Willow

Willow_360P

To sum things up, this was really a George Lucus film-with the then relatively inexperienced Ron Howard hired to direct-under the watchful eye of Lucus. Lucus wrote the screenplay, raiding his bookshelf for Tolkein (especially "The Hobbit") and Lewis ("Narnia"). Then he simply transferred the hero/heroine romance from his "Star Wars" screenplay. Not necessarily a bad thing, it was a simple way for him to build a feature length screenplay targeting younger viewers but sophisticated enough to entertain the entire family. "Willow" has some scary stuff but should not be a problem for the average grade school viewer. My rating is based on comparisons to other films with a similar target audience. I must confess up-front to a positive bias. My favorite part of "Star Wars" is the caustic romance between Han Solo and Princess Leia; and in "Willow" Lucus has refined his technique and actually improved something that was already close to perfection. Sorsha (Joanne Whalley) and Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) substitute nicely for Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, with the added dimension of having them begin the story on opposite sides. The romantic elements are efficiently and subtly inserted into the film. Even though these characters are part of the main storyline, the romance is separate enough to serve as the film's main parallel story. The only downside is that this side story soon becomes more interesting than the main one, so much so that its climatic kiss (occurring about 20 minutes before the ending) unintentionally turns into the film's climax (at least energy wise). The actual resolution of the main story then plays out rather anti-climatically. "Willow" is a delivery quest story, much like "The Hobbit" where a reluctant Nelwyn (small person) is required to set out on a perilous journey to return a lost baby (even smaller) to a Daikini (tall person). Along the way he is assisted by a couple of Brownies (yet smaller guys who speak with outrageous French accents). The size differentials are the main theme of the film and are especially intriguing to young viewers who easily identify with having to deal with people who tower above them. Howard encourages this identification process by shooting most of the action at child level. If you watch the film with young children you will be amazed at its ability to draw them into the story, this happens because the camera angles intentionally match a child's point-of-view of the world. The viewing child's surrogate is the title character (Warwick Davis-who does a commentary on the DVD), a unlikely hero who inspires audience sympathy as he bravely faces the dangers of his journey while gamely putting up with an ever-changing group of irritating companions. There are frequent cutaways to Elora Danan (the baby), mostly for reaction shots. As in "Raising Arizona", the producers took enough stock clips to match her expressions to almost any situation. Willow learns early on from Cherlindrea (a dazzling fairy) that Elora Danan is a princess who (it has been foretold) will one day vanquish the evil Queen Baymorda (a fun role for Jean Marsh). Things get a bit Biblical/Narnia here as the Queen is seeking to eliminate the Princess before she becomes a threat. The DVD features: "Willow:The Making of an Adventure" (made during production in 1988) and "Willow: Morf to Morphing" (made in 2001 for the DVD release), really put the film in historical context relative to its place in the evolution of special effects. It was really the transitional point where photochemical (film) effects were subordinated to digital effects. This gave "Willow" a significant place in film history and these two featurettes taken together nicely illustrate the continuing challenge to those involved with special effects; any new development is soon overused and no longer an audience draw. Meaning that effects people have to stay on the cutting edge to simply justify their existence. Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

The word "Tolkienesque" popped up a lot in the other reviews, I would like to inject, if I may, that ALL contemporary fantasy is Tolkienesque. The whole concept of the fantasy genre is blatant plagery of Tolkien with the names changed to protect the guilty. Not that I'm a huge Tolkien fan, and I've read and enjoyed not a few fantasy books, it's just that I feel the word Fantasy can be easily switched with Tolkienesque with no loss of meaning. Now on to the midgets. Willow is a pretty kickass movie. Val Kilmer is a drunken, lecherous, arrogant brawler, and Madmartigan is a fun character too. There are some great one liners in this movie, I find it to be endlessy quotable. Also, it's got multi-generational appeal. Kids and adults can watch and enjoy this, for completely different reasons. I have to say I love midgets. After Rainbow Motel, this is the best midget movie I've ever seen. It beat out Jedi because the midgets had to wear little bear suits. I asked a midget if he preferred to be called a Nellwyn, and, boy did I get a fierce shin-thrashing. A lot of people thought the Brownies were annoying...they are, but Kevin Pollack makes it funny at the same time. Billy Barty! Billy Barty is in it. Women were represented a lot stronger here than in the normal fantasy movie genre. The evil heavy Bavmorda is a chick, (I think), the baby savior, the possum-crow-goat lady, and Joanne Whalley all have a strong presence in the film. However the goat-possum-anteater lady had an annoying voice as an animal, but that added to the quotability of anything she said. "Willowwww use the waaaandd." Sadly we also have baby-puke and troll-poop, images I don't need to see in movies, but it's a minor complaint. All in all, Willow is a movie that holds up, thanks to midgets. Peace.

Enjoyed this. A good family film. Warwick Davis should have been a Hobbit.

This is another of those old-fashioned medieval fantasy adventures filled with sorcerers, dwarfs, other tiny people and some strange-looking animals. the film has a lot of action, almost too much, especially for little kids. It get a little intense for small kids. Actually, I think it's more of an adult movie, and only so-so at best until the last 30-40 minutes when some very good special-effects made it much more interesting. The movie centers around a cute baby, who is good at making faces for after awhile it becomes routine and obvious that the facial shots were taken elsewhere, not in the scene. Overall, "fair at best" describes this movie that wavers between adults and kids and wound up a bit unsatisfying. Thankfully, for fantasy fans there have been far better films since then to whet our appetites.

This is a disgusting, discouraging, desolate, dog's breakfast of a movie. It's a fantasy without imagination, a romance without heart, a saga without a plot, and a "family movie" filled with relentless and gratuitous violence. George Lucas' biggest mistake in Willow is that he fails to trust in the power of a simple tale simply told. Star Wars, for all its special effects, was just that -- a straightforward fable of good versus evil. In Willow, Lucas starts with a small, appealing story, and then buries it in an avalanche of cliches, botched special effects, and violence. The special effects generally have no justification in terms of the plot. And what's worse, they're poorly executed. Most laughable is the two-headed Ebersisk, a monster who appears for no discernible reason, and who looks like a refugee from some old Sinbad movie. Some of my other favourite low-lights include the unfunny and clumsily matted-in brownies (anyone remember The Gnome-Mobile?). "They were so darned cute," cooed one of my companions, "I just wanted to step on them!" And let's not forget the talking possum (I'm not kidding), who is really a good sorceress under an evil spell.

A wonderful fantasy full with lots of wonderful creatures and characters. The plot is great and the cast is brilliant. I wish this movie was more known, it's almost a hidden gem. The movie is just one exciting ride after the other. It's one of the best fantasy movies ever made, and if you're a fantasy fan you just got to see this one. I wish there were more movies of that kind, hopefully the upcoming Lord Of The Rings will deliver similar excitement.

(At least I do, every time I see it.) I first watched this movie a long time ago, and have seen it several more times over the years (it pops up on TV somewhat frequently). I have enjoyed it with each viewing, mainly because I just take it for what it is to me – namely, just a fun, escapist fantasy flick that whisks you away to a magical kingdom where all kinds of mystical, cute, clever, and at times even sinister things are happening, all against a backdrop of remarkably beautiful scenery. Oh, yeah: you also get to see Val Kilmer (Madmartigan) step squarely into a fresh pile of troll poop – truly a classic moment in cinema history! I noticed that other reviewers herein went to great efforts to point out glaring similarities between Willow and Star Wars, and these similarities apparently ruined the movie for them (or at least, they just didn't *like* Willow). Well, to each their own… As for me, I won't even begin to compare Willow to Star Wars, because: (drum roll please...) I've never even seen Star Wars. Not even once. So there!! ("You've never seen STAR WARS!!" I can hear the collective gasp of all you moviegoers out there. Yeah, okay, so just shoot me already!). But similarities shmimilarities! As Bill Murray said in Meatballs, "It just doesn't matter! It just doesn't matter! It just doesn't matter!..." Anyway, if you haven't seen Willow, then I would recommend you see it at once and enjoy it for what it is: a fun, escapist fantasy movie that (heaven knows, current events and all...) we could all use a little more of in this day and age. If you have already seen it and love it, well, go see it again! And finally, if you have seen it but don't like it because of annoying similarities between it and Star Wars, well, what can I say? I would hazard that, all things considered, Willow nevertheless DOES have its own special charms that you probably won't find in Star Wars. At the very least I haven't heard that Madmartigan's counterpart in Star Wars, Han Solo, stepped in a big wet pile of troll poop! Well, I'm glad I got all this off my chest. I feel BETTER!!

I'm typing this being dictated to by my 11 year old son, in whose opinion this is the best movie he has ever seen. He's outgrown the Disney variety and various animations but he's still not ready for hardcore action movies so what is there for him to enjoy - well as a mom, I can tell you, very little. That's where the fantasy movies are so great. They have mystery, action, a little romance but the greatest value comes from the good moral story of good wins over evil, truth over deceit and small truimphs over powerful. The most amazing fact is that at the time of first seeing this movie, it is 16 years old - Thank you George Lucas, thank you Ron Howard and thank you for a wonderful cast who have brought this eternal story to eternal life and I'm not joking either. I think we are on viewing #25 already and still going strong. Movies are about people sharing a story but magic certainly helps get the message across...

In a time of dread, seers have foretold the birth of a child that would bring about the downfall of the powerful Queen Banmorda (Jean Marsh) that wants to destroy the baby. When the child is found, her midwife flees with her. But she is hunted down by dog-like creatures and she puts the baby on a wooden raft to be carried out by the river. The Daikini (human) child is found by the Nelwyn (dwarf) family of the farmer and aspirant magician Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis) and his wife decides to take care of her. But when the dog-like creatures attack the Nelwyn village, Willow discloses the baby to the council. The sorcerer High Aldwin (Billy Barty) decides that Willow shall take the baby back to the crossroad of the Daikini land with a small group and deliver her to a responsible Daikini. But Willow meets the thief Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) locked up in a cage and he believes Madmartigan is not the right person. However he is convinced by his friend to deliver the baby to Madmartigan. But soon the fairy Cherlindrea (Maria Holvöe) tells that the baby is Elora Dana from the omen and is a very special baby. She also tells that he must protect Elora and deliver her to the sorceress Fin Raziel (Patricia Hayes) that will raise her. She also gives a magic wand to him to deliver to Fin Raziel. Willow embarks in his journey with Madmartigan and the Brownies Franjean (Rick Overton) and Rool (Kevin Pollak) but they are chased by Queen Bavmorda's daughter Sorsha (Joanne Whalley) and the evil General Kael (Pat Roach). The struggle between good and evil begins. "Willow" is a magic adventure from the magic 80's, when most of the best recent movies were made. This fantasy has action, adventure and romance in an excellent screenplay and special effects. The characters are charismatic and there are many funny scenes. Unfortunately this type of movie that is pure magic and entertainment has been recently forgotten by the studios. Today I have just watched "Willow" on DVD and it was a magic travel to almost twenty-eight years ago. My vote is eight. Title (Brazil): "Willow – Na Terra da Magia" ("Willow – In the Land of the Magic")