I saw this 1986 fantasy for the first time this week, as it was meant to be seen, in a theater.  Thanks to Fathom Events, certain films of the past are returning to the screen for limited runs each month.  I’ve seen most of them, but I had never seen this one, as I felt back then that it was not something I would enjoy.  I was right.

Jim Henson’s fantasy is a cautionary tale about babysitting.  Don’t be so frustrated that you would urge the Goblin King to take away your crying baby brother, which is what teenager Sarah (Jennifer Connelly, then 15, in just her fourth film) does.  Then she has to trek through a dense labyrinth to Goblin City to retrieve him within thirteen hours (goblin time) or she will lose him forever.  Along the way she meets some odd characters and a few songs are performed by the Goblin King (David Bowie) as he watches her progress.  After a big battle Sarah finds her brother . . . and discovers the whole journey was a dream . . . or was it?

Fans of Jim Henson’s “Muppets” and other puppetry projects like The Dark Crystal will probably enjoy this nonsense; the screening was well attended and people seemed to like it.  That was not my reaction.  Fantasy has no appeal for me.  I do not have dreams like this and never have.  I view no consistency in fantasy; anything can happen, therefore nothing has real meaning.  It celebrates the grotesque and the childish and the ridiculous.  It’s not for me.  I was happy to see that the film did not overtly sexualize young Jennifer, who even then was one of the most beautiful young women in Hollywood.  On the other hand David Bowie’s bulging crotch is present in way too many scenes.  Bowie’s songs are unappealing to me, although “As the World Falls Down” is rather interestingly directed like a music video.

If you enjoy fantasy and personally like this movie, then ignore my perspective.  Fantasy, from nursery rhymes to mythic realms, just doesn’t do anything for me.  I have trouble understanding how other people dislike war movies, or westerns; fantasy is my own personal Waterloo.  I give credit to the filmmakers to putting a lot of effort into making something like this, but that effort is wasted upon me.  To each his or her own.  ☆ 1/2.  10 March 2024.