Labyrinth: An Homage to the Wizard of Oz?

Guest Blog by Tracy Minsterman, aspiring author and founder of Fantasy Writers Roost.

This is a poster for Labyrinth. The poster art copyright is believed to belong to Henson Associates, Lucasfilm, TriStar Pictures.

Labyrinth, the 1986 film created by the legendary Jim Henson along with writers Dennis Lee and Terry Jones, is the quintessential fantasy movie for those of us who grew up watching Sesame Street. It has it all. First, let’s start with casting David Bowie as the goblin king, Jareth: brilliant. He brings that ominous quality to the character and well let’s not discount the soundtrack. And, then there is the puppetry. Jim Henson was, of course, the master and continually pushed the boundaries of what could be done with puppetry. Can we have a puppet ride a dog? Of course, we can, and they do in this film. Finally, while you might not consider this a Halloween movie, can you honestly think of anything more terrifying than being trapped in a Bog of Eternal Stench? That alone puts it on my Halloween movie list.

But, I digress. We’re here today to decide if Labyrinth was an homage to The Wizard of Oz or not. In a recent episode of the Writing Excuses podcast, the authors talked about milieu stories and specifically mentioned Labyrinth when talking about how a milieu story can be nested within a character story. This structure is the same one used in The Wizard of Oz. As I watched Labyrinth this time around, I examined the similarities more closely.

First, in both stories, we start out with a teenager who is unhappy with her life. You might even say she is a bit whiney. Each girl gets her wish and is transported into a magical land. For Dorothy, the wizard is who she must find to get back home. For Sarah, it is the goblin king who is holding her brother hostage. Both characters are set on a winding path that will lead them to their goal—the yellow brick road and the labyrinth. Each is accompanied by three newly-discovered friends who help them find their way and grow as a person.

For me, the only difference is that in Labyrinth, the goblin king seems to serve as both the wizard and the wicked witch. Jareth throws obstacles in Sarah’s way to prevent her from saving her baby brother much like the wicked witch tried to keep Dorothy from getting to the Emerald City. Both stories end with the teens achieving the goal of returning home (Sarah with her baby brother in tow) having come to realize that what they most desired was there the whole time.

So, what do you think? Was Labyrinth an homage to the classic The Wizard of Oz film or are the similarities just coincidental?