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The Story • Analysis and Symbolism • CDs and DVDs • LinksLabyrinth
— Where everything seems possible
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Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) must rescue her baby brother Toby from Jareth, the goblin king (David Bowie), before he turns the baby into a goblin! |
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So
when Sarah looks into Toby’s crib and sees Toby gone, she then
worries that her wish came true, although now she regrets it. An owl
flies in, and transforms into a man — not an ordinary man, but
the goblin king himself, Jareth.
Sarah then makes her way through the Labyrinth, meeting all kinds of strange creatures and situations. She meets large hairy monster called Ludo, whom she rescues from goblin soldiers. She faces many trials on her journey, and when Jareth confronts her to ask her how she is doing, Sarah says it is easy, so Jareth speeds up the clock, giving her less time to get through. He is not making it easy for her at all! Hoggle wants to help Sarah and be her friend, on the other hand he has Jareth constantly telling him to double-cross Sarah and obey Jareth. He is torn between the two — he fears Jareth and his threats of sending him to the bog of eternal stench (a place that stinks so bad — you really do not want to know how bad it is) if he does not do what the goblin king wants. Jareth gives Hoggle a peach to give to Sarah for her to eat, but he does not want to hurt Sarah so he holds off giving it to her.
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The
film starts with teenage girl Jennifer acting out a fantasy from a
book about a goblin king. She goes home, her parents ask her to babysit
for her baby brother Toby while they go out for the evening. 
But
she gets fed up with his crying and noise, and, thinking of her fantasy
book about the Labyrinth, she starts to think that she wishes the
goblins would take him away so she could get some peace. 
Unknown
to her, the goblins are watching, waiting for her to say the magic
words giving them permission to take Toby away.
Jareth
tells her that he has fulfilled her wish to have Toby taken away,
and tells her that he is holding the baby in his goblin castle beyond
the Labyrinth and the goblin city. She tells him she wants him back.
Jareth
tells her she has 13 hours to solve the Labyrinth and get to the castle
to rescue her brother or else he will be turned into a goblin. They
are no longer in Toby’s bedroom but outside, overlooking the
Labyrinth. 
Jareth
disappears, and Sarah makes her way to the entrance. Outside she meets
Hoggle, a small man with a big head/face. He warns her not to go in,
as it will be too difficult. But, Sarah realises she must get her
baby brother back, before time runs out! So she goes in, only to find
one long passageway in either direction. Unsure of how to proceed
she sits down and a small colourful worm starts to talk to her. The
worm invites her to tea with him and his wife, she tells him about
wanting to get through the Labyrinth and the worm shows her the way
through the wall, through a gap she never saw before and which seems
to have mysteriously appeared. 
Meanwhile,
back at the goblin castle, Jareth and the goblins are playing with
Toby. Jareth is concerned as to why Sarah has not given up yet!
Jareth sends the two of them to the bog of eternal stench, where they
almost slip into the swamp. Hoggle tells her that if you get just
one bit of that awful liquid in the bog on you, you will stink that
bad for the rest of your life, and it will never wash off! They land
on top of Ludo, whom they lost earlier. 
The
three of them then look for a way out of the bog, only to find that
the bridge is guarded by a small dog called Didymus, with an aristocratic
English accent and a determination never to give up. 
He
refuses to let them cross the bridge without his permission. Everything
they try to get past fails, he is determined not to let them past.
In the end, Sarah asks them if they can have his permission —
and Didymus agrees. She starts to cross but the bridge collapses,
Sarah holds on to a branch above, and Ludo calls for help from his
friends the rocks. Rocks move into place to provide a safe crossing
so they don't get the bog smell on them.
