Saturday, August 28, 2010

Labyrinth: A Jim Henson film

Damn! It's been a while since I saw this movie. I did not know that it was produced by George Lucas. Anyway, as I write this it is Saturday. And on this afternoon there's nothing good to see on TV; nothing to do also since it is hot outside. So I did what any logical person would do - watch a movie. 

Google image: Scene from Labyrinth - Jared and Sarah
I flipped through our selections of animations, sci-fi, chanbarra, Buster Keaton, Kurosawa, musicals, and I finally stumbled upon the movie Labyrinth, which was lying in our shelf for quite some time. I casually browsed through its features and selected the documentary about how the movie was made. It was amazing! 

Google image: Jim Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990)
The last time I saw the documentary I felt like a child in a toy store, and when I saw it again I still do felt like a child in a toy store. Jim Henson was a genius when it comes to story telling. The film was released way back in 1986, and mind you they made the film before the computer generated effects (except of course the flying owl at the intro credits).

I hope that when they do a sequel of this movie, they will follow the style of Jim Henson. No fancy computer effects. They should use latex puppets, animatronics, choreographed actions (courtesy of Cheryl McFadden also known as Gates McFadden who played Dr. Beverly Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation). Hoping of course that David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly who played Jared the Goblin King and 16-year-old Sarah Williams respectively, will be there too to establish sense of continuation.

The soundtrack was great too, which were performed by David Bowie. I especially like the ballroom dance scene. Jennifer Connelly was stunning, and as a kid of '86 I had a crush on her then (ha ha ha).

More than 20 years had passed since then and it still brings out the kid in me. I believe that if Jim Henson is still alive today he will continue to give us stories of wonder and innocence - the things we lose along the way.