When Willow was released in 1988, I was in my mid-teens and though I think I did see it not long after that and have watched it once or twice in the years since, it's not a film that had stuck in my memory or affections. However, with an imminent new Disney+ sequel series, I thought I'd give it another shot and was pleasantly surprised to find more to like than I'd recalled.
The story, written by George Lucas, is a pick-'n'-mix of fantasy genre staples. We have evil sorceror Queen Bavmorda, played by Jean Marsh as though she's in panto, who is seeking a new-born child prophesied to become empress Elora Danan and end her evil reign. We see the baby placed in a river and found by the children of farmer and aspiring sorceror Willow (Warwick Davis), who sets out on a quest to return her to her people, encountering on the way swordsman Madmartigan, who is a kind of fantasy Han Solo played by Val Kilmer, sorceress-turned-possum Raziel (Patricia Hayes), Bavmorda's daughter and general (Joanne Whalley), and some irritating if occasionally amusing brownies (Kevin Pollak and Rick Overton).
But while the story elements aren't original, the film is self-aware enough to realise this and have fun with the tropes. It's not as comedic in intent as near-contemporary fantasy classics The Princess Bride (1987) and Labyrinth (1986), but nor does it take itself seriously, and it has heart in bucketloads.
Warwick Davis, who was 17 during filming, is way too young to play a convincing father of two, and it's a slightly puzzling decision to make him one when apparently the role was written with him in mind after George Lucas had been impressed by his performance in The Return of the Jedi. But I guess I can see dramatic reasons for such a choice, and Willow's journey from farmer to a sorceror who has the courage, if not necessarily the skill, to face Bavmorda is compelling. His relationships with mentor Raziel, reluctant hero Madmartigan and baby Elora Danan feel authentic and are the heart of the film.
Madmartigan is a scoundrel and selfish womaniser and, like Joanne Whalley's Sorsha, you'd quite like to kick him in the face in the early parts of the film. But he's played with such charm by Val Kilmer that, also like Sorsha, you can't help falling in love with him. Whalley herself is great as Sorsha, ruthless and strong but still showing us vulnerability and torn loyalties. There are also some memorable minor characters, such as as Willow's friend Meegosh (David Steinberg) and Madmartigan's sort-of-friend Airk (Gavan O'Herlihy).
Some of the special effects have held up reasonably well but others have dated, and by today's standards the production values are a bit shoddy. And while the film has a sense of humour, it's not quite witty enough to carry off its rather clichéd premise.
Despite this, it's a charming, heart-warming adventure that is still worth a watch, particularly if you're planning to follow the Disney+ series that picks up the story a couple of decades later.
The story, written by George Lucas, is a pick-'n'-mix of fantasy genre staples. We have evil sorceror Queen Bavmorda, played by Jean Marsh as though she's in panto, who is seeking a new-born child prophesied to become empress Elora Danan and end her evil reign. We see the baby placed in a river and found by the children of farmer and aspiring sorceror Willow (Warwick Davis), who sets out on a quest to return her to her people, encountering on the way swordsman Madmartigan, who is a kind of fantasy Han Solo played by Val Kilmer, sorceress-turned-possum Raziel (Patricia Hayes), Bavmorda's daughter and general (Joanne Whalley), and some irritating if occasionally amusing brownies (Kevin Pollak and Rick Overton).
But while the story elements aren't original, the film is self-aware enough to realise this and have fun with the tropes. It's not as comedic in intent as near-contemporary fantasy classics The Princess Bride (1987) and Labyrinth (1986), but nor does it take itself seriously, and it has heart in bucketloads.
Warwick Davis, who was 17 during filming, is way too young to play a convincing father of two, and it's a slightly puzzling decision to make him one when apparently the role was written with him in mind after George Lucas had been impressed by his performance in The Return of the Jedi. But I guess I can see dramatic reasons for such a choice, and Willow's journey from farmer to a sorceror who has the courage, if not necessarily the skill, to face Bavmorda is compelling. His relationships with mentor Raziel, reluctant hero Madmartigan and baby Elora Danan feel authentic and are the heart of the film.
Madmartigan is a scoundrel and selfish womaniser and, like Joanne Whalley's Sorsha, you'd quite like to kick him in the face in the early parts of the film. But he's played with such charm by Val Kilmer that, also like Sorsha, you can't help falling in love with him. Whalley herself is great as Sorsha, ruthless and strong but still showing us vulnerability and torn loyalties. There are also some memorable minor characters, such as as Willow's friend Meegosh (David Steinberg) and Madmartigan's sort-of-friend Airk (Gavan O'Herlihy).
Some of the special effects have held up reasonably well but others have dated, and by today's standards the production values are a bit shoddy. And while the film has a sense of humour, it's not quite witty enough to carry off its rather clichéd premise.
Despite this, it's a charming, heart-warming adventure that is still worth a watch, particularly if you're planning to follow the Disney+ series that picks up the story a couple of decades later.