“You’re not warriors. You’re pigs! You’re all pigs!”
While the work of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg commanded most of my attention as a child, a third person who doesn’t get enough recognition from fandom in my opinion also took up a lot of my time. Ron Howard may not be one of the first names to register with science fiction and fantasy fans, but he has directed or produced a number of very popular genre films including Cocoon, Splash, and Solo: A Star Wars Story. He’s also responsible for directing massive hits like Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, and Backdraft.
Howard teamed up with George Lucas in 1988 to give the world Willow. The film starred Warwick Davis (multiple Leprechaun, Star Wars, and Harry Potter films) as Willow Ufgood, a Nelwyn farmer with dreams of becoming a wizard. He’s given the daunting task of protecting Elora Danan from the evil Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh, Upstairs Downstairs, Cleopatra, The Changeling). With the help of a skilled swordsman turned criminal named Mad Martigan (Val Kilmer, Tombstone, The Saint, Batman Forever) and a number of other unlikely heroes, Willow does everything he can to stop the evil Bavmorda from murdering young Elora.
As far as fantasy films go, Willow is a very straightforward tale. With winks and nods to everything from the Bible and Star Wars to The Lord of the Rings and Gulliver’s Travels, the story by George Lucas (screenplay by Bob Dolman) doesn’t stray very far from the basic formula of a fantasy. Willow is an unlikely hero given an impossible task with all of the odds stacked against him. He gathers a ragtag bunch of heroes and rebels to help him defeat the evil queen and her army of black armored warriors who are led by the monstrous General Kael (Pat Roach). He faces off against trolls, a two-headed dragon, and a master sorceress. A forbidden love story is even thrown into the mix whenever the queen’s daughter, Sorsha (Joanne Whalley), falls for Mad Martigan and joins Willow’s forces against the Nockmaar army. It’s fantasy by the numbers, but it works very well.
The film features some fairly decent special effects for 1988, although earlier films from the decade like Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi, which featured the same effects company (Industrial Light & Magic), looked much better. That being said, the digital morphing effects used in Willow are directly responsible for massive advancements in CGI.
James Horner’s score is pretty good, but this isn’t his best work in my opinion. For someone who has composed music for films such as Titanic and The Rocketeer, this film’s score was lackluster. Horner was known for borrowing and/or tweaking the work of other composers in many of his films, and it’s extremely evident in Willow.
The film featured a number of actors that genre fans recognize. Davis has had an outstanding career in science fiction, horror, and fantasy. He’s one of the most easily recognizable faces in fandom. Val Kilmer was riding a building wave of success when he portrayed Mad Martigan. He would go on to become a massive star in his own right. Patricia Hayes (Fin Raziel) appeared in many fantasy films including The Neverending Story and The Terrornauts. Joanne Whalley was recently a part of the Netflix/Marvel series Daredevil. The legendary Billy Barty had a small role as The High Aldwin, the village wizard, and had plenty of other genre roles in films like Legend and Masters of the Universe. Tony Cox, Malcolm Dixon, Phil Fondacaro, Mark Northover, and David J. Steinberg, all Nelwyns in the film, have portrayed multiple memorable characters in fantasy and science fiction films. Of special note is Pat Roach as General Kael. Known for portraying multiple characters in the same films, Roach is probably best known for his role as the ill-fated Nazi mechanic that Indiana Jones battles in Raiders of the Lost Ark. He also portrayed a Sherpa in that film and had the rare opportunity to die twice in the same movie.
In the toy world, the film’s accompanying toyline is considered to be one of the worst in film history. Made by Tonka, the line featured stationary figurines of many of the film’s key players. The figures were trapped in an eternal pose and in actuality looked more like mini statues or game pieces than action figures. That being said, I owned a few of them as a child. I remember having Willow, one of the rebel soldiers, and General Kael. In all honesty, the Kael figure looked awesome. I loved his skull mask and his black armor. He looked like Skeletor on steroids!
Was Willow a great film? Nah, but it was a surprisingly fun formulaic movie. It triggered my imagination and has managed to hold my attention every time that I watch it. It doesn’t get as much recognition as a lot of other fantasy genre films, but I wouldn’t say that it deserves it, either. There’s talk of a new film and/or a television series coming in the near future and I’ll probably watch it for nostalgia’s sake, but the original film will always be my favorite.
Thanks for reading. If there are any films, books, TV shows, music, or other things that you’d like to see featured in Throwback Thursday, let me know in the comments!
Ken's Alternate Universe! 