Written by Michael Wermuth.
THE FOUR GUARDS
Performed by…
Steve Whitmire
Kevin Clash
Anthony Asbury
Dave Goelz
Voiced by…
Anthony Jackson
Douglas Blackwell
David Shaughnessy
Timothy Bateson
Names…
Alph, Ralph, Jim, and Time (not clear which is which)
Only appearance…
Labyrinth (1986)
WHO ARE THE FOUR GUARDS?
The four guards are four guards in the Labyrinth. Two guards each guards one of two doors, and they have an interesting way of guarding: Each head is either above or below a giant playing card, with the bottom head being upside-down.
In their one scene in the film, Sarah encounters the Four Guards and they inform her that one of the doors leads to Jareth’s castle, and the other leads to (ba-ba-ba-bum!) certain death. Although they are guards, they are apparently okay with Sarah going through either door. Unfortunately, the bottom two guards don’t know which door is which, and while the top ones know, it’s in the rules that Sarah can only ask one of them, and as one of those guards tells her, “one of us always tells the truth, and one of us always lies.”
Unfortunately for her, both guards claim to be the one who tells the truth and that the other one is the liar. Sarah figures it out by asking one of the guards if the other one would say that that guards door would lead to the castle, figuring that both would give the same answer regardless. After Sarah picks a door, the guards are gone for the rest of the movie (being among the few characters to not even return for the finale).
WHY DOES THE LABYRINTH NEED THE FOUR GUARDS?
The Four Guards are needed just as much as any one-scene character from the movie: To provide a very funny, memorable scene, and most importantly, to be an obstacle in Sarah’s quest in the labyrinth.
The Muppet Mindset 