Labyrinth: Jim Henson Had A Clear Inspiration For Sir Didymus
Inspiration can come from many different places, and if one has ever seen any entertainment properties from the skillful Jim Henson, then one must surely realize that plenty of creativity is always involved. Known for creating the Muppets, Kermit the Frog, and Miss Piggy, Henson utilized his puppetry company for much more, like the cult classic film "Labyrinth," which stars David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly.
While Henson endeavors like "The Muppet Show" are essentially variety programming, "Labyrinth" is a full-fledged movie that sees a young Sarah (Connelly) forced to rescue her half-brother Toby (Toby Frond) from the clutches of the Goblin King Jareth (Bowie). Along her journeys, she comes across Sir Didymus (David Shaughnessy), a talking fox-like creature that rides a sheepdog named Ambrosius.
However, it seems as if the spark of genius that helped create Sir Didymus came from an unlikely source. Speaking with Empire, "Labyrinth" screenplay writer Terry Jones said, "I was adapting my book, 'Erik The Viking,' into a film, and I thought I'd ring Jim Henson's office to see if they'd like to do the monsters. And they said they'd just been trying to get hold of me the day before! Jim's daughter Lisa had read 'Erik' and said I might be a good fit for 'Labyrinth.' Jim came round to my house in Camberwell and I remember he couldn't take his eyes off our dog, which was a long-haired Jack Russell terrier. It eventually became the basis for the knight, Sir Didymus. Mitch The B**** was immortalized in Muppet form!"
Although Sir Didymus is voiced by David Shaughnessy, he is controlled by Gonzo's puppeteer
In other words, it seems as if the noble Sir Didymus was entirely inspired by a scrappy and scraggly dog, which is particularly interesting since Sir Didymus rides a dog! Surprisingly, although the real-life inspiration for Sir Didymus was a long-haired Jack Russell terrier, Sir Didymus himself is actually a fox terrier — and there is a difference.
As noted by Difference Between, both breeds of dogs are meant for fox hunting, though fox terriers can come in with either short hair or wire hair. This means that fox terriers have two distinct breeds, while Jack Russell terriers only have one. In addition, Jack Russell terriers usually have a solid build, while fox terriers are much leaner.
Still, it is interesting to know about Sir Didymus' creation, though an even more fascinating fact is that the puppeteer who plays Gonzo, Dave Goelz, actually lent his talents to the operation of Sir Didymus. In the earlier mentioned piece from Empire, Goelz explained why he didn't voice the character as well by saying, "Jim did want to stylistically break from the Muppets and he just didn't want any of our voices to be recognizable. There are only so many different sounds one person can make. He later told me that the hard part, once the filming had happened with the original temporary voices — our own — was to find another voice that could be slotted in and still work. But I think he did a great job."
Still, if it wasn't for a fateful meet-up, Sir Didymus may have taken a much different form in "Labyrinth."