History YMMV / LABYRINTH

** What about Jareth? Is he a tragic villain who wants a family of his own or is he a ManipulativeBastard who was bored and wanted to mess with Sarah? Or is he just one of the FairFolk, acting according to the BlueAndOrangeMorality of being a faerie king?

** What about Jareth? Is he a tragic villain who wants a family of his own or is he a ManipulativeBastard who was bored and wanted to mess with Sarah?

* HollywoodHomely: Sarah appears to have no friends, and goes on no dates, in spite of looking like Jennifer Connelly. However, the novelization notes she has at least one school chum, and her interest in fantasy worlds could well be blinding her to what she could be enjoying in the real one.

* UnfortunateImplications: Did Jareth kidnap Toby because he wanted to have sex with his JailBait sister?

** What about Jareth? Is he a tragic villain who wants a family of his own or a ManipulativeBastard who was bored and wanted to mess with Sarah?

* AlternateAesopInterpretation: The moral of the story is obviously about letting go of one's childhood. Not to mention that LifeIsntFair and complaining won't help your situation. However, fans seem to think there's something else there. Most fans seem to think it's about the one-side love story around Jareth and Sarah. A lot of people have thousands of fan works dedicated to this "romantic" movie. When you watch it, what really comes to mind? Do you sympathize with Jareth, the man who wanted to grant Sarah's wishes and make her happy? Or do you support Sarah in her quest to save her baby brother?

* AlternateAesopInterpretation: The moral of the story is obviously about letting go of one's childhood. Not to mention that LifeIsntFair and complaining won't help your situation. However, fans seem to think there's something else there. Most fans seem to think it's about the one-side love story around Jareth and Sarah. A lot of people have thousands of fan works dedicated to this "romantic" movie. When you watch, what really comes to mind? Do you look at it through Jareth's eyes who wanted to grant Sarah's wishes and make her happy? Or do you view it as the intended story with Sarah learning to grow up and leave her childhood behind?

* UnfortunateImplications:
** Did Jareth kidnap Toby because he wanted to have sex with his JailBait sister?

** The manga series assigns Jareth a good - or at least not ''creepy'' - motive for the abduction, in which Jareth abducted Toby because of Toby's potential as a magician [[spoiler: and successor]], and his little game of cat-and-mouse with Sarah was simply because ItAmusedMe.

* AngstWhatAngst: Sarah deals with TheReveal that goblins are real, her brother's been kidnapped by them, ''and'' that [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking David Bowie is in her house]] with remarkable aplomb, and almost immediately after all this seems to view her necessity for solving the labyrinth as a mildly annoying household chore she can't get out of. Either this is [[FridgeBrilliance a brilliant statement on it all being her imagination as she sits around the house bored]] or Jennifer Connelly thought her character should handle it aplomb.

* AngstWhatAngst: Sarah deals with TheReveal that goblins are real, her brother's been kidnapped by them, ''and'' that [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking David Bowie is in her house]] with remarkable aplomb, and almost immediately after all this seems to view her necessity for solving the labyrinth as a mildly annoying household chore she can't get out of. Either this is [[FridgeBrilliance a brilliant statement on it all being her imagination as she sits around the house bored]], or it's just Jennifer Connelly sucking at acting.
* [[BestKnownForTheFanservice Best Known For David Bowie's Pants]]: Well, they probably exaggerate a little, but this is ''the'' reason most anyone remembers this movie if they aren't part of the fanbase. Either that or Creator/JenniferConnelly looking very nice in that white princess dress she wears at the beginning. Or the PimpedOutDress from the ball scene later.

* DesignatedProtagonistSyndrome: Let's put it this way, even a way and a door of all things has more personality than Sarah, our heroine.

* EvilIsSexy: Jareth, and ''how''.

* FoeYay: There's some Jareth/Sarah subtext in the movie. Little bit. Just a tad. Mild smattering.
** By the end, there's not much ''sub''text about it, at least on Jareth's part. StalkerWithACrush indeed:

* NarmCharm: TheMovie.

** In addition, the child switches from a real baby to a doll a few times in "Magic Dance". [[note]]We should hope so! It gets thrown thirty feet in the air and caught by a puppet![[/note]]

* UnfortunateImplications: Did Jareth kidnap Toby because he wanted to have sex with his JailBait sister?
** The far-more-recent manga series assigns Jareth a good - or at least not ''creepy'' - motive for the abduction, in which Jareth abducted Toby because of Toby's potential as a magician [[spoiler: and successor]], and his little game of cat-and-mouse with Sarah was simply because ItAmusedMe. Smells a little like {{Fanon}}, but at least it prevents Jareth from coming off as an {{Ephebophile}}.
** Actually, Jareth is whatever Sarah ''wants'' him to be. Listen to the dialogue and songs.

* WTHCostumingDepartment: Seriously movie, what is with all Jareth's costumes? ''Especially'' those leggings...
** Well, he is played by Music/DavidBowie.
** And bear in mind that before ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' shattered the Fantasy Movie Ghetto Age, directors and writers of fantasy movies were desperate for any PeripheryDemographic they could find. {{Squee}}ing {{Fangirl}}s were willing to pay to see David Bowie in tights. MoneyDearBoy.
** Also, it sort of went with David Bowie's style. If you're going to cast David Bowie, may as well use him in a way you know works.
* [[UncannyValley Uncanny Valley Freakshow]]: You thought ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'' was bad about the uncanny valley? Think again.

* [[BestKnownForTheFanservice Best Known For David Bowie's Pants]]: Well, they probably exaggerate a little, but this is ''the'' reason most anyone remembers this movie if they aren't part of the fanbase. Either that or Creator/JenniferConnelly looking very nice in that white princess dress she wears at the beginning.

** The scene with the "Fireys" -- ya know, those fuzzy pink things that routinely decapitated and amputated themselves and others for fun -- is notorious for having unusually bad BlueScreen special effects, even for its time. This is weird considering how ''good'' the special effects were in the rest of the movie. Now wispy fuzzy semi-translucent fringes are about the most difficult possible item to chroma-key, but it hasn't been remedied at all in "remastered" DVD releases. (That said, though they were far from the awesome advances we have now, it's pretty good for a bunch of puppeteers in black velvet suits.)

* NoYay / {{Squick}}: A 15-year-old being romantically pursued ("Just let me rule you...") and watched over by a stretchy pants-wearing goblin king (David Bowie at 39) makes some folks squeamish.

* FetishFuelStationAttendant: Jareth, just look at half the tropes on his character sheet!

* CultClassic: The film grossed $12.7 million on a $25 million budget, but has since gained this status. Also it has something to do with Music/DavidBowie.

* [[BestKnownForTheFanservice Best Known For David Bowie's Pants]]: Well, they probably exaggerate a little, but this is ''the'' reason most anyone remembers this movie if they aren't part of the fanbase. Either that or JenniferConnelly looking very nice in that white princess dress she wears at the beginning.

** And bear in mind that before ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' shattered the Fantasy Movie Ghetto Age, directors and writers of fantasy movies were desperate for any PeripheryDemographic they could find. {{Squee}}ing [[FanGirl fangirls]] were willing to pay to see David Bowie in tights. MoneyDearBoy.