#labyrinth 1986

Hey guys, who likes the Labyrinth? I was part of this Labyrinth zine, if anyone wants to check it out; it would help support me and tons of other amazing artists! https://labyrinthzine.bigcartel.com/

Oh, where to begin with this part of the cinematography? The implication that the owl is, for some reason yet unknown to the first time viewer, watching Sarah as she cuts her evening plans to run home in the rain is so subtle and unsettling (even though the actual owl is, if I may gush, so adorable in my opinion). Also, Sarah wearing jeans under her dress is practical and yet also a reminder that reality and fantasy are often matters of perception. On the outside, a flowing, fairytale ensemble but underneath, a grounded and practical outfit that could imply that sometimes, the world is whatever a person makes of it, which is in line with how the Labyrinth can function. You can't take anything for granted. On that thought, it's a good way to point out early on that Sarah has a sense of reality, stability, logic and reason somewhere inside of her that will eventually help get her through her upcoming quest.

Here, just as the peace is disturbed, for the first time, by rain, there appears another of the most obvious connections (aside from the owl, so far) between the realm of the Labyrinth and real life within the film- Merlin, the sheepdog. This is also where the film really starts to show some inspiration from 1939's The Wizard of Oz, in that people and animals in the main character's daily life become the cast of characters in the fantasy realm. The visuals were already fantasy-like and now the line between fantasy and reality starts to blur in a dreamlike fashion for the duration of the story.

Alright, this is where this might start getting a little meta. Of course, a first time viewer might not realize that the story inside this book will mirror Sarah's story as much as it does by the end. The only glimpse we get into what's written in this book is Sarah's speech here: Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered,

I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City

To take back the child you have stolen.

For my will is as strong as yours and my kingdom as great.

You have no power over me.

Which is enough to beautifully foreshadow the message regarding empowerment! But cannot reliably be used to make an argument about most of the possible parallels, especially since it's never stated, even later when she begins telling a story to her baby brother, being connected to the experience that she is about to have. At least, not at a first glance. I know though, many of you here reading my posts have probably already seen the film and are possibly thinking of jumping into the comments on this post now to say, "It IS the story that happened to Sarah though!" and you would be correct. I'm just simply saying that on a first viewing, however, these first few minutes of the film likely aren't enough to give that knowledge away to the viewer and the subtle hints to that which are already starting to drop made for an excellent hook. It also does a wonderful job of setting up some of the lore, as well, especially once the film comes to an end. Was it all a dream? Or has someone else before Sarah had a similar experience and chosen to publish their story to warn others? It's certainly a topic to grapple with!

You know, there is something to be said about being able to act acting itself. Jennifer Connelly pulled that off so well in this scene, people still discuss whether or not Sarah was rehearsing for a play or simply roleplaying in costume and the only way to get a fixed, "canon" answer for this at all is reading the novelization, in which it's stated that she was simply playing with her own imagination. It was something that she was doing just for fun and escape. Without that clarification though, I highly doubt I personally ever would have figured that she wasn't rehearsing for a play.

This is also one of the first scenes that can get the viewer started with processing subtle messages and visual cues. Flowers, birds, calm waters, gold, pale green, dark green, white, offwhite, cream colors, obelisks, a decaying stone bridge, a dark forest, the style of the dress... They all lean early into themes of youth, inexperience, fantasy, growth, beauty, age, the unknown and peace. Though that last one is contrasted considerably by the overcast skies getting ready to unleash rain which will both disturb the serene surface of that pond and disrupt Sarah's evening plans at the park. The concept of disruption and disturbance of something "whole" or "complete" repeats throughout this film several times.

The transition from the opening credits to this opening scene in 'real life' was so seamless. You just blink and, suddenly, the barn owl is a real owl, perched on an obelisk in a beautifully peaceful little park that feels almost like a pocket of fantasy lingering on the outskirts of daily life. I won't lie- I have kind of wanted to visit this park in person ever since I first saw the film. It just always looked like a place where I could breathe a little easier. Did this actually exist or was this a set, does anyone know?

Sometimes, I sit and think for a bit about just how groundbreaking this opening must have been in 1986. We were still nearly a decade away from Toy Story, Pixar was just forming and we did not yet have anyone who'd likely mastered the art of this type of more realistic animation. For this barn owl to look as good as it does was certainly an achievement! I mean, just think, these are near-PlayStation 2 level graphics but roughly twenty years before PlayStation 2 even existed. Wild, right? While I personally am not a fan of CGI overall, there are a few exceptions, such as this, for which I am always forced, for a moment, to think again about my opinions... It's moments like this that make me realize that maybe it isn't that I don't like CGI overall but instead that I just don't like how little it has been pushed as an art form. At the outset, it seemed like it was intended to make animation look as realistic as possible and in concept, I actually think that's pretty cool. If only that had not been tampered with over the years by studios cutting budgets... That said though, no matter how far it could get, I'm not certain that it would every truly rival actual puppetry. This owl is magnificent but comparing it to a creature from later in the film, say, Ludo, even if the owl looked realistic by today's technological standards, I am not sure it would still hold up quite so much.

I don't know... What do you think?