In 1986, Jim Henson and George Lucas released an outstanding film that has become an absolute classic. In Labyrinth, we follow teenager Sarah (future superstar Jennifer Connelly), as she fights her way through a massive maze to rescue her baby brother from Jareth The Goblin King (the legendary David Bowie). Along the way, she befriends numerous creatures and inhabitants of the realm, each playing a role in helping her to reach the center of the Labyrinth to face the Goblin King. The film has been a long time favorite of mine, with stunning puppetry, costumes and sets by The Jim Henson Company. It’s a wonderful (if at times a bit creepy) tale, with an outstanding performance, both acting wise and musically, from David Bowie.
McFarlane Toys has released their first figure based on the iconic film. The new figure is based on Jareth’s appearance during the Masquerade Ball scene from the film. This is not the first time figures based on the film were produced. In 2007 – 2008, NECA produced two 7″ scale figures based on Jareth, as well as a 12″ scale version. The new one from McFarlane is part of their Color Tops Collection of 7″ scale figures. They have sent along the figure for us to check out. Read on for my thoughts and a full photo shoot.
McFarlane Toys Labyrinth Jareth the Goblin King 7″ Scale Figure
Pros
- Excellent figure sculpt
- Great likeness to David Bowie
- Digital printed details look great in hand
- Crystal ball is surprisingly clear
Cons
- Hip joints hinder articulation
- Can’t place mask correctly in front of his face
Overall
As with all of their current 7″ scale figures, Jareth is packaged in a collector friendly window box. Unlike many of those, the packaging has an overall look and design that features images, colors and art from Labyrinth. Most other color Tops figures have a standard design with minimal design elements from their licenses. This is a nice change of direction, helping the figure to stand out. Inside, Jareth sits on a plastic tray, held in with a few twist ties. The figure includes a mask, a crystal ball and a figure stand.
Right out of the box, the figure is an impressive looking version of Jareth The Goblin King. Sculpt wise, McFarlane did a great job of scaling down the highly detailed masquerade costume worn in the film. The jacket is ornate, with jewels, lace, and detailed patterns throughout. Folds are sculpted with precision and soft plastic drapes down behind the figures legs. The head sculpt is just as impressive, with a well done likeness of the late David Bowie. The hair feels just a little too big, but that’s how it looked in the film. The figure has nice paint work, with multiple levels of washes on the outfit, and mostly clean lines between the varying levels of detail on the costume. The face uses the newly popular digital printing technique that has been seen on S.H. Figuarts and Marvel Legends. I honestly didn’t realize this until I looked at the details through the camera lens. In hand, it’s not really noticeable as the dots are small and vine, adding to, instead of detracting from the sculpted details. The included mask is surprisingly well detailed for its small size. They used a softer plastic to keep the mask from being too fragile. The other accessory included is a small crystal ball, presented to Sarah as a gift in the film. The accessory itself is tiny, but quite impressive. The ball is almost perfectly clear, with only a tony bit of imperfection on the edge, where it was removed from the mold.
The Jareth figure sports about the same level of articulation seen in many of the color Tops figures. If you’re looking for just a good looking figure to stand on your shelf, then this will do fine. If you’re looking for something with dynamic range of motion or strong articulation, then this isn’t going to do much for you. The figure includes a masquerade ball mask that no amount of fiddling can get the arms posed in a way that naturally places the mask in front of the face to look like Jareth is wearing the mask. The hips here use a similar style to figures like their 7″ scale Negan. An odd cut with a double ball jointed peg. On Negan, that allowed for a bit of movement, for a few natural looking leg poses. Here, there’s no give, so the hips have to remain static, negating the perfectly functional knee and ankle joints.
If, like me, you’re into the film and want a strong looking figure for the shelf, then this is worth picking up. Those looking for a fully articulated figure will likely be put off by the choices made here. It will depend on what you’re looking for in a Jareth figure. I’m just happy to have a figure from Labyrinth that doesn’t go for $80 to $200 (or more). Check out some select photos below and the full gallery after that.
CompaniesMcFarlane
CharactersJareth
Scale7 Inch
Sub-LineColor Tops