Willow (film)

The story follows a young farmer named Willow Ufgood, whose quiet life is disrupted when he is compelled to shield Elora Danan, a baby marked by fate, from the clutches of the malevolent Queen Bavmorda, who seeks her demise. Willow's journey is supported by Madmartigan, once a celebrated swordsman now a cynical rogue after his kingdom fell to the Queen, and Fin Raziel, a sorceress transformed into a muskrat by Bavmorda. They are later joined by Sorsha, the Queen's own daughter, after initial setbacks.

Bavmorda's reign of terror has persisted for years from her stronghold, Nockmar. A prophecy emerges, foretelling the birth of a girl who will rise to become a mighty empress and bring about Bavmorda's downfall. Determined to prevent this, the Queen imprisons all pregnant women, intending to eliminate the child upon birth. However, merely killing her is not enough; Bavmorda must perform a ritual to banish the child's soul to the netherworld. The prophesied baby girl is finally born, identifiable by a distinct mark on her arm. A midwife informs Sorsha, the Queen's warrior princess daughter, who rushes to alert her mother. The baby's mother implores another midwife for assistance, who agrees to help. She conceals the baby in a basket of rags, providing the mother with a decoy bundle. The midwife then secretly smuggles the baby out of the castle. Upon discovering the deception, the Queen suspects the midwife and dispatches her soldiers and Devil Dogs after her, while ordering the mother's execution.

In the following months, the midwife journeys across the land, protecting the baby. Eventually, the Devil Dogs catch up to them. To ensure the baby's safety, she places her in a woven basket and sends her down the river. The Devil Dogs then kill the midwife. The baby is discovered by Willow Ufgood, a Nelwyn, and his family. Willow, a young farmer and aspiring sorcerer, initially resists involvement, fearing the baby may be a bad omen, but his family persuades him otherwise. Upon returning home, Willow's wife, Kaiya, encourages him to hold the baby. After a while, Willow begins to accept the baby as part of his own family.

The next day, Willow and his children, Mims and Ranon, attend a festival in the Nelwyn village, where Willow showcases his magic tricks. The celebration is interrupted by a Devil Dog attack. The village warriors quickly dispatch the creature, but the incident unsettles the community. Willow realizes the dogs are after the baby and informs Kaiya of their need to take her to the village council. At the council meeting, they overhear the village prefect, Mr. Burgelcutt, declaring severe punishment for those responsible for the attack. Hesitantly, the Ufgoods attempt to leave, but are stopped by the High Aldwin, the village elder, sorcerer, and Willow's mentor. Willow presents the baby to the council, and Burgelcutt suggests giving her to the dogs. The High Aldwin senses the child's significance and decrees her survival at all costs. He assembles a team consisting of Willow, his friend Meegosh, the reluctant Burgelcutt, and several village warriors. They are tasked with delivering the baby to the Daikini crossroads and entrusting her to the first Daikini (tall person) they encounter.

Back at Nockmar, Bavmorda enlists General Kael to assist Sorsha in finding the baby. Despite her desire for her mother's approval, Sorsha initially refuses Kael's help, accepting it only when forced by her mother. After their departure, one of Bavmorda's druids predicts Sorsha's betrayal. Bavmorda dismisses this, stating, "I trust her loyalty more than I trust yours."

Upon reaching the crossroads, Willow and his companions find Madmartigan, a daikini thief, imprisoned in a crow's cage. Madmartigan claims to be the greatest swordsman alive. Seeing a daikini, Burgelcutt instructs Willow to hand over the baby. Willow refuses, distrusting Madmartigan. Frustrated by Willow's reluctance, the others return home, leaving Meegosh behind. The following day, an army passes by. Madmartigan senses an impending battle. Willow attempts to give the baby to a soldier, but is ignored. Madmartigan recognizes his old friend, Airk, who informs him of the Nockmar army's destruction of Galadoorn. Madmartigan asks Airk to release him so he can aid in the fight against Nockmar, but Airk, remembering Madmartigan's selfishness, leaves him imprisoned. After the army departs, Willow and Meegosh, seeing no other option, free Madmartigan and entrust him with the baby. Madmartigan departs, promising to care for her.

As Willow and Meegosh return home, they witness an eagle, carrying the baby and ridden by a Brownie, flying overhead. They pursue the eagle and are eventually captured by other brownies. Willow and Meegosh awaken tied to the ground, surrounded by a group of brownies led by Franjean. A voice from the forest commands Franjean to release them. The brownies quickly cut their bonds. Cherlindrea, a forest sorceress, appears and greets Willow. She reveals that the baby, Elora Danan, is under her protection and has chosen Willow as her guardian. Cherlindrea reveals Elora's destiny and instructs Willow to take her to Tir Asleen, where a good king and queen will care for her. She gives Willow her magic wand and instructs him to take it to Fin Raziel, an old rival of Bavmorda, who will guide him to Tir Asleen. She warns Willow that failure to accept this calling will result in Elora's death and Bavmorda's triumph. The next day, Willow decides to proceed, sending Meegosh back to the village. Guided by Franjean and Rool, Willow sets out for Fin Raziel's island.

Along the way, they encounter Madmartigan at a tavern. Their reunion is tense, as Willow distrusts Madmartigan, and Madmartigan finds Willow annoying. However, Madmartigan helps Willow escape when Bavmorda's troops search the tavern. Madmartigan accompanies them to the island. Upon arrival, Madmartigan goes his own way, and Willow seeks out Raziel, only to find her transformed into a possum. He takes her to see Elora, confirming Raziel's belief in the prophecy. Unable to act in her current form, Raziel instructs Willow to restore her human form. She is surprised to learn of Willow's amateur status. Suddenly, they hear approaching horses. Bavmorda's troops arrive, with a captured Madmartigan. Raziel, Elora, and Willow are taken to a Nockmar encampment in the mountains, while Franjean and Rool are left behind, forced to track the horses. Rool remarks that this should be entertaining.

Despite their imprisonment, Willow and Madmartigan free Raziel, and Willow attempts to restore her human form. He fails, accidentally turning her into a crow. Franjean and Rool arrive and offer to help them escape. Franjean uses his spear to pick the lock, but not before Madmartigan intervenes and is struck with a sack containing a potent fairy love potion. Madmartigan sneaks into Sorsha's tent to retrieve Elora, but, under the potion's influence, falls instantly in love with Sorsha. Sorsha awakens and threatens him, but is captivated by his poetry, until Kael arrives with Willow and the baby. Assuming Madmartigan was lying, they attack him. He grabs a sword, destroys the tent support, kisses Sorsha, and fights his way out.

Madmartigan demonstrates his swordsmanship skills, dispatching three soldiers swiftly. Using a shield as a sled, Willow and Madmartigan escape down the hill towards a village. Franjean and Rool are left behind again. Madmartigan, after crashing into a house, seems to recover from the love potion's effects.

Raziel warns the villagers of Kael's impending arrival. Willow and Madmartigan hide with the villagers and encounter Airk and his remaining soldiers, who have suffered heavy losses. Airk doubts their ability to defeat Bavmorda, even after capturing Sorsha. Nevertheless, Madmartigan remains loyal to Willow, and they escape with Sorsha as their captive. Airk and his men cover their retreat. On the way to Tir Asleen, Sorsha questions Madmartigan's sincerity about his love for her. Madmartigan admits he was not himself and has since regained his senses. Insulted, Sorsha escapes and returns to Kael.

Upon reaching Tir Asleen, they discover the castle cursed by Bavmorda, overrun by trolls, with its inhabitants frozen in quartz formations. Madmartigan prepares for defense, while Willow attempts to restore Raziel, failing and turning her into a goat. Kael's army arrives, shattering the gates. Madmartigan sets up defenses, while Willow fights off a troll, transforming it into a two-headed dragon, the Eborsisk, which he kicks into the moat. Kael's men fight Madmartigan and the Eborsisk while searching for Elora. Sorsha switches sides and fights alongside Madmartigan, and Airk's army arrives with Franjean and Rool. Kael injures Willow and escapes with Elora. Back at Nockmar, Bavmorda is pleased to have Elora but enraged by Sorsha's betrayal.

At Nockmar's gates, Airk's army camps. Bavmorda transforms them into pigs, except for Willow and Raziel. Willow makes a final attempt to restore Raziel, who undergoes multiple transformations before returning to human form. Taking the wand, she restores the army. Bavmorda prepares the ritual. With no clear plan, Willow suggests a strategy to infiltrate the castle, their only hope.

The next morning, the ritual is not complete. Willow and Raziel call for Nockmar to open its gates. Airk's army, disguised under tents, ambushes the cavalry and storms the castle, disabling the gate mechanism. Kael engages in combat, while Sorsha leads Raziel and Willow to Elora's tower. During the battle, Airk is killed, urging Madmartigan to win the war. Madmartigan attacks Kael, impaling him on his own sword.

Meanwhile, Sorsha kills Bavmorda's aides but is rendered unconscious by her mother's magic. Fin Raziel and Bavmorda fight over the wand, and Raziel is choked unconscious. Willow grabs Elora but is trapped by Bavmorda. Willow tricks Bavmorda by seemingly making Elora disappear. In a rage, Bavmorda knocks over a vial of blood intended for Elora and is struck by cursed lightning, exiling her own soul. Madmartigan arrives, and Sorsha and Raziel regain consciousness. Willow reveals he hid Elora using his "disappearing pig trick." Elora is safe behind a stone table.

Back at Tir Asleen, the curse is lifted, and the kingdom is restored. Madmartigan and Sorsha stay to raise Elora Danon. Raziel gives Willow a book of magic, foretelling his future as a great sorcerer. He returns home on a white pony and is greeted as a hero by his village, reuniting with Meegosh, the High Aldwin, and his family.

The production stood out for featuring a significant number of individuals with dwarfism, more than most productions in recent times. It was also celebrated by the "little person" community for casting Warwick Davis in the leading role. Furthermore, the film pioneered the use of morphing special effects, which were used to transform an old sorceress into various animals, a groundbreaking technique for its time.

The two-headed monster featured in the film was named "Eborsisk" as a tribute to prominent film critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel. However, both Siskel and Ebert later expressed that they were not particularly pleased by this gesture. Similarly, the character of General Kael was named after the esteemed female journalist and critic Pauline Kael.

Jean Giraud (Moebius) and Christos Achilleos contributed significantly to the film's concept art, including creature designs and storyboard illustrations. However, the final designs seen in the film differed considerably from these initial concepts, and several sequences were omitted due to time limitations. One such scene involved a sea battle where the heroes narrowly escaped a giant sea monster, depicted as a massive anthropomorphic shark in the storyboard artwork.

The film's musical score, composed by James Horner, is widely regarded as exceptional. The triumphant theme contains distinct echoes of Robert Schumann's Rhenish Symphony. The main theme also bears resemblance to the "Redemption" motif from Richard Wagner's operatic tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen.

The critical reception of the film was lukewarm, with a 50% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Its performance at the box office was also underwhelming, grossing only $57 million in the United States. While some aspects, such as Davis's acting and the special effects, were praised, the film's narrative was often criticized for being too derivative of Tolkien and other fantasy authors. The film's lackluster box office performance may have been influenced by the numerous scenes, plot elements, and creature designs that were cut due to budgetary and time constraints. Despite this, the film has since garnered a dedicated cult following and currently holds a 79% "fresh" rating among users on Rotten Tomatoes, a 7.0 rating on the Internet Movie Database, and a "B" grade on Box Office Mojo.

The novelization of the film, penned by Wayland Drew and released alongside the movie, was based on Lucas's original screenplay. It included historical context and events that were not included in the final film cut, along with color photos from the movie. Marvel Comics also published a three-issue comic adaptation of the film, which featured many of the deleted scenes. Additionally, the film inspired a video game released in 1989 for the Nintendo Entertainment System (by Capcom) and the PC (by Mindscape). Capcom also developed a Willow arcade game for its CPS-1 system, which differed significantly from the console version. It was a side-scrolling platformer, unlike the adventure/RPG game similar to The Legend of Zelda, and more closely followed the film's plot. In 1988, an animated series based on Willow was proposed, but it never progressed beyond the concept art stage.

Willow was made available on DVD on November 27, 2001. The film was presented in anamorphic widescreen in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, with its sound remixed in 5.1 surround sound. The DVD included an audio commentary by Warwick Davis, two featurettes, trailers/TV spots, and a photo gallery. It was later released on Blu-ray on March 12, 2013, featuring all the content from the DVD, along with deleted scenes (previewed at Celebration VI), Davis's on-set video diary, and a new audio commentary by Ron Howard.

During its theatrical release, the film was distributed by MGM and Lucasfilm. However, the 1988 VHS was released by RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video, although the MGM logo was retained. The Imagine Entertainment logo was not included on the film, VHS, or DVD releases. Currently, the film is distributed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, which has a home media agreement with MGM.

At Celebration III, George Lucas mentioned the possibility of a Willow television series, given Lucasfilm's renewed focus on television production. Davis also expressed his interest in a sequel film and claimed to have a story idea. Leading up to the release of Solo: A Star Wars Story, director Ron Howard hinted at "a little talk" about a sequel film or TV series. On May 1, 2019, Variety reported that Howard was "in negotiations" to develop a series for Disney+. By December 2019, Jon Kasdan had completed the script for the first episode. The show was officially confirmed in October 2020, with Kasdan and Wendy Mericle serving as showrunners, and Jon M. Chu as director and executive producer. On January 11, 2021, Chu stepped down from the show due to ongoing lockdowns in the United Kingdom caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the impending birth of his child. On January 29, Jonathan Entwistle was announced as Chu's replacement as director, with filming scheduled to begin in spring 2021.

Willow was followed by a trilogy of fantasy novels (1996's Shadow Moon, 1998's Shadow Dawn and 2000's Shadow Star) authored by Chris Claremont based on a story by George Lucas and published by Bantam Spectra. These novels featured an adult Elora Danan as the main character. The cover artist for these books later contributed to Star Wars Art: Visions. On April 1, 2006, StarWars.com updated its Databank with elements from these novels, suggesting that the Willow stories were set on a planet called Andowyne within the Star Wars universe. (These entries were based on Warwick Davis's cameo as Weazel in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, a character that Davis has noted is often mistaken for Willow.) This was later revealed to be an April Fools' joke, although Leland Chee indicated that Lucas Licensing had at one point considered incorporating Willow and the Shadow War novels into the official canon. In 2008, as a nod to the April Fools' joke, StarWars.com included the books in a photo gallery of Star Wars novels. VIP Pete Vilmur acknowledged on his blog that some fans view Willow as part of the Star Wars universe.

George Lucas conceived the idea for Willow while researching the original Star Wars film. Consequently, the two universes share several similarities and connections, with numerous plot points in Willow mirroring those in the Star Wars films. The main characters also share parallels: Willow embodies the dreamer character with hidden potential, Madmartigan represents the scoundrel turned hero, and the brownies provide comic relief. Willow shares many cast and crew members with Star Wars productions, including Ron Howard, who directed Solo: A Star Wars Story, which featured a cameo by Davis. "Skywalker" is the English translation of the sanskrit word "Daikini," the name of Elora Danan's species in the film. Both Anakin Skywalker and Elora Danan are prophesied to overthrow an evil enemy. Whether this naming similarity was intentional is unknown. Concept art in The Art of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace shows that the Jedi uniforms for the prequels were initially designed to resemble Madmartigan's battle attire. The line "Let's get outta here" is common in Star Wars, and the High Aldwin's line "You still have much to learn, young Ufgood" echoes similar lines in Star Wars. Finally, Willow employs the same style of "wipe" transitions as the Star Wars films.

Luke mentions magic in Return of the Jedi, which C-3PO does not deny. The Ewok films formally established that magic exists in Star Wars Legends, a fact later canonized by the Nightsisters arc in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Cherlindrea's fairy species is similar to the Wistie species in Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure; in Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, Charal can transform into a bird. In Willow, Fin Raziel is transformed into various creatures before Willow can restore her human form. Fin Raziel and Queen Bavmorda use their magical powers similarly to how Force users in Star Wars use the Force. The magic in Willow functions much like the Force. Bavmorda's character ties her to the Nightsisters of Dathomir, an order of Dark Jedi witches. During the climactic ritual, her attributes and abilities resemble Nightsisters manipulating weather and displaying ruptured blood vessels due to use of the dark side of the Force. There are also similarities between Bavmorda and Charal, a renegade Nightsister played by Siân Phillips in Ewoks: The Battle for Endor. Jean Marsh and Siân Phillips, both acclaimed British actresses born in 1934, share intimidating physical and performing qualities suitable for villainous or regal roles.

There have also been direct references to the Willow universe in Star Wars. A Tasmanian Devil sound recording, originally used in Willow, was later used with other sounds to create the sound of Boga in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. Star Wars: The Clone Wars includes references to the film, and supervising director Dave Filoni has acknowledged a connection between the two universes. Alora, the kidnapped Force-sensitive infant from the Star Wars Rebels episode "The Future of the Force," was based on Elora Danan. The Corellian hounds from Solo were inspired by Willow's death dogs. In the non-canon Alien Exodus, on Corellia, Human refugees encounter a two-headed dragon-like beast resembling the "Eborsisk" from Willow. However, the story also includes elements from Lucas's other non–Star Wars productions.

• Willow on Lucasfilm.com (backup link)
• Willow on Wikipedia
• Willow (film) at the Internet Movie Database
• Willow wiki