Last weekend I attended the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) in Seattle. What started as a small centered on a popular webcomic has become the single biggest video gaming convention in the US and the place for publishers to go to generate buzz. Right now I’m working for a new games startup (working on stuff that’ll be ready to talk about in… 2010?), so I was very excited to get a hand-on look at what’s in the video games pipeline for the next year. What I saw, though… not too exciting.
Penny Arcade the site, I really enjoy. Sure, not every comic strip’s a winner, but once or twice a week I get a good laugh. More importantly, though – I enjoy Tycho’s maximum verbosity discourses and I trust his tastes in games. It’s thanks to him that I first ordered Puzzle Quest and Bookworm Adventures and more recently, CorspeCraft. I know that Tycho will stand up for a good game even if it’s too kid-friendly or casual for gamingdom’s target demo, and he’ll call bad games out in the face of hype. Reading Penny Arcade, I feel a contented connection to gamer culture.
After reading Tycho’s utopian descriptions of PAX over the years, with the beanbag lounges of gender-equality and Wil Wheaton’s life-changing speeches, I expected more of that gamer optimism to come through in the show. What was on display, however, was thoroughly uninspiring. Penny Arcade the website might succeed at creating a voice slightly to the left of mainstream gaming, but at PAX, the games on display mapped perfectly to the hype meter on IGN. Zombies, tactical shooters and sequels ruled, with only a scant few booths displaying anything not engineered to pander to the 16-30 male demographic.
Spending a weekend around these games and watching people queue up to play them (myself included), made me a little depressed about being a gamer. Is yet another game about lining up headshots with your futuristic rifle worthy of such excitement? Sometimes I wish someone would just stand up, like in the old 1984 Mac ad, and throw a chair at the big brother face of gaming and really shake things up. Then I realize, that’s just what Nintendo did with the Wii… and it fell cold on me. I appreciate the appeal it has for groups and families, but as someone who mostly plays alone, I seldom touch it. It’s not so much a revolution that I want, but better guides to what’s already here.
In film and books and music, I have no problem seeking out the titles I want, whether I learn about them from mass media sources, word-of-mouth or recommendations from Netflix/itunes, etc. With games, however, the mainstream hegemony is too loud and omnipresent to ignore. Games for “gamers”—as defined by young males who love some combination of Mega Man, Sepiroth and Master Chief—are easy to discover, follow and discuss because the culture of reading and writing about games grew up with that “mainstream” and still talk about little else. Against my better judgment, I continue to buy sequels to games I never really enjoyed the first time because that’s what “the conversation” is about (I’m looking at you, Metal Gear Solid & GTA!). The rest of the video game industry, including Free-2-Play MMOs and hidden object casual games are raking in dough, but aside from articles about their success, they never get a fair shake in the gamer press. I know there have to be better sources for finding games than IGN and kotaku. Are there any game fans among my readers who can recommend a better way to find the gems among the countless games that fall off the gamer radar?
My PAX experience wasn’t a complete bust, however. I did discover one game that pressed all my nerd buttons and tickled some I didn’t know existed –BattleForge! It’s a RTS (real time strategy) and CCG (collectible card game) mash-up that plays like a dream. As someone who sunk more than he’d care to admit on Magic cards back in the day (and even dabbled with the well-designed Lord of the Rings game from Decipher a few years back), I am quite susceptible to the appeal of deck building strategy and tournament premiums. Throw in controls that feel like Warcraft 2 and units reminiscent of all those ornately-painted Warhammer miniatures that I was never patient enough to recreate, and this game is an uber-nerd’s dream come true. Whereas most games in the RTS genre have been getting progressively more complex with tech trees to rival Civilization and headache-inducing micro-management, BattleForge opts for a minimalist approach to real-time complexity. There are no resources to gather, no half dozen special powers on a single unit. It’s closer to Tower Defense games, only with 200+ cards to build an army from.
So after all my complaining about more of the same, my game of show is possibly the nerdiest of all. I guess it’s not so much the lack of ideas that bothers me about my PAX trip, but the insistence on a common culture that gamers seem to have. Perhaps I shouldn’t protest too much, though, as my geek obsessions are all that keeps my tastes from mapping 1-to-1 with stuff white people like.
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Here’s an article about Coraline’s production that might make you more excited about it. The trailer didn’t do much for me — it was creepy, but seemed very…empty– but these new pics make me hungry for more.
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/09/huge_artistic_stakes_are_ridin.html
Hmm… you’re right, Jake. That did make me a bit more excited.
‘I’m still really irked about them deciding to digitally age Sarah. Grrrrr’
Wait… WHAT?!
Coraline gives me goosebumps. When flipping through the graphic novel, their faces. I literally shuddered. There is this one image where Coraline’s Other Mother is a like a beast with her mouth wide open and her button eyes glaring down at her. I was like, WTF.
But man, if little kids think about going to this movie just because of NBC. I’d tell them to stay away. The faces of the Other Parents are enough to give me nightmares as a child. :O
But thanks Jake for that awesome article. (Shows that you’re still reading our stuff.)
Back to the RtL anime – I really hope that it becomes true in the future. I’d also hope it’s not live action either. Character like Skub, I think, work better off animated anyway.
Jake, question (and this has been REALLY bugging me): Does Jareth actually sing a song in the first chapter of the next book? I’m kind of… scared a bit? I mean, what did you listen to? Or, did you model it off the songs in the film?
Andi,
It’s not in the first chapter, but yes, Jareth does “sing” a song in volume 3. My first draft of the song lives on on the “Goblin King’s Revenge” story. That version was far too “Broadway” for RTL proper, but I thought it worked well with that sillier episode.
I’ll talk more about music later. Good topic for another post!
-Jake
Ooh, Jareth sings a song? Cool! I didn’t think it possible, but you’ve just made me even more excited for volume three!
Is it December yet?
Wait a minute… when did they decide to digitally age Sarah? I don’t remember hearing about that!
I read the other day that Lucas was planning to go through and make Sarah the age of consent because of the “romantic implications”. No joke. He also said he wanted to go digitize the goblins. *whimper* That includes Hoggle, Ludo, Didymus and everyone else in the freaking movie. Jareth is going to be the only character who won’t look fake!
Of course, it was online, so be two parts angry to one part skeptical. For all I know it was just some guy blowing smoke.
Jareth sings in the next volume?! Can’t time go any faster?! I want to see how you managed to pull that one off without it be cheesy. Or is that the entire point?
Are you serious? I sincerely hope that isn’t real, because that would make what little respect I have left for George Lucas go right out the window.
Who cares if Sarah’s jailbait? It’s a freaking movie. It wasn’t 40 year old David Bowie coming on to 15 year old Jennifer Connelly, it was the centuries old Jareth coming on to a pretty, smart, brave girl he saw as his equal. People have gotten so ungodly fussy as of late. I think that’s part of the reason all the movies nowdays suck so bad.
Okay, end of my rant. So Jake… about that forum?
RE: Sarah aging thing — that was just part of an April Fools joke I posted here! I really hope no one is perpetuating that elsewhere as fact. Check out the archives — you’ll see that tongue is planted firmly in cheek. Now, everyone give a collective sigh of relief. Phew!
Oh that’s right. I remember reading that a few months ago. Don’t I feel dumb!
Oh, I almost forgot about your scary April Fools joke! Yes, there were some people taking that as fact, weird as that sounds. I’m STILL debunking a fake Labyrinth 2 movie site someone made in the late nineties. I’ve been telling people that one isn’t real for years.
Oh, I love song numbers! They can reveal so much about a character’s motives, intentions and feelings. It’s like mind reading for fiction and theatre.
Now back to Corpse Bride. Someone here mentioned the parents being scary. They’re strange but I wouldn’t call them scary. Though Victoria’s mother’s head is kind of… phalic. I’m hoping it was unintentional. Corpse Bride is perfectly fine for children. The dead characters are actually sweet and good. And it has a relatively happy ending. The Corpse Bride finds peace and the human couple get their happily ever after. Sorry if that was a big spoiler for anyone who thought it would have a ’surprise’ ending. It’s a kiddy faery tale.
And I’m all for Return to Labyrinth being adapted into an anime with Bowie providing Jareth’s voice and additional songs. Someone talk the right people into doing it… now!
Oh, and let’s not push up Bowie’s age any further than it is. He was born January 8th, 1947. That measn he was 38 turning 39 for most of the production of Labyrinth, not 40. The poor guy’s old enough, let’s not shove him into his grave any faster.
“Though Victoria’s mother’s head is kind of… phalic.”
Oh thank God I’m not the only one who thought that!
If they made an anime RtL movie, who do you think should do it?
HUH?! It was a joke? “I really hope no one is perpetuating that elsewhere as fact.” Well apparently they are because I’m pretty sure I didn’t read it here.
“If they made an anime RtL movie, who do you think should do it?” Just not the guy who did Howl’s Moving Castle. He takes too way too many liberties with plot lines and makes the characters grow in really weird ways that were never implied in the original sources.
Yes, Bowie should totally voice Jareth. Who else could you get?
I might be setting myself up for a fall here, but I have to admit, I don’t really want a movie/anime sequel to Labyrinth.
I don’t think live-action is possible due to the ages and popularity of the original cast, so if I had to choose it’d be either animated or CGI would be best…still, I prefer the integrity of the original movie to remain.
Think about it…would you view the ending (Or rather the entire movie) The same knowing what happens to the characters in the sequel? There’s no chance for imagination to happen, the story becomes set in stone and it so of looses a bit of whimsy. The Labyrinth is a place where anything can happen, but how can anything happen when you know exactly how things will unfold?
How many of us have imagined our own endings to the story? Would you be willing to totally let it go and completely accept whatever happens in the sequel?
If Jake suddenly decided that Jareth would dye his hair blue, give up his Kingdom and move to the human world to be a fashion designer would you be happy with his decision? Or would you have lingering feelings about what should/shouldn’t happen?
At some point or another we’ve all done this, whether it’s posting what we hope will happen in the manga, or simply just theorizing. Whenever we talk about the sequel we leave a little bit of what we want/don’t want to happen in our words.
But this is why the manga works so well, because although it’s there to act as an official sequel, it doesn’t have to be accepted by everyone.
I know a lot of people who only consider movies canon. Saying that, there’s probably a good number of Labyrinth fans out there that don’t believe the manga should be held as the “official” ending. So if the manga doesn’t turn out the way you like, you can always just ignore it and form your own conclusions.
But what happens when you create another movie sequel? Do they say that the movie sequel isn’t canon? The line becomes blurred and you’d probably end up with a lot of irate fans, because the sequel isn’t what they had imagined had happened.
I often wonder what Jim Henson would do if he were still alive today. What would he want to happen to Sarah and Jareth? Would Toby be named heir to the throne? Would characters like Mizumi even exist?
I guess we’ll never know. Maybe that’s the way it has to be though. I think Jim’s word would be the last on the matter, so maybe it’s good that we can all be left to our imaginations.
I’m not quite sure how to end this, but I guess I’ll just say that while having the manga sequel is nice, I don’t want to have to rely on it to finish the story.
I know quite a lot of people who don’t consider the manga as canon, because as you said, it isn’t going the direction they want it to.
You make some good points about a sequal, Kristi, but does making a sequal really mean that fans couln’t imagine anymore? Haven’t people been speculating different senarios to the end of the original since… well since 1986?
There is no way on earth you’re going to be able to make a sequal to any given movie, and be able to make everyone happy. That’s one of the reasons I generally do not approve of unnecessary sequals, because I either don’t like them, or I have to sit and listen to other people bitch because they don’t like them.
That said, even though I would pay money to go see a RtL movie, perhaps it wouldn’t be the wisest decision in the world. But like speculating what could happen in the upcoming volumes, making speculations about a movie is really just harmless fun.
And Gobblinize Me!, you’re right about Hayou Miazaki not being the best choice for this project. His art style is just not right, it’s too… I don’t know the word, but it just isn’t right.
Oh, and if David Bowie doesn’t want to do a sequal, a sequal doesn’t need to be made. Just don’t do it! Don’t even try.
‘HUH?! It was a joke? “I really hope no one is perpetuating that elsewhere as fact.” Well apparently they are because I’m pretty sure I didn’t read it here.’
Yes, it started here. Then someone on Labyrinth Realm Yahoo group took it seriously and ran around like Chicken Little. For a while I was clearing up the mistake wherever possible. Apparently someone never noticed that it was a deliberately bad blog entry by Jake here, posted on April First (April fool’s Day). There were even some saying what a great idea it is! I had forgotten all about it because the misconception had cooled down quite a bit several months ago.
‘“Though Victoria’s mother’s head is kind of… phalic.”
Oh thank God I’m not the only one who thought that!’
My mother (whom passed away in 2006) saw Corpse Bride with me the day it came to theatres. And during According to Plan she leaned over and said to me ‘Her head looks like a penis!’ So I was stuck staring at the thing for the rest of the movie.
‘Think about it…would you view the ending (Or rather the entire movie) The same knowing what happens to the characters in the sequel?’
Yes. Even a truly bad sequel (And this isn’t a bad one) cannot really harm an original film.
Did The Little Mermaid 2 ruin The Little Mermaid? Did Queen of the damned obliterate Interview with the vampire?
What you’re reminding me of is how Doctor Who fans were freaking out at the idea of Rose coming back in Series 4 because they felt it would ruin the tragedy at the end of series 2. No, that grief The Doctor felt at the end of series 2 was not removed. It remained in tact.
I’ve never seen a sequel ruin a first movie. If I hate a sequel I hate the seequel and don’t let it hurt my view of the original. But I love Return to Labyrinth.
Sarah’s story was told and completely. I don’t know how Toby’s adventure and a subplot of Sarah in her twenties could have any effect on how you view her adventure as a teenager.
‘How many of us have imagined our own endings to the story? Would you be willing to totally let it go and completely accept whatever happens in the sequel?’
Yes? Why not? Of course I’m bias because most of what Jake is writing still fits within the mythos of my own fan fictions. I was lucky.
That reminds me, I really should relocate my old fan fictions from ye ol 1999 Labyrinth fan fiction archive and put them up on Fanfiction.net.
I’m going to do a little advocating on behalf of the idea of an anime of Return to Labyrinth. Please don’t take offense. It’s not a personal attack. Just a fair, opposite side to the debate.
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‘How many of us have imagined our own endings to the story? Would you be willing to totally let it go and completely accept whatever happens in the sequel?’
So what? Has that stopped sequels before? Remember when the end of the final Harry potter book was leaked a few days early? I’m sure you do. And there were fans ranting how poorly written it was and Rowling would NEVER end it like that. Some threatened to burn their books if it really ended like that. But when it was revealed that was the official ending they all shut up. There will always be people who perfer their own ideas and fan fictions and don’t like it when the films, books, or TV show stray from that.
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‘If Jake suddenly decided that Jareth would dye his hair blue, give up his Kingdom and move to the human world to be a fashion designer would you be happy with his decision? Or would you have lingering feelings about what should/shouldn’t happen?’
If he did something bad sure I’d be disappointed. And I’d probably rant and rave for a while.
By the way, in the original novelization and interviews with David Bowie, it was said, more than once, that Jareth would rather be mortal living in Soho. So I wouldn’t mind at all actually (though I prefer him as an immortal being). As for the blue hair… Did you see the As the world falle down scene?
But even if Jake did do something bad I would never, ever let that effect how I feel about the first story. I grew up loving an American Tail. does that mean I let the fourth one (or how many there are now) ruin how I saw it? No. What about all those films in the eighties and nineties that got Saturday Morning Cartoon adaptations? I loved both Beetlejuice and the animated series version but I viewed them to be seperate canon.
And I’m certainly not going to let what they’re doing to Dark Crystal effect how I view the first film.
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‘At some point or another we’ve all done this, whether it’s posting what we hope will happen in the manga, or simply just theorizing. Whenever we talk about the sequel we leave a little bit of what we want/don’t want to happen in our words.’
Of course, that doesn’t mean the world ends if something doesn’t go according to what you or I might want.
————————–
‘But this is why the manga works so well, because although it’s there to act as an official sequel, it doesn’t have to be accepted by everyone.’
Neither would a sequel.
———————————-
‘I know a lot of people who only consider movies canon. Saying that, there’s probably a good number of Labyrinth fans out there that don’t believe the manga should be held as the “official” ending. So if the manga doesn’t turn out the way you like, you can always just ignore it and form your own conclusions.’
You could do the same with a sequel.
I hated Anne Rice’s Blood Canticle (her final Vampire Chronicle) but it’ll never effect my view of Interview with the vampire and The Vampire Lestat.
—————————-
‘But what happens when you create another movie sequel? Do they say that the movie sequel isn’t canon? The line becomes blurred and you’d probably end up with a lot of irate fans, because the sequel isn’t what they had imagined had happened.’
You can’t please everyone and at the same time there would be an equal number of happy and or grateful fans, possibly more. When making ANY fiction you cannot please everyone. To quote Oscar Wilde, ‘There’s no such thing as a bad bood. Only well written or poorly written books.’
I’m sure you would please at least 80% of Labyrinth fans if Sarah and Jareth got a happily ever after.
——————————
‘I often wonder what Jim Henson would do if he were still alive today. What would he want to happen to Sarah and Jareth? Would Toby be named heir to the throne?’
That already was done in Jim Henson’s life time. The novelization.
——————————–
‘Would characters like Mizumi even exist?’
I couldn’t tell you but it is in the vein of Never-ending Story 2.
————————————
‘I guess we’ll never know. Maybe that’s the way it has to be though. I think Jim’s word would be the last on the matter, so maybe it’s good that we can all be left to our imaginations.’
Even if a sequel film is made (and I’d love to see an animated film of Return to Labyrinth) there would be those who wouldn’t accept it because Jim is not directing. So why worry over those who won’t accept it? Just do it. If it’s good, it’s good.
———————–
And in reply to someone else…
‘Oh, and if David Bowie doesn’t want to do a sequal, a sequal doesn’t need to be made. Just don’t do it! Don’t even try.’
Oh, please! He’s desperate to recapture his youth and has a little girl. He’d leap on it like a dog after a bone.
Okay, I know I’ve been rambling today. The funny thing about the whole Moppet story line. Besides the fact that I too have Jareth having ruled 1,300 years, signs of claustrophobia and marks on his hands as to why he wears gloves in my own old fan fictions but also I did one where Jareth created a son out of magick who fled from the castle to avoid becoming goblin King. I named that character Marcus and the fiction was called Changes. Every time I see Moppet I think of my own creation, Marcus.
As I said, when it came to my own fan fictions, I was one of the lucky ones that mine can still fit even with manga canon.
“And in reply to someone else…
‘Oh, and if David Bowie doesn’t want to do a sequal, a sequal doesn’t need to be made. Just don’t do it! Don’t even try.’
Oh, please! He’s desperate to recapture his youth and has a little girl. He’d leap on it like a dog after a bone.”
I’m not saying he wouldn’t, I’m just saying IF. I’m sure he would, he’s been doing other kiddie stuff as of late. I was just saying IF.
If Bowie doesn’t do it there are voice impersonators. Some aren’t even very good voice impersonators who get mistaken as Bowie himself. I still argue with Venture Brothers fans who think Bowie provides the voice of the Bowie character. Even though the episode has text appear on the screen in mid-episode saying it’s not David Bowie doing the voice of David Bowie.
“If Jake suddenly decided that Jareth would dye his hair blue, give up his Kingdom and move to the human world to be a fashion designer would you be happy with his decision?” Um…Yes? Sorry, but the Goblin King wears the coolest clothes and I would totally buy his designs, so I find it plausible yet whimsical.
If he were to give up his throne and become, say, a dump truck driver, then I might be a little mad about the ending.
But, people, remember. This is the Labyrinth. The only thing you should depend on is it being utterly undependable.
You have to realize that people would view it differently from the start because it was animation instead of live action. Would Dark Knight have been viewed differently if it had been animation instead of live action? Heck yeah.
RtL is not about Jareth and Sarah! It’s about Toby! Yes, the events that took place thirteen years ago between Jareth and Sarah are extremely relevant to the story, but they aren’t what this is about. They are what writers call *drumroll* back story. *ta da!*
Personally, I’m curious to why we’re making a big stink over a movie that doesn’t exist possibly having an ending we won’t like. Seems kind of silly, doesn’t it?
Heck, before the movie even really starts the first time we watch it, we know that Sarah is going to defeat Jareth. So, really, if it’s a good movie, then people will embrace it as a sequel. Otherwise they’ll just roll their eyes and go back to their happy little lives.
But, since we’re talking theoretically here, someone mentioned the “already know the ending, why bother” issue. Personally, I don’t think knowing the ending would hurt, because we re-watch the old one over and over and over and we all know the ending.
Really, my only demands if they make RtL an anime is that David Bowie voices Jareth and they have it in English. (Which is the same thing, I guess…)
For me, tacked on sequels ruin a lot of the staying power of a movie. The first Land Before Time movie is awesome and a part of my childhood, but it does makes me cringe thinking about the huge number of sequels that it spawned, and how the beloved characters have now just become vehicles for tacky movies.
I guess it might just be a personal thing, but for me movies loose their sparkle when you can see that people are just trying to make money off the initial popularity.
I guess I just don’t want Labyrinth to turn into a huge money-making scheme for some big-wig. I just don’t want it to sell out. And I don’t want it to end up that everybody has a different interpretation of the canon of the fandom. When people start cherry-picking it starts to get confusing (And starts being less about the content and more about personal choice).
Mandy, does the novelization cover anything that happens after the film ends? Or is it just a deeper telling of the first movie. And just how much input did Jim Henson have into the novelization?
And I remember the interview with Bowie where he mentioned the Soho thing. But I always figured that it was his take on the character, it might not necessarily be what was intended (Although that’s hard to assume, I’m not in the movie business, so I have no idea who’s really in-charge of what the character acts like, the director or the actor. Both must have creative input, but at the end of the day who wins?).
And besides, if Jareth really wanted to move to Soho, why wouldn’t he? He doesn’t have to answer to anyone, so why not just up and leave the Goblins to their own devices (They’d probably be indifferent). I’m sure Jareth likes being King (Atleast up until Sarah came), otherwise he wouldn’t have stuck around for 1300 years.
And I have to add, if there is a sequel I really hope it isn’t in the ‘anime’ style. I hate how american cartoons are ripping off anime’s because they want that demographic (And if I have to explain to one more person about how Teen Titans is not an anime I’ll scream). I’d much rather see Jareth drawn in a more realistic style (Think Jem) than in ‘anime’ style.
I love the look of american animation, so it irks me to see animator’s not preserving the style in favour of something more popular.
And I have to say, I do like Miyazaki’s work, although I really wish that Yoshifumi Kondō had been able to take over Studio Ghibli. He was set to be the successor, but unfortunantly passed away suddenly after directing his first and only movie (Whisper of the Heart, my favorite Ghibli movie).
Ha ha, just disproved myself with the wrong example. Jem was an “American Animated” TV show, but the animation was done in Japan.
But I guess the comparison still stands, Jem isn’t drawn in the ‘traditional’ anime way, so it’s not entirely ripping off the style. And besides, Jem isn’t that far off from Jareth anyway (Big hair, flashy clothes…)
Gargoyles ws an American cartoon done over in Japan with good animation too.
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‘Mandy, does the novelization cover anything that happens after the film ends? Or is it just a deeper telling of the first movie. And just how much input did Jim Henson have into the novelization?’
He had to approve the content. And yes, it’s just a more in depth look at the events of the film and talks a little of Jareth’s point of view and motives. Some hate it because it makes Jareth ‘too mean’ while others say it makes him ‘too sympathetic.’ I guess some just can’t handle the new angle. I think it’s a healthy balance and lets you feel for him a bit more.
————————
‘And I remember the interview with Bowie where he mentioned the Soho thing. But I always figured that it was his take on the character, it might not necessarily be what was intended (Although that’s hard to assume, I’m not in the movie business, so I have no idea who’s really in-charge of what the character acts like, the director or the actor.’
The film (from Bowie’s acting) and the music videos as well as the novelization all seem to imply that Jareth does not really want to be Goblin King. He’d give it up if given the chance.
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‘And besides, if Jareth really wanted to move to Soho, why wouldn’t he? He doesn’t have to answer to anyone, so why not just up and leave the Goblins to their own devices (They’d probably be indifferent). I’m sure Jareth likes being King (Atleast up until Sarah came), otherwise he wouldn’t have stuck around for 1300 years.’
He might not have a choice in the matter. Or he may need an heir before he can step down. There’s so much to speculate here but I get the distinct impression that by the time we saw the first Labyrinth story he was pretty much in the same rut as Jack Skellington in Nightmare before Christmas.
I read in a few ancient interviews that Jim Henson did not really see Jareth as someone Sarah should end up with. Or, he disliked the idea of a sequel with Jareth doing a total 360* in his personality. I have to dig up the article which mentioned Jareth’s personality and the impact Labyrinth should have on the viewers.
Anyway, back to you Jake:
Oh Jake, thank you for answering my question. Anyway. That is the original draft you say? Now, when I asked if he sings a “song”, you didn’t say if it was something he came up with or if he heard it. I love the fact that you’re so … sly. And, the fact that you’re going to bring this up in a later post makes me so excited.
*hugs* Thanks for making my day!
Jareth did seem kind of…well, bored before he started playing with Toby. I really think he hates being the Goblin King because he’s surround with ugly, stupid creatures who probably aren’t very good conversationalists. Which would explain part of why he was attracted to Sarah, who was the exact opposite of what he was resigned to rule for probably the rest of eternity until he made Toby heir.
Now I’m going to go and reread the Goblin King’s Revenge so I have an idea what Jareth’s new song is about.
Uhhhh…finished reading it. Tell me the final result is vastly different or I think my head is going to explode.
I’m suddenly very, very nervous.
As Jake said, that’s a first draft. I liked it, though it had no beat, but I got the general gist of what is going on. Though, I think there should be a bit more temptation and sexual exploration in the song – then it’d sound more like Jareth.
“Though, I think there should be a bit more temptation and sexual exploration in the song – then it’d sound more like Jareth.” Are you serious? Part of what made Jareth cool was he never said anything directly. He was mysterious about everything and while you could tell he was using multiple meanings (example: Within You), it was nothing I wouldn’t let small people listen to (or in this case read).
Now I’m REALLY nervous about where this is going. Jake, post so that I don’t panic that Jareth is going to turn into a glitter-dusted Shigure!
‘I read in a few ancient interviews that Jim Henson did not really see Jareth as someone Sarah should end up with. Or, he disliked the idea of a sequel with Jareth doing a total 360* in his personality. I have to dig up the article which mentioned Jareth’s personality and the impact Labyrinth should have on the viewers.’
I’ve heard of this but I’ve also done thorough research on the matter to feed my own obsession with Labyrinth. I’m afraid it may be as much hearsay as the stepmother ‘officially’ being named Karen. Anyone remember that? In the mid-nineties the fans named Sarah’s stepmother cannon and within a few short years everyone was saying that it was her name in the original script and or the novelization and it wasn’t. To this day there are people who insist the stepmother’s name is Karen. It’s not. It was a descion made by some fan fiction writers in the nineties and it stuck.
I know Jim Henson was not very fond if sequels in general (though he’s guilty of making some, Muppet movie followed by Muppets take Manhattan) but it seems to me beyond that his views have been distorted over time.
I don’t mean to imply that you’re lying, I’m just worried this might be yet another bit of hearsay getting distorted over time. Mind showing me these interviews?
This just makes me wonder how exactly Jareth came into power…Like I said before, I don’t really see anything keeping Jareth tied to the Labyrinth (Besides him secretly liking the power), but maybe there’s something in his history that’s making him stay?
Hur, I hate being separated from my Labyrinth books…I feel like I’m forgetting something that was mentioned about the history of the Goblin Kingdom. In any case, if an heir needs to be appointed before the current King can stand down, who came before Jareth?
If there is some sort of rule, then it must have been someone other than Jareth that established it, otherwise wouldn’t Jareth have the power to abolish it?
And now I’m sort of wondering what would happen if Jareth did indeed move to Soho…would he be able to adjust? It’d be a pretty radical change not having that kind of power anymore, and besides, Jareth’s people skills aren’t exactly suited for the real world.
And I don’t really consider the Muppet movies to be sequels…they’re more like parts of a series. Incidentally, The Great Muppet Caper is my fav, I love the running joke of Fozie and Kermit being ‘identical twins’.
I’ve been wondering Jake, are you going to explore Jareth’s history in an upcoming volume?
I’m sure we’d all like our questions answered.
I think Jareth is addicted to power because he feels helpless. It’s a vicious cycle. He craves more and more power and authority to compensate for the power he lacked when and where it’s truly necessary to have it. He feels trapped in his obligations. Every race of faery has rules they have to obey whether they like it or not such as vulnerability to iron. Something tells me Jareth is not the top of the magical food chain as he likes to present himself as. For all we know he could be the bastard son of the goblin king before him and if Jareth was raised on Earth as a mortal (though not actually being one) he could long for the life he wishes he had instead.
I think Jareth could adapt to life in Soho once he really let go of all his ties to The Underground. He would probably be content to live there as some shabby, underpaid painter because it’s such a sharp contrast from being The Goblin King. (Visual inspired by Bowie’s music video Look back in Anger, which I shall link to this post).
David Bowie felt Jareth reluctantly inheritted the title of Goblin King so Jareth probably always secretly resented not having a choice in the matter much like the way Lestat resents having been forcibly made a vampire against his will as reflected by the repeated line ‘I’m going to give you the choice I never had…’ In the film Interview with the vampire. Also like Lestat, Jareth living a mortal life could have the drastic opposite effect and make Jareth more appreciative of his role as Goblin King and make him grow to live his possition the way Lestat grew to appreciate his existance in Anne Rice’s Tale of the body thief.
I have a question though, do you think David Bowie meant SoHo New York or Soho London? Both are the same sort of neighbourhoods when you really get down to it so it really doesn’t matter much but it’s hard to tell which one he meant since Bowie does love New York City and was recording the Labyrinth soundtrack in New York when he said that.
I’m over caffeinated again so forgive my babbling…
As to the response I got about my last post (from Gobblinize Me!):
I didn’t mean to imply that that would actually be something that he’d downright sing. But, I think the song needs to be a bit more … I don’t know how to put it, because it’s difficult. David’s songs for Labyrinth were pretty much based on the whole “growing up” spectrum of changing from a kid to a teen. And, well, I’m sure that for a girl, that would be one of the things perhaps in her mind. As for in the novel, there is a scene where Sarah actually is ready to kiss him, and she’s contemplating it. … So, that’s what I meant. I just thought there should be more of that and that. Do you understand me? Sorry, I sometimes say things without thinking about it first.