Toby Froud Reflects on Playing Baby Toby as Labyrinth Returns to Theaters

Toby Froud, now 41, told People he can’t wait to watch Labyrinth in theaters for its 40th anniversary re-release. Cast at just 18 months old, he played the infant Toby at the center of Jim Henson’s 1986 fantasy film.

The son of fantasy illustrator Brian Froud and sculptor and puppet maker Wendy Froud, Froud says he doesn’t have clear memories of filming but grew up knowing he was in the movie and has “visions of goblins surrounding me.” He credits being raised in his parents’ workshop for his ease around puppets on set, and recalls that scenes requiring him to cry were sometimes tied to nap disruptions or the sudden volume of the “Dance Magic” sequence. According to the film’s puppet captain, Brian Henson, actress Shari Weiser — who controlled Hoggle — was the ultimate “Toby whisperer” who could calm him between takes.

Now based in Portland, Oregon, Froud has worked in stop-motion animation for 15 years and is currently Puppet Art Director at ShadowMachine, with credits including The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. With the film returning to theaters January 8-11 presented by The Jim Henson Company and Fathom Entertainment, he says he will attend “absolutely,” noting that seeing the film on the big screen reveals the tangible grandeur of its practical effects.

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Culture, Toby Froud, Labyrinth, Brian Froud, Wendy Froud, Jim Henson