HAMSTER RATING:
STARRING: David Bowie (Jareth the Goblin King), Jennifer Connelly (Sarah), Shari Weiser
(Hoggle), Ron Mueck and Rob Mills (Ludo)
DIRECTOR: Jim Henson ("The Dark Crystal," "Fraggle Rock," "The Tale of the Bunny Picnic")
SYNOPSIS: Sarah has an overactive imagination, but when she wishes for goblins to
come and take away her annoying baby stepbrother, Toby, it actually happens! Now she must try
to solve the Goblin King's massive labyrinth in order to rescue Toby from the Goblin King
before he is turned into a goblin forever.
REVIEW: "Labyrinth" is one of the coolest fantasy movies ever, in my opinion, and I'm
normally not real keen on fantasies. There is an ethereal quality to the world of the goblins
that is contrasted with the perfectly ordinary world that Sarah lives in, along with lots of
funny, unexpected ins and outs that show a willingness to poke fun at the genre (ex: Hoggle
going along the outer wall of the Labyrinth, spraying fairies with bug repellent, and the
farting rocks in the Bog of Eternal Stench). At the same time, the story has real heart,
using the fantasy setting as a metaphor for Sarah's journey from childish innocence to
maturity. Great acting and an almost otherworldly soundtrack make the experience all the more
enjoyable.
CRITICISMS: David Bowie's Goblin King pants. Anybody who's seen the movie knows exactly
what I'm talking about.
FAVORITE SCENE: The masquerade ball inside the bubble. The song is beyond awesome, the
costumes are incredible and there's something about it that excites and creeps out at the same
time.
FAVORITE SET: The Escher-inspired stairs that Sarah is stuck climbing trying to get to
Toby. He crawls on the upside-down stairs, and Sarah is stuck on the rightside-up ones!
RATING: A Hamster-rific 4/5 pellets!
