About This Quiz
With danger around every corner and riddles muddling the path, "Labyrinth" was a tale of angst and adventure. Starring David Bowie as the Goblin King and Jennifer Connelly as teenager Sarah, this story turns reality on its head. As Sarah brazenly headed through the labyrinth to save her baby brother Toby, she encounters riddle-speaking fantasy creatures that teach her how the real world will feel as she becomes an adult.Â
This coming-of-age story featured the fantastical works of several artists. As David Bowie's musical talents elevated the movie, Jim Henson's impressive puppetry skills created new dimensions of storytelling. The costuming of the show is just as impactful, dressing Bowie in his iconic spandex pants and Sarah in her romantic blouse. With dramatic costume changes indicating the degrees of reality, the costumes remind audiences of pirates and adventurers.
The Labyrinth is truly a tale that sticks in the heart. The film is a great illustration of the labor of love from the some of the unique minds of the past century. Our detailed quiz will test your knowledge of the "Labyrinth" as Sarah was tested, and only those with the "Labyrinth" in their hearts will pass the tests. See how well you remember the riddles and traps of the "Labyrinth!"Â
Sarah sprints home after suddenly remembering that she is supposed to watch her baby brother. While the park scene was filmed in England, the scenes of Sarah running home were filmed in upstate New York.
Sarah's half-brother is named Toby. Toby was played by Toby Froud, whose father, Brian Froud, served as the conceptual designer for the film. They had to name his character Toby because the baby would only respond to his own name.
Without meaning to, Sarah dejectedly says the correct words. It's implied that she magically heard the goblins tell her what to say, since they are watching and responding to her.
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After Henson decided that Jareth should be played by a musician to help steer the soundtrack of the film, a few contenders stood out as options. Michael Jackson was a front runner, and Prince and Mick Jagger were also considered. Henson wanted to go with Sting, but his kids persuaded him that Bowie, fresh off the release of the popular "Let's Dance" album, would be the best choice.
The Goblin King arrives in his animal form of an owl. This is a nod to the owl that swooped past in the opening credits. That owl was CGI and is one of the earliest uses of CGI in a feature film.
Sarah is upset because her teddy bear, Lancelot, was given to her brother, presumably by her dad and stepmom. Lancelot's name, along with her dog, Merlin, highlight Sarah's love of legend.
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If Sarah does not solve the maze in the allotted time, Jareth will keep Toby and turn him into a goblin. He says this once to Sarah, saying "You have 13 hours in which to solve the Labyrinth before your baby brother becomes one of us forever." He later echoes this sentiment to Toby, saying "In 9 hours and 23 minutes, you'll be mine!"
The very first sign that alerts Sarah to Toby's plight is that he immediately stops crying. She goes back in to investigate, but the lights have stopped working. Something, presumably a goblin, runs past her in the dark. At no point does the house shake.
Sarah has the idea to draw arrows on the floor tiles to track her progress. However, this idea quickly fails, as creatures living underneath the stones turn them around and sometimes upside down. One creature grumbles a barely-discernable swear word.
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Sarah's dog is named Merlin, likely as a nod to her love of fantasy and magic. Merlin is an Old English Sheepdog.
Hoggle is first shown attacking fairies by spraying them with something (it's not explained whether he's killing them or merely leaving them unconscious). Sarah is outraged and attempts to save a fairy, who bites her for her troubles.
The scene of Jareth rolling the magic crystal around on his hands and forearms inspired a generation to try replicating this, with varied success. Many people suggested that it was a camera trick or special effect, but the ball rolling is real. It was not done by Bowie, but by juggler Michael Moschen, who was hunched behind Bowie and holding his arm up in place of Bowie's arm. Because of the physical placement of Moschen and Bowie, Moschen could not see what he was doing and was essentially performing the stunt blind, making it all the more impressive.
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Sarah is greeted by a cheerful cockney worm who shows her how to get into the Labyrinth. When she starts down the hall, he quickly shouts to go the other way, and after she is gone remarks that "If she'd have kept going that way, she'd have gone straight to that castle!" It seems like the worm sent her the wrong way, but this is not really true. Had Sarah gone straight to the castle, she would have been alone and would have been easily defeated by Jareth's army. By going the way the worm sent her, she met her friends, who helped her to victory. It's an early example of a recurring theme in the movie, that the wrong choice may actually be the right choice in the end.
To defeat Jareth, Sarah repeats almost exactly the same speech she recited at the beginning of the movie. It is almost exactly the same speech, except she leaves out the line "to take back the child you have stolen." This is possibly a nod to her realizing -- and accepting -- that Jareth did not steal Toby as much as she had asked him to take him.
Ludo is shown to have the ability to summon rocks, explaining to the others that rocks are his "friends." Relative to his size, he also has tremendous strength.
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Jareth is the real name of the Goblin King. Despite his title, he is not a goblin. Early drafts of the script had him as a goblinesque puppet, until Jim Henson decided he should be played by a human actor, preferably a musician.
While the previous three are used as part of a running gag where Sarah and Jareth get his name wrong, the dwarf Sarah meets outside the Labyrinth is, in fact, named Hoggle. Hoggle was voiced by Brian Henson, who is currently the CEO of The Jim Henson Company.
Hoggle explains to Sarah that if any part of you goes into The Bog of Eternal Stench, you smell bad forever. They later use rocks to cross the bog, but the rocks have been in the bog, therefore the smell should still follow them.
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Sarah was played by a then-16-year-old Jennifer Connelly. Connelly went on to star in The Rocketeer, Requiem for a Dream, and A Beautiful Mind, for which she won an Oscar.
Sir Didymus rides upon his noble steed Ambrosius (not to be confused with ambrosia, the dessert). Ambrosius is played by the same Old English Sheepdog that played Sarah's dog, Merlin. This was intentional, as some versions of Arthurian legend list the sorcerer as Merlin Ambrosius.
Sarah is caught, and lowered down into the Oubliette, by The Helping Hands, which come together to form faces to talk. The Hands were performed by puppeteers wearing over 100 pairs of latex foam hands.
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The Fireies, sometimes called The Fire Gang, have interchangeable heads and are perplexed when they discover Sarah's head doesn't come off. The idea for the Fireies' heads came from Terry Jones (Monty Python), which makes a bit more sense.
At the end of the film, Sarah sees the reflections of her friends in her vanity mirror. She talks to them, then turns around to find that they have appeared in her room. Stuffed or animated versions of all the characters can also be seen throughout her room.
Hoggle expresses his newfound courage and loyalty by repeating Didymus' implicit offer to help. Jim Henson once said that Hoggle was the most elaborate and complicated puppet they'd ever made, as the face alone had 18 different motors. Hoggle required four puppeteers to operate.
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It takes Sarah two attempts to (unknowingly) say the right words to summon the goblins. Her first attempt is "Goblin King, Goblin King, wherever you may be, take this child of mine far away from me!" The goblins refer to this as rubbish and wonder where she got it.
Sarah tells her friends that she must face the Goblin King alone "because that's the way it's done." This highlights Sarah's newfound maturity and willingness to accept responsibility.
Sarah comes upon Ludo being tortured and rescues him. In 1986, during a royal premiere for the film, "Ludo" met Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
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When Sarah starts to regain her senses, she uses a chair to shatter the illusion of the glamorous ballroom and fancy gowns. Jennifer Connelly has said in interviews that she really loved her costume for that scene because it was "a refreshing change from the blue jeans I wore in almost every other scene."
Jareth orders Hoggle to give Sarah a poisoned peach, which makes her lose her memory. Despite being known as The Peach State, Georgia is not actually America's top producer of the fruit. According to a USDA report, California holds that honor, South Carolina comes in second, and the so-called Peach State of Georgia comes in at a surprising third.
According to an interview given by Brian Henson, the Magic Dance had a lot going on behind the scenes. In addition to Bowie and Toby, there were eight people in goblin costumes and over 48 puppets controlled by 52 puppeteers!
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While escaping from The Bog, Sarah, Ludo and Hoggle encounter Sir Didymus, an honorable but confused bridge guardian. He is similar to a fox-terrier in appearance but is not meant to be a dog. He is merely meant to resemble one.
Sarah is given 13 hours to solve the Labyrinth, and is shown a clock with 13 hours on it instead of the standard twelve. The majority of the 13 hours pass while she is in the Labyrinth, but when she returns, only a few moments have passed in the real world.
The upside-down room in the Goblin Castle, which serves as the setting for the final showdown, is based on "Relativity" by Dutch artist M.C. Escher. Escher created the lithograph print of Relativity in December of 1953.
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The movie begins in a park, with Sarah reciting the final speech of The Labyrinth, when it starts to rain on her and her dog. The park scene was filmed at West Wycombe Park in Buckinghamshire, England.
While they did not appear in the original cinematic release or the VHS version, the DVD version of the movie shows seven instances of Jareth's face hidden in the scenery, meant to imply that he is watching her progress.