Jackson Booth-Millard
I had heard about this film hundreds of times, I know it was the film that basically made the young star of Star War: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi a movie star (you could almost ignore the Leprechaun films), so I relieved when I finally watched it, directed by Ron Howard (Splash, The Grinch, A Beautiful Mind, Rush). Basically there is a prophecy that a female child with a special birthmark will cause the downfall of the evil sorceress Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh), she therefore imprisons all pregnant women in her realm to prevent the prophecy from happening. The child of the prophecy is born, the midwife reluctantly accepts to take the baby daughter to safety for the mother, leaving Nockmaar castle unnoticed, the mother is executed, the midwife is found, but sends the baby downriver on a makeshift raft before being captured, Bavmorda's daughter Sorsha (Joanne Whalley) and General Kael (Indiana Jones's Pat Roach) to find the baby and stop the fulfilment of the prophecy. The baby drifts into a Nelwyn village, populated by dwarfs, she is found by kind farmer and conjurer Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis), he hopes to become a sorcerer, his wife Kiaya (Julie Peters) and children adore the child immediately, and Willow loves her as if she was his own. The village is attacked during a town festival by a Nockmaar hound, village sorcerer High Aldwin (Legend's Billy Barty) learns about the baby, because of Willow's devotion to the child the wizard selects him and a company of volunteers to return the baby to the Daikini (human) people. Along the way they find human warrior Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) trapped in a crow's cage, Willow and his friend Meegosh (David Steinberg) refuse the suggestion of leaving the baby with him so they can go home immediately, after a night at the crossroads, an army, marching against Bavmorda and led by Madmartigan's old friend Airk Thaughbaer (Happy Days' Gavan O'Herlihy), come along, Willow reluctantly frees Madmartigan and gives the baby to him. The baby is later stolen by a group of Brownies (small hobgoblin-like creatures), Willow and Meegosh chase them and get trapped, but fairy queen Cherlindrea (Maria Holvöe) rescues them, she identifies the baby as Elora Danan, the future princess of Tir Asleen and will defeat Bavmorda, she assigns Willow to help the baby fulfil her destiny. Meegosh is sent home by Willow, and two Brownies, Franjean (Rick Overton) and Rool (Kevin Pollak), will guide him to sorceress Fin Razel (The NeverEnding Story's Patricia Hayes), the three of them later stop in a tavern and encounter Madmartigan, Sorsha arrives and causes a scuffle, but Willow, Madmartigan and the Brownies escape. Madmartigan guides them to find Razel, before departing again, the sorceress has been turned into a possum by Bavmorda, Madmartigan has already been captured by Sorsha before catching the others, they are taken to a Nockmaar army camp in the snowbound mountain. Willow tries to restore Razel, but ends up turning her into a rook instead, the Brownies dose Madmartigan with love dust, he declares his undying love for Sorsha, the prisoners escape and reach a mountain village, they re-encounter Airk and his remaining army, Madmartigan proclaims his loyalty to the Nelwyn and promises to protect Willow and Elora. They escape to the castle of Tir Asleen, with Sorsha as their temporary hostage, but the inhabitants have been cursed by Bavmorda, Kael's army and a group of trolls surround the castle. During Kael's assault Sorsha realises she loves Madmartigan and switches sides, Willow accidentally turns a troll into a two-headed monster and turns the tide of the battle, Airk arrives to assist with his army, Kael captures Elora and returns to Nockmaar, he reports Sorsha's betrayal. Wilow, Airk's army and the others arrive at Nockmaar to go against the evil queen, she turns the soldiers into pigs, Willow follows instructions from Razel to protect himself, and after a few transformation attempts he succeeds in turning Razel human, she restores the others to their original forms. Willow's group trick their way into the castle and start to battle, Airk is killed by Kael, he in turn is killed by Madmartigan, Sorsha leads Willow and Razel into the ritual chamber and interrupt Elora's sacrifice, Bavmorda and Razel fight with their powers. During their duel Razel is incapacitated, but Willow his "disappearing pig trick" to fool Bavmorda into thinking the baby has been sent elsewhere, lunging at him Bavmorda accidentally triggers the final part of the ritual, she ends up sends and banishes her own soul into oblivion. In the end Willow is rewarded with a magic book to aid him in becoming a sorcerer, Sorsha and Madmartigan remain in Tir Asleen to look after Elora, Willow returns home to a hero's welcome and is happily reunited with his family. Also starring Mark Northover as Burglekutt, Sabrina the Teenage Witch's Phil Fondacaro as Vohnkar, Bad Santa's Tony Cox as Vohnkar Warrior, Kenny Baker as Nelwyn Band Member, Peter Burroughs as Nelwyn Villager, Kim Davis (Warwick's sister) as Nelwyn Villager, Samantha Davis (Warwick's wife) as Nelwyn Villager, Time Bandits' Malcolm Dixon as Nelwyn Band Member, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory's Rusty Goffe as Nelwyn Villager, Raymond Griffiths as Nelwyn Villager, Jack Purvis as Nelwyn Band Member and The Human Centipede (First Sequence)'s Ashley C. Williams as Nelwyn Villager. Davis proves his stature is no issue, his title character is very charming, Kilmer and Whalley may seem out of sorts at times, but they are okay, this film has mixed opinions, it is predictable at times, but the special effects are good, the action sequences are well paced, it is a nice story filled with sorcery and magical creatures, and it is something the whole family can enjoy, a fun fantasy adventure. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Visual Effects. Worth watching!
Anssi Vartiainen
Willow tells the tale of one Willow Ufgood, a middle-aged hobbit... I mean nelwyn, whose children find a young human... I mean daikini baby, who has drifted down the river. His... I mean her name is Moses... I mean Elora, and she is the child of a prophecy, destined to bring the downfall of evil sorceress queen named Voldemort... I mean Bavmorda.Sound familiar? Well, good because that's kind of the point. It's a classic fantasy story, heavily utilizing the hero's journey structure. But it's the execution here that counts, not the seeming clichédness of the basic story. And the execution is not bad at all. Most of the characters are likable, the story captivating and the world they build is more than interesting. Even if they give silly names to what are clearly common fantasy races.The two biggest problems are that some of the characters, like the minuscule brownies, are pretty annoying, needless comic relief more than anything, and that the special effects haven't aged all that well. They're impressive for their time, yes, but the movie focuses on them too much and in a very noticeable way. The story also contains a few hiccups, though nothing major.All in all Willow is just as important for the fantasy film genre as Legend from the same decade. It paved the road for future fantasy epics and is more than decent film in its own right. Definitely worth checking out for all the fans of the genre.
