Willow (film)
Encyclopedia
Willow is a 1988 American fantasy film
directed by Ron Howard
and produced/co-written by George Lucas
. Warwick Davis
stars in the film, as well as Val Kilmer
, Joanne Whalley
, Jean Marsh
, and Patricia Hayes
. With a sword and sorcery
setting, Davis stars as the eponymous lead character and hero Willow, a reluctant farmer who plays a critical role in protecting a special baby from a tyrannical queen.
Lucas conceived the idea for Willow in 1972, approaching Howard to direct during the post-production
phase of Cocoon
in 1985. Lucas believed he and Howard shared a relationship similar to the one Lucas enjoyed with Steven Spielberg
. Bob Dolman
was brought in to write the screenplay, coming up with seven drafts before finishing in late 1986. Willow was then set up at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
and principal photography
began in April 1987, finishing the following October.
The majority of filming took place at Elstree Studios
in Hertfordshire
, England, as well as Wales
and New Zealand
. Industrial Light & Magic created the visual effects sequences, which led to a revolutionary breakthrough with digital morphing
technology. Willow was released in May 1988 to mixed reviews from critics, but was a modest financial success and received two Academy Award nominations.
) imprisons all pregnant women within her realm, the formidable stronghold of Nockmaar. The child, Elora Danan
, is born in the Nockmaar dungeons and identified as the prophesied child by a birthmark on her arm.
However, before the black sorceress
arrives to claim the child, Elora's mother convinces her reluctant midwife to escape with the baby. Bavmorda sends her daughter Sorsha (Joanne Whalley
) and General Kael (Pat Roach
), the leader of her army, after the midwife to retrieve Elora. After a long pursuit, the Nockmaar hounds finally catch up with the midwife. Knowing she can't escape, she puts the baby on a makeshift raft and sends it downstream, trusting fate to run its course, just before she is caught and torn apart by the hounds. The child washes up on shore near a village inhabited by a race of dwarf-like people called Nelwyns, derisively called "Pecks" by humans, and is found by the children of Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis
), a farmer and amateur conjurer (though he has actual, if latent, magical talent). Willow is at first loath to take in the child, but eventually he comes to care for it.
The next day, Willow and his children attend a celebration in their village and Willow takes part in a 'test of magic' to become the apprentice to the village's wizard. During the celebration, a Nockmaar hound, that was tracking the baby, attacks the village. Once the cause of the attack is found, Willow is chosen by the town council to return the child to the world of the "large people," or Daikini (humans). The first Daikini Willow comes upon is a boastful warrior named Madmartigan (Val Kilmer
), being held captive in a crow's cage by the side of the road for an unspecified crime (possibly desertion). Seeing a way to escape his cage, Madmartigan offers to take care of the baby. During their interaction, they meet the retreating army of the kingdom of Galladoorn, which was recently destroyed by Bavmorda, under the leadership of Madmartigan's old friend Airk Thaughbaer, an officer in the army. With no alternative, Willow entrusts the baby to Madmartigan, but on his way home, Willow is attacked by a clan of Brownie
s, who stole the baby from Madmartigan. Willow is then told by the fairy queen of the forest, Cherlindrea, that the baby, Elora Danan, has chosen Willow to be her guardian. She gives Willow her magic wand and commissions him to find the sorceress Fin Raziel, with two of her brownies, Franjean and Rool, acting as his guides. Along the way, they bump into Madmartigan again, who helps them escape from Sorsha.
Willow and the rest of the group finally meet Fin Raziel (Patricia Hayes
), only to find that the sorceress has been turned into a possum
by Bavmorda. Soon afterwards Sorsha captures Willow and the others, and they start the long trek to Nockmaar castle. In a mountain camp, Willow attempts to use magic to turn Fin Raziel back into her human form, but transforms her into a raven
instead. Franjean and Rool cause further mayhem when they accidentally expose Madmartigan to a fairy love dust they are carrying, which makes him become infatuated with Sorsha, but eventually they manage to escape.
The group eventually finds the castle of Tir Asleen
, which has been put under Bavmorda's spell; all its inhabitants are frozen in ice. Madmartigan, refusing to give up hope, prepares for Sorsha's attack while Willow once again fails transforming Raziel into human form, this time turning her into a goat. Sorsha, Kael and their army arrive and give battle. Willow also has to handle a few trolls, and after a botched magic spell, even transforms one into a horrific two-headed dragon. Luckily, the remnants of the Army of Galladoorn arrive just in time to relieve the friends. A battle ensues, and Sorsha finally discovers her love for Madmartigan. Kael, however, captures Elora and takes her to Nockmaar.
Willow, Madmartigan, Sorsha, the Brownies, Fin Raziel, and Airk's army set up camp at Nockmaar, preparing to storm the castle in a final attempt to rescue Elora. Bavmorda turns all the soldiers into pigs, but Raziel quickly teaches Willow how to protect himself from the spell. Willow finally returns Raziel to human form, and the sorceress is able to transform the soldiers back to their true forms as well. Since Nockmaar's walls seems impenetrable, all despair until Willow proposes a trick which gets them inside the walls: The army appears to have deserted, while Raziel and Willow provoke the Nockmaar army into attacking, abandoning the security of the castle. At the last minute, everyone else comes out of hiding from under tents and pits, ambushing the enemy. While Madmartigan, Airk and his soldiers battle Kael and the Nockmaar army in the courtyard, Willow, Fin Raziel and Sorsha ascend the castle's main tower trying to locate Elora. They find Bavmorda in the process of initiating an evil ritual that will banish Elora's body and soul to a nether-realm. Below, Kael kills Airk, then engages an enraged Madmartigan in a lengthy battle, which ends with Madmartigan killing the General. Using one of his sleight-of-hand tricks, Willow saves Elora and causes Bavmorda to get caught in her own ritual, banishing her body and soul forever. Willow leaves the baby in caring arms of Madmartigan and Sorsha and returns to his Nelwyn village and his beloved family with a special reward: a spellbook from Raziel, which helps him develop his own magical abilities.
conceived the idea for Willow (originally titled Munchkin
s) in 1972. Lucas' desire for Willow was similar to Star Wars
, and created "a number of well-known mythological situations for a young audience". During the production of Return of the Jedi
in 1982, Lucas approached Warwick Davis
, who was portraying Wicket the Ewok
, about playing Willow Ufgood. Five years passed before he was actually cast in the role. Lucas "thought it would be great to use a little person in a lead role. A lot of my movies are about a little guy against the system, and this was just a more literal interpretation of that idea."
Lucas explained that he had to wait until the mid-1980s to make Willow because visual effects technology was finally advanced enough to execute his vision. Meanwhile, actor-turned-director Ron Howard
was looking to do a fantasy film
. Howard was at Industrial Light & Magic during the post-production
phase of Cocoon
, when he was first approached by Lucas to direct Willow. Howard had previously starred in Lucas' American Graffiti
, and Lucas felt that he and Howard shared a simpatico relationship similar to the one Lucas enjoyed with Steven Spielberg
. Howard nominated Bob Dolman
to write the screenplay based on Lucas' story. Dolman worked with Howard on an unsold television pilot
called Little Shots, and Lucas admired Dolman's work on the sitcom
WKRP in Cincinnati
.
Dolman joined Howard and Lucas at Skywalker Ranch
for a series of lengthy story conferences, and wrote seven drafts of his script between the spring and fall of 1986. Pre-production
began in late-1986. Various major film studios turned down the chance to distribute and co-finance Willow with Lucasfilm
because they believed the fantasy genre was unsuccessful. This was largely due to films such as Krull
, Legend
, Dragonslayer
and Labyrinth
. Lucas took Willow to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
(MGM), which was headed by Alan Ladd, Jr.
Ladd and Lucas shared a relationship as far back as the mid-1970s, when Ladd, running 20th Century Fox
, greenlight
ed Lucas' idea for Star Wars. However, in 1986, MGM was facing financial troubles and its major investment of a fantasy film was perceived as a risk. Ladd advanced half the $36,000,000 budget for Willow in return for theatrical and television rights, leaving Lucasfilm with home video and pay television rights to offer in exchange for the other half.
Lucas based the character of General Kael (Pat Roach
) on the famous film critic Pauline Kael
. On a similar route, the two-headed dragon was named "Eborsisk" after film critics Roger Ebert
and Gene Siskel
.
began on April 2, 1987 and ended that following October. Interior footage took place at Elstree Studios
in Hertfordshire
, England, while location shooting
took place in Wales and New Zealand. Lucas initially visualized shooting Willow similar to Return of the Jedi
, with studio scenes at Elstree and locations in Northern California
, but the idea eventually faded. However, some exteriors were done around Skywalker Ranch
and on location at Burney Falls
, near Mount Shasta
. The Chinese government refused Lucas the chance for a brief location shoot. He then sent a group of photographers to South China to photograph specific scenery, which was then used for background blue screen
footage. Tongariro National Park
in New Zealand was chosen to house Bavmorda's castle.
considered using stop motion
animation for the scene. He also explained that another traditional and practical way in the late-1980s to execute this sequence would have been through the use of an optical dissolve
with cutaways at various stages.
Muren found both stop motion and optical effects to be too technically challenging and decided that the transformation scene would be a perfect opportunity for ILM to create advances with digital morphing
technology. Muren proposed filming each animal, and the actress doubling
for Patricia Hayes, and then feeding the images into a computer program developed by Doug Smythe (Terminator 2: Judgment Day
, Iron Man
). The program would then create a smooth transition from one stage to another before outputting the result back onto film. Smythe began development of the necessary software in September 1987. By March 1988, the impressive result Muren and fellow designer David Allen (Young Sherlock Holmes
, Ghostbusters II
) achieved what would represent a breakthrough for computer-generated imagery
(CGI).
was written by James Horner
and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra
.
'Willow's Theme' is conspicuously similar to the opening of the first movement ("Lebhaft") of Robert Schumann
s Symphony No 3
.
Track listing
. The film was released on May 20, 1988 in 1,209 theaters, earning $8,300,169 in its opening weekend opening at #1. Despite making over $57 million at the North American box office, Willow was not the blockbuster hit insiders had anticipated. Lucas had hoped Willow would earn as much money as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
, but the film faced early competition with Crocodile Dundee II
, Big
and Rambo III
. However, the film was not a financial flop; with strong foreign, home video, and television sales, Willow did make a profit.
, 43% of the critics enjoyed Willow with an average score of 5.4/10.
Janet Maslin
from The New York Times
praised Lucas' storytelling, but was critical of Ron Howard's direction. "Howard appears to have had his hands full in simply harnessing the special effects," Maslin said.
Desson Thomson
, writing in The Washington Post
, explained "Rob Reiner
's similar fairytale adventure The Princess Bride
(which Willow cinematographer
Adrian Biddle
also shot) managed to evoke volumes more without razzle-dazzle. It's a sad thing to be faulting Lucas, maker of the Star Wars
trilogy and Raiders of the Lost Ark
, for forgetting the tricks of entertainment." Mike Clark in USA Today
wrote that "the rainstorm wrap-up, in which Good edges Evil is like Led Zeppelin
Meets The Wild Bunch
. Willow is probably too much for young children and possibly too much of the same for cynics. But any 6–13-year-old who sees this may be bitten by the "movie bug" for life."
ers Ben Burtt
and Richard Hymns of Skywalker Sound
were nominated the Academy Award for Sound Editing
, but lost to Who Framed Roger Rabbit
. The visual effects supervisors also lost the Academy Award for Visual Effects
to Roger Rabbit, which was similarly done by Industrial Light & Magic. Costume design
er Barbara Lane won the Saturn Award for Best Costume Design. Warwick Davis (Performance by a Younger Actor
) and Jean Marsh (Supporting Actress) also received nominations. Willow also lost the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film
and Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
to Roger Rabbit. George Lucas and Bob Dolman (Worst Screenplay) and Billy Barty
(Worst Supporting Actor
) were given Golden Raspberry Award nominations.
as a "special edition
" in November 2001 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
. The release included an audio commentary
by Warwick Davis
and two "making of" featurettes. In the commentary, Davis confirms that there were a number of "lost scenes
" previously rumored to have been deleted from the film including a battle in the valley, Willow battling a boy who transforms into a shark in a lake while retrieving Fin Raziel, and an extended sorceress duel at the climax. (Though removed from the theatrical version, the battle with the lake monster was retained for both Marvel Comics
' adaptation and Wayland Drew
's novelization
of the film.)
to adapt them into a series of books. They take place about fifteen years after the original film and feature the now teenage Elora Danan as the central character.
account on November 2, 2009, that he would be interested in doing a sequel.
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
directed by Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
and produced/co-written by George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
. Warwick Davis
Warwick Davis
Warwick Ashley Davis is an English actor. He is most notable for playing the title characters in Willow and the Leprechaun film series, as well as for his roles in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and the Harry Potter movies. Davis currently stars in the sitcom Life's Too Short, written...
stars in the film, as well as Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
, Joanne Whalley
Joanne Whalley
-Early life:Whalley was born in Salford but brought up in Stockport where she studied at the Braeside School of Speech and Drama, Marple.Whalley first appeared as a child in How We Used To Live and bit parts in soap operas, especially Coronation Street and Emmerdale...
, Jean Marsh
Jean Marsh
Jean Lyndsey Torren Marsh is an English actress, occasional screenwriter, and co-creator of the television series Upstairs, Downstairs and The House of Eliott....
, and Patricia Hayes
Patricia Hayes
Patricia Lawlor Hayes, OBE was an English comedy actress.Hayes was born in Streatham, London. As a child Hayes attended Sacred Heart School in Wandsworth....
. With a sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery is a sub-genre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural...
setting, Davis stars as the eponymous lead character and hero Willow, a reluctant farmer who plays a critical role in protecting a special baby from a tyrannical queen.
Lucas conceived the idea for Willow in 1972, approaching Howard to direct during the post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
phase of Cocoon
Cocoon (film)
The score for Cocoon was composed and conducted by James Horner. The soundtrack was released twice, through Polydor Records in 1985 and a reprint through P.E.G. in 1997 and features eleven tracks of score and a vocal track performed by Michael Sembello...
in 1985. Lucas believed he and Howard shared a relationship similar to the one Lucas enjoyed with Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
. Bob Dolman
Bob Dolman
Bob Dolman is a Canadian screenwriter, actor, director and producer.His work in television includes SCTV, SCTV Network 90, and WKRP in Cincinnati...
was brought in to write the screenplay, coming up with seven drafts before finishing in late 1986. Willow was then set up at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
and principal photography
Principal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
began in April 1987, finishing the following October.
The majority of filming took place at Elstree Studios
Elstree Studios
"Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, since film production begun in 1927.-Name:...
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, England, as well as Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Industrial Light & Magic created the visual effects sequences, which led to a revolutionary breakthrough with digital morphing
Morphing
Morphing is a special effect in motion pictures and animations that changes one image into another through a seamless transition. Most often it is used to depict one person turning into another through technological means or as part of a fantasy or surreal sequence. Traditionally such a depiction...
technology. Willow was released in May 1988 to mixed reviews from critics, but was a modest financial success and received two Academy Award nominations.
Plot
Fearful of a prophecy stating that a girl child will be born to bring about her downfall, the evil Queen Bavmorda (Jean MarshJean Marsh
Jean Lyndsey Torren Marsh is an English actress, occasional screenwriter, and co-creator of the television series Upstairs, Downstairs and The House of Eliott....
) imprisons all pregnant women within her realm, the formidable stronghold of Nockmaar. The child, Elora Danan
Elora Danan
Elora Danan is a fictional character from the 1988 fantasy Willow, played by infant twins Kate and Ruth Greenfield. Babies Isla Brentwood, Laura Hopkirk and Gina Nelson played her for the parts filmed in New Zealand. In the more dangerous scenes, however, "a thirteen-pound animatronics baby with...
, is born in the Nockmaar dungeons and identified as the prophesied child by a birthmark on her arm.
However, before the black sorceress
Black magic
Black magic is the type of magic that draws on assumed malevolent powers or is used with the intention to kill, steal, injure, cause misfortune or destruction, or for personal gain without regard to harmful consequences. As a term, "black magic" is normally used by those that do not approve of its...
arrives to claim the child, Elora's mother convinces her reluctant midwife to escape with the baby. Bavmorda sends her daughter Sorsha (Joanne Whalley
Joanne Whalley
-Early life:Whalley was born in Salford but brought up in Stockport where she studied at the Braeside School of Speech and Drama, Marple.Whalley first appeared as a child in How We Used To Live and bit parts in soap operas, especially Coronation Street and Emmerdale...
) and General Kael (Pat Roach
Pat Roach
Francis Patrick "Pat" Roach was an English actor, wrestler and author, from Birmingham. His most famous role is that of West Country bricklayer Brian "Bomber" Busbridge in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. He also played a memorable role as General Kael in Willow...
), the leader of her army, after the midwife to retrieve Elora. After a long pursuit, the Nockmaar hounds finally catch up with the midwife. Knowing she can't escape, she puts the baby on a makeshift raft and sends it downstream, trusting fate to run its course, just before she is caught and torn apart by the hounds. The child washes up on shore near a village inhabited by a race of dwarf-like people called Nelwyns, derisively called "Pecks" by humans, and is found by the children of Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis
Warwick Davis
Warwick Ashley Davis is an English actor. He is most notable for playing the title characters in Willow and the Leprechaun film series, as well as for his roles in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and the Harry Potter movies. Davis currently stars in the sitcom Life's Too Short, written...
), a farmer and amateur conjurer (though he has actual, if latent, magical talent). Willow is at first loath to take in the child, but eventually he comes to care for it.
The next day, Willow and his children attend a celebration in their village and Willow takes part in a 'test of magic' to become the apprentice to the village's wizard. During the celebration, a Nockmaar hound, that was tracking the baby, attacks the village. Once the cause of the attack is found, Willow is chosen by the town council to return the child to the world of the "large people," or Daikini (humans). The first Daikini Willow comes upon is a boastful warrior named Madmartigan (Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
), being held captive in a crow's cage by the side of the road for an unspecified crime (possibly desertion). Seeing a way to escape his cage, Madmartigan offers to take care of the baby. During their interaction, they meet the retreating army of the kingdom of Galladoorn, which was recently destroyed by Bavmorda, under the leadership of Madmartigan's old friend Airk Thaughbaer, an officer in the army. With no alternative, Willow entrusts the baby to Madmartigan, but on his way home, Willow is attacked by a clan of Brownie
Brownie (folklore)
A brownie/brounie or urisk or brùnaidh, ùruisg, or gruagach is a legendary creature popular in folklore around Scotland and England...
s, who stole the baby from Madmartigan. Willow is then told by the fairy queen of the forest, Cherlindrea, that the baby, Elora Danan, has chosen Willow to be her guardian. She gives Willow her magic wand and commissions him to find the sorceress Fin Raziel, with two of her brownies, Franjean and Rool, acting as his guides. Along the way, they bump into Madmartigan again, who helps them escape from Sorsha.
Willow and the rest of the group finally meet Fin Raziel (Patricia Hayes
Patricia Hayes
Patricia Lawlor Hayes, OBE was an English comedy actress.Hayes was born in Streatham, London. As a child Hayes attended Sacred Heart School in Wandsworth....
), only to find that the sorceress has been turned into a possum
Possum
A possum is any of about 70 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi .Possums are quadrupedal diprotodont marsupials with long tails...
by Bavmorda. Soon afterwards Sorsha captures Willow and the others, and they start the long trek to Nockmaar castle. In a mountain camp, Willow attempts to use magic to turn Fin Raziel back into her human form, but transforms her into a raven
Raven
Raven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...
instead. Franjean and Rool cause further mayhem when they accidentally expose Madmartigan to a fairy love dust they are carrying, which makes him become infatuated with Sorsha, but eventually they manage to escape.
The group eventually finds the castle of Tir Asleen
Tir Asleen
Tir Asleen is a fictional location from the 1988 fantasy Willow. It is where the sorceress Fin Raziel leads the halfling Willow, the swordsman Madmartigan, and the infant Elora Danan. There, a good king and queen will raise the baby girl....
, which has been put under Bavmorda's spell; all its inhabitants are frozen in ice. Madmartigan, refusing to give up hope, prepares for Sorsha's attack while Willow once again fails transforming Raziel into human form, this time turning her into a goat. Sorsha, Kael and their army arrive and give battle. Willow also has to handle a few trolls, and after a botched magic spell, even transforms one into a horrific two-headed dragon. Luckily, the remnants of the Army of Galladoorn arrive just in time to relieve the friends. A battle ensues, and Sorsha finally discovers her love for Madmartigan. Kael, however, captures Elora and takes her to Nockmaar.
Willow, Madmartigan, Sorsha, the Brownies, Fin Raziel, and Airk's army set up camp at Nockmaar, preparing to storm the castle in a final attempt to rescue Elora. Bavmorda turns all the soldiers into pigs, but Raziel quickly teaches Willow how to protect himself from the spell. Willow finally returns Raziel to human form, and the sorceress is able to transform the soldiers back to their true forms as well. Since Nockmaar's walls seems impenetrable, all despair until Willow proposes a trick which gets them inside the walls: The army appears to have deserted, while Raziel and Willow provoke the Nockmaar army into attacking, abandoning the security of the castle. At the last minute, everyone else comes out of hiding from under tents and pits, ambushing the enemy. While Madmartigan, Airk and his soldiers battle Kael and the Nockmaar army in the courtyard, Willow, Fin Raziel and Sorsha ascend the castle's main tower trying to locate Elora. They find Bavmorda in the process of initiating an evil ritual that will banish Elora's body and soul to a nether-realm. Below, Kael kills Airk, then engages an enraged Madmartigan in a lengthy battle, which ends with Madmartigan killing the General. Using one of his sleight-of-hand tricks, Willow saves Elora and causes Bavmorda to get caught in her own ritual, banishing her body and soul forever. Willow leaves the baby in caring arms of Madmartigan and Sorsha and returns to his Nelwyn village and his beloved family with a special reward: a spellbook from Raziel, which helps him develop his own magical abilities.
Cast
- Warwick DavisWarwick DavisWarwick Ashley Davis is an English actor. He is most notable for playing the title characters in Willow and the Leprechaun film series, as well as for his roles in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and the Harry Potter movies. Davis currently stars in the sitcom Life's Too Short, written...
as Willow Ufgood: A reluctant Nelwyn dwarf who plays a critical role in protecting infant Elora Danan from the evil queen Bavmorda. - Val KilmerVal KilmerVal Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
as Madmartigan: A boasting mercenaryMercenaryA mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
swordSwordA sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
sman who helps Willow on his quest. In the film (further explained in the film's novelization) it is partly revealed that he is a disgraced knight from the kingdom of Galladoorn. - Kate and Ruth Greenfield as Elora DananElora DananElora Danan is a fictional character from the 1988 fantasy Willow, played by infant twins Kate and Ruth Greenfield. Babies Isla Brentwood, Laura Hopkirk and Gina Nelson played her for the parts filmed in New Zealand. In the more dangerous scenes, however, "a thirteen-pound animatronics baby with...
: An infant princess that prophecy says will bring about Queen Bavmorda's downfall. - Joanne WhalleyJoanne Whalley-Early life:Whalley was born in Salford but brought up in Stockport where she studied at the Braeside School of Speech and Drama, Marple.Whalley first appeared as a child in How We Used To Live and bit parts in soap operas, especially Coronation Street and Emmerdale...
as Sorsha: Warrior daughter of Bavmorda. - Jean MarshJean MarshJean Lyndsey Torren Marsh is an English actress, occasional screenwriter, and co-creator of the television series Upstairs, Downstairs and The House of Eliott....
as Queen Bavmorda: Villainous ruler of Nockmaar and mother of Sorsha. - Patricia HayesPatricia HayesPatricia Lawlor Hayes, OBE was an English comedy actress.Hayes was born in Streatham, London. As a child Hayes attended Sacred Heart School in Wandsworth....
as Fin Raziel: Aging sorceress who is turned into a possumPossumA possum is any of about 70 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi .Possums are quadrupedal diprotodont marsupials with long tails...
due to a curse by Bavmorda. - Billy BartyBilly BartyBilly Barty was an American film actor.-Biography:Barty, an Italian American, was born William John Bertanzetti in Millsboro, Pennsylvania...
as High Aldwin: Nelwyn wizard who commissions Willow to go on his journey. - Pat RoachPat RoachFrancis Patrick "Pat" Roach was an English actor, wrestler and author, from Birmingham. His most famous role is that of West Country bricklayer Brian "Bomber" Busbridge in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. He also played a memorable role as General Kael in Willow...
as General Kael: Villainous associate to Queen Bavmorda and high commander of her army. - Gavan O'HerlihyGavan O'HerlihyGavan O'Herlihy is an Irish actor.O'Herlihy was born in Dublin, the son of Elsa Bennett and Irish actor Dan O'Herlihy. In his youth, he was an avid tennis player, and even became Irish National Tennis Champion...
as Airk Thaughbaer: Military commander of the (destroyed) kingdom of Galladoorn who shares a mixed friendship with Madmartigan. - Kevin PollakKevin PollakKevin Elliot Pollak is an American actor, impressionist, game show host, and comedian. He started performing stand-up comedy at the age of 10 and touring professionally at the age of 20...
and Rick OvertonRick OvertonRichard "Rick" Overton is an American screenwriter, actor and comedian. His writing credits include Dennis Miller Live, and his acting credits include Willow and The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne.-Life and career:...
as Rool and Franjean: BrownieBrownie (folklore)A brownie/brounie or urisk or brùnaidh, ùruisg, or gruagach is a legendary creature popular in folklore around Scotland and England...
duo who also serve as comic reliefComic reliefComic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
s in Willow's journey. - David J. SteinbergDavid J. SteinbergDavid Joseph Steinberg was an American actor best known for his role of Meegosh in the 1988 Ron Howard film, Willow.Steinberg was born in Los Angeles and stood just 3'1" tall. His adoptive parents also had dwarfism...
as Meegosh: Willow's closest friend. Meegosh accompanies Willow partway on his journey. - Mark NorthoverMark NorthoverMark Northover was a British actor, with the distinctive characteristic of dwarfism, whose best-known screen character was Burglekutt in the 1988 film Willow. Another memorable role was that of Alvy in Hardware...
as Burglekutt: Leader of the Nelwyn village council. Burglekutt and Willow despise each other. - Phil FondacaroPhil FondacaroPhil Fondacaro is an American actor. A dwarf actor at , Fondacaro began acting in 1981, with the film Under the Rainbow....
as Vohnkar: Nelwyn warrior who also accompanies Willow on his journey. - Julie Peters as Kaiya Ufgood: Wife of Willow. Kaiya is a loving mother and enthusiastic in caring for Elora.
- Tony Cox as a Nelwyn warrior.
Development
George LucasGeorge Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
conceived the idea for Willow (originally titled Munchkin
Munchkin
The Munchkins are the natives of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. They first appeared in the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, in which they are described as being somewhat short of stature, and wear only blue...
s) in 1972. Lucas' desire for Willow was similar to Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, and created "a number of well-known mythological situations for a young audience". During the production of Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
in 1982, Lucas approached Warwick Davis
Warwick Davis
Warwick Ashley Davis is an English actor. He is most notable for playing the title characters in Willow and the Leprechaun film series, as well as for his roles in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and the Harry Potter movies. Davis currently stars in the sitcom Life's Too Short, written...
, who was portraying Wicket the Ewok
Ewok
Ewoks originate from the Star Wars films. In the series, they are a species of teddy-bear-like hunter-gatherers that inhabit the forest moon of Endor. The Ewoks live in various tree-huts and primitive dwellings. They first appeared in the film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
, about playing Willow Ufgood. Five years passed before he was actually cast in the role. Lucas "thought it would be great to use a little person in a lead role. A lot of my movies are about a little guy against the system, and this was just a more literal interpretation of that idea."
Lucas explained that he had to wait until the mid-1980s to make Willow because visual effects technology was finally advanced enough to execute his vision. Meanwhile, actor-turned-director Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
was looking to do a fantasy film
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
. Howard was at Industrial Light & Magic during the post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
phase of Cocoon
Cocoon (film)
The score for Cocoon was composed and conducted by James Horner. The soundtrack was released twice, through Polydor Records in 1985 and a reprint through P.E.G. in 1997 and features eleven tracks of score and a vocal track performed by Michael Sembello...
, when he was first approached by Lucas to direct Willow. Howard had previously starred in Lucas' American Graffiti
American Graffiti
American Graffiti is a 1973 coming of age film co-written/directed by George Lucas starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips and Harrison Ford...
, and Lucas felt that he and Howard shared a simpatico relationship similar to the one Lucas enjoyed with Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
. Howard nominated Bob Dolman
Bob Dolman
Bob Dolman is a Canadian screenwriter, actor, director and producer.His work in television includes SCTV, SCTV Network 90, and WKRP in Cincinnati...
to write the screenplay based on Lucas' story. Dolman worked with Howard on an unsold television pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
called Little Shots, and Lucas admired Dolman's work on the sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
WKRP in Cincinnati
WKRP in Cincinnati
WKRP in Cincinnati is an American situation comedy that featured the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working in advertising sales at Top 40 radio station WQXI in Atlanta...
.
Dolman joined Howard and Lucas at Skywalker Ranch
Skywalker Ranch
Skywalker Ranch is the name of the workplace of film director and producer George Lucas. It is located in a secluded, but open area near Nicasio, California, in Marin County. The ranch is located on Lucas Valley Road, although Lucas is not related to the road's namesake, who was a...
for a series of lengthy story conferences, and wrote seven drafts of his script between the spring and fall of 1986. Pre-production
Pre-production
Pre-production or In Production is the process of preparing all the elements involved in a film, play, or other performance.- In film :...
began in late-1986. Various major film studios turned down the chance to distribute and co-finance Willow with Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Limited is an American film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in San Francisco, California. Lucas is the company's current chairman and CEO, and Micheline Chau is the president and COO....
because they believed the fantasy genre was unsuccessful. This was largely due to films such as Krull
Krull (film)
Krull is a 1983 heroic fantasy film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Ron Silverman. Released by Columbia Pictures, it stars Ken Marshall as Prince Colwyn and Lysette Anthony as Princess Lyssa....
, Legend
Legend (film)
Legend is a 1985 fantasy film released by Universal Pictures, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, and Tim Curry. Though not a very notable success when first released, it received a single Academy Award nomination for Best Makeup, and since its initial release, has developed...
, Dragonslayer
Dragonslayer
Dragonslayer is a 1981 fantasy movie set in a fictional medieval kingdom, following a young wizard who experiences danger and opposition as he attempts to defeat a dragon....
and Labyrinth
Labyrinth (film)
Labyrinth is a 1986 British/American fantasy film directed by Jim Henson, produced by George Lucas, and designed by Brian Froud. Henson collaborated on the screenwriting with children's author Dennis Lee, Terry Jones from Monty Python, and Elaine May .The film stars David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin...
. Lucas took Willow to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
(MGM), which was headed by Alan Ladd, Jr.
Alan Ladd, Jr.
Alan Ladd, Jr. is an American film industry executive and producer. He is famous for giving George Lucas the go-ahead to make Star Wars and remained as Lucas' only support at times when the Board of Directors wished to shut down production...
Ladd and Lucas shared a relationship as far back as the mid-1970s, when Ladd, running 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, greenlight
Greenlight
To green-light a project is to give permission or a go ahead to move forward with a project. In the context of the movie and TV businesses, to green-light something is to formally approve its production finance, thereby allowing the project to move forward from the development phase to...
ed Lucas' idea for Star Wars. However, in 1986, MGM was facing financial troubles and its major investment of a fantasy film was perceived as a risk. Ladd advanced half the $36,000,000 budget for Willow in return for theatrical and television rights, leaving Lucasfilm with home video and pay television rights to offer in exchange for the other half.
Lucas based the character of General Kael (Pat Roach
Pat Roach
Francis Patrick "Pat" Roach was an English actor, wrestler and author, from Birmingham. His most famous role is that of West Country bricklayer Brian "Bomber" Busbridge in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. He also played a memorable role as General Kael in Willow...
) on the famous film critic Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael was an American film critic who wrote for The New Yorker magazine from 1968 to 1991. Earlier in her career, her work appeared in City Lights, McCall's and The New Republic....
. On a similar route, the two-headed dragon was named "Eborsisk" after film critics Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
and Gene Siskel
Gene Siskel
Eugene Kal "Gene" Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted the popular review show Siskel & Ebert At the Movies from 1975 until his death....
.
Filming
Principal photographyPrincipal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
began on April 2, 1987 and ended that following October. Interior footage took place at Elstree Studios
Elstree Studios
"Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, since film production begun in 1927.-Name:...
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, England, while location shooting
Location shooting
Location shooting is the practice of filming in an actual setting rather than on a sound stage or back lot. In filmmaking a location is any place where a film crew will be filming actors and recording their dialog. A location where dialog is not recorded may be considered as a second unit...
took place in Wales and New Zealand. Lucas initially visualized shooting Willow similar to Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
, with studio scenes at Elstree and locations in Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
, but the idea eventually faded. However, some exteriors were done around Skywalker Ranch
Skywalker Ranch
Skywalker Ranch is the name of the workplace of film director and producer George Lucas. It is located in a secluded, but open area near Nicasio, California, in Marin County. The ranch is located on Lucas Valley Road, although Lucas is not related to the road's namesake, who was a...
and on location at Burney Falls
Burney Falls
Burney Falls is a waterfall on Burney Creek, in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, Shasta County, California.The water comes from underground springs above and at the falls, which are 129 feet high, and provides an almost constant flow rate of 100 million US gallons per day , even during...
, near Mount Shasta
Mount Shasta
Mount Shasta is located at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California and at is the second highest peak in the Cascades and the fifth highest in California...
. The Chinese government refused Lucas the chance for a brief location shoot. He then sent a group of photographers to South China to photograph specific scenery, which was then used for background blue screen
Chroma key
Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
footage. Tongariro National Park
Tongariro National Park
Tongariro National Park is the oldest national park in New Zealand, located in the central North Island. It has been acknowledged by UNESCO as one of the 28 mixed cultural and natural World Heritage Sites....
in New Zealand was chosen to house Bavmorda's castle.
Visual effects
Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) created the visual effects sequences. The script called for Willow to restore Fin Raziel (Patricia Hayes) from a goat to her original human form. Willow recites what he thinks is the appropriate spell, but turns the goat into an ostrich, and then a tortoise, and finally a tiger, before returning Raziel to her human body. ILM supervisor Dennis MurenDennis Muren
Dennis Muren, A.S.C. is an American film special effects artist, most notable for his work on the films of Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and George Lucas. He has won eight Oscars for Best Visual Effects.-Early life:...
considered using stop motion
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
animation for the scene. He also explained that another traditional and practical way in the late-1980s to execute this sequence would have been through the use of an optical dissolve
Optical printer
An optical printer is a device consisting of one or more film projectors mechanically linked to a movie camera. It allows filmmakers to re-photograph one or more strips of film...
with cutaways at various stages.
Muren found both stop motion and optical effects to be too technically challenging and decided that the transformation scene would be a perfect opportunity for ILM to create advances with digital morphing
Morphing
Morphing is a special effect in motion pictures and animations that changes one image into another through a seamless transition. Most often it is used to depict one person turning into another through technological means or as part of a fantasy or surreal sequence. Traditionally such a depiction...
technology. Muren proposed filming each animal, and the actress doubling
Body double
A body double is a general term for someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character in any recorded visual medium, in shots where the character's body is shown but the face is either not visible or shown indistinctly, or in shots where the image of the credited actor's face is joined,...
for Patricia Hayes, and then feeding the images into a computer program developed by Doug Smythe (Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr.. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong...
, Iron Man
Iron Man (film)
Iron Man is a 2008 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, an industrialist and master engineer who builds a powered exoskeleton and becomes the technologically advanced superhero, Iron...
). The program would then create a smooth transition from one stage to another before outputting the result back onto film. Smythe began development of the necessary software in September 1987. By March 1988, the impressive result Muren and fellow designer David Allen (Young Sherlock Holmes
Young Sherlock Holmes
Young Sherlock Holmes is a 1985 mystery/adventure film directed by Barry Levinson, produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Chris Columbus, based on characters by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...
, Ghostbusters II
Ghostbusters II
Ghostbusters II is a 1989 science fiction comedy film produced and directed by Ivan Reitman. It is the sequel to the 1984 film Ghostbusters and follows the further adventures of a group of parapsychologists and their organization which combats paranormal activities...
) achieved what would represent a breakthrough for computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
(CGI).
Soundtrack
The film scoreFilm score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
was written by James Horner
James Horner
James Roy Horner is an American composer, orchestrator and conductor of orchestral and film music. He is noted for the integration of choral and electronic elements in many of his film scores, and for frequent use of Celtic musical elements...
and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
.
'Willow's Theme' is conspicuously similar to the opening of the first movement ("Lebhaft") of Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
s Symphony No 3
Symphony No. 3 (Schumann)
Composed from November 2 to December 9, 1850, the Symphony No. 3 “Rhenish” in E flat major, Op. 97, is the last symphony that Robert Schumann composed, although it was not the last symphony that he published...
.
Track listing
- "Elora Danan" – 9:45
- "Escape from the Tavern" – 5:04
- "Willow's Journey Begins" – 5:26
- "Canyon of Mazes" – 7:52
- "Tir Asleen" – 10:47
- "Willow's Theme" – 3:54
- "Bavmorda's Spell is Cast" – 18:11
- "Willow the Sorcerer" – 11:55
Commercial analysis
Willow was shown and promoted at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival1988 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Ettore Scola*Claude Berri*David Robinson*Yelena Safonova*George Miller*Hector Olivera*Nastassja Kinski*Philippe Sarde*Robby Muller*William Goldman-Feature film competition:* A World Apart by Chris Menges...
. The film was released on May 20, 1988 in 1,209 theaters, earning $8,300,169 in its opening weekend opening at #1. Despite making over $57 million at the North American box office, Willow was not the blockbuster hit insiders had anticipated. Lucas had hoped Willow would earn as much money as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote...
, but the film faced early competition with Crocodile Dundee II
Crocodile Dundee II
"Crocodile" Dundee II is a 1988 Australian adventure and comedy film. It is a sequel to the 1986 film "Crocodile" Dundee, and was followed by 2001's Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles...
, Big
Big
Big is a 1988 romantic comedy film directed by Penny Marshall and stars Tom Hanks as Josh Baskin, a young boy who makes a wish "to be big" to a magical fortune-telling machine and is then aged to adulthood overnight...
and Rambo III
Rambo III
Rambo III is an American Action film released on May 25, 1988. It is the third film in the Rambo series following First Blood and Rambo: First Blood Part II...
. However, the film was not a financial flop; with strong foreign, home video, and television sales, Willow did make a profit.
Critical analysis
Willow was released to mixed reviews from critics. Based on 23 reviews collected by Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, 43% of the critics enjoyed Willow with an average score of 5.4/10.
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as the Times film critic from 1977–1999.- Biography :...
from The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
praised Lucas' storytelling, but was critical of Ron Howard's direction. "Howard appears to have had his hands full in simply harnessing the special effects," Maslin said.
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Desson Patrick Thomson is a speechwriter in the Obama Administration and a former movie critic for The Washington Post.-Biography:Thomson attended boarding schools in England from the age of 7 until 17. He went to the Abbey School in East Grinstead, Sussex, and the City of London Freemen's School...
, writing in The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, explained "Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner
Robert "Rob" Reiner is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and political activist.As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, on All in the Family. That role earned him two Emmy Awards during the 1970s...
's similar fairytale adventure The Princess Bride
The Princess Bride (film)
The Princess Bride is a 1987 American film based on the 1973 novel of the same name by William Goldman, combining comedy, adventure, romance, and fantasy. The film was directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by Goldman...
(which Willow cinematographer
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
Adrian Biddle
Adrian Biddle
Adrian Biddle, B.S.C. , was an English cinematographer.-Early years:Biddle was a talented swimmer in his youth, and it was through this that he broke into the film industry. In 1967 the underwater photographer Egil Woxholt hired him to be his apprentice...
also shot) managed to evoke volumes more without razzle-dazzle. It's a sad thing to be faulting Lucas, maker of the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
trilogy and Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise...
, for forgetting the tricks of entertainment." Mike Clark in USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
wrote that "the rainstorm wrap-up, in which Good edges Evil is like Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
Meets The Wild Bunch
The Wild Bunch
The Wild Bunch is a 1969 American Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah about an aging outlaw gang on the Texas-Mexico border, trying to exist in the changing "modern" world of 1913...
. Willow is probably too much for young children and possibly too much of the same for cynics. But any 6–13-year-old who sees this may be bitten by the "movie bug" for life."
Awards
Sound designSound design
Sound design is the process of specifying, acquiring, manipulating or generating audio elements. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking, television production, theatre, sound recording and reproduction, live performance, sound art, post-production and video game software...
ers Ben Burtt
Ben Burtt
Benjamin "Ben" Burtt, Jr. is an American sound designer who has worked on various films including: the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, Invasion of the Body Snatchers , E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , and WALL-E...
and Richard Hymns of Skywalker Sound
Skywalker Sound
Skywalker Sound is the sound effects, sound editing, sound design, sound mixing and music recording division of George Lucas' Lucas Digital motion picture group. Its main facilities are located in Lucas Valley, near Nicasio, California...
were nominated the Academy Award for Sound Editing
Academy Award for Sound Editing
The Academy Award of Merit for Best Sound Editing is an Academy Award granted yearly to a film exhibiting the finest or most aesthetic sound editing or sound design...
, but lost to Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...
. The visual effects supervisors also lost the Academy Award for Visual Effects
Academy Award for Visual Effects
The Academy Award for Visual Effects is an Academy Award given for the best achievement in visual effects.-History of the award:The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences first recognized the technical contributions of special effects to movies at its inaugural dinner in 1928, presenting a...
to Roger Rabbit, which was similarly done by Industrial Light & Magic. Costume design
Costume design
Costume design is the fabrication of apparel for the overall appearance of a character or performer. This usually involves researching, designing and building the actual items from conception. Costumes may be for a theater or cinema performance but may not be limited to such...
er Barbara Lane won the Saturn Award for Best Costume Design. Warwick Davis (Performance by a Younger Actor
Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor
The following are a list of Saturn Award winners for Best Performance by a Younger Actor:- References :* , Saturn Awards...
) and Jean Marsh (Supporting Actress) also received nominations. Willow also lost the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film
Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film
The following are a list of Saturn Award winners for Best Fantasy Film:...
and Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
to Roger Rabbit. George Lucas and Bob Dolman (Worst Screenplay) and Billy Barty
Billy Barty
Billy Barty was an American film actor.-Biography:Barty, an Italian American, was born William John Bertanzetti in Millsboro, Pennsylvania...
(Worst Supporting Actor
Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor
The Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst supporting actor of the previous year. The following is a list of nominees and recipients of that award, along with the film for which they were nominated. Brooke Shields is the...
) were given Golden Raspberry Award nominations.
Legacy
The film was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
as a "special edition
Special edition
The terms special edition, limited edition and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition and others, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints or recorded music and films, but now including...
" in November 2001 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of the 20th Century Fox film studio. It was established in 1976 as Magnetic Video Corporation, and later as 20th Century Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video and FoxVideo, Inc....
. The release included an audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
by Warwick Davis
Warwick Davis
Warwick Ashley Davis is an English actor. He is most notable for playing the title characters in Willow and the Leprechaun film series, as well as for his roles in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and the Harry Potter movies. Davis currently stars in the sitcom Life's Too Short, written...
and two "making of" featurettes. In the commentary, Davis confirms that there were a number of "lost scenes
Deleted scene
In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
" previously rumored to have been deleted from the film including a battle in the valley, Willow battling a boy who transforms into a shark in a lake while retrieving Fin Raziel, and an extended sorceress duel at the climax. (Though removed from the theatrical version, the battle with the lake monster was retained for both Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' adaptation and Wayland Drew
Wayland Drew
Wayland Drew was a writer born in Oshawa, Ontario. He earned a BA in English Language and Literature from Victoria College at the University of Toronto in 1957, and began a teaching career in 1961 at the high school in Port Perry, Ontario...
's novelization
Novelization
A novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
of the film.)
Novels
Lucas outlined the Chronicles of the Shadow War trilogy to follow the film and hired comic book writer/novelist Chris ClaremontChris Claremont
Chris Claremont is an award-winning American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero...
to adapt them into a series of books. They take place about fifteen years after the original film and feature the now teenage Elora Danan as the central character.
- Shadow MoonShadow Moon (novel)Shadow Moon is a fantasy novel written by Chris Claremont and George Lucas. Published in 1995, it was the continuation of the 1988 motion picture Willow...
(1995) ISBN 0-553-57285-7 - Shadow DawnShadow DawnShadow Dawn is a fantasy novel written by Chris Claremont and George Lucas. Published in 1996, it was the second book in the continuation of events from the 1988 motion picture Willow. Preceded by Shadow Moon in 1995, and followed by Shadow Star. This is the second book in the Chronicles of the...
(1996) ISBN 0-553-57289-X - Shadow StarShadow Star (novel)Shadow Star is the third book in the Chronicles of the Shadow War trilogy. Shadow Star is preceded by Shadow Moon in 1995, and Shadow Dawn in 1996. It was written by Chris Claremont in collaboration with George Lucas. Published in 2000, it was the third book in the continuation of events from the...
(2000) ISBN 0-553-57288-1
Sequel
Since the film's release in 1988, Lucas and Davis commented in April 2005 that a television series acting as a sequel was under consideration. In June 2008, Davis reiterated his hopes to return for a theatrically released second installment of Willow. Davis also mentioned on his TwitterTwitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account on November 2, 2009, that he would be interested in doing a sequel.