h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: 'Labyrinth' - The Film - A87786058
Author: Bluebottle - U43530

Peer Reviewers be warned: You have no power over me.

<BB<

I have never heard of this film and I'm afraid I don't get it. What exactly is this 'magical labyrinth'? You say the girl has to solve puzzles or something in it. Like what?
Why is someone juggling crystals behind the goblin kning?
Why does the goblin king do all this anyhow? What's in it for him?
What about this trash yard with the girl's room in it? I don't understand that.
Does her room appear multiple times in the labyrinth as some kind of illusion?


Sorry, I find this interesting but also very confusing.

"Frank Oz is most famous for being Yoda in the Star Wars films" do you mean "...the voice of Yoda..."? And when I read Frank Oz I instantly think "Muppets!" not Star Wars, but then I'm not a fan of Star Wars. Still, I wouldn't say "most famous for..." - "well-known for"? perhaps.



Doctor Beverley Crusher = according to http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Beverly_Crusher it's Beverly



"The key influences are the stories The Wizard of Oz, Grimms' Fairy Tales which includes the stories Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel." - incomplete sentence



"is acknowledged as an influence on the film in the film's end credits." =
is acknowledged as an influence in the film's end credits.



"Other possessions in her room include a firy toy,"
=
what's a firy toy?



Some of your bullet-points are punctuated and some aren't, could you make them all the same please?



"At the start of the film we see that Sarah's father, despite wishing to speak to her daughter, respects Sarah's room's boundary, and does not enter." *his* daughter



"That she believes Sarah's, and by extension a woman's role, is to go out on dates strongly implies that she is a gold-digger who married Sarah's father for his money. He certainly didn't marry her for her looks." why did he marry her then?
I can't remember what the step-mother looked like, so I can't suggest anything. Beware of personal opinion though



"Every viewing rewards the careful viewer with a wealth of detail in the background of every scene." - repetiton (twice) - suggest: Multiple viewings rewards the careful watcher with a wealth of detail in the background of every scene."



"The only scene which appears to be a dream is the Ballroom scene, which is a fantasy based on Sarah's dreams while she is a poison-induced trance." = ...while she is *in* a...



I am not sure about your ending. Can you wrap it up, please?

GB


PS My kids loved this film. I was glad I had it on video, they watched it multiple times. I doubt I've seen it all through once though

I'm sorry to hear you've not heard of the film. As far as I'm aware, it is a very popular film in the UK, but not really anywhere else. I certainly recommend watching it – if possible, all the way through!

I think I've addressed most of your and GB's comments and made the suggested changes, explaining about the illusion of Sarah's room.

Why the goblin king does it all is a matter of debate. Is he evil, wanting to steal Sarah's soul? Does he love Sarah and want to make her his queen? Or is he just pretending to be evil, playing to Sarah's expectations, to encourage Sarah to face her own shortcomings and learn to overcome them? Is it all a side-effect of his wearing ridiculously tight trousers? Who knows! Watch the film and come to your own conclusion

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PPS Footnote 2 needs punctuating

I've stopped to add a .

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Bluebottle, toward the middle and the end of this piece, you've included lines that show you find the movie charming. I think the piece would be improved if you could move one of these bits into the lead paragraph, which is a bit dry.

As for the evidence that you provide for the step-mother being a gold-digger, that evidence could just as easily support the premise that the step-mother was so deeply steeped in sexist attitudes that she did not imagine there was any other path for Sarah to follow.

The puppetry in this movie was and still is amazing.

You remind me of the babe.

B

Hi<BB<

You've once again picked a film I have enjoyed many times over. There are not that many of them really.

As a first point I think you are being way too hard on the stepmother. Her dress is only the fashion of a particular time among a particular class of people, I don't think she can be blamed for her 'shoulder pads'. We should remember that the entire story is told through Sarah' eyes and she is unlikely to tell us anything positive about her step-mother, who is obviously Toby's mother. Sarah's statement about the 'ugly step mother' clearly shows her point of view. The stepmother is probably only trying to help Sarah grow up by sharing the ideas that she herself was taught at about the same age. I don't expect you to try to make us love her, just hoping for a little less vilification. I think she wanted to help and comfort Sarah... she just didn't understand how to.

I think your opening could be improved by putting the block quote second and following with her fantasy in the park, the clock in the bell tower and her run home in the rain. All are a re-occurring themes in the Labyrinth. Before going into the plot.

I think you have been overwhelmed by the dream sequence ( while an important, even vital, part of the story), it would much better with only a single section, otherwise it distorts the rest of the story.

As I recall in the dream sequence, Sarah's bedroom, although quite recognizable, contains only the toys she has abandoned. It is really in the final scenes we recognize all the characters that we have been introduced to. If you don't want to give away the ending I'll respect that.

You mention the book about the 'Labyrinth' play as an important clue and latter mention the maze game with the metal balls. I have always considered the game to be far more significant as the long or short corridors, with straight runs and traps along the way remind me far more of the game.

Forgive me I am now going a bit out of order..

Also you say
>makes a trail like Hansel and Gretel, but uses lipstick marks which are erased, rather than breadcrumbs that are eaten.<

No, none of her marks are erased, in some cases the paver stones are over-turned, hiding the marks, more often they are turned so her arrow points in the wrong direction.

About the Mother
>What we know of her is that she lives with her father and shoulder-padded stepmother. Where is her mother? Why is she never mentioned? Judging from the fact that Sarah surrounds her mirror with photographs of her beloved mother and has a scrapbook containing pictures of her, almost like a shrine, it is implied though never expressly stated that she had died.<

Her mother's death is the kindest explanation, however she could have also abandoned her family to peruse her own fantasy and impossible dreams? This could also explain why the stepmother is so hard on Sarah, lest she make the same poor choice.

Not trying to be negative, if I didn't like most of what you wrote I would not have commented

FS

PS The Frieies dance is my favorite part

Hello everyone, thanks for your comments!
I've changed the introduction.
I've also tamed down the sections about the stepmother and only mentioned her shoulder-pads once
I admit that the theory that 'the step-mother was so deeply steeped in sexist attitudes that she did not imagine there was any other path for Sarah to follow' is a good point, and she could simply be encouraging Sarah to do what she had done without an ulterior motive. (But I still think she's a teddy-bear thief who doesn't like s.)
I've added more detail about the fantasy in the park. It is an important part of the film, not only because of how it relates to the end, but it is also the only sequence filmed on location (both UK and the running through the streets bit is the only but filmed in America. They wouldn't have gone to the expense of filming on another continent unless they felt it was important.) That said, I think that the blockquote makes a good opening to the article – but will reconsider if a lot of other people feel that something should be written before the blockquote.
I think that the dream sequence is now largely only dealt with in the 'Is It a Dream?' section. I agree that it makes sense to confine it to one area, rather than throughout the article.
Great point, FS about the ball maze, I've added that to the entry and rephrased the Hansel & Gretal section.

'Her mother's death is the kindest explanation, however she could have also abandoned her family to peruse her own fantasy and impossible dreams? This could also explain why the stepmother is so hard on Sarah, lest she make the same poor choice.'
An interesting point, and certainly plausible. I still feel that if Sarah's mother had left, Sarah would either feel betrayed and thus not have a scrapbook of her photographs, and several pictures all around her mirror or alternatively during her argument with her father and stepmother would have said something like 'I wish I was living with my mother!' But you have made a good case, and we'll never know.

And the fireys dance is definitely great, every sequence with a song is a highlight.

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Just did a search for "disturbingly tight trousers" - phrase not found.

Surely an oversight?

I'd mentioned the tight trousers in the conversation, and now they're mentioned in the article too – but before anyone asks, I'm not going to describe them in depth...

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Or length?

or detail?

I'm working under the assumption that David Bowie was, shall we say, fully covered in your article all about him.

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This one of my favourite films. Ever.

I shall be back very soon.

Life Lesson Learnt From Labyrinth:
You can make a big-budget spectacular film which revolutionises filmmaking by featuring the first realistic CGI animal, has the most complex animatronic head yet created, a gigantic and convincing 15-foot robotic monster, highly respected theatre actors providing unmistakable voices, one of the world's most attractive actresses as the heroine, catchy songs which you'll be humming for days after – but the only thing people remember is that David Bowie wore tight trousers....

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Disturbingly tight trousers.

Unforgettably tight trousers.

<BB<, post 17 would be great as a round-off of your Entry