Labyrinth

While in the park with her dog, Merlin, 16-year-old Sarah Williams recites from a book titled The Labyrinth but is unable to remember the last line. Realizing that she is late to babysit her infant half-brother Toby, she rushes home and is confronted by her stepmother who goes out with Sarah's father for the night. Frustrated that Toby was given her treasured teddy bear, Lancelot, and annoyed by his constant crying, Sarah rashly wishes that Toby be taken away by the goblins from her book. Toby vanishes and the Goblin King Jareth appears, offering Sarah her dreams in exchange for the baby. She refuses, instantly regretting her wish. Jareth reluctantly gives Sarah 13 hours to solve his labyrinth and find Toby before he is turned into a goblin forever. Jareth transports Sarah to a wasteland where she meets a dwarf named Hoggle who aids her in entering the labyrinth. As Sarah traverses the labyrinth, Jareth plays carelessly with Toby in his palace at the labyrinth's center. After falling down a trapdoor, Sarah ends up in an oubliette where she reunites with Hoggle. The two are confronted by Jareth, escape one of his traps, and encounter a troll named Ludo being tormented by goblins. Hoggle flees, while Sarah befriends Ludo after freeing him but loses him in a forest. Hoggle encounters Jareth, who instructs him to give an enchanted peach to Sarah, calling his loyalty into question, as he was supposed to take her back to the beginning of the labyrinth. Sarah is harassed by a group of creatures called The Fire Gang, but Hoggle comes to her aid. She kisses him, and they fall through a trapdoor that deposits them in a flatulent swamp called the "Bog of Eternal Stench" where they reunite with Ludo. The trio meet the guard of the swamp, the anthropomorphic Fox Terrier Sir Didymus and his Old English Sheepdog "steed" Ambrosius. Sarah begins crossing a bridge over the bog, but it collapses, and Ludo summons a trail of rocks to save her. Sir Didymus joins the group as they leave the bog. Hoggle gives a hungry Sarah the enchanted peach and runs away as she falls into a trance and forgets her quest. She dreams of a masquerade ball and sees Jareth in the crowd. She approaches him, and the two dance together, but Sarah is reminded of her quest when she sees a clock. She runs, escaping the trance and falling into a junkyard outside the Goblin City near Jareth's castle. An old Junk Lady fails to trick Sarah, who regains her memory and rejoins Ludo and Sir Didymus. They are confronted by the humongous, robotic gate guard, but Hoggle comes to their rescue. Despite Hoggle feeling unworthy of forgiveness for his betrayal, Sarah and the others welcome him back, and together they enter the city. Jareth is alerted to the group's presence and sends his goblin army to stop them. Ludo summons a multitude of rocks to chase the goblins away, and they enter the castle. Sarah insists she must face Jareth alone and promises to call the others if needed. In a room modeled after M. C. Escher's Relativity, she confronts Jareth while trying to retrieve Toby. She recites the lines from her book that mirror her adventure up to that point, but she still cannot remember the last line. Jareth offers Sarah her dreams again, but she remembers the final line: "You have no power over me!" Due to Jareth's power deriving from Sarah fearing him, he is weakened by her willpower, eventually becoming so defeated that he transforms into his second form, a barn owl, and flies away, returning Toby to Sarah as a sign of mutual agreement and respect. Realizing how important Toby is to her, Sarah gives him Lancelot and returns to her room as her father and stepmother return home. She sees her friends in the mirror and admits that, even though she has grown up, she still needs them in her life, whereupon the labyrinth characters appear in her room for a raucous reunion party, hugging each other in joy. Jareth, in his barn owl form, watches their celebration from outside and then flies off into the moonlight, knowing she has won.

Plot from Labyrinth (1986 film)CC BY-SA 4.0