Jim Henson’s fantasy film 'Labyrinth' stands the test of time

I don’t know exactly when I was introduced to Jim Henson’s film, Labyrinth, but my memories of watching it invoke a nostalgia that should otherwise be associated with significant events in my childhood. I imagine that I was four or five years old, sitting three feet from the TV, drinking Nesquik strawberry milk, completely and utterly transfixed by what was in front of me.

Sarah, remarkably played by a young Jennifer Connelly, was my ultimate heroine as the stubborn yet sensitive, bookish yet courageous teenager. Her signature line in the film’s coming-of-age thematic thread, “It’s not fair!” spoke to me as a little girl and later as an adolescent. As I grew older, I found I could easily recite from memory every song lyric and nearly every piece of dialogue from the film. There exists an addictive quality to the story that I can’t explain. It is a desire to repeatedly engage in the voyeuristic pleasures of Sarah’s adventure and Jareth’s tights.

Cult films like Labyrinth follow a certain formula, in terms of box office success (generally poor) and later video sales (surprisingly successful). Besides financial indicators, a cult film is marked by its fan base: the Trekkies, the horror film fanatics, the Rocky Horror costume-clad devotees, etc. But what about Labyrinth fans?

The story’s magnetism draws people in, but at the same time, it’s definitely not appreciated by everybody. So, how can we categorize Labyrinth fans, if that is even possible?

The last time I watched Labyrinth (likely the 10,000th time or so), I was especially struck by Jareth singing, “Dance, magic dance,” whilst throwing a fake baby Toby into the air. That’s when it finally hit me: Labyrinth is the epitome of camp.

Those of us who watched the film as a child have no problems suspending our disbelief as adult viewers. Putting the fantasy storyline aside, we have no doubts that Jareth will pull a microphone out of nowhere and begin reciting, “You remind me of the babe,” or that a clock has 13 hours.