orphaned and unwanted children and filling their lives with singing, dancing, and joy. So when a teenage girl has second thoughts about giving up a child for adoption, he must put her to the test to make sure she's truly capable of taking care of the child.” (-The Villian was Right)
Anything by Jim Henson is just amazing. The puppeteering is just top notch. This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I was 4 when this movie came out. Always loved Jim Henson productions.
@mo_the_stooge_8216 I am in total agreement. While perhaps not for everyone, in my opinion, great works of art, and usually bear more than one viewing.
@@NecramoniumVideo Me too! I was so worried they werent going to do it justice, but they didn't let me down in the slightest. Funny enough, my highschool english teacher did a documentary on its making that you can watch on Netflix.
Re: PG - this was made for kids who would fall out of trees, laugh, then bike by themselves down to the local arcade to play Galaga before heading home again for a game of lawn darts.
OMG!!! GUYS, I cannot TELL you how important this movie is to me! It's always been one of my favorites. I was even taught how to do some of the juggling by the man himself, Michael Moschen! But about eight years ago I had some woman respond to a comment I made on a Facebook thread. She was being kind of snarky, so I snaked back. Then we started going back and forth. I was enjoying our interaction so I checked out her profile and saw she was a Labyrinth fan! So I did something I never do, I sent her a friend request and she responded. We talked back and forth over the next couple of weeks and I found she was local to me. Then there was a special 30th Anniversary showing of Labyrinth playing in theaters so I asked if she'd like to go and she said yes! I go to pick her up and she said her mother wanted to meet me. Fair enough, she was going out with some rando from the internet. I go in to meet her mother... to discover I KNEW her! She worked for the party company I joined when I left the circus!! I had known her mom for darn near twenty years! Never knew she had a daughter from a previous marriage. Date went great and we made another one. A friend of hers was having a yardsale that weekend. A friend of mine was as well. Turned out to be the same friend! Two years later I asked her to be my wife and she said yes! Three years after that I lost her due to complications from a surgery. On what would have been our fifth anniversary Labyrinth was released again for it's 35th. So my friends and family went to go see it as a celebration of life event for her. I'm so happy you are watching this movie, it's one of my top five favorites!
The funny thing was her mom tried to set us up several years before. She just thought the two of us would hit it off. But my fiancée didn’t want to go out with sone guy her mom used to work with. The fact that we found each other on our own is proof that we were meant to be together. Sadly, just not for the rest of our lives, just hers. I now have to go on with the love that I had for her. That’s what keeps me going day after day. It’s been almost three years since she’s died and not a day has gone by where I haven’t missed her dearly.
My favorite thing about this how Bowie playes the Goblin King like hes bitter and isolated. Like he hates being the Goblin King and its more of a curse to him.
@@jessicapazo7718 probably the only human he’s interacted with in centuries. There’s also the fact that he keeps kidnapping human babies but they always turn into goblins
Kings & Queens are not needed anymore since no COMMITEE 'Over-See's their SELFISH & CORRUPT DECISIONS! They must ALL BE DELETED from HISTORY FOREVER if HUMANS want to EVOLVE into HIGHER TRANSPARENT LIFE FORMS. So Mote It Be & It Is Done!
The designer for the movie was Brian Froud, an artist known for his fairy and goblin art. That's his son Toby playing the baby, and he grew up to make his own puppet driven works just like the movie.
There's a fun interview with Toby Froud where they ask, "But weren/'t you scared during the production of this movie?" And his answer was "No? Are you kidding? I got to party with David Bowie and a bunch of my dad's goblins brought to life by Jim Henson!"
I got a "Goblins" book in 4th or 5th grade at the school book sale. It was amazing. I was already a fan of the film and recognized the art immediately. Really good panel at Dragon Con a few years ago with Toby (the child in this film) Brian's son. Dark Crystal Age of Resistance Panel with Amy Henson (Amy?)
The story was about her growing up . Putting her childhood things away and learning life is not fair you have to just handle everything as it comes ! That’s what I got from it when it came out.
Adorable story about Jennifer Connelly: She was Paul Bettany's (Vision in the MCU) childhood crush. They met while filming A Beautiful Mind, and he was determined to not be one of **those** guys and hit on her (she was considered one of the most beautiful women in the world through the '90s and 2000s--and if you watch Top Gun Maverick you'll see how stunning she still is). So he played it cool and they became friends. Then 9/11 happened several months later and he freaked out because she lived in NYC. He called her and proposed over the phone when they weren't even dating! They've now been married over 20 years.
My best friend called me around Christmas and was like: You're on speaker phone. I need you to settle a bet for me. "You remind me of the babe~" And my automatic response was "What babe?" And then we went into a good bit of the song, while my best friend's niece groaned and yelled that I made her lose the bet^.^ My best friend was showing her niece the movie for the first time. The bet was apparently that my best friend could call any one of her friends around her age and we'd all immediately recite Dance Magic after just hearing the first two words~ It was a safe bet, cause my entire extended friend group used to do this all the time at school!~~~^.^
Another fun fact: The choreographer for this movie was a woman named Cheryl McFadden. She had previously worked on The Muppets Take Manhattan and even had a scene in the movie as a theater producer's secretary. A year after Labyrinth came out, Cheryl McFadden would make a new name for herself as an actress. She changed her name to Gates and went on to star as Dr. Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation!
@@HardcoreRGProdigyXTR yeah, she did Red October after she got fired from Star Trek. I thought, “Cool, Dr. Crusher,” but she only had those two lines. Fortunately the showrunner for TNG’s first two seasons was given the axe and the new producers brought McFadden back!
I saw this movie in the theater when I was 6. It’s one of my favourites. Some movies you have to see at the right time in your life, and maybe only in a certain era, for it to speak to you. A lot of children’s movies in the 80s weren’t afraid to go to very dark places, like all the best fairytales.
I was THRILLED you guys were watching this! I feel kinda bummed that you were so freaked out by it. It's FANTASY! You know - MAKE BELIEVE??!! The artistry and the magic that was made for this film is amazing. No computer generated anything. Just a LOT of hard work and practical "magic". Hope you guys choose to watch it again with a different perspective. Oh well, you guys ARE of the Computer Age. We were not. Love you.
"It said PG". Look, Gen-X were just made of tougher stuff. We could read what we wanted, and watch almost anything we wanted, and our parents figured we knew the difference between reality and fiction.
Jim Henson is who designed this, and who inspired the critters in Star Wars, as well as The Muppets and Fraggle Rock. You should check out the movie The Dark Crystal for his masterpiece though. (30:50 Jim also did the characters on Sesame Street too, good catch.)
I gotta say…Jay fighting to keep his eyes open at one point both offended me and had me laughing! 😂 with that said, this movie holds such an important place in my heart and I love it so much! I’m so glad you gave it a try and kept an open mind! Definitely check it out again now that you know what it’s all about! A few fun facts: The face in the rocks that Amber pointed out is actually Bowie’s face and there’s 7 In total hidden throughout the movie! The parts where Jareth maneuvers the crystal aren’t Bowie. There’s actually a man hidden behind him, essentially being his arms, and doing it for him without being able to see what he’s doing! And finally, all the music in the movie was done by Bowie, he even did the baby sounds during the Dance Magic Dance song!
@6:00 - want to hear something unreal? Bowie didn't do the thing with the glass sphere. Another guy literally stood behind him, stuck his arms through Bowie's outfit and did it BLIND. Hard to believe but true.
Had you guys seen this when you were kids and before the days of CGI. You would have been amazed and it would be a forever memory for you as it is with us...
Hey guys, thanks for watching this suggestion and masterpiece. David did the music for it. I had the cassette tape back in the 90's and used to play it and exercised a bit to it too. Nice reaction! Please do Legend (1985), Masters Of The Universe (1987), Willow (1988), The Rocketeer (1991) and The Dark Crystal (1982). Thanks!
I love when you said "I bet y'all watched this and didn't even think about 'Was this normal!" You got that right! We were all to feral from being raised "free range" to worry about what anyone thought was normal. We just loved it for crazy/wonderful freak show that it was. 😂
@@VictoryVaughn-y8j Me too. I grew up with this movie and crushing hard on the Goblin King. But when we watched it when we were kids, this was perfectly normal. It was just fun nonsense like Alice in Wonderland or The Wizard of Oz. I grew up loving mazes and games and puzzles. It taught me to think outside the box.
I watched this movie so many times as a kid. Then when I was about 18 I watched it for the first time through adult eyes, and those eyes were practically on stalks! My boyfriend had never seen it before, and he was like, 'wtf is this a KIDS' movie??' You could never make this movie now....
Yes! It was so funny to watch them watch. The faces they made thinking that was weird and/or creepy. I was 19 already when it came out and just loved it (still do). Nothing felt weird back then it was just a firework of visual creativity. Guess kids from the 70s and 80s are different lol.
Jareth is the "goblin king" but he isn't a goblin. He is a Fae, a member of the Unseelie or Dark Fae to be precise. Personally, I think she should have accepted his marriage proposal at the end. Fun FYI: My husband kniws how much I love this movie and proposed to me using Jareth's lines to Sarah at the end.
LMAO... It's 20 minutes later, they're in the middle of the masquerade ball and Rob is still hung up on "the little fetuses on sticks" 😂😂😂 Brah, those little stick demons were easily the most disturbing visual for me as a kid. I always thought of them like little land piranha goblins. But they totally looked like demon fetuses 🤣 Welcome to the 80's!!! Also for the record, I think ALLLLL of us 80's kids loved this movie with all our hearts. But remember, we were raised on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show and The Dark Crystal, etc... So many Jim Henson fantasy worlds we were born into and truly forged by. And I wouldn't have it any other way. The unparalleled creativity that came out of the 80's in the way of fantasy fiction, it was a genuine golden age for writers, designers, artists, performers and absolutely incredible practical effects. So glad Amber mentioned it towards the end... That's the whole point of FANTASY... To take you somewhere new that's kinda strange and doesn't make sense! 🎯
Ok.. whether you two like it or not.. I have 2 things to say.. 1. This came out in the 80's.. and 80's kids were tough.. loved scary things.. and this was NOTHING! 2nd.. at least back in the 80's.. people had an imagination and didn't copy movies already done (Like today) So yeah.. this is a classic for imagination and VERY HARD WORK on creating this world (BY HAND) Not like lazy CGI today with ZERO imagination! I will take 80's movies like this over crap they make today!
Very few reactors I’ve seen really seem to get this movie. Many of them have the same takeaway as you, that they don’t understand what’s so great about it. I don’t know how to explain why we love it except to say that we didn’t need everything to make sense. We were just along for the ride and to laugh and have fun with it and appreciate the puppets and creativity. And David Bowie!
This was it; very well said. But mainly it's that WE. LOVE. WEIRDNESS ‼️😄 Happy to have been a weirdo all my life, and to have been open to the wonderful flights of fantasy our filmmakers came up with 💕✨🕍✨🦄✨🦉✨🚀✨💕
I think for me it was just my first introduction to fantasy, I was 4 when I first watched it and I'd never seen anything quite so amazing. I didn't know until then that people could just make up anything and make it come to life.
@@scottn.4865not true, I was born in 1999. It's not about when it came out its about exposure in your formative years. I grew up on 80s movies and so that is still my favorite period for movies and when I see movies nowadays that give off a similar vibe of weirdness and rebellion I enjoy those too
I feel the same way about "The Dark Crystal." Nobody seems to understand what it's really about and don't seem to have the patience to make the effort to figure it out.
When I was 12, I knew the words to this movie by heart. The crazy stair scene is based on M.C. Escher art. Sarah fell into the oubliette, a French word that means to forget. This movie is full of little pieces of information.
@@mathilde1974 When I was older, I was more into sexiness of Jareth lol, but when I was 11-12, I was such a late bloomer, still a little girl dreaming of the Labyrinth.
I was 8 when this came out and I LOVED IT! I still watch it on a somewhat regular basis and all of my children love it as well. Watching you guys react to this with confused and bewildered looks on your faces, i was like, "come on guys, this is awesome!". As far as fantasies, this and The Neverending Story were watched regularly when I was growing up. Oh, and let's not forget The Dark Crystal, Legend, Krull, and Sword of the Valiant
It always fascinates me when watching younger audiences watching movies from the past and being so confused. I was a child when this movie came out and we absolutely loved it! It was a classic and it really speaks to the imagination of a child. It was ground-breaking and very original. The special effects, the story, the music, the mix of live action and puppeteering, even the first ever CGI animal in the opening credits (the owl). It's a shame that sensibilities have changed and today's movies are much more predictable, so younger audiences now aren't used to watching something that is so artistic and avant-garde or surrealistic!
The lack of imagination of today's youth(?or anyone) that doesn't get this movie saddens my soul, I have watched it since I was a child and it made me so happy Bowie is perfection and I've continued to name my pets after characters in this movie. Long live Jim Henson.
SAME! I'm 24 and I have watched this movie countless times over the past 20 years. My mom raised me on these kinds of movies and I love them wholeheartedly. This movie was groundbreaking for me as a child, let my imagination run wild. I am forever obsessed with strange worlds and creatures, there is NOTHING more creative than building an idea and world completely from scratch.
It is why all the cars are Silver, Black or White. People's aversion to imagination is kind of staggering if you think about it. Watch some reactions to more avant-garde music and you see the same, people are just incredibly closed-minded.
"Labyrinth" is a morality tale, a coming of age story, in addition to having key life lessons but the primary thrust of the film is about learning to take responsibility for one's life. Also, do not judge Sara too harshly for wishing her baby brother away as that is pretty common behavior for teenagers forced to look after little siblings. When this came out, and we were young, we had no problems dealing with "weird" or "creepy" things; besides, if you think this is harsh for young people to watch, try reading original fairy tales. We also grew up on Jim Henson ("The Muppets", "Fraggle Rock", "The Dark Crystal", etc.), so none of this was all that strange to us. There is a connection to Star Wars as George Lucas was an Executive Producer on this film and Frank Oz who played The Wise Man (he had the bird hat) also voiced and was the puppeteer for Yoda. One of my favorite lessons was from The Junk Lady scene. It showed how getting too attached to "things", meaningless things really, can really weigh you down and distract you from what is important. It is a cult classic and I love it. If you watch it again (doubtful, judging from your reaction), but if you do... try to focus not so much on the weird but instead pay more attention to the underlying meanings being presented.
I feel like focusing on the message is how adults enjoy the film and just watching/accepting the story as a quirky adventure is how kids enjoy the film. But focusing on the message in fantasy, especially on the first watch, can be difficult. J and Amber kind of got stuck in between, I think. They got focused on the weird/fantasy aspects and were asking “why” about the wrong things, while at the same time not being able to enjoy the strange story because they are adults and lack the level of acceptance kids have. I think several reactors to this film have had the same trouble, iirc.
@@dandyfluff No doubt and I think that is an astute observation. It can also make it harder if you are in a bad headspace to watch a film that is presenting a fantasy/dream.
Don't forget that Kerry Shale was a voice actor from Labyrinth, just years before he became the voice of Sir Topham Hatt (as well as the voices of Larry Needlemeyer, Bobert, Leslie and other random characters from The Amazing World of Gumball)! It seems we had an Amazing World of Gumball actor involved in the movie (just 25 years before Gumball actually started its run for Cartoon Network)! Don't forget Karen Prell, Steve Whitmire, Dave Goelz and Kathryn Muller (4 puppeteers from Fraggle Rock) and Kevin Clash (Elmo) were involved as well!
The only generations that I can think of that can handle this well is Gen x and z. Gen x raised z (speaking as a gen z) and my parents shared a lot of things from their childhood such as this. I also grew up on weird and scary things as we weren't supervised on the internet, so that's why my friends and I always talk about cult classics such as this
I was only 15 when this came out and a huge Bowie fan. I still have the soundtrack on vinyl! My absolute favorite character was the worm. Cutest thing I ever saw, and the accent made it 100x’s cuter. “Come inside, have a cup of tea.”
It's so funny to me how the younger generation can't handle 80's fantasy. This is my all-time favourite movie. I have every line memorized. I could go on and on with fun facts. But first of all this is the brain child of pioneering master of puppets himself, Jim Henson. The screenplay was by Terry Jones, a member of Monty Python. The actress playing Sarah is Oscar and Golden Globe winner, Jennifer Connelly. The baby is Toby Froud, who did not end up scarred for life from his experience as you might expect. He became a puppeteer himself and filmmaker, notably working on the Dark Crystal revival. He is the son of Brian Froud, fantasy artist who did conceptual designs for Labyrinth and Dark Crystal and Wendy Froud, a sculptor and puppet-maker, most known for fabricating Yoda. But the amount of work that went into this movie is just mind boggling. I highly recommend the behind the scenes special "Inside the Labyrinth". Which reminds me the crystal ball moments on the hands were done by a professional juggler who was working blind standing behind David Bowie.
It is strange hearing everything is so “weird” by the younger gen lol we just were entranced by it all. I find the newer stuff much more disturbing and weird in a more real way which is scarier….n I’m not that old haha
@@Dootdoot955 Sadly I find that the younger generation now perceive anything unfamiliar or different as 'weird' or just say they don't get it, and you can see that when things are beyond what they are used to, they see it as a flaw/failing of the material (to live up to their expectations of what is 'normal' or what things should be like). I feel today's movies and TV are more like entertainment than art, the art of cinema has been somewhat lost, as things now fit formula and templates so that audiences know exactly what to expect and are never challenged or made to feel uneasy or unsure of what things are or what they mean.
I love this film because it teaches us some very valuable things: puzzle solving, critical thinking and the most valuable thing of all being friendship.
Amber: "Who designed this..." That would be Brian Froud an artist known for his fantasy work. His wife, Wendy is a doll and puppet maker. Their son, Toby played the part of Baby Toby in this movie.
Fun fact: Jennifer Connelly was around 16 or so when this film came out. She and David Bowie’s son, Duncan, took classes together on set, and she said in an interview she was surprised at how serious Bowie was about Duncan’s school work. That was something he didn’t play about. He was so strict she said she felt kind of sorry for Duncan! LOL! She is slightly older, from December of 1970 to May of 1971.
I saw this in the theater when I was 7 and loved it. It took over a year to come out on video cassette and it took me even longer to beg my dad to buy it. There was no "Seeing it again" any time soon in my household, definitely not going and watching it in the theater a second time, movie prices being what they were at the time. I have always loved this movie, and the muppet action throughout was very familiar and even comforting at the time, because I and other kids of that generation had largely been exposed extensively to the muppets and Jim Henson. The Dark Crystal, Fraggle Rock, Sesame Street, The Muppet Show and the movies, they were a known quantity and were seen by kids as kind of "safe" monsters to watch, so kids seeing this movie at the time would have largely been all in on it. The songs, the dancing, the humor and such were not that far out for 80s kids.
I‘m from Germany and I grew up in the 80‘s. We watched this in school with the whole class and the teachers as 8-9 year old kids and we were fascinated! And just like The neverending story we dived in this fantasy story and loved it! It did not scare us at all! It became one of my favorite movies of all time since then. I would say the kids grew up back then were more rough and tough and not so easily scared. Instead of scared we were just fascinated by stuff like this! :) Michael Jackson‘s Thriller music video I watched as a 5-6 year old kud and I was fascinated not scared. So, this was the whole vibe of the 80‘s. A much more easier time, when things did not scare you so quickly. Loved it and miss it!!
Must understand the 80‘s to understand movies like this: an eeeaaassyyyy flow all the way through this decade! A free mind and happier people! Not scared folks! The mood was just lightweight at hearts and minds! A wonderful time it was! :)
This movie was received very well. It was so creative and it had David Bowie. Loved this movie. We weren't shocked when this came out this, it was the 80s. Music, Movies, and clothes were different back then. It was a creative time and an awesome decade to live in
Salutations Jay and Amber Welcome to the 80's mentality of kids. We were rather tough, creative, 'wild', and 'cage free'. We grew up in the age of being left alone at home, walking to school (even in tough neighborhood), and much scarier movies than for millennials and Gen-Zers. It would take MUCH more than this fantasy movie to unnerve us. With books like "Where the Wild Things Are" and films like "Dark Crystal", Henson's puppets were seen as cool and amazing. Plus, none of the puppets were really "scary" they were more playful and obstructive. None of the 'creatures' was trying to ACTUALLY hurt Sarah. They were just trying to keep her from reaching the castle and getting the baby back. So for kids in the 80s, it was more of a challenge / competition than 'dangerous'. The "Labyrinth" had a minimal showing at the US Box office. Internationally, it did much better. It was a hit in Europe with countries like West Germany, Spain, the UK, Holland, Hungary, and Italy, just to name a few. It also did very good in Australia, Mexico, Central America, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Brazil. In the US, it earned just over $12.7 million at the box office. The other $21.3 million came from its foreign success. It was admired and liked by US kids. It was more the parents that kept it from being a smashed hit. Like you, parents "didn't quite get it" either or didn't liked the 'strange' puppets. The more it is watched; the more it is understood. The more that it is watched; the less 'strange' the puppets become. Thusly, it becomes more enjoyable and fun. Either way you checked-off another 80's cult classic of Gen-Xers. Hope you and your family had a very good and fun Easter Sunday.
Labyrinth is the perfect movie for pre-teen through teenaged girls. There were few coming-of-age stories for girls in the 1980s and there still aren't many. It has some wonderful moral lessons in it as well. Adults usually don't get the full impact of the story. It will always be a classic for kids who grew up with it.
The 2 are so closely linked, Jim Henson produced the Dark Crystal as a way of proving concrpt that a puppet movie of this scale would work as a precursor to make Labyrinth.
38:18 - "Didn't she have that painting in her room? With all the stairs?" - Yes, she did. M.C.Escher's famous staircase artwork. If you look at the beginning and ending scenes in Sarah's room, you'll see that poster on her wall, as well as stuffed animals that bear a resemblance to some of the characters she meets, as well as books like "Alice in Wonderland" and Wizard of Oz" and other fantasies. Also, take a close look at the photos and playbill clippings on her mirror!...
I saw this movie as a child in 1986 and have loved it ever since. The magic dance song has been stuck in my head for nearly 40 years. This movie is certainly a staple in my household and my kids absolutely love it. Remember, this was from the golden era of weird fantasy movies, Krull, The Dark Crystal, Legend etc. The screenplay was written by Terry Jones (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian), Directed by Jim Henson (puppeteering extraordinaire) and produced by Lucasfilm so yes, it was going to be weird from the start. An absolute classic.
As a guy born in 1980 this movie was critically panned but as a kid I didn't know what the heck the so called professional critics were talking about.... It's right up there with The Goonies and a little later The Lost Boys for me! Absolute classic!!!
This movie means a whole lot to me. It makes me feel like the six year old who saw it in theatres and I still watch it when I’m sick. Thanks for this one! ❤
I have seen this movie countless times, it came out before I was even born but my mom raised me on 80s movies and I was obsessed with it since I was 4. I know every line and scene with my eyes closed
This movie has a deep message actually. Sarah is in a state of fantasy because her mother was an actress who ran off with a man who looked like DB. Theres a news article clip in the background in the beginning of the movie. Now she's created this fantasy world for herself and become obsessed with the story of the labyrinth. She explores a world within and through that world she discovers her own desires - hence the attraction to a man who looks like the man her mother ran off with. In the end she chooses reality and moves past her old fantasies, while keeping a few for old friends/old times sake. A strange movie of a young woman coming into her own...leaving the fantasy world of her mother behind for something more concrete aka reality.
Jim Henson's Muppet Studios went above and beyond in this movie. Greatest thing they ever did. The only CGI in the entire movie was the owl at the beginning. Everything else was puppetry. This was the last film directed by Jim Henson before he died.
Jim Henson ( creator of The Muppets and Sesame Street) did the puppets in this movie. Incredible movie with no computer help. Some parts of the Muppets were remote control like Hogole's face (with midget in body suit). The large guard and Pluto were also puppets. Crazy ideas brought to life! Fantastic work!
Y’all are funny. Our movies in the 80s were weird as hell, and we loved them. Kids also weren’t coddled as much as they are now with G-rated stuff. Think The Dark Crystal, Neverending Story, Legend E.T., The Last Starfighter, The Secret of Nimh. I feel like it was more acceptable to show children the darker side of life, imagination and fantasy in a way that still had a happy ending. All the movies I just mentioned have some dark and twisty themes but we just watched them and moved on. You don’t see that now, everything is sickly sweet and happy-go-lucky. The closest thing I’ve seen to my childhood flicks is Coraline-and that was a while ago.
Take off those rose-coloured glasses. I remember a lot of lazy family-channel pablum being shovelled at us as kids in the 80s and 90s too. I recall dozens of stupid movies about a kid befriending an animal. Sometimes the animal joined a sports team. And then the divorced parents would get back together. Or whatever. There are always a few gems in any era, but a LOT of children's entertainment is insultingly bad.
@@zammmerjammer Most of that was just American TV though. Movies in the cinema were a lot more dark and challenging back then. Return to Oz for example!
The film is very symbolic and each part addresses different ideas about life and the coming of age. For example, the bag lady is a warning against materialism, how it can consume someone and make them loose track of what is truly important in life. And by the way the staircase scene is based on the artist C. Escher very famous work and holds meaning too, etc.
I remember the summer of '86 I saw this movie three times at the $1 theater in Norman Oklahoma I was 11 and I loved this movie. I don't remember it being big at the time in the mainstream but it had and still has a devoted following. Also, I fell in love with David Bowie because of this movie. Absolutely love him. Jennifer Connelly is from Oklahoma. I remember her doing lots of in person events in OKC and Tulsa.
Love this movie! It's about growing up but always being able to be a kid a heart. And being able to give to others denying your wants. Oh fun memories! ❤❤ Thanks for reacting!
As a child of the 80's I will never get folks calling this weird or scary. But then again, I hear that for everything nowadays. It was great for us, most of us who grew up then loved fantasy, we had so many. And it was Jim Henson, parents trusted him to deliver great fantasy. David Bowie's music was great.
I mean, I discovered some very weird movies like "Fantastic Planet" and "Night on the Galactic Railroad" and "Eraserhead" but I loved them. "Weird" to me meant interesting.
This movie, the more you think about it the more symbolism and themes you discover. You can skim the surface and still enjoy it, but man does it have _depths._
This film is iconic to my childhood Christmases during the '80s here in the U.K. Chilly December evenings with the fire burning in the living room. Hot cups of tea alongside buttered toast or those delicate Danish biscuits in the blue tin. The heavy curtains drawn tight across the window, so as to keep the heat in. Muting the light coming from the old 28inch T.V set peached on a cheap IKEA unit in the corner of the room. A tray of paints and fantasy models being painted while watching Labyrinth, Excalibur, Conan, Time Bandits, and Hawk the Slayer on V.H.S. Man, life was like, so, you know, (sometimes) just much simpler being a kid.
I'm laughing so hard! Y'all have me giggling like we did as kids first seeing it!😂 I modeled my wedding dress after hers in the ballroom scene. And yes it had huge puffy sleeves like hers! So funny! ❤❤
I was the same age as Jennifer Connelly when this came out - I remember seeing it on a rainy Saturday afternoon on its opening weekend and I immediately fell in love with her, haha. I was already a Bowie fan at that time, so I dug his character and the musical numbers. The movie was really targeted towards kids who were a bit younger than me (I took my little brother with me to the theater and he absolutely loved the movie - we're both still big fans of it to this day). I seem to recall that this wasn't a hit at the time - developed its cult status later, on home video.
This movie brings back so many memories.....David Bowie was amazing in this. I, like others here,were from the 80s and we just watched and fell into the fantasy of it all, just as cartoons, wrestling,and other things we enjoyed back then and when we see them or hear a song,its attached to memories that bring so much joy....much love to you both If you havent seen goonies or any other movie from the 80s go with it or try ...Jim Henson gave us endless possibilities as far as our imagination can take us ...he will be forever missed...
There are so many things hidden ALL OVER this movie... Things it'll take someone years of re-watches to catch. --- I had a quick treatment written for a second movie.. Sarah as an adult is having a bad day with screaming kids, a husband that doesn't help... In desperation, she locks herself in the bedroom and whispers of the past remembered come over her until she says, "I wish the goblins would take ME away... Right now.." --- The doors blow open and she says, "You've come back." Jareth says, "I was never far away.. You could have asked at ANY time."
I grew up watching this, The Princess Bride and Tim Burton movies. I raised my kids on this movie along with the others I mentioned and they loved it! When my 4 kids were babies they loved it when I played Dance Magic Dance and danced around with them lol. Now I get to continue this tradition with my grandbaby!❤ I can't remember if you guys have reacted to Tim Burton's "Big Fish" or not but if you haven't, please react to it! I think you guys would really love it. It's funny but you will also most definitely need some tissues 😢❤
Why Gen X kids grew up to be awesome: Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, The Secret of NIMH, The Last Unicorn, The Neverending Story, The Goonies, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, E.T., Explorers, Adventures in Babysitting. Please add more crazy 80s kid's movies.
🤔 must of been great to live when movie companies weren’t scared of taking risks an made so many great movies of different types - ive got to see all them movies u listed cause my uncle’s physical media an they top alot of anything being made today
21:08 The advice given is actually sound. Go back to the beginning, make a left at the worm (Whose name is William) and go straight to the castle. 27:45 Biggest fart joke ever in a movie 31:33 The dance sequence was choreographed by Cheryl Gates McFadden (Dr Crusher from Star Trek) 40:07 "Sarah, are you home?" stupidest line in the movie. You left your 16 daughter home babysitting... it's now midnight, where do you expect her to be
I have a feeling no one in that household will ever watch this again. They're very sly about not hurting their patreons feelings by outright saying a movie is not to their liking, but if you watch enough of their reactions it's pretty clear. This was not a winner in their books.
I was around when it was first released and this is one of the movies that was a massive part of my childhood. Like The Neverending Story, Flight of the navigator, Short Circuit 1+2, Harry and the Henderson's, they all hold a special place in my heart. I adored this movie even as a child, Jim Henson's creature workshop just had a way of bringing the weird and wonderful to life, really making them endearing and memorable characters. I never thought of it as scary at all, it has always just been an amazing, incredible movie to me.
This is a childhood favorite! It was just magical as a child! I still love this film at 47! David is still so handsome! She was in a lovely childhood fantasy where she grew up but still understood the importance of her imagination 🥰
Not sure if anyone else mentioned this but if you notice the pictures on her mirror ... they are David Bowie. The story is about a young girl that is caught between her childhood and growing up. Her mother was an actor and ended up leaving her and her dad for another actor (David Bowie). The pictures on her mirror are of her mother and the other actor. Everything in her room was in the labyrinth in some way. But its a fantasy story of a girl finally accepting what happened and growing up. This was so well received as most of it is special effects and not CGI. Its so funny though cause its one of my favorites and it came back last month to theaters. I took my daughter (14) and her reaction was similar to yours ... what were people smoking when they made this movie. I never thought of it that way. Still one of my favorites and still have the soundtrack although I love David Bowie and of course the "bulge". Glad you finally got to see it.
There's also some hints about that actor that suggests he may have been kind of a creep - his being Jareth, who is obsessed with her and flirting and trying to seduce her all the time may be clues that the actor was doing the same to the very much under-age Sarah. So the movie is also about telling creepy older men to go get bent, because, well, "you have no power over me".
80s fantasy was … different! And this movie is a classic! I was 10 when this came out and I loved it! I probably watched this 3 or 4 times a year as a kid! Great film. And Jim Henson is a legend!
I was a kid when this came out and loved it. This, Legend, Neverending Story, the Dark Crystal, Watership Down, Return to Oz, all great dark fantasy for kids. I'm sure I left out a few.
I once saw a documentary how about the special effects from this movie. The juggling that David Bowie appears to do was really accomplished by having a professional juggler with his arms below the robes and doing the juggling without even being able to see
That was Michael Moschen who was childhood friends with Penn Jillete of Penn & Teller. They taught each other how to juggle. I met Moschen back in Jan '97 and he gave me the basics to start learning how to contact juggle. I can do it just enough to get by if I cosplay as Jareth.
@@VictoryVaughn-y8j I was just gifted another one of those last week! I remember when I first saw that commercial I was like, “Oh no, this is not good.” This is because the commercial makes it look like the ball does all these tricks, like you’ll be doing this stuff over the weekend and not spending hundreds of hours mastering it. Back when it was a thing I’d have parents coming up to me asking how I made it work. They say their kid can’t get it and I ask if they practice. It’s like playing a piano. You’re not gonna play Flight of the Bumblebee right off the bat, you’re gonna have to learn Chopsticks first. I imagine that every kid who ever got a Fushigi wound up frustrated and disappointed.
1986 was a different time. My son was born in 1986. He watched this approximately 1 milloin times. Lol..... I own the soundtrack and its amazing. Brings great memories. A masteroiece from Jim Henson.
Critics were harsh to the movie, especially that asshat Gene Siskel, who called it "awful, a pathetic story, and a visually ugly style". It mainly did poor at the box office as it was the same year that The Karate Kid Part II, Back to School, Legal Eagles, Ruthless People, Running Scared, Top Gun, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off were in the theaters. But it became a huge cult hit over the years.
Man, some of the critics were such shitheads about Labyrinth. I hope Jim Henson gets updates in heaven so he can know how many kids grew up LOVING his movie.
The critics were even worse about “Dark Crystal”, lamenting that this kind of weird dark fantasy was what Jim Henson was going to do forever and we’d never see the Muppets again.
I grew up on this film - I was 4 when it came out. It’s one of my favourite films - lots of folklore nods that are so awesome as an adult. As a kid I wasn’t scared of this film. I loved the Goblin King 🤣 Back in the 80’s we grew up on some great tv/films that today may seem a little too scary for kids. The concept art/puppet design is by Brian & Wendy Froud, who are very inspirational. The Dark Crystal is another great Jim Henson/Brian Froud collaboration that came out around the same time. This is one of those films That they keep threatening to remake but should be left for the masterpiece that it is
For us who grew up in the 80’s
This is a masterpiece
Uh.... No it was not lol
It literally reminds me of my childhood
Same for us who grew up in the 90s lol
@@blitz3643Uh... Maybe not for you, but for others it was.
This movie, Neverending Story, and Return to Oz are my holy trio of 80s kid movies :)
The ballroom and crazy staircases scenes live rent free in my head 30+ years later! I mean David Bowie singing "As The World Falls Down" and "Within You" make me melt and get me in the feels every time ❤
Labyrinth, The Neverending Story, and Dark Crystal make up the trifecta of my childhood fantasy films. Coincidentally Jim Henson did the puppet work on all three of them. The man could do anything.
Same! and I really can't imagine my childhood without them. I'm so thankful for having been exposed to such a wide variety of creative and unconventional films, books and stories while growing up. I understand the protective desire, of course, but I also really think over-insulating kids from these kinds of stories isnt giving them enough credit. I remember when Jim Henson died, they made a tv special to both celebrate his life and creations but also to address children's earnest questions about death and loss. They did it in such a beautiful, honest, and touching way, I never forgot it, even though I was very little at the time. I think, looking back.. though there was reassurance, warmth, and familiar trusted friends to dispense the information (Kermit, Fozzie, Piggy etc).. it meant a lot not to be talked down to or told untruths to gloss over the hard things in life when we as children had difficult questions and feelings.
Don't forget a little show called SESAME STREET!
Jim is a legend. The joy he gave us as kids with his creations (and still does) will never be forgotten
Henson's shop was involved in "Neverending Story 3" but they were not involved in the original "Neverending Story." Just in point of fact. I think it might have been Stan Winston studios? I've had difficulty finding out. But it was not Henson in that first one.
"Labyrinth" and "Dark Crystal" *were* original Henson productions from start to finish!
For me, include Gremlins
The Three Lessons of The Labyrinth:
1 ) There comes a time when we must learn to put aside the ways of childhood and move on to adulthood.
2 ) There are times in adulthood when we must learn to reclaim the joys and innocence we knew from childhood.
3 ) No matter how foreboding the challenges we face, they only ever have as much power as we are willing to give them.
Wow! That's wonderful. That's exactly it.
The Dark Crystal, Fraggle Rock, and The Labyrinth were groundbreaking shows that opened the doors for so many other worlds that just tickled our imaginations. This was 40 years ago, the humor was different, the movie ratings were different. This movie was amazing, it wasn't supposed to be understood, just fun to watch. We didn't examine it, we just enjoyed something different.
Yes, exactly! I just wish these zoomers and younger millennials had the capacity for imagination to understand and appreciate this kind of genre.
@@danieljohnson2005 They absolutely do. It's not like media got any less weird since 1986.
This was a bizarrely stodgy reaction from two people who seem to be less than 35 years old.
Omg Fraggle Rock 🤌🤌🤌💗💗💗💗
So true! Childrens entertainment in the 80s was veeerrrryyy different 😂 much darker and with way less regard for our future mental and emotional health.
@@Qu33nMary444 LOL so true, not sure where you’re from but in Aus we had a van that had a Harold the Giraffe 🦒 who taught us about life n shit n we would have sit in the back of this carpeted like van/ trailer box thing- dafaq
I have found that anyone who watched this as a child continues to love it. If you watched it the first time as an adult, you are just like wtf. I've stopped showing it to friends. Maybe, children are more likely to accept the weird in this world building. My high school theater friend group watched this and nightmare before Christmas regularly.
This is a coming-of-age story but in the end, where Sarah does grow up and mature, she still keeps her sense of fantasy and wonder. It's a fun tale of magic and music. And us 80’s babies grew up with darker tones and elements in our films and it truly gave us an appreciation of this genre. Also I feel like muppets were huge at this time and today's kids aren't as familiar with the Jim Henson puppetry wonder. Yes this movie is wonderful.
You guys were thinking that this is not suitable for your kids as it would scare them. Jim Henson believed that being scared was good for kids. Seriously. Jim felt that it was important for kids to deal with being scared and then surviving the scare. This is part of growing up. Never dealing with fear is unsustainable and when real fear comes along, you will not have had any practice. So yes! It's supposed to be scary.
Totally agree. That's why kids and teenagers today often lack resilience and suffer from so much anxiety I think. They aren't as equipped.
Don Bluth had the same idea too.
Dance magic dance is one of the best songs in a childrens movie ever!
i think this is why kids from the 80s turned out so weird. not to mention the last unicorn and never-ending story. ect!
I was babysitting a 5, 7 & 9 year old and they had me rerun the dance sequence over and over while they threw their Cabbage Patch dolls in the air. One of my best memories!
Dance magic dance!
I really dig the As The World Falls Down. My wife looked like Sara except a little shorter, and when we were teenagers we danced to that song all dressed up one night, it was pure magic.
@@BevSunflower time bandits
The important thing to realize is this isn’t a story about a Goblin King kidnapping a baby and his step sister trying to rescue him
It’s a story about Sarah realizing she can become an adult while still keeping the things from childhood that make her happy… that she can have both
The idea of the fantasy world of Labyrinth was meant to be a combination of all of the fantasy worlds of the books in Sarah’s bedroom. It’s a brilliant concept and a fantastically designed movie that stays with you.
It's definitely very Feywild too - basically every DND thing set in the Fey Realm after this has a little bit of that influence, conscious or otherwise.
For the ttrpg show Dimension 20, during A Court of Fey and Flowers which is set in the Feywild and has a lot of palace intrigue between ruling houses including a goblin court, there is an appearance made by the Goblin King, and even though Aabria the GM never overtly says "and he looks like David Bowie", the fact the cast all made that connection unprompted speaks to the film's influence.
3 easy keys for understanding why this was so iconic to children of the 80s:
1. It was our generation’s version of the Wizard of Oz. Young girl is taken away to a magical land and forms unlikely friendships to get to the man running everything so she can go home. After facing a series of attacks with her new friends, they find new self-worth and she finally stands up for herself, and is sent home and rewarded with a newfound appreciation for her home life. And it’s a musical with some weird-looking characters, just puppets instead of costumes like in Oz.
2. For many of us, this was the very first time we found ourselves attracted to someone (David Bowie; this was the first time many of us youngsters had ever seen him) who was really hot in a very unconventional look (he rocked those costumes), which opened up a whole new world of possibilities, making us very fond of this movie as we look back at it because it opened our minds just a little more. Non-conventional masculinity can be very appealing.
3. Every time you hear a male voice in a song in this movie/soundtrack, that’s Bowie singing. Go listen to his range, from Chilly Down (the head-throwing puppets) to the choral version of Underground over the credits. Bowie’ s songs made this sort of like a series of music videos and he sounded amazing. This is one of the first soundtracks I ever bought on CD, and I still listen to some of the songs.
Funniest joke summary of this film I’ve ever heard: “Jareth has spent his life giving a home to orphaned and unwanted children and filling their lives with singing, dancing, and joy. So when a teenage girl has second thoughts about giving up a child for adoption, he must put her to the test to make sure she's truly capable of taking care of the child.” (-The Villian was Right)
Wow. Your Wizard of Oz comparison is spot on.
Labyrinth is like if Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland had a child
Anything by Jim Henson is just amazing. The puppeteering is just top notch. This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I was 4 when this movie came out. Always loved Jim Henson productions.
Im still pissed they cancelled the second season of the Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance on Netflix.
@mo_the_stooge_8216 I am in total agreement. While perhaps not for everyone, in my opinion, great works of art, and usually bear more than one viewing.
I think they should watch The Dark Crystal next!
@@lisawillett546I was going to suggest that also, maybe not next but definitely add it to the list.
@@NecramoniumVideo Me too! I was so worried they werent going to do it justice, but they didn't let me down in the slightest. Funny enough, my highschool english teacher did a documentary on its making that you can watch on Netflix.
Re: PG - this was made for kids who would fall out of trees, laugh, then bike by themselves down to the local arcade to play Galaga before heading home again for a game of lawn darts.
OMG!!! GUYS, I cannot TELL you how important this movie is to me! It's always been one of my favorites. I was even taught how to do some of the juggling by the man himself, Michael Moschen! But about eight years ago I had some woman respond to a comment I made on a Facebook thread. She was being kind of snarky, so I snaked back. Then we started going back and forth. I was enjoying our interaction so I checked out her profile and saw she was a Labyrinth fan! So I did something I never do, I sent her a friend request and she responded. We talked back and forth over the next couple of weeks and I found she was local to me. Then there was a special 30th Anniversary showing of Labyrinth playing in theaters so I asked if she'd like to go and she said yes! I go to pick her up and she said her mother wanted to meet me. Fair enough, she was going out with some rando from the internet. I go in to meet her mother... to discover I KNEW her! She worked for the party company I joined when I left the circus!! I had known her mom for darn near twenty years! Never knew she had a daughter from a previous marriage. Date went great and we made another one. A friend of hers was having a yardsale that weekend. A friend of mine was as well. Turned out to be the same friend! Two years later I asked her to be my wife and she said yes! Three years after that I lost her due to complications from a surgery. On what would have been our fifth anniversary Labyrinth was released again for it's 35th. So my friends and family went to go see it as a celebration of life event for her. I'm so happy you are watching this movie, it's one of my top five favorites!
Magical story ❤
Awesome! I want to ❤ this comment!
The funny thing was her mom tried to set us up several years before. She just thought the two of us would hit it off. But my fiancée didn’t want to go out with sone guy her mom used to work with. The fact that we found each other on our own is proof that we were meant to be together. Sadly, just not for the rest of our lives, just hers. I now have to go on with the love that I had for her. That’s what keeps me going day after day. It’s been almost three years since she’s died and not a day has gone by where I haven’t missed her dearly.
I never read long comments, but yours had me intrigued. My condolences on your loss, but what a beautiful love story. All the best to you.
Such an amazing story! And I’m so sorry for the loss of your wife.
"As the World Falls Down" was our wedding song. Great reaction to a great film.
My favorite thing about this how Bowie playes the Goblin King like hes bitter and isolated. Like he hates being the Goblin King and its more of a curse to him.
Have to point out that's exactly what David Bowie said in the "Inside the Labyrinth" behind the scenes special.
Hes also infatuated with Sarah.
@@jessicapazo7718 probably the only human he’s interacted with in centuries. There’s also the fact that he keeps kidnapping human babies but they always turn into goblins
@@labyfan1313 really? I’ll have to look for that, but it doesn’t surprise me at all
Kings & Queens are not needed anymore since no COMMITEE 'Over-See's their SELFISH & CORRUPT DECISIONS! They must ALL BE DELETED from HISTORY FOREVER if HUMANS want to EVOLVE into HIGHER TRANSPARENT LIFE FORMS. So Mote It Be & It Is Done!
Everyone who watched it when it first came out, LOVED it. They thought it was BRILLIANT
The designer for the movie was Brian Froud, an artist known for his fairy and goblin art. That's his son Toby playing the baby, and he grew up to make his own puppet driven works just like the movie.
Also interesting fact, Brian froud worked on the art of lord of the rings too
There's a fun interview with Toby Froud where they ask, "But weren/'t you scared during the production of this movie?" And his answer was "No? Are you kidding? I got to party with David Bowie and a bunch of my dad's goblins brought to life by Jim Henson!"
I believe he drew the a baby in the concept art that looked just like Toby before he was born.
Toby is now The Goblin King!
I got a "Goblins" book in 4th or 5th grade at the school book sale. It was amazing.
I was already a fan of the film and recognized the art immediately.
Really good panel at Dragon Con a few years ago with Toby (the child in this film) Brian's son. Dark Crystal Age of Resistance Panel with Amy Henson (Amy?)
We would watch this movie over and over when we were kids! Walking around saying "Ello!"
This movie was my Wizard of Oz growing up. You cant take it too seriously, its just a whimsical fantasy from the mind of Jim Henson
The story was about her growing up . Putting her childhood things away and learning life is not fair you have to just handle everything as it comes ! That’s what I got from it when it came out.
Adorable story about Jennifer Connelly: She was Paul Bettany's (Vision in the MCU) childhood crush. They met while filming A Beautiful Mind, and he was determined to not be one of **those** guys and hit on her (she was considered one of the most beautiful women in the world through the '90s and 2000s--and if you watch Top Gun Maverick you'll see how stunning she still is). So he played it cool and they became friends. Then 9/11 happened several months later and he freaked out because she lived in NYC. He called her and proposed over the phone when they weren't even dating! They've now been married over 20 years.
Thank you for another reason why I love comments! I never know what beautiful gems of anecdotes I will find.
My best friend called me around Christmas and was like: You're on speaker phone. I need you to settle a bet for me. "You remind me of the babe~" And my automatic response was "What babe?" And then we went into a good bit of the song, while my best friend's niece groaned and yelled that I made her lose the bet^.^ My best friend was showing her niece the movie for the first time. The bet was apparently that my best friend could call any one of her friends around her age and we'd all immediately recite Dance Magic after just hearing the first two words~ It was a safe bet, cause my entire extended friend group used to do this all the time at school!~~~^.^
This is cute, LOL.
Another fun fact: The choreographer for this movie was a woman named Cheryl McFadden. She had previously worked on The Muppets Take Manhattan and even had a scene in the movie as a theater producer's secretary. A year after Labyrinth came out, Cheryl McFadden would make a new name for herself as an actress. She changed her name to Gates and went on to star as Dr. Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation!
OMG that's cool! Comments like this are why I love comments sections!
Wow, had no idea, thanks for the information, it's amazing🙂
She even appeared in The Hunt for Red October / Dream On!
@@HardcoreRGProdigyXTR yeah, she did Red October after she got fired from Star Trek. I thought, “Cool, Dr. Crusher,” but she only had those two lines. Fortunately the showrunner for TNG’s first two seasons was given the axe and the new producers brought McFadden back!
😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮
I saw this movie in the theater when I was 6. It’s one of my favourites. Some movies you have to see at the right time in your life, and maybe only in a certain era, for it to speak to you.
A lot of children’s movies in the 80s weren’t afraid to go to very dark places, like all the best fairytales.
I was THRILLED you guys were watching this! I feel kinda bummed that you were so freaked out by it. It's FANTASY! You know - MAKE BELIEVE??!! The artistry and the magic that was made for this film is amazing. No computer generated anything. Just a LOT of hard work and practical "magic". Hope you guys choose to watch it again with a different perspective. Oh well, you guys ARE of the Computer Age. We were not. Love you.
Right? It's literally a fantasy world created from a fictional book and the imagination of a 14 year old girl.. ofc it's weird.
@@VictoryVaughn-y8j I'm struggling to think of a classic kids' movie that ISN'T weird AF.
"It said PG". Look, Gen-X were just made of tougher stuff. We could read what we wanted, and watch almost anything we wanted, and our parents figured we knew the difference between reality and fiction.
❤
And most of us had dealt with Watership Down being shown at school. And Artex in Neverending Story...
It's clear they have no imagination 🙄
I don’t think they have watched Gremlins yet.
Isn't that the truth. Don't forget the slew of "animal snuff films" like Where the Red Fern Grows and Old Yeller.
Jim Henson is who designed this, and who inspired the critters in Star Wars, as well as The Muppets and Fraggle Rock. You should check out the movie The Dark Crystal for his masterpiece though.
(30:50 Jim also did the characters on Sesame Street too, good catch.)
38:19 It's an M. C. Escher drawing.
I gotta say…Jay fighting to keep his eyes open at one point both offended me and had me laughing! 😂 with that said, this movie holds such an important place in my heart and I love it so much! I’m so glad you gave it a try and kept an open mind! Definitely check it out again now that you know what it’s all about!
A few fun facts: The face in the rocks that Amber pointed out is actually Bowie’s face and there’s 7
In total hidden throughout the movie!
The parts where Jareth maneuvers the crystal aren’t Bowie. There’s actually a man hidden behind him, essentially being his arms, and doing it for him without being able to see what he’s doing!
And finally, all the music in the movie was done by Bowie, he even did the baby sounds during the Dance Magic Dance song!
@6:00 - want to hear something unreal? Bowie didn't do the thing with the glass sphere. Another guy literally stood behind him, stuck his arms through Bowie's outfit and did it BLIND. Hard to believe but true.
Had you guys seen this when you were kids and before the days of CGI. You would have been amazed and it would be a forever memory for you as it is with us...
Hey guys, thanks for watching this suggestion and masterpiece. David did the music for it. I had the cassette tape back in the 90's and used to play it and exercised a bit to it too. Nice reaction! Please do Legend (1985), Masters Of The Universe (1987), Willow (1988), The Rocketeer (1991) and The Dark Crystal (1982). Thanks!
Yet another reaction that made me audibly gasp when I saw it pop up... This was a childhood favorite for me, and I still love it so much!
"it's like a maze" ...or a labyrinth.
I love when you said "I bet y'all watched this and didn't even think about 'Was this normal!" You got that right! We were all to feral from being raised "free range" to worry about what anyone thought was normal. We just loved it for crazy/wonderful freak show that it was. 😂
Right? I watched this since I was 4. Probably why I love such strange movies now lol
@@VictoryVaughn-y8j Me too. I grew up with this movie and crushing hard on the Goblin King. But when we watched it when we were kids, this was perfectly normal. It was just fun nonsense like Alice in Wonderland or The Wizard of Oz. I grew up loving mazes and games and puzzles. It taught me to think outside the box.
I watched this movie so many times as a kid. Then when I was about 18 I watched it for the first time through adult eyes, and those eyes were practically on stalks! My boyfriend had never seen it before, and he was like, 'wtf is this a KIDS' movie??' You could never make this movie now....
Yes! It was so funny to watch them watch. The faces they made thinking that was weird and/or creepy. I was 19 already when it came out and just loved it (still do). Nothing felt weird back then it was just a firework of visual creativity. Guess kids from the 70s and 80s are different lol.
It was the 80s, this was completely normal lol.
Jareth is the "goblin king" but he isn't a goblin. He is a Fae, a member of the Unseelie or Dark Fae to be precise. Personally, I think she should have accepted his marriage proposal at the end. Fun FYI: My husband kniws how much I love this movie and proposed to me using Jareth's lines to Sarah at the end.
LMAO... It's 20 minutes later, they're in the middle of the masquerade ball and Rob is still hung up on "the little fetuses on sticks" 😂😂😂
Brah, those little stick demons were easily the most disturbing visual for me as a kid. I always thought of them like little land piranha goblins. But they totally looked like demon fetuses 🤣 Welcome to the 80's!!!
Also for the record, I think ALLLLL of us 80's kids loved this movie with all our hearts. But remember, we were raised on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show and The Dark Crystal, etc... So many Jim Henson fantasy worlds we were born into and truly forged by. And I wouldn't have it any other way. The unparalleled creativity that came out of the 80's in the way of fantasy fiction, it was a genuine golden age for writers, designers, artists, performers and absolutely incredible practical effects.
So glad Amber mentioned it towards the end... That's the whole point of FANTASY... To take you somewhere new that's kinda strange and doesn't make sense! 🎯
Ok.. whether you two like it or not.. I have 2 things to say.. 1. This came out in the 80's.. and 80's kids were tough.. loved scary things.. and this was NOTHING! 2nd.. at least back in the 80's.. people had an imagination and didn't copy movies already done (Like today) So yeah.. this is a classic for imagination and VERY HARD WORK on creating this world (BY HAND) Not like lazy CGI today with ZERO imagination! I will take 80's movies like this over crap they make today!
Very few reactors I’ve seen really seem to get this movie. Many of them have the same takeaway as you, that they don’t understand what’s so great about it. I don’t know how to explain why we love it except to say that we didn’t need everything to make sense. We were just along for the ride and to laugh and have fun with it and appreciate the puppets and creativity. And David Bowie!
This was it; very well said. But mainly it's that
WE. LOVE. WEIRDNESS ‼️😄
Happy to have been a weirdo all my life, and to have been open to the wonderful flights of fantasy our filmmakers came up with 💕✨🕍✨🦄✨🦉✨🚀✨💕
The people who love it grew up in the 80's. Movies are about the time period you grew up in.
I think for me it was just my first introduction to fantasy, I was 4 when I first watched it and I'd never seen anything quite so amazing. I didn't know until then that people could just make up anything and make it come to life.
@@scottn.4865not true, I was born in 1999. It's not about when it came out its about exposure in your formative years. I grew up on 80s movies and so that is still my favorite period for movies and when I see movies nowadays that give off a similar vibe of weirdness and rebellion I enjoy those too
I feel the same way about "The Dark Crystal." Nobody seems to understand what it's really about and don't seem to have the patience to make the effort to figure it out.
When I was 12, I knew the words to this movie by heart. The crazy stair scene is based on M.C. Escher art. Sarah fell into the oubliette, a French word that means to forget. This movie is full of little pieces of information.
I had the poster of Echers staircase ever since :D who didnt dream of Jareth!
@@mathilde1974 When I was older, I was more into sexiness of Jareth lol, but when I was 11-12, I was such a late bloomer, still a little girl dreaming of the Labyrinth.
I was 8 when this came out and I LOVED IT! I still watch it on a somewhat regular basis and all of my children love it as well. Watching you guys react to this with confused and bewildered looks on your faces, i was like, "come on guys, this is awesome!". As far as fantasies, this and The Neverending Story were watched regularly when I was growing up. Oh, and let's not forget The Dark Crystal, Legend, Krull, and Sword of the Valiant
It always fascinates me when watching younger audiences watching movies from the past and being so confused. I was a child when this movie came out and we absolutely loved it! It was a classic and it really speaks to the imagination of a child. It was ground-breaking and very original. The special effects, the story, the music, the mix of live action and puppeteering, even the first ever CGI animal in the opening credits (the owl). It's a shame that sensibilities have changed and today's movies are much more predictable, so younger audiences now aren't used to watching something that is so artistic and avant-garde or surrealistic!
The lack of imagination of today's youth(?or anyone) that doesn't get this movie saddens my soul, I have watched it since I was a child and it made me so happy Bowie is perfection and I've continued to name my pets after characters in this movie. Long live Jim Henson.
SAME! I'm 24 and I have watched this movie countless times over the past 20 years. My mom raised me on these kinds of movies and I love them wholeheartedly. This movie was groundbreaking for me as a child, let my imagination run wild. I am forever obsessed with strange worlds and creatures, there is NOTHING more creative than building an idea and world completely from scratch.
It is why all the cars are Silver, Black or White. People's aversion to imagination is kind of staggering if you think about it. Watch some reactions to more avant-garde music and you see the same, people are just incredibly closed-minded.
My youngest daughter's your age she usually opts for reading rather than tv or movies😅
Yeah. I don't understand how people are weirded out by a fairytale. Labyrinth is the ultimate childhood movie.
I named my kid Jareth, lol. He's 27 now.
"Labyrinth" is a morality tale, a coming of age story, in addition to having key life lessons but the primary thrust of the film is about learning to take responsibility for one's life. Also, do not judge Sara too harshly for wishing her baby brother away as that is pretty common behavior for teenagers forced to look after little siblings.
When this came out, and we were young, we had no problems dealing with "weird" or "creepy" things; besides, if you think this is harsh for young people to watch, try reading original fairy tales. We also grew up on Jim Henson ("The Muppets", "Fraggle Rock", "The Dark Crystal", etc.), so none of this was all that strange to us.
There is a connection to Star Wars as George Lucas was an Executive Producer on this film and Frank Oz who played The Wise Man (he had the bird hat) also voiced and was the puppeteer for Yoda.
One of my favorite lessons was from The Junk Lady scene. It showed how getting too attached to "things", meaningless things really, can really weigh you down and distract you from what is important.
It is a cult classic and I love it. If you watch it again (doubtful, judging from your reaction), but if you do... try to focus not so much on the weird but instead pay more attention to the underlying meanings being presented.
I feel like focusing on the message is how adults enjoy the film and just watching/accepting the story as a quirky adventure is how kids enjoy the film. But focusing on the message in fantasy, especially on the first watch, can be difficult. J and Amber kind of got stuck in between, I think. They got focused on the weird/fantasy aspects and were asking “why” about the wrong things, while at the same time not being able to enjoy the strange story because they are adults and lack the level of acceptance kids have. I think several reactors to this film have had the same trouble, iirc.
@@dandyfluff No doubt and I think that is an astute observation. It can also make it harder if you are in a bad headspace to watch a film that is presenting a fantasy/dream.
@@sandman_says_runrunner4701I agree with you that @dandyfluff made an astute observation.
Don't forget that Kerry Shale was a voice actor from Labyrinth, just years before he became the voice of Sir Topham Hatt (as well as the voices of Larry Needlemeyer, Bobert, Leslie and other random characters from The Amazing World of Gumball)! It seems we had an Amazing World of Gumball actor involved in the movie (just 25 years before Gumball actually started its run for Cartoon Network)!
Don't forget Karen Prell, Steve Whitmire, Dave Goelz and Kathryn Muller (4 puppeteers from Fraggle Rock) and Kevin Clash (Elmo) were involved as well!
The only generations that I can think of that can handle this well is Gen x and z. Gen x raised z (speaking as a gen z) and my parents shared a lot of things from their childhood such as this. I also grew up on weird and scary things as we weren't supervised on the internet, so that's why my friends and I always talk about cult classics such as this
"Does everything have glitter on it?" Lol, yup! Special effects in practically every 80s fantasy movie included glitter. 😄💕
Ridley Scott's "Legend"...
And the Lost Boys.
It was a glittery SLIME.
If ANYTHING has glitter on it then EVERYTHING has glitter on it. Anyone who deals with kids should know this.
I was only 15 when this came out and a huge Bowie fan. I still have the soundtrack on vinyl! My absolute favorite character was the worm. Cutest thing I ever saw, and the accent made it 100x’s cuter. “Come inside, have a cup of tea.”
It's so funny to me how the younger generation can't handle 80's fantasy. This is my all-time favourite movie. I have every line memorized. I could go on and on with fun facts. But first of all this is the brain child of pioneering master of puppets himself, Jim Henson. The screenplay was by Terry Jones, a member of Monty Python. The actress playing Sarah is Oscar and Golden Globe winner, Jennifer Connelly. The baby is Toby Froud, who did not end up scarred for life from his experience as you might expect. He became a puppeteer himself and filmmaker, notably working on the Dark Crystal revival. He is the son of Brian Froud, fantasy artist who did conceptual designs for Labyrinth and Dark Crystal and Wendy Froud, a sculptor and puppet-maker, most known for fabricating Yoda. But the amount of work that went into this movie is just mind boggling. I highly recommend the behind the scenes special "Inside the Labyrinth". Which reminds me the crystal ball moments on the hands were done by a professional juggler who was working blind standing behind David Bowie.
It is strange hearing everything is so “weird” by the younger gen lol we just were entranced by it all. I find the newer stuff much more disturbing and weird in a more real way which is scarier….n I’m not that old haha
@@Dootdoot955 Sadly I find that the younger generation now perceive anything unfamiliar or different as 'weird' or just say they don't get it, and you can see that when things are beyond what they are used to, they see it as a flaw/failing of the material (to live up to their expectations of what is 'normal' or what things should be like). I feel today's movies and TV are more like entertainment than art, the art of cinema has been somewhat lost, as things now fit formula and templates so that audiences know exactly what to expect and are never challenged or made to feel uneasy or unsure of what things are or what they mean.
@@iangrant3615 hard agree, it’s like “art” is overtly disgusting things like saltburn lol- rather watch the goonies or porkeys hahah
I love your answer! That‘s how it is! Nothing more nothing less!
I agree. While watching this it kinda made me sad to think that the younger generations since of imagination has been lost.
I love this film because it teaches us some very valuable things: puzzle solving, critical thinking and the most valuable thing of all being friendship.
Amber: "Who designed this..." That would be Brian Froud an artist known for his fantasy work. His wife, Wendy is a doll and puppet maker. Their son, Toby played the part of Baby Toby in this movie.
A masterpiece of a movie. It was my childhood. And used it several times teaching English in school
That's amazing 🤩
Fun fact: Jennifer Connelly was around 16 or so when this film came out. She and David Bowie’s son, Duncan, took classes together on set, and she said in an interview she was surprised at how serious Bowie was about Duncan’s school work. That was something he didn’t play about. He was so strict she said she felt kind of sorry for Duncan! LOL!
She is slightly older, from December of 1970 to May of 1971.
I saw this in the theater when I was 7 and loved it. It took over a year to come out on video cassette and it took me even longer to beg my dad to buy it. There was no "Seeing it again" any time soon in my household, definitely not going and watching it in the theater a second time, movie prices being what they were at the time.
I have always loved this movie, and the muppet action throughout was very familiar and even comforting at the time, because I and other kids of that generation had largely been exposed extensively to the muppets and Jim Henson. The Dark Crystal, Fraggle Rock, Sesame Street, The Muppet Show and the movies, they were a known quantity and were seen by kids as kind of "safe" monsters to watch, so kids seeing this movie at the time would have largely been all in on it. The songs, the dancing, the humor and such were not that far out for 80s kids.
No one I knew was shook by this movie, but it was the 80's. I've seen it several times and love the music in this movie. I just love fantasy.
I‘m from Germany and I grew up in the 80‘s. We watched this in school with the whole class and the teachers as 8-9 year old kids and we were fascinated! And just like The neverending story we dived in this fantasy story and loved it! It did not scare us at all! It became one of my favorite movies of all time since then. I would say the kids grew up back then were more rough and tough and not so easily scared. Instead of scared we were just fascinated by stuff like this! :) Michael Jackson‘s Thriller music video I watched as a 5-6 year old kud and I was fascinated not scared. So, this was the whole vibe of the 80‘s. A much more easier time, when things did not scare you so quickly. Loved it and miss it!!
Must understand the 80‘s to understand movies like this: an eeeaaassyyyy flow all the way through this decade! A free mind and happier people! Not scared folks! The mood was just lightweight at hearts and minds! A wonderful time it was! :)
This movie was received very well. It was so creative and it had David Bowie. Loved this movie. We weren't shocked when this came out this, it was the 80s. Music, Movies, and clothes were different back then. It was a creative time and an awesome decade to live in
The movie failed at the box office.
@@ReleaseTheQuackers Only in the USA. It did well internationally.
This movie was a huge box office bomb, and the critics hated it. It only gained cult movie status after it was released on VHS.
It did Well in Europe as it came on Every tv channel once in a while ...we like it a lot
8:37 she called him Hog Wart! Proof that the 80’s came up with all the ideas
Salutations Jay and Amber
Welcome to the 80's mentality of kids. We were rather tough, creative, 'wild', and 'cage free'. We grew up in the age of being left alone at home, walking to school (even in tough neighborhood), and much scarier movies than for millennials and Gen-Zers. It would take MUCH more than this fantasy movie to unnerve us. With books like "Where the Wild Things Are" and films like "Dark Crystal", Henson's puppets were seen as cool and amazing. Plus, none of the puppets were really "scary" they were more playful and obstructive.
None of the 'creatures' was trying to ACTUALLY hurt Sarah. They were just trying to keep her from reaching the castle and getting the baby back. So for kids in the 80s, it was more of a challenge / competition than 'dangerous'.
The "Labyrinth" had a minimal showing at the US Box office. Internationally, it did much better. It was a hit in Europe with countries like West Germany, Spain, the UK, Holland, Hungary, and Italy, just to name a few. It also did very good in Australia, Mexico, Central America, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Brazil. In the US, it earned just over $12.7 million at the box office. The other $21.3 million came from its foreign success.
It was admired and liked by US kids. It was more the parents that kept it from being a smashed hit. Like you, parents "didn't quite get it" either or didn't liked the 'strange' puppets.
The more it is watched; the more it is understood. The more that it is watched; the less 'strange' the puppets become. Thusly, it becomes more enjoyable and fun.
Either way you checked-off another 80's cult classic of Gen-Xers. Hope you and your family had a very good and fun Easter Sunday.
Labyrinth is the perfect movie for pre-teen through teenaged girls. There were few coming-of-age stories for girls in the 1980s and there still aren't many. It has some wonderful moral lessons in it as well. Adults usually don't get the full impact of the story. It will always be a classic for kids who grew up with it.
One of my favourite movies as a kid. This and the dark crystal 🔮
The 2 are so closely linked, Jim Henson produced the Dark Crystal as a way of proving concrpt that a puppet movie of this scale would work as a precursor to make Labyrinth.
@@AcidBathFreakshowAnd I like The Dark Crystal better.
38:18 - "Didn't she have that painting in her room? With all the stairs?" - Yes, she did. M.C.Escher's famous staircase artwork. If you look at the beginning and ending scenes in Sarah's room, you'll see that poster on her wall, as well as stuffed animals that bear a resemblance to some of the characters she meets, as well as books like "Alice in Wonderland" and Wizard of Oz" and other fantasies. Also, take a close look at the photos and playbill clippings on her mirror!...
I saw this movie as a child in 1986 and have loved it ever since. The magic dance song has been stuck in my head for nearly 40 years. This movie is certainly a staple in my household and my kids absolutely love it. Remember, this was from the golden era of weird fantasy movies, Krull, The Dark Crystal, Legend etc. The screenplay was written by Terry Jones (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian), Directed by Jim Henson (puppeteering extraordinaire) and produced by Lucasfilm so yes, it was going to be weird from the start. An absolute classic.
As a guy born in 1980 this movie was critically panned but as a kid I didn't know what the heck the so called professional critics were talking about.... It's right up there with The Goonies and a little later The Lost Boys for me! Absolute classic!!!
This movie means a whole lot to me. It makes me feel like the six year old who saw it in theatres and I still watch it when I’m sick. Thanks for this one! ❤
I have seen this movie countless times, it came out before I was even born but my mom raised me on 80s movies and I was obsessed with it since I was 4. I know every line and scene with my eyes closed
This movie has a deep message actually. Sarah is in a state of fantasy because her mother was an actress who ran off with a man who looked like DB. Theres a news article clip in the background in the beginning of the movie. Now she's created this fantasy world for herself and become obsessed with the story of the labyrinth.
She explores a world within and through that world she discovers her own desires - hence the attraction to a man who looks like the man her mother ran off with. In the end she chooses reality and moves past her old fantasies, while keeping a few for old friends/old times sake. A strange movie of a young woman coming into her own...leaving the fantasy world of her mother behind for something more concrete aka reality.
Jim Henson's Muppet Studios went above and beyond in this movie. Greatest thing they ever did. The only CGI in the entire movie was the owl at the beginning. Everything else was puppetry. This was the last film directed by Jim Henson before he died.
Jim Henson ( creator of The Muppets and Sesame Street) did the puppets in this movie. Incredible movie with no computer help. Some parts of the Muppets were remote control like Hogole's face (with midget in body suit). The large guard and Pluto were also puppets. Crazy ideas brought to life! Fantastic work!
Y’all are funny. Our movies in the 80s were weird as hell, and we loved them. Kids also weren’t coddled as much as they are now with G-rated stuff. Think The Dark Crystal, Neverending Story, Legend E.T., The Last Starfighter, The Secret of Nimh.
I feel like it was more acceptable to show children the darker side of life, imagination and fantasy in a way that still had a happy ending.
All the movies I just mentioned have some dark and twisty themes but we just watched them and moved on. You don’t see that now, everything is sickly sweet and happy-go-lucky. The closest thing I’ve seen to my childhood flicks is Coraline-and that was a while ago.
and even Coraline is considered _dark_ like gave early 20-something’s nightmares lol
Take off those rose-coloured glasses.
I remember a lot of lazy family-channel pablum being shovelled at us as kids in the 80s and 90s too. I recall dozens of stupid movies about a kid befriending an animal. Sometimes the animal joined a sports team. And then the divorced parents would get back together. Or whatever.
There are always a few gems in any era, but a LOT of children's entertainment is insultingly bad.
@@zammmerjammer Most of that was just American TV though. Movies in the cinema were a lot more dark and challenging back then. Return to Oz for example!
The film is very symbolic and each part addresses different ideas about life and the coming of age. For example, the bag lady is a warning against materialism, how it can consume someone and make them loose track of what is truly important in life. And by the way the staircase scene is based on the artist C. Escher very famous work and holds meaning too, etc.
I remember the summer of '86 I saw this movie three times at the $1 theater in Norman Oklahoma I was 11 and I loved this movie. I don't remember it being big at the time in the mainstream but it had and still has a devoted following. Also, I fell in love with David Bowie because of this movie. Absolutely love him. Jennifer Connelly is from Oklahoma. I remember her doing lots of in person events in OKC and Tulsa.
Love this movie! It's about growing up but always being able to be a kid a heart. And being able to give to others denying your wants. Oh fun memories! ❤❤ Thanks for reacting!
As a child of the 80's I will never get folks calling this weird or scary. But then again, I hear that for everything nowadays. It was great for us, most of us who grew up then loved fantasy, we had so many. And it was Jim Henson, parents trusted him to deliver great fantasy. David Bowie's music was great.
I get called weird as a 90s baby for enjoying the 80s so much. 80s movies are incredible
I mean, I discovered some very weird movies like "Fantastic Planet" and "Night on the Galactic Railroad" and "Eraserhead" but I loved them. "Weird" to me meant interesting.
This was completely normal for those of us who grew up with Jim Henson's genius.
Jay was struggling to stay awake during this :)
Yep he almost fell asleep
He was probably just tired. 😊
100%
Me too.
Yes, he was definitely drifting out just before they got to the bog of eternal stench. The bog noises and Sir Didymus woke him up though!😀
This movie, the more you think about it the more symbolism and themes you discover. You can skim the surface and still enjoy it, but man does it have _depths._
This film is iconic to my childhood Christmases during the '80s here in the U.K.
Chilly December evenings with the fire burning in the living room. Hot cups of tea alongside buttered toast or those delicate Danish biscuits in the blue tin.
The heavy curtains drawn tight across the window, so as to keep the heat in. Muting the light coming from the old 28inch T.V set peached on a cheap IKEA unit in the corner of the room. A tray of paints and fantasy models being painted while watching Labyrinth, Excalibur, Conan, Time Bandits, and Hawk the Slayer on V.H.S.
Man, life was like, so, you know, (sometimes) just much simpler being a kid.
I'm laughing so hard! Y'all have me giggling like we did as kids first seeing it!😂 I modeled my wedding dress after hers in the ballroom scene. And yes it had huge puffy sleeves like hers! So funny! ❤❤
I was the same age as Jennifer Connelly when this came out - I remember seeing it on a rainy Saturday afternoon on its opening weekend and I immediately fell in love with her, haha. I was already a Bowie fan at that time, so I dug his character and the musical numbers. The movie was really targeted towards kids who were a bit younger than me (I took my little brother with me to the theater and he absolutely loved the movie - we're both still big fans of it to this day). I seem to recall that this wasn't a hit at the time - developed its cult status later, on home video.
Loved this movie when it came out in 86. Definitely strange but so detailed and colorful
This movie brings back so many memories.....David Bowie was amazing in this. I, like others here,were from the 80s and we just watched and fell into the fantasy of it all, just as cartoons, wrestling,and other things we enjoyed back then and when we see them or hear a song,its attached to memories that bring so much joy....much love to you both
If you havent seen goonies or any other movie from the 80s go with it or try ...Jim Henson gave us endless possibilities as far as our imagination can take us ...he will be forever missed...
There are so many things hidden ALL OVER this movie... Things it'll take someone years of re-watches to catch. --- I had a quick treatment written for a second movie.. Sarah as an adult is having a bad day with screaming kids, a husband that doesn't help... In desperation, she locks herself in the bedroom and whispers of the past remembered come over her until she says, "I wish the goblins would take ME away... Right now.." --- The doors blow open and she says, "You've come back." Jareth says, "I was never far away.. You could have asked at ANY time."
One of my favorite songs! As the World Falls Down.
Yes! It's my favorite song in the movie.
I grew up watching this, The Princess Bride and Tim Burton movies. I raised my kids on this movie along with the others I mentioned and they loved it! When my 4 kids were babies they loved it when I played Dance Magic Dance and danced around with them lol. Now I get to continue this tradition with my grandbaby!❤ I can't remember if you guys have reacted to Tim Burton's "Big Fish" or not but if you haven't, please react to it! I think you guys would really love it. It's funny but you will also most definitely need some tissues 😢❤
Why Gen X kids grew up to be awesome: Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, The Secret of NIMH, The Last Unicorn, The Neverending Story, The Goonies, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, E.T., Explorers, Adventures in Babysitting. Please add more crazy 80s kid's movies.
🤔 must of been great to live when movie companies weren’t scared of taking risks an made so many great movies of different types - ive got to see all them movies u listed cause my uncle’s physical media an they top alot of anything being made today
@@Iam-still-noone We need a new Jim Henson .
Legend.
Dragonslayer.
@@honorsilverthorne7227 Dragonslayer was the best. Why don't we let children see young maidens being devoured by baby dragons anymore?
I forgot The Last Starfighter and Flight of the Navigator.
21:08 The advice given is actually sound. Go back to the beginning, make a left at the worm (Whose name is William) and go straight to the castle.
27:45 Biggest fart joke ever in a movie
31:33 The dance sequence was choreographed by Cheryl Gates McFadden (Dr Crusher from Star Trek)
40:07 "Sarah, are you home?" stupidest line in the movie. You left your 16 daughter home babysitting... it's now midnight, where do you expect her to be
Show your kids, they will love it. And thank you. It has more to it than just the front story. Lots of life long lessons and hidden meanings.
I have a feeling no one in that household will ever watch this again. They're very sly about not hurting their patreons feelings by outright saying a movie is not to their liking, but if you watch enough of their reactions it's pretty clear. This was not a winner in their books.
@@MrKINSMYup. We will know by seeing how many of the comments they check out and give a like to.
I was around when it was first released and this is one of the movies that was a massive part of my childhood. Like The Neverending Story, Flight of the navigator, Short Circuit 1+2, Harry and the Henderson's, they all hold a special place in my heart. I adored this movie even as a child, Jim Henson's creature workshop just had a way of bringing the weird and wonderful to life, really making them endearing and memorable characters. I never thought of it as scary at all, it has always just been an amazing, incredible movie to me.
This is a childhood favorite! It was just magical as a child! I still love this film at 47! David is still so handsome! She was in a lovely childhood fantasy where she grew up but still understood the importance of her imagination 🥰
Jay: This seems more like a scary movie.
Amber: IT said PG.
GenX watcher: This was in the 80's. PG covers a WIDE variety of movies. Lol!
Not sure if anyone else mentioned this but if you notice the pictures on her mirror ... they are David Bowie. The story is about a young girl that is caught between her childhood and growing up. Her mother was an actor and ended up leaving her and her dad for another actor (David Bowie). The pictures on her mirror are of her mother and the other actor. Everything in her room was in the labyrinth in some way. But its a fantasy story of a girl finally accepting what happened and growing up. This was so well received as most of it is special effects and not CGI. Its so funny though cause its one of my favorites and it came back last month to theaters. I took my daughter (14) and her reaction was similar to yours ... what were people smoking when they made this movie. I never thought of it that way. Still one of my favorites and still have the soundtrack although I love David Bowie and of course the "bulge". Glad you finally got to see it.
There's also some hints about that actor that suggests he may have been kind of a creep - his being Jareth, who is obsessed with her and flirting and trying to seduce her all the time may be clues that the actor was doing the same to the very much under-age Sarah. So the movie is also about telling creepy older men to go get bent, because, well, "you have no power over me".
80s fantasy was … different! And this movie is a classic! I was 10 when this came out and I loved it! I probably watched this 3 or 4 times a year as a kid! Great film. And Jim Henson is a legend!
I was a kid when this came out and loved it. This, Legend, Neverending Story, the Dark Crystal, Watership Down, Return to Oz, all great dark fantasy for kids. I'm sure I left out a few.
RETURN TO OZ BROOOOO ❤
I wasn't alive when these came out but my mom raised me on 80s movies and they're my favorite
I would throw Time Bandits in the mix also
To this day, my favorite phrase is "You have no power over me". Valuable lesson learned.
I once saw a documentary how about the special effects from this movie. The juggling that David Bowie appears to do was really accomplished by having a professional juggler with his arms below
the robes and doing the juggling without even being able to see
That was Michael Moschen who was childhood friends with Penn Jillete of Penn & Teller. They taught each other how to juggle. I met Moschen back in Jan '97 and he gave me the basics to start learning how to contact juggle. I can do it just enough to get by if I cosplay as Jareth.
@@Clownboy15very cool!
I think the clips of it are hilarious bc David laughs every time and the Michael just looks pissed 😂
I always say "the original fushigi"
@@VictoryVaughn-y8j I was just gifted another one of those last week! I remember when I first saw that commercial I was like, “Oh no, this is not good.” This is because the commercial makes it look like the ball does all these tricks, like you’ll be doing this stuff over the weekend and not spending hundreds of hours mastering it. Back when it was a thing I’d have parents coming up to me asking how I made it work. They say their kid can’t get it and I ask if they practice. It’s like playing a piano. You’re not gonna play Flight of the Bumblebee right off the bat, you’re gonna have to learn Chopsticks first. I imagine that every kid who ever got a Fushigi wound up frustrated and disappointed.
1986 was a different time. My son was born in 1986. He watched this approximately 1 milloin times. Lol..... I own the soundtrack and its amazing. Brings great memories.
A masteroiece from Jim Henson.
lab·y·rinth
a complicated irregular network of passages or paths in which it is difficult to find one's way; a maze.
I grew up with this movie I was never scared. Loved the music.
Critics were harsh to the movie, especially that asshat Gene Siskel, who called it "awful, a pathetic story, and a visually ugly style". It mainly did poor at the box office as it was the same year that The Karate Kid Part II, Back to School, Legal Eagles, Ruthless People, Running Scared, Top Gun, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off were in the theaters. But it became a huge cult hit over the years.
Man, some of the critics were such shitheads about Labyrinth.
I hope Jim Henson gets updates in heaven so he can know how many kids grew up LOVING his movie.
The critics were even worse about “Dark Crystal”, lamenting that this kind of weird dark fantasy was what Jim Henson was going to do forever and we’d never see the Muppets again.
Wasn't it Gene Siskel who also said Star Wars was too unbelievable and only simple-minded people would like the movie?
@@jameshelm2847 Haha.
Well... he might be onto something there. 😂
Well we and our people we know, loved it.
I grew up on this film - I was 4 when it came out.
It’s one of my favourite films - lots of folklore nods that are so awesome as an adult.
As a kid I wasn’t scared of this film. I loved the Goblin King 🤣
Back in the 80’s we grew up on some great tv/films that today may seem a little too scary for kids.
The concept art/puppet design is by Brian & Wendy Froud, who are very inspirational.
The Dark Crystal is another great Jim Henson/Brian Froud collaboration that came out around the same time.
This is one of those films That they keep threatening to remake but should be left for the masterpiece that it is