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One of the saddest days of my life was the day I was riding home from the supermarket and heard the radio announcement that Jim Henson had died. I knew precisely who Jim Henson was and I started crying because I was so young, I thought that meant the Muppets were dead too. He was a true genius who was the closest thing we had to Walt Disney's Labyrinth is the perfect example of his genius, a miraculous film that has been able to delight child and adult audiences since it's initial release in 1986. ***

David Bowie as the lead in a fantasy! Who would have thought such a thing were possible? Well, Bowie does star as the lead, Jareth the Goblin King, and he carries his role with excellence and experience. Jennifer Connelly co-stars as Sarah, and Shari Weiser as her on again off again companion Hoggle. The film centers around Sarah wishing that the Goblin King would come and take her annoying little brother Toby away. When her wish is granted and Toby is transported to the center of a long and confusing labyrinth, Sarah must make her way through the maze to retrieve her brother. ***

Along the way through the labyrinth, Sarah encounters a plethora of strange and wonderful creatures, the most amusing being Hoggle, a troll that seems to want to help her sometimes and hinder her at others. One of the most amazing scenes involves Sarah falling through a hole that is covered with hands protruding from the soil, grabbing and pulling at her as she falls. As Sarah makes her way through the labyrinth, Henson cuts back and forth between she and Jareth, once as Jareth is singing the delightful number Magic Dance, in which Bowie wails: Put that baby's spell on me/Slap that baby and make him freak! ***

While watching Labyrinth, one can't help but notice the similarities to both "The Wizard of Oz" and Alice's Adventures Through the Looking Glass. Henson has taken those two classic stories, thrown in a little T.S. Eliot, and crafted one of the greatest fantasies in cinematic history. Not only is it beautiful to watch on screen, but it makes you remember the good old days when puppets were just as influential of actors as people were. These Henson creations are a far cry from the simplicity and charm of Kermit the Frog and Cookie Monster, we see creatures that you would expect to find in your nightmares, but they don't scare us because we know what type of film this is. ***

As a whole, you don?t get much better than this film. It has the whole package, much like "The Princess Bride". There is drama, comedy, fantasy, music, and it even teaches a valuable lesson to all those sisters out there who get so bent out of shape when they have to babysit their siblings. Next time they wish they were gone, they might think twice. I think one of the most frightening possible scenarios conceivable would be seeing David Bowie fly through your window.