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| Labyrinth (1986) concept art by Brian Froud |
Every Friday I feature artwork from a classic of science fiction cinema. This week's "Flashback Friday" post is on Jim Henson's Labyrinth (1986).
Early this week a Variety article inspired people to believe The Jim Henson Company was making a sequel from the cult fantasy film. It turns out it was a misunderstanding, but it reminded all of us who love the film why it was so great. So, I thought it would be fun to look at some early sketches by illustrator Brian Froud of his classic designs.
Originally Jim Henson came up with the idea for the film by looking at some of Froud's fantasy sketches. Specifically he was inspired by the image of a baby in the middle of a horde of goblins. Froud said, "In the very early stages, Jim [Henson] and I were discussing what it might be about and we decided 'goblins.' From there, I started to create pictures and drawings. I filled sketchbook after sketchbook, doodling in corners, creating hundreds of creatures."
Brian Froud is a professional English fantasy illustrator who's worked on major motion pictures like The Dark Crystal (1982), Peter Pan (2003) and Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1989)
Click on the images to enlarge.
Henson hired Monthy Python writer Terry Jones to write the script. Inspired by the drawings and etchings of northern European artists like Albrecht Dürer, Brian Froud's compiled hundreds of drawings of different types of goblins and made a catalogue complete with names and descriptions. These inspired Jones as he wrote his script. "Every time I was stuck and needed something to happen, I'd look through Brian's drawings, and there would be a new character, speaking to me." Terry Jones said.
See more of Brian Froud's marvelous portfolio at http://www.worldoffroud.com.
Click on the links if you want to see more of Brian Froud's work or Labyrinth artwork on my blog.
If you're a fan of the movie and Froud's art you'll want to get the wonderful book The Goblins of Labyrinth
by Brian Froud.Some images via http://afanyc.com
What do you think of the concept art? If you've seen Labyrinth what do you think of the movie?
Official Labyrinth Summary
"Babysitting her infant stepbrother Toby isn't young Sarah's idea of fun. Frustrated by his crying, she secretly imagines the Goblins from her favourite book, LABYRINTH, carrying Toby away. When her fantasy comes true, a distraught Sarah must enter a maze of illusion to bring Toby back."Directed by Jim Henson
Cinematography by Alex Thomson
Production Design by Elliot Scott
Starring David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Froud, Shelley Thompson, Christopher Malcolm
Release Dates: June 27, 1986 (United States), November 28, 1986 (United Kingdom)
Official Site: http://lucasfilm.com/labyrinth
© Copyright 1986 The Jim Henson Company, Lucasfilm, Tri-Star Pictures. All rights reserved
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That's a lot of characters! And forgot that Terry Jones wrote the script.
ReplyDeleteThose designs are amazing. Such imagination. The visual style of the movie was unmatched. Great find!
ReplyDeleteThe designs are fabulous, and I've always loved Labyrinth. At the time of its release, I was blown away by the use of puppetry - and Bowie! Seeing the artistic renderings just reinforces the fact that there was a whole lot o' talent fused together to make the film. (And I didn't know about Terry Jones - cool!)
ReplyDeleteIt is a wonderful movie and Jim Henson’s puppetry techniques are nothing less than genius even today.
ReplyDeleteI would like some prints of this! The characters have character!
ReplyDelete