Labyrinth Celebrates 20 Years with a Special Reunion

“Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the child that you have stolen”. So begins 101 minutes of what some consider Jim Henson’s greatest film accomplishment, now celebrating it’s 20th year.

Labyrinth tells a story of bravery by Sarah, a young girl played by Jennifer Connelly. Frustrated with her father and step mother and tired of her baby brother’s incessant crying, Sarah recites a line from a play she has been memmorizing, wishing that the Goblin King come to relieve her of the screaming child. To her astonishment, King Jareth appears at her window accompanied by dozens of his goblin minions. Jareth, played by the incomparable David Bowie, takes the child despite Sarah’s pleading but agrees that if she can navigate his labyrinth and make her way to his castle in 13 hours, she can have the boy back, otherwise her brother Toby will become another in the king’s army of goblins forever.

After 20 years, the story has become a modern fairy tale and a testament to how captivating and delightful a film relying on practical special effects and creative engineering in puppetry can portray whimsical characters better than the most convincing computer animation today. Recognizing the talented artists behind these physical creations, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills recently hosted a special screening of Labyrinth, a panel session with the film makers and a gallery exhibit featuring the most memmorable stop motion, puppet and animatronic characters from the last 60 years, including those from the Jim Henson Studios, Industrial Light and Magic and the Phil Tippet Studios.

Just following the screening, the film’s creators joined on stage to remenisce about how Labyrinth came about and what some of it’s challenges were. On hand was director Brian Henson, choreographer Gates (Cheryl) McFadden, production designer Brian Froud, his wife Wendy Froud, their son Toby (the baby from the film), assistant Mira Velimirovic and performers Dave Goelz and Karen Prell. Brian Froud began by explaining how difficult it was adapting his original designs for fairy’s, goblins and other beasties of myth to the limitations of puppet building and animatronics. In the end however, he couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome and how it has become a part of cinema history.

Baby Toby, chosen at the last minute because he didn’t cry at the sight of the goblin puppets, had a proud look himself. Though he had no memories of filming at the tender age of 2, he explained how watching it as a fan himself gave him a sense of accomplishment. Toby explained that despite being virtually oblivious to his contribution, he has gone on to become a sculptor himself and just this year graduated with a degree in engineering that he has applied towards furthering animatronic technology with the Hensons and others in the industry.

Brian Henson spoke much about his father’s frequent jump on new technology, offering anectdotes about Jim’s early adoption of the automobile cassette recorder (often refining his swedish chef performance into a microphone while driving) or an early VCR with an automatic timer (it was a massive hunk of metal, and he HAD to have one). When asked about how computer graphics have hurt the practical effects industry, Brian had hope, predicting a return to more practical techniques and the birth of a hybrid method, creating the animatronic creatures and refining their movements and performances with computer graphics, which was met with applause.

Karen Prell and Dave Goelz acted the best of friends, especially during the gallery viewing once the panel had ended. Goelz, best known for performing Gonzo the Great for the past 30 years performed, though did not voice, Sir Diddimus in the film. Prell most fondly remembers her work with the blue worm who unwittingly leads Sarah astray at the beginning of the film. Though the character has little more than 2 minutes of screen time, it has become one of the most memorable scenes of the movie.

Gates McFadden, surprisingly had little to say. She did recall some of the challenges with the Hoggle character, especially when the performer’s video goggles were reversed. Brian jumped in explaining that they ended up cutting holes in Hoggles mouth so that Shari Weiser could see where she was going inside the heavy animatronic head. Most of Hoggle’s grunting and moaning were excuses to open the mouth while Shari walked.

Following the panel, guests were invited upstairs to the gallery, where puppetry and animatronics going back to the early days of film were on display. Ray Harryhausen’s stop motion dinosaurs from his “The Valley of the Gwangi” were some of the earliest models on display. From the small and simple, furry and ferocious Fizzgig from “The Dark Crystal“, to an oversized and incredibly complex gorilla arm from “Mighty Joe Young“, dozens of the most memorable movie creatures decked the halls of the gallery.

On a more personal note, I must say that it was an honor to meet, then later share an elevator with Dave Goelz and Karen Prell. I am rarely star struck by your run of the mill celebrity. Brad who? Arnold wha? These two performers however, and a handful of others like them, represent a special place on my ‘celebrity sightings’ wall because I grew up with the now timeless characters they created that I hope to someday introduce to my own children. So here’s a personal thank you to Dave Goelz, Karen Prell, Richard Hunt, Jerry Nelson, Steve Whitmire, Kevin Clash, Frank Oz, Brian Henson, of course Jim Henson and indeed the entire muppet crew over the years, for making such a fantastic contribution to the world of entertainment and for making silliness and whimsy so easily accesible.