Review: Sound/Music

Labyrinth (1986)

Director- Jim Henson

Labyrinth surrounds the story of a dramatic 15 year old girl named Sarah who loves fairy tales. One night she comes home late and is scolded by her stepmother because she is supposed to babysit her baby  stepbrother Toby. She wishes for Toby to be taken away by the goblins and brought to the goblin kingdom ruled by King Jareth so she never has to see him again. But to Sarah's surprise, it actually works and now she must venture into the labyrinth so save Toby before he becomes a goblin forever. A magical adventure starts when Sarah is met by King Jareth (David Bowie) himself and must befriend the creatures that live inside in order to help her save Toby.

Throughout the movie, even from the start, there is music playing. The first scene with music is a magic like moody tune that is considered to be non-diegetic because there is no shown source for the sound. Many of the songs in the movie were composed by David Bowie himself and he sung a lot of them solo as well as along with other characters during scenes. The songs sung as part of putting on a 'show' in certain scenes such as "Magic Dance" and "Chilly Down" are diegetic because the audience knows exactly where the music is coming from. While Sarah is traveling through the labyrinth there is also non-diegetic music playing to create moods of frustration, peril, and the feeling that she needs to hurry and is under the spell of a ticking clock device throughout the movie. The actor who plays Toby would not make typical baby noises during "Magic Dance" so Bowie had to create them himself. 

A scene featuring Toby Sarah and Jareth while they are in the maze-like castle has Bowie singing a song to Sarah. This is also diegetic because we see him singing it. Sarah keeps seeing Toby but can't quite get to him and we hear her worries calls and shouts for Toby to come to her. The scene in the end of the film when Sarah is trapped in a snow globe at a masquerade party a song is playing where Bowie is singing but we do not see him, so it is non-diegetic. For many of the characters, multiple voice actors had to play them at different times. The dialogue throughout the movie varies from scene to scene. There are sound effects from the goblins and monsters in the labyrinth to show the audience that they are scary, or kind, or mysterious. The dialogue in the beginning is dramatic when Sarah yells at her parents and Toby and when she wishes him away. When Jareth talks to the goblins he always scolds them and they do they he says. The worm Sarah meets is calm and welcoming and everyone has different accents in the film. The monsters talk slow and somewhat dumb, like Ludo, and the goblins talk fast and worried. All the guards speak properly with British accents. Sarah is caught in a dream world and the way she speaks to characters reflects this. Labyrinth is a movie rich with original music and unforgettable characters.