Jim Henson's Labyrinth

About a week or so ago, I sat down with my family and watched Labyrinth for the first time. Yes, yes, shocking, I know. How could someone have not seen the glory that is Labyrinth? The main reason being that I was never really interested in the movie as a whole. Don't get me wrong, I love Jim Henson's work immensely. I just wasn't dying to see this. After the passing of David Bowie (rest in peace, Starman), my interest was piqued in the sense of maybe I should watch Labyrinth and see what all the fuss was about. I was not disappointed. Granted, I had almost no expectations.

I really like the movie. I enjoy the dark, weird tales that could easily give a kid nightmares. One of the reasons why I like Labyrinth so much is that it feels like a twisted version of Alice in Wonderland just missing the constant screaming for someone's head (there is only one moment of head removal but, it's mostly voluntary). This movie is a lot of fun because it doesn't take itself too seriously and knows just how weird it is. The entire scene with the Fireys and their ability to remove their heads feels like a bad acid trip. Or something out of Terry Jones's nightmares. Possibly both, I don't judge.

I didn't like two things about the movie but, they are minor problems and don't detract from the enjoyment of a truly weird romp. The first thing is that Jennifer Connelly feels too old for the part as it is written. A lot of her complaining feels more appropriate for a 12 or 13 year old and not a 15/16 year old high school student. Thankfully, it doesn't happen very often where she sounds whiny and petulant. The other small problem I had was with the ending. I found that the time between her return and her friends showing up to party was way too quick and abrupt. I would have preferred it if some time had passed (a few days at the least) so that there could have been the feeling of something missing. Then, her friends show up and party like there's no tomorrow.

Overall Rating: 4/5