Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. Teenager Sarah Williams (Jennifer Connelly) finds that out the hard way when she wishes her perpetually noisy infant brother Toby (Toby Froud) to disappear, which he does thanks to some greedy goblins. To get him back, Sarah must find a way out of a magical labyrinth constructed by the malevolent Goblin King Jareth (David Bowie), who entices her to join him and his goblin army. Sarah must now choose between a hum-drum reality she’s always escaping from or a fantasy filled with friendly trolls, farting swamps and glamorous masquerade balls.
A children’s classic, Labyrinth, stems from the mind of Jim Henson, who cowrote the story and directed it. Henson’s wizardry with puppets and practical effects is all over the film, creating an incredibly detailed fantasy fable that feels oddly real and tangible. (There’s no wonky CG shots in sight.) Connelly is an ideal fantasy heroine, both winsome and fearless, while Bowie waltzes away with the film as the dandy Goblin King, who has a seemingly endless supply of hairspray and eyeliner.
