Labyrinth 2 Return to the Labyrinth

[LadyAuroraRose]

I don't know who all will read this but if you are in favor of Jim Henson studios making a Labyrinth 2, lets start the petition here.

The first movie was pretty good in relation to the time it was made in but perhaps the reason it wasn't such a big hit back then is because of how they ended the movie. At the end of the first movie when Sarah said she still needed her friends from the Labyrinth she meant it. However she also felt empty in a way because she had fallen in love and most likely didn't understand what she was feeling at the time. But do to the emotions that were expressed so strongly throughout the story many fans now feel and felt that the ending was left open for the possibility of a second movie. A lot of us fans would like to see Sarah return to the Labyrinth to finally find the true happiness that she deserves.
She and the Goblin King were in Love with each other but at the time Sarah was to young to understand. She's a grown woman now and like so many others she deserves her true happy ending.
Whoever feels the same as I do or at least can relate some how,
please post your responses. All in favor say I.

 

[RedPiggy]

Okay, try not to be mad, LOL, but I'm not much of a J/S shipper. However, that being said, I WOULD like to see an adult Sarah return to the Labyrinth just to see her adult psychology factor into the plot. Would she stop being so self-absorbed? Would she stop playing with forces she doesn't understand? Would she realize she memorized the book and have a better sense of what goes on there? (I never understood how she could always be surprised about how stuff unfolded if she truly was a major fangirl of that play.) I'm more interested to see how she's grown as a person in the totality of her life, not just maturing in romance. I mean, that's what I find "true happiness" boils down to for a lot of fans. The fact she admitted she needed her friends (a weird ending considering she dropped them like a hot potato during the final confrontation and a Firey who made her feel creeped out was there too ... what message is THAT?) gave her a happy ending. The movie was less about her immature crush and more about learning about depending on others, about caring about others. For her, Jareth remained the villain all the way to the end, even though, well, "that's not fair". I'd be interested to see if maturity led her to a different conclusion regarding Jareth. Would she admit that he was merely trying to give her what she wanted? Would she continue to blame Jareth for the plot SHE started? Could she admit to him she was wrong? I'm more concerned about that than getting hitched to the Goblin King.

I also wouldn't mind if Sarah was one of the main plots, not just the sole one. The ending clearly shows Jareth planning on using Toby yet again to get his way. Does Toby have nightmares? Did his little excursion give him a more intuitive sense of magic? Could he see Fraggles (LOL)? I realize the comic sequel gave everyone a fanfic sense, at least at first if nothing else, but whether one thought it was well-executed or not, the fact remains that Toby can be much more than just a McGuffin.

 

[frogboy4]

One Frogboy's Take on Jim Henson's Labyrinth

I think Jim's message about the Labyrinth would be confused with a legit Jareth/Sarah love story. Sure there was definitely some sexual tension introduced through the character, but it was one of many elements young Sarah was dealing with on her path to maturity and personal responsibility.

Of course I can't speak for Jim's intentions, but my research of the man and his work has led me to the conclusion that he didn't believe in absolute good and absolute evil in a traditional sense usually expressed in most Western pop culture. It is my view that he saw life as a series of choices that people make and there are better and worse paths to take. People want to do and be good underneath it all once they've discarded their selfish motives. Jareth embodies this wayward path of self indulgence that, while attractive, isn't the ideal outcome. To change that is to change the entire theme of the film and philosophy of the Labyrinth. Sarah deserves love and romance, but with a person of substance and not a master manipulator.

If the Jim Henson Company ever were to make a sequel to the Labyrinth it should probably involve Sarah's relationship with her own children and their journey into the Labyrinth. I can really see an ensemble of characters entering the Labyrinth all with their own personal growth objectives. I'd love to see a movie like that. Kind of a mixture of Labyrinth and Goonies.

I can also see this as an online role playing game like Warcraft. There are so many opportunities that JHC hasn't explored for their fantasy properties. I think they should!

 

[Daffney]

I belive that The Jim Henson Company and Sony were considering a sequel for Labyrinth in 1999, but they later decided to do something new and similar instead.

That's how we got MirrorMask.

 

[RedPiggy]

I can also see this as an online role playing game like Warcraft. There are so many opportunities that JHC hasn't explored for their fantasy properties. I think they should!

Indeed. To me, Labyrinth could've been an 80s Farscape (which has a lot of similar ideas bouncing around, though in the sci-fi setting instead of fantasy). Jim seems to have made a lot of neat points in Labyrinth, but another medium would've worked better. In today's world, interactive gaming, I think, would be the ultimate expression. Labyrinth is about learning about your path in life. What better way to do that than to make the audience do so as well? I tried writing a video game treatment based on the comic, though I didn't finish Sarah's playthrough. It's lying around MC somewhere. The comic sequel is almost ironic since it's a comic using a character who is into MMORPGs. Why not just make the game instead? At least then Toby's obsession would seem more appropriate. I like watching vids of the original games about Labyrinth, and with today's technology and improved storytelling, a Labyrinth game could be mega-sweet.

That's how we got MirrorMask.

I actually dug that, though it's admittedly different in tone from Labyrinth. Had to watch it on Youtube, but while I don't think it's ultimately better than Labyrinth, I do feel they got some twists on that movie right, such as peeping in on her world every now and again and the heroine actually being sucked into being part of that world (instead of trying throughout the entire movie to separate herself from the environment). Yeah, it was a spell, but it's kind of like how Mark Hamill had hoped, I had read, that Luke would've toyed with temptation a bit more in Return of the Jedi. It's also kind of like that discussion we had somewhere about the difference between Robbie Sinclair and Lisa Simpson is that Robbie actually DOES get in trouble by making the wrong choices instead of Lisa, who likes to whine self-righteously.

Of course, Sarah wouldn't have been tempted much. The whole point of the movie was that she was unprepared for her fantasies to become real. She likes to play dress-up but can't play with the Big Boys.

 

[Drtooth]

Here's the thing:

A) Henson is having enough trouble getting Dark Crystal 2 and Fraggle Rock the movie off the ground, especially considering how much promotion they're TRYING to get into the latter, with a comic book series and plush toys and clothing... Both have had different working scripts that were deemed unacceptable every single time they're been accepted earlier and were just about to be made. Labyrinth 2 would be a stretch.

B) I will say this... Henson really SHOULD take the odd new fanbase of this movie and run with it with merchandise before any consideration of a sequel will be made. They're missing an opportunity to get some money they badly need to get some projects they've proposed done. Seriously, the list of unfinished projects stretches from here to the moon twice.

C) If this movie DID happen, it better not be fangirl fanservice. I don't want to be that guy, but I have it in with fangirl fanservice. It's always about exaggerating romances between characters, either ones that existed, ones that were implied, or ones that were barely implied between bit characters. There's a lot more to story than just pair ups of characters who weren't forced into a thorough relationship by the end of the movie/series/comic/whatever.

D) even if we did have one, there's no guarantee that the fans of the first one won't whine about how terrible it is after egging them on to do a sequel. Indiana Jones 4, Tron 2... It goes on and on like that.

 

[GonzoLeaper]

Just to address point D. quickly-
For the record, I'm definitely a big fan of Indiana Jones and I absolutely loved "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" - it was a great thrill for me to finally see an Indy movie in theaters (since I wasn't really old enough to see any of the others.)
As for "Tron" and "Tron: Legacy", both are pretty decent movies. But honestly- I got the same feeling from both. I enjoyed them pretty well, but I thought they were kinda mediocre story-wise to begin with- but the classic '80s arcade games and the special effects were cool.
But I do understand the point you're making- some fans manage to find something wrong with everything.

 

[Drtooth]

It seems every time fans egg someone on to do a sequel the SAME people that egg the dang thing on are the biggest critics of those movies. I don't think Indiana Jones 4 deserved half the crap it got. Other than the odditiy of adding extraterrestrial stuff into the mix (which didn't phase me, as we didn't actually see any of them) the film just felt like a movie that was made too late. That was all. Not even Star Wars episode 1 klunky. It still felt like an Indiana Jones film to me, and it was full of action and little talk (again, Star Wars 1 was quite the opposite). I LOVED the scene when he was running out of the model homes they were dropping test nukes on.

It's like "OMG! Come on! You can't make Ghostbusters 3 fast enough!" and then they watch the thing and say "Oh... that's what you made?"

Seriously either want the sequels or don't. Don't claim to want them and then whine that they don't stack up to the other films or what imaginary fan fic idea you have for them. Even if you make sequels one after another, they usually never hold up to the first one... of course, in cases of trilogies, sometimes the sequel is the strongest like in Back to the Future or Empire Strikes Back.

 

[GonzoLeaper]

Other than the odditiy of adding extraterrestrial stuff into the mix (which didn't phase me, as we didn't actually see any of them) the film just felt like a movie that was made too late.

Well, the statues all join to become the one alien in the movie at the end. And we get to see a flying saucer- but honestly, I didn't think it was that big of a deal. It was fine with me and it felt full of the action, adventure, humor and fun that makes all the other Indiana Jones movies. And you have to keep in mind that just as the first 3 Indy movies were harkening back to the pulp movies of the 1930s, this movie was a throwback to the scifi B-movies of the 1950s. So of course they had to do an alien plot. But it really came out a lot better than I would have thought- and there was still an anicent culture and artifact involved- with the Mayans and the Crystal Skull. Besides, now George Lucas has got that out of his system and he can focus on something else for Indiana Jones 5.
(And yes- they have been talking about making a 5th. one - one thing I can say for Lucas, Spielberg and Harrison Ford- they have pretty much all said that they make the Indy movies because they're fun- they told the story they wanted to tell and they weren't as concerned if every fanboy out there ate everything up. Some are gonna love, some are gonna hate it, some are gonna view it as medicorely good and some are gonna be apathetic.
But I am one of the fans that was cheering for a 4th. Indy movie if they wanted to make one- and I loved that they did and I totally enjoyed the movie. If they want to make a 5th. one- as long as they keep Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, I will be happy to watch it. (If they don't- I won't be nearly as happy, but I'll probably wind up watching it anyway. But thankfully I feel pretty confident that won't happen.)

 

[cabbageheat]

I guess it's just me, but I wouldn't care for a sequel at all. This film, like The Dark Crystal, stand on their own two feet and are timeless. They don't need sequalitis. Leave these classics alone. But hey, that's just me.