Labyrinth Turns 40 and David Bowie Is Still the Goblin King of Our Hearts
It Flopped. Then It Became Forever.
Labyrinth opened on June 27, 1986, and almost nobody showed up.
The movie made $12.9 million against a $25 million budget. Critics were mixed. Audiences picked other summer movies. It opened the same season as Top Gun, Aliens, Ferris Bueller, and The Karate Kid Part II. Labyrinth got crushed.
Jim Henson was reportedly heartbroken. He had poured everything into this film. His Creature Shop built over a hundred puppets. He brought in George Lucas to produce and David Bowie to star. He created an entire world from scratch with practical effects, costumes, and creatures that had never been seen before.
And the box office said no thanks.
Then something happened. The movie hit VHS. And it never stopped playing.
Kids who missed it in theaters found it at the video store. They watched it on rainy Saturdays. They watched it at sleepovers. They watched it so many times the tape wore out. And slowly, quietly, Labyrinth became one of the most beloved fantasy films ever made.
Forty years later, it sells out anniversary screenings. It fills convention halls. It inspires masquerade balls around the world. The movie that “failed” in 1986 became immortal.
David Bowie Was Not Supposed to Work This Well
Casting a glam rock icon as a villain in a puppet movie for kids should not have worked.
David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin King should have been ridiculous. The hair. The tights. The crystal ball contact juggling. The fact that he is basically kidnapping a baby and singing about it.
It worked because Bowie committed completely. He did not wink at the camera. He did not play it as camp. He played Jareth as genuinely dangerous and genuinely magnetic. When he tells Sarah “I ask for so little. Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave,” he means every word of it.
Bowie wrote five original songs for the film. “Magic Dance” is pure joy. “As the World Falls Down” is devastatingly romantic. “Underground” is the song that plays in your head whenever someone mentions this movie. “Within You” is the emotional climax of the entire film, and Bowie performs it like his life depends on it.
He was 39 years old when he made Labyrinth. He was already one of the most famous musicians on the planet. He did not need this movie. He did it because Jim Henson asked, and because Bowie always chased the interesting choice over the safe one.
When David Bowie died on January 10, 2016, one of the first things millions of people thought about was Labyrinth. Not Ziggy Stardust. Not “Heroes.” Labyrinth. That is how deep this movie got into our bones.
Jennifer Connelly Carried the Whole Thing
Jennifer Connelly was fifteen years old when she played Sarah Williams. Fifteen. And she carried every single scene.
The movie is essentially Sarah’s story. A teenager who feels ignored by her family wishes her baby brother away to the goblins, then has to navigate a massive labyrinth to get him back before thirteen hours are up. She starts the movie as dramatic and self-absorbed. She ends it by choosing responsibility over fantasy.
That is a real character arc. And Connelly plays it against puppets, green screens, and David Bowie in full Goblin King mode without ever losing the emotional thread.
The scene where she finally faces Jareth and says “You have no power over me” is one of the great moments in 80s cinema. She does not defeat him with a sword or a spell. She defeats him by growing up. By refusing to be manipulated. By choosing reality over a beautiful illusion.
For every kid who watched this movie, that moment landed. You understood it before you could explain it. Sarah’s journey was your journey. The labyrinth was growing up, and the Goblin King was everything that tries to keep you from doing it.
The Puppets Were the Real Magic
Jim Henson’s Creature Shop built this movie by hand.
Hoggle alone required a team of puppeteers. His face had 18 separate motors controlling different expressions. Shari Weiser wore the Hoggle suit while Brian Henson and other puppeteers controlled the face remotely. The result was a character who felt completely alive.
Ludo was operated by Ron Mueck (who later became a famous sculptor) inside the suit, with additional puppeteers handling the face. Sir Didymus rode his sheepdog Ambrosius through scenes that required incredible coordination between multiple performers.
The Fireys. Those wild, head-removing, limb-tossing creatures in the forest? Each one required multiple puppeteers, and the sequence took weeks to film. The “Chilly Down” musical number is pure controlled chaos.
The door knockers. The Wise Man and his hat. The Helping Hands. The worm who says “Come inside and meet the missus.” Every corner of this movie has a handmade creature with personality and soul.
In 2026, when CGI creatures still sometimes look like expensive cartoons, Labyrinth’s puppets look more alive than ever. You can feel the weight of them. The texture. The imperfection that makes them real.
Jim Henson died on May 16, 1990, just four years after Labyrinth’s release. He was 53 years old. The movie is one of his final great works, and it shows everything he believed about what puppetry could be.
Why Labyrinth Means More Now
Every few years, a new generation discovers Labyrinth. And every time, it hits them the same way.
Part of it is the music. Part of it is the puppets. Part of it is David Bowie being impossibly cool. But the real reason Labyrinth endures is the story underneath all of it.
It is about a girl learning that the world does not revolve around her. That being responsible for someone else matters more than getting what you want. That the fantasies we build to avoid growing up are beautiful but dangerous. That the people who seem to have all the power only have the power you give them.
“You have no power over me.”
That line hits different when you are 8 and when you are 38 and when you are 48. It just keeps meaning more.
The fan community around this movie is extraordinary. There are annual Labyrinth masquerade balls in cities around the world. Cosplay groups recreate every character down to the last detail. Fan art, fan fiction, academic papers. People get Labyrinth tattoos. People name their kids after characters.
For a movie that made $12.9 million in 1986, that is a legacy most blockbusters would kill for.
And the 40th anniversary has brought new attention. Theaters are running special screenings. The film has been restored and remastered. New merchandise celebrates every corner of the movie. Forty years later, Labyrinth is not fading. It is growing.
The 1986 Class Reunion
Here is what is wild about 1986. Labyrinth came out the same summer as Aliens, Stand by Me, The Fly, Transformers: The Movie, Top Gun, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and The Karate Kid Part II.
That is not a summer movie season. That is a cultural event. Every single one of those films is still being talked about, rewatched, and celebrated forty years later.
We have been covering the entire 1986 class reunion here on 80s Baby. Check out Aliens at 40, Stand by Me at 40, and The Fly at 40. Each one of these movies shaped us in a different way, and each one is having its own anniversary moment right now.
For the full list, visit our 80s Movies guide and explore our 80s Nostalgia guide for more deep dives into the decade that made us who we are.
FAQ
When did Labyrinth come out?
Labyrinth was released on June 27, 1986. It was directed by Jim Henson, produced by George Lucas, and starred David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin King and Jennifer Connelly as Sarah Williams.
Was Labyrinth a box office hit?
No. Labyrinth earned approximately $12.9 million domestically against a $25 million budget, making it a box office disappointment. However, it became a massive cult classic through home video and has been beloved by millions of fans for four decades.
How old was Jennifer Connelly in Labyrinth?
Jennifer Connelly was 14 when she was cast and turned 15 during production. Despite her young age, she carried the film as its lead and delivered a performance that resonated with audiences for generations.
Did David Bowie write the songs in Labyrinth?
Yes. David Bowie wrote and performed five original songs for the film: “Underground,” “Magic Dance,” “As the World Falls Down,” “Within You,” and “Chilly Down” (performed with the Firey puppets). Trevor Jones composed the orchestral score.
Is Labyrinth getting a 40th anniversary release?
The 40th anniversary in 2026 has brought renewed attention to the film with special theatrical screenings, remastered editions, and anniversary merchandise. Check your local independent theaters and Fathom Events for upcoming screenings.
