There are fewer iconic 80s movies than Jim Henson’sLabyrinth, with its magical combination of puppets, music and David Bowie, and as fans celebrated the 35th anniversary of the movie’s release, Brian Jay Jones joined the celebrations by recounting a little story about the casting of Bowie as the unforgettable Goblin King in Henson’s world of magic and mayhem. With a new movie currently in pre-production after numerous years of rumors and possible sequels, it seems like the perfect time to celebrate what a great film the original was.
Brian Jay Jonesposted his celebration of the movie’s US release on his Twitter account, saying “Happy Birthday to Jim Henson’sLabyrinth, released in U.S. theaters on this date in 1986. SO many great stories I could tell about the development and filming, but let’s just do a quick one about casting its charismatic goblin king. Need I say it? Walk with me.”
Over a series of posts on the back of this, he went on to detail how the part of theGoblin Kingwas original planned to be a an elaborately designed puppet, just like his Skeksis characters in his previous movie,The Dark Crystal. However, Henson believed that one of the issues theDark Crystalhad faces, and why it did not prove to be an instant hit, was that it lacked human characters.
So, he began looking for the perfect person to take on the role of the charismatic Jareth. Early possible choices were Simon McCorkindale and Kevin Kline, followed by Sting when it was suggested by Henson, “we thought to make Jareth a music person, someone who could change the film’s whole musical style.” It was however one of Henson’s sons, Brian, who would push for someone else in the role. “You don’t want to go with Sting,” Brian told his father. “You want to go with Bowie.”
This led toJim Hensonarranging to meet the singer after one of his concerts, where he was shown an early draft of the script and concept art for the character. Bowie was immediately taken with the character and the setting of the movie, agreeing to star in and write the songs for the movie. The pair formed a loving working relationship, with Bowie praising Henson as being “the most unflappable guy I’ve ever encountered. I can’t believe his capacity for work…but he seems to love it all.” Henson was equally thankful to have had Bowie in the production, writing in a personal journal, “David Bowiehas been wonderful to work with and has added a truly magical spark as Jareth.”
Meanwhile, there were plenty of fans who wanted to share videos, images and their own commemorations to the anniversary for a movie that is still as loved today, and with its use of correctly done practical effects has not really aged over the decades. Here are just some of the many comments made by those who just cannot get enough of the magic that Henson brought to screen all those years ago.
