ⓘ Details

Movie TitleLabyrinth

Release DateJune 27, 1986 (USA); September 19, 1986 (UK)

Tagline"Where everything seems possible and nothing is what it seems."

Runtime101 min / 1h 41m

DirectorJim Henson

ScreenplayTerry Jones (based on a story by Jim Henson and Dennis Lee)

Based OnOriginal story by Jim Henson and Dennis Lee

CinematographerAlex Thomson

Country of OriginUnited Kingdom / United States

Sequel / FranchiseStandalone film; a sequel film has been in development since the mid-2010s

Budget$25 million

Box Office$12.9 million domestic / ~$14 million worldwide — a significant box office disappointment upon release that later became a major cult classic on home video

Rotten Tomatoes73% Critics / 87% Audience

Metacritic49 / 100 · 8.0 User

IMDb Rating7.3/10

MPAA RatingPG — Rated PG for some scary creatures and mild language

Content WarningsMildly frightening creature imagery and dark fantasy sequences, mild peril, brief mild language, some suggestive rock star costuming (David Bowie)

Where to WatchAvailable for rent/purchase on Prime Video, Apple TV+, Vudu, YouTube Movies, and Google Play; check local availability

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👥 Main Cast

David BowieJareth, the Goblin King

Jennifer ConnellySarah Williams

Toby FroudToby, Sarah's baby brother

Shelley ThompsonStepmother / Sarah's mother in mirror

Christopher MalcolmFather

Brian HensonVoice of Hoggle (and goblin puppetry)

Ron MueckVoice & mechanisms of Ludo

Dave GoelzVoice of Sir Didymus

Frank OzAdditional creature voices

Percy EdwardsAdditional creature voices

Kevin ClashAdditional puppet/creature performer

Steve WhitmireAdditional puppet/creature performer

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🏆 Awards

⭐ Saturn Awards — Best Fantasy Film — Nominated — 1987

⭐ Saturn Awards — Best Costumes — Nominated — 1987

⭐ Saturn Awards — Best Special Effects — Nominated — 1987

⭐ BAFTA Awards — Best Special Visual Effects — Nominated — 1987

⭐ Hugo Awards — Best Dramatic Presentation — Nominated — 1987

⭐ Young Artist Awards — Best Family Motion Picture (Fantasy) — Nominated — 1987

⭐ Golden Reel Award — Best Sound Editing in a Feature Film — Nominated — 1987

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📖 Plot Summary

Sixteen-year-old Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) is a dreamy, imaginative teenager frustrated with her home life who, in a moment of anger, wishes that goblins would take away her baby half-brother Toby. To her horror, her wish is granted by Jareth, the flamboyant Goblin King (David Bowie), who whisks Toby away to his castle at the center of an enormous, ever-shifting labyrinth. Given thirteen hours to solve the maze and reach the castle before Toby is transformed into a goblin forever, Sarah sets out through the treacherous puzzle with growing determination. Along the way she befriends a ragtag group of outcast creatures: the grumpy but loyal dwarf Hoggle, the gentle giant Ludo, and the chivalrous fox-terrier knight Sir Didymus. Jareth repeatedly attempts to discourage and mislead Sarah — offering illusions of grandeur and temptation — but she ultimately relies on her own courage and the power of her imagination to confront the Goblin King and rescue her brother.

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❝ Key Quotes

"You have no power over me." — Sarah

"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City..." — Sarah

"I ask for so little. Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave." — Jareth

"It's a piece of cake." — Sarah (and later, echoed with irony throughout her journey)

"The Labyrinth is a piece of cake, is it? Well, let's see how you deal with this little slice." — Jareth

"My Bog of Eternal Stench! Anyone who puts their foot in it will smell bad... forever!" — Sir Didymus

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💡 Trivia

Director

Labyrinth was Jim Henson's second and final feature film as director; he passed away in 1990 just four years after its release.
Henson developed the concept for years, inspired by Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are and Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.
George Lucas served as executive producer and was instrumental in getting the project greenlit at TriStar Pictures through his Lucasfilm banner.
Henson originally envisioned the film as a children's Alice in Wonderland for a new generation, blending puppetry with live-action in a way never done before at that scale.

Cast / Casting

David Bowie was Jim Henson's first and only choice for Jareth; Henson felt Bowie's otherworldly persona perfectly suited the Goblin King.
Jennifer Connelly was only 14 years old during principal photography, making the scenes opposite Bowie carefully choreographed for age-appropriateness.
The baby Toby was played by Toby Froud, the real-life son of conceptual designer Brian Froud, making him the only non-professional performer in the film.
Michael Jackson was reportedly considered for the role of Jareth at one point during early development, though this was never formally offered.
Hoggle was performed by three separate performers simultaneously — one operating the face, one in the suit body, and a voice actor (Brian Henson).

Soundtrack / Score

David Bowie wrote and performed all five original songs in the film, including "Magic Dance," "Underground," "As the World Falls Down," "Within You," and "Chilly Down."
The orchestral score was composed by Trevor Jones, who collaborated closely with Bowie to blend the rock songs with the fantasy underscore seamlessly.
"Magic Dance" became the most recognizable song from the film and is frequently cited as one of the great film musical numbers of the 1980s.
Bowie recorded the soundtrack album before filming began, meaning the cast performed to playback throughout production.
"Underground" was released as a standalone single and music video separate from the film's release, giving Bowie a promotional tie-in.

Location

The film was shot almost entirely on stages at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England — the same studio used for the original Star Wars trilogy.
The massive Goblin City and labyrinth exterior sets were constructed on the largest soundstages available at Elstree, covering nearly an acre of space.
Some exterior establishing shots of the labyrinth used matte paintings by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) to extend the sets digitally.
The oubliette (underground dungeon) sequences were filmed in dedicated sub-sets built beneath the main stage floor for atmospheric depth.

Behind-The-Scenes

The film employed over 100 puppet performers and technicians from the Jim Henson Creature Shop, the largest single puppet production in history at the time.
Hoggle was one of the most technically sophisticated animatronic puppet heads ever built for a film, with dozens of independently controlled facial mechanisms.
The "Helping Hands" sequence — in which walls of disembodied hands carry Sarah through a shaft — required extensive wire rigging and human performers hidden inside the set walls.
The Bog of Eternal Stench set used a combination of practical bubbling mud effects and forced-perspective miniatures to create its unique look.
Production designer Brian Froud drew on his own illustrated books (Faeries, co-authored with Alan Lee) as direct visual references for the creature designs.
The ballroom dream sequence where Sarah dances with Jareth was inspired by surrealist paintings and required the construction of an elaborate M.C. Escher-style set for the climax.

Nostalgia

Labyrinth was a commercial flop on release, earning only about half its $25 million budget back domestically, but found enormous second life through VHS rentals in the late 1980s and 1990s.
The film is widely considered one of the defining fantasy films of the 1980s and holds a fervent cult following, frequently appearing on "most beloved childhood movies" lists.
David Bowie's death in January 2016 prompted a massive global resurgence of interest in the film, with screenings selling out in cinemas worldwide.
The movie was re-released in select theaters in 4K to celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2016, drawing huge nostalgic audiences.
Jareth's distinctive crystal ball juggling became one of the most imitated performance arts at fantasy and sci-fi conventions throughout the 1990s and 2000s.

Easter Eggs

In Sarah's bedroom at the start of the film, eagle-eyed viewers can spot toys and figurines that directly resemble many of the creatures she later encounters in the labyrinth — foreshadowing their origin as products of her imagination.
The book Sarah reads from in the opening scene is a copy of the novelization of Labyrinth itself, suggesting the entire adventure may be part of the story she is already reading.
A poster of David Bowie (as Ziggy Stardust) is visible on Sarah's bedroom wall, a meta nod to his casting as the Goblin King.
The M.C. Escher-inspired staircase set in the finale is a direct visual homage to Escher's 1953 lithograph Relativity, a painting Sarah has pinned to her bedroom wall.

Misc.

A graphic novel prequel/sequel, Labyrinth: Coronation, was published by BOOM! Studios beginning in 2018, exploring Jareth's backstory.
Sony Pictures and the Jim Henson Company announced a sequel in development around 2016, with Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson initially attached; as of 2025 the project remains in development.
The Jim Henson Company retains the rights to Labyrinth separately from the Muppets franchise, which was sold to Disney.
The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2023, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
Labyrinth holds the distinction of being one of the few major fantasy films of its era to feature almost no location shooting — it is almost entirely a studio creation.

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