Jareth the Goblin King

David Bowie in Labyrinth as Jareth.

Jareth, the Goblin King is a fictional character in the 1986 movie Labyrinth. He was portrayed by David Bowie. He is the film's main antagonist, and also appears in much of the tie-in material produced to compliment the film, including its novelization and its manga sequel.

Role In The Film

Jareth has the power to transform into an white barn-owl, and is first seen in the film in his owl form watching Sarah as she recites lines from the play Labyrinth. Jareth first appears in the film in his human form when he is summoned by Sarah to take her infant brother Toby away from her. Jareth attempts to make Sarah give up her brother by offering her a crystal that will reveal her dreams, only for her to refuse. Jareth transports both himself and Sarah to a hill overlooking his Labyrinth and tells her she has thirteen hours to save Toby. He then vanishes, leaving Sarah alone on the hill-top to start her journey.

He is next seen in his castle, surrounded by his drunk, clumsy goblin subjects. He rises from his throne and begins to interact with his subjects through the song Magic Dance, which he uses to express his delight at having Toby in his possession.

When Sarah falls into the Oubliette, Jareth is perturbed by the speed of her progress through the Labyrinth. He declares that he plans to send Hoggle to fetch her and take her back to the start of the Labyrinth, laughing gleefully at the thought of her being delayed.

Disguising himself as a blind, shabby beggar, Jareth waits for Sarah and Hoggle in the passage leading away from the Oubliette, attracting their attention with one of his crystals. He does away with his disguise as soon as they appear, asking Hoggle to explain why he appears to be helping Sarah instead of taking her back to the start of the Labyrinth as he was ordered to. Quickly losing interest in Hoggle, Jareth approaches Sarah and asks for her opinion on his Labyrinth. Her flippant response causes him to lose his patience with her, and he sends the Cleaners after both Sarah and Hoggle as punishment.

Jareth's next significant appearance is an encounter with Hoggle, where he gives a peach to Hoggle that he orders him to give to Sarah. When asked if the peach will harm Sarah, Jareth taunts Hoggle and ridicules the idea that Sarah could consider "a repulsive little scab" such as him a friend. In parting, he tells Hoggle he will make him a prince if Sarah should ever kiss him. He soon fulfils this promise, causing a trap door that leads to The Bog Of Eternal Stench to open beneath both Sarah and Hoggle when Sarah kisses Hoggle in gratitude for him having saved her. Later, when Hoggle is about the drop the peach into The Bog Of Eternal Stench, Jareth's disembodied voice tells him "I wouldn't do that if I were you" and Hoggle returns the peach to his pocket.

David Bowie as Jareth in Labyrinth.

When Sarah eats the drugged peach, Jareth is seen on the window-sill of his throne room, casting crystals out into the sky that travel towards Sarah. Sarah is drawn into the dream-world contained in one of the crystals, a world that also features Jareth. Jareth is elusive at first, deliberately hiding from Sarah as she wanders through the crowd, confused and disorientated. Eventually, he approaches her and draws her into a dance, singing the love ballad As The World Falls Down to her as they move across the ballroom. Sarah is eventually distracted by the sight of a clock that indicates her time is running out, and she pulls herself free from Jareth and flees. Jareth watches her run from him, and is lost from sight in the crowd.

Following Sarah's entrance into the Goblin City, a guard enters Jareth's throne room to inform him that "the girl who ate the peach and forget everything" is making her way through his city. Visibly stunned by this news, Jareth calls out for his army to stop her and passes Toby to a goblin so he can be hidden. Jareth looks out onto his city from his Throne Room, watching as Sarah advances.

Jareth confronts Sarah in the Escher Room of his castle, trying to disorientate her by performing gravity-defying stunts on the stairways that fill the room. He sings the song Within You to her, attempting to convey the lengths he has gone to in order to meet her wishes. Entirely focused on saving Toby Sarah ignores him, ultimately reaching a precipice she leaps from in order to reach her brother.

When Sarah lands, she is faced with Jareth once again as he approaches her from a dark, shadowy alcove. Jareth attempts to make Sarah see what he has done to please her, most significantly taking her brother away when asked to. Sarah ignores him, and recites the words from the play necessary to defeat him. Jareth pleads with her, telling Sarah he is tired of 'living up' to her expectations and that she can have everything she wants if she will only love, fear and obey him. Sarah remains deaf to his pleas, and defeats him with the words "You have no power over me." Jareth crumbles before Sarah's eyes, the crystal he had held out to her shattering as he transforms into an owl.

Jareth is last seen perched on a branch outside Sarah's window, watching as she celebrates with her friends. Jareth flies off as they celebrate, silhouetted towards the moon.

Appearances In Other Media

Music Videos

Although not explicitly stated, David Bowie appears to be playing versions of Jareth in the music videos for the songs Underground and As The World Falls Down, from the Labyrinth soundtrack. The Labyrinth music videos are available on the VHS tape "The Bowie Video Collection" and the two-disc DVD set, "The Best of Bowie."

Underground

In the Underground music video, David Bowie portrays a singer performing in a quiet, dingily lit club. The scenes of Bowie performing are inter-cut with scenes that show him being lured into the strange world of the labyrinth, which is represented through the use of puppets from the film and animation. The music video ends with Bowie choosing to enter the world of the labyrinth for good, ripping off his human skin to reveal an animated self beneath.

As the World Falls Down

In this music video, Jareth is shown to be pining after a grown-up Sarah. He is shown performing the track in an elegant room, with Hoggle as his servant and sole companion. A portrait of Sarah hangs on the wall. At one point the portrait crashes to the ground, prompting Jareth and Hoggle to look to the door as they falsely believe there is someone on the other side. The doorway is empty, and Jareth is seen staring ahead grimly upon realizing no one was there.

Return To Labyrinth

According to Return to Labyrinth, Jareth has ruled the Labyrinth for 1300 years. He is introduced in the first volume as having been Toby’s self-appointed guardian angel since childhood, watching over him and fulfilling the wishes his parents wouldn’t indulge. Jareth ends up masquerading as the principal of Toby’s high-school, but Toby infuriates him with his perceived ingratitude and Jareth leaves the school in a rage. Jareth’s next significant appearance is at the end of the book, where he appears at a grand ball with Toby and introduces Toby to everyone in attendance as the new Goblin King, vanishing without offering any explanation.

In volume two, Jareth is seen navigating his way through the Labyrinth in order to escape it and travel to the mortal world. At the end of the book, Jareth appears on Sarah’s door-step as a cliff-hanger. In the third volume Jareth is invited by Sarah into her flat. She cannot remember him, and he masquerades as an old friend of hers from the theatre. In a later montage sequence, Jareth is shown stalking Sarah over the course of a day in her life, from the moment she wakes up, through her day teaching at a school to her date with her boyfriend Tim in the evening. The lyrics of the song Shadows Of A Dream are featured throughout , and emphasis the extent of Jareth’s obsession with Sarah. Jareth is next seen tracking down an ex-denizen of his Labyrinth, Cob, who he has entrusted with a shard of his heart which is invested with some of his powers. Jareth forcibly takes the shard from Cob, using it to restore some of his lost strength. Along with a bunch of flowers, Jareth sends Sarah an invite to a performance of Canticle of Dreams at the Enigma Lain theater.

Sarah arrives at the performance in the fourth and final volume, and Jareth puts on a grotesque puppet show for her that features a depiction of her adventures in the Labyrinth. The puppet show triggers Sarah’s lost memories of the Labyrinth, and she is confronted by Jareth who offers her the opportunity to create a new world with him. They leave the theatre together, entering a dream world where Sarah gradually assumes the persona of Jareth’s Queen. Both are prepared to stay in the dream world forever, but Moppet manages to enter the world they have created and informs Sarah that the Labyrinth is crumbling, and that the lives of all those who inhabit it are in danger. Using this as leverage, Sarah persuades Jareth to abandon their dream world and save the Labyrinth. Jareth saves the Labyrinth, but when he attempts to make Sarah remain with him she refuses and tells him she must follow her own path. While initially upset by this, Jareth eventually submits and allows Sarah to leave.

Throughout the four volumes, Jareth is featured in flashbacks and his plans, dreams and desires are detailed in dream sequences and through dialogue. Jareth is shown to desire Sarah as his Queen, and her defeat of him is identified as the main cause of his loss of power. He tasks the sorceress (and his former love interest) Mizumi with creating an ablation from Sarah’s discarded dreams, and she presents him with Moppet in return for Jareth’s promise that he will give her the Goblin King’s heart and kingdom in thirteen years if he fails to make Moppet love him. Jareth is unable to win Moppet's love and abandons her in the Junk City, re-focusing his energies on how he can find Sarah, bring her back to the Labyrinth and avoid paying his debt to Mizumi.

Action Figures

Neca released two Jareth action figures: a 12 inch one, dressed in black (it can talk, speaking lines from the movie), and a 7 inch one, which comes with a figure of Hoggle the dwarf.

Novelization

A. C. H. Smith's novelisation is based on the movie. Jareth appears much the same as he does in the film, and most of his dialogue remaint the same. The full text of the novel can be found here.

Personality

Jareth presents as being proud, arrogant and mischievous, and at the start of the film delights in tormenting Sarah and demonstrating his powers to her. As the film progresses, he displays other traits, including building anxiety as Sarah progresses quickly through his Labyrinth. By the end of the film he is desperate to win, attempting to win Sarah over by insisting he will give her everything she wants in exchange for her love, fear and obedience.

He acts like a gang leader with his goblin subjects, expecting them to laugh at his jokes and quickly losing his patience with them. Despite the fact he treats his subjects poorly, they continue to serve him and obey him without question. He appears weary of their antics, and often seems more interested in following Sarah's progress in one of his crystals than interacting with them.

Appearance

Jareth has long, wild blond hair, and his eyes appear to be diffirent colours as the pupil of one is permanently dilated. His age is never given, however David Bowie was thirty-eight when he filmed his role as Jareth. The novelization of the film implies that Jareth has been the Goblin King for a long time, and overtly states that he is concerned by signs he is aging such as frown-lines and wrinkles.

Costumes

Jareth wears eight distinct costumes over the course of the film, often being seen in black boots, long, ragged cloaks, loose shirts and form-fitting trousers. In most of his scenes, he wears a sickle-shaped pendant around his neck. He carries a riding crop in some scenes.

Abilities

Jareth is shown to have a range of magical powers. He can transform into an owl, apparently at will, and uses this form to travel to the human world to spy on Sarah. He can manipulate crystal balls with his hands easily, and does so to impress Sarah at the start of the film. Additionally he can appear and disappear in his realm as he wishes, and can speak directly to his subjects using his mind. He is also able to defy gravity, running through the Escher Room in his castle upside down.

Memorable Quotes

(T'o Sarah) "I ask for so little. Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave."

(To Sarah) "I ask so little. Just let me rule you, and you can have everything that you want."

(To Sarah) "You have thirteen hours in which to solve the labyrinth, before your baby brother becomes one of us...forever."

"Well, laugh."

"In 9 hours and 23 minutes... you'll be mine."