Sightlines · reception

How Labyrinth was received

1986 · Jim Henson · Labyrinth on Sightlines

The arc

A box-office flop in 1986 that left Jim Henson genuinely heartbroken — it was the last feature he ever directed — Labyrinth slowly grew through home video and midnight screenings into a full-blown cult classic, with the reappraisal going supernova after Bowie's death in 2016.

What’s debated

The evergreen fan debate is how to feel about the Goblin King's whole deal — a grown Bowie in those pants menacing/seducing a teenage Sarah — with half of Letterboxd calling it a formative awakening and the other half calling it deeply weird, and most agreeing it's both.

Its footprint

"You remind me of the babe" is a certified meme, 'Magic Dance' is a karaoke staple, and Bowie's Jareth — the hair, the crystal balls, the infamous tights — is one of the most cosplayed and GIF'd figures of 80s cinema.

Where it stands

A 'you must have seen this' rite of passage for a certain generation: the crown jewel of 80s puppet-fantasy cult cinema alongside The Dark Crystal, beloved far beyond its critical standing.

Did you know? Jareth's hypnotic crystal-ball juggling wasn't Bowie — contact juggler Michael Moschen crouched behind him and performed the moves blind, reaching his arms around Bowie's body without being able to see his own hands.

Named by the director

• Maurice Sendak — The end credits carry a formal acknowledgment of Henson's debt to the works of Maurice Sendak, whose goblin-stolen-baby picture book Outside Over There the premise closely echoes.