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''Willow'' is a 1988 Fantasy Film directed by Ron Howard , based on a story by George Lucas . PRODUCTION George Lucas originally planned to film an adaptation of The Hobbit . Unable to secure the rights, he wrote ''Willow'', which shares many similarities with J.R.R. Tolkien 's celebrated novel and its sequel, The Lord Of The Rings . The film was notable for employing more Dwarfs than any production in many years, and was widely praised by the "little person" community for employing Warwick Davis as the lead. The film also used Morphing special effects to transform an old sorceress into various animals, a revolutionary effect for the time. As an interesting sidenote, the two-headed monster in the film, the Eborsisk, was named as a reference to popular movie critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel ; the villainous General Kael was also named for a critic, noted journalist Pauline Kael . Filming action scenes in the snow of a New Zealand winter prompted Val Kilmer to remark that he wished his wardrobe shirt had buttons, as the open shirt bared his chest to the cold. Much of the concept art, such as creature designs and storyboard art, was drawn by Jean Giraud (aka Moebius) and Chris Achilleos . Ultimately, the designs which appeared in the final film were considerably different from those initial designs; several sequences were also completely cut from the film due to time constraints. One such scene was a battle at sea in which the heroes narrowly escape a giant sea monster, which was depicted as a huge Anthropomorphic shark in storyboard artwork. SYNOPSIS A young farmer named Willow Ufgood ( Warwick Davis ), one of a Halfling -like people called Nelwyns, is drawn away from his sheltered home to save Elora Danan (a baby girl with a destiny) from the evil Queen Bavmorda ( Jean Marsh ) who would see her destroyed. Willow is aided by the disillusioned master swordsman Madmartigan ( Val Kilmer ), who has turned to a life of roguery, sorceress Fin Raziel ( Patricia Hayes ), who has been turned into a Possum by Bavmorda, as well as two diminutive Brownies Franjean and Rool. They are initially thwarted, but later joined, by the queen's daughter Sorsha (played by Joanne Whalley , later Kilmer's wife). PLOT Queen Bavmorda, a ruthless ruler of the kingdom Nockmar, seeks a child of prophecy that is to destroy her someday- she aims to send the child to the netherworld before she is threatened. The child, identified by a small rune on her arm, is soon born, but a midwife sneaks out with the child, caring for it while on the run. The midwife is eventually hunted and killed down by Bavmorda's devil-dogs, but not before she is able to send the child downstream on a small raft of wood and earth. The child is found by a Nelwyn named Willow Ufgood and his family. Willow is a young farmer and a sorcerer-in-training and wants nothing to do with the baby, fearing that it may be a bad omen, but his family overrules him- it is not before long that Willow also comes around. The next day, Willow and his other two children, Mims and Ranon, attend a festival in the Nelwyn village, where Willow preforms magic tricks. The celebration is cut short when a devil dog rampages through the festivities, until it is slewn by the village militia- Willow realizes the baby's presence is the cause for this. Willow presents the child to the High Aldwin ( Billy Barty ), the village elder, sorcerer and Willow's mentor. Willow eventually agrees to take the child with a group of men to The Crossroads, and deliver the baby to the first Daikini (human) they encounter. Meanwhile, in Nockmar, Bavmorda grows impatient with her daughter, the battle-hardened Sorsha, and her inability to track the child, ordering General Kael to aid her in the search- moments after they leave, an adviser expresses doubt at Sorsha's loyalty, which Bavmorda downplays. Upon arrival at the crossroads, Willow and the group encounter a daikini thief named Madmartigan, imprisoned in a crow's cage. He claims to be the greatest swordsman to have lived, though this is doubted. Though he is a Daikini, Willow is adamant against giving the baby to him. After a brief argument amongst the accompanying men, Willow is left alone with the child and his friend, Meegosh, while the remainder head home. The next day, an army marches by, and Willow tries to give the baby away- a soldier named Airk informs him that they are going to battle, so they cannot take her. Madmartigan, having been friends with Airk before, is informed that the Nockmar army has destroyed the kingdom of Galadoorn. Thought Madmartigan is eager to help, Airk refuses, and leaves them behind. After the army passes, and seeing no other option, Willow and Meegosh free Madmartigan and give him the baby. Madmartigan heads off promising to take good care of the baby. As Willow and Meegosh head back towards home, they see an eagle, carrying the baby and being ridden by a Brownie , fly by. They chase after the eagle and are eventually captured by the other brownies. Willow and Meegosh wake up hours later, tied to the ground and surrounded by a pack of brownies, led by Franjean. A voice from the forest orders Franjean to release Willow and Meegosh. The forest sorceress, Cherlindrea, appears to them and greets Willow. She reveals to them that the baby's real name is Elora Danan. Elora has chosen Willow to be her guardian, because she likes him. Cherlindrea reveals Elora's destiny to Willow and instructs him to take Elora to the kingdom of Tir Asleen, where she will be safe. She gives Willow her Magic Wand and tells him to take it to Fin Raziel, an old rival of Bavmorda, to aid him in getting there. She also warns Willow that if he doesn't accept the calling Elora will surely die, and nothing will stop Bavmorda. The next day, Willow decides to continue on and sends Meegosh back to the village, starting out for the island of Fin Raziel, guided by Franjean and Rool. At a tavern along the road, they run into Madmartigan. Neither are happy to see each other, since Willow feels Madmartigan is untrustworthy, and Madmartigan believes Willow is an annoyance. But Madmartigan helps Willow escape when Bavmorda's troops search the tavern. Madmartigan accompanies them on their way to the island. When they get to the island, Madmartigan goes his own way, and Willow goes to find Raziel. He's surprised to see that she's been turned into an Opossum . He takes her to see Elora. Seeing the baby confirms Raziel's faith in the prophecy. Raziel can't do anything as an opossum, so she tells Willow to change her back into a human. She's shocked to learn that Willow is just an amateur. Bavmorda's troops ride up, led by Madmartigan who has betrayed Willow for unknown reasons. Willow, Raziel, Elora and Madmartigan (who has outlived his usefulness), are captured and taken to a Nockmar encampment in the mountains. Franjean and Rool are left behind and are forced to track the horses up the mountains. Rool states that this should be fun. Up at the encampment, Willow and Madmartigan free Raziel, despite still being locked up, and Willow attempts to change her back into her human form. He fails, accidentally changing her into Crow . Franjean and Rool arrive and offer to help them out of their cage. Franjean uses his spear to pick the lock, but not before Madmartigan tries to intervene and is immediately struck with a sack containing a very powerful, fairy love potion. Madmartigan sneaks into Sorsha's tent to retrieve Elora, but (still under the effects of the love potion) stops the moment he sees Sorsha - he falls instantly in love with her. Sorsha awakens and threatens to kill him, but is swooned by his poetry- at least, until Kael arrives with Willow and the baby. Presuming that Madmartigan was lying to her as a distraction, they all begin to attack him- he grabs a spare sword and destroys the tent support, kissing Sorsha and then cutting his way out. It is at this point that Madmartigan proves his claims of being an expert swordsman is not merely talk, dispatching 3 soldiers in a matter of seconds. Using a shield as a sled, Willow and Madmartigan ride out of the camp and down the hill toward a small village. Franjean and Rool are left behind once again, however, and after falling off the sled and smashing into a house as a human snowball, Madmartigan seems to come out of the effects of the love potion. Raziel catches up and warns everyone in the village that Kael and his men are coming. Willow and Madmartigan hide with the rest of the villagers and meet up with Airk and his remaining soldiers- he has lost half his forces to Bavmorda, and even after capturing Sorsha he doubts highly that Madmartigan and Willow could ever take Bavmorda on. Nevertheless, Madmartigan remains loyal to Willow, and the two escape, with Sorsha as their captive. Airk and his men cover their escape. On the road to Tir Asleen, Sorsha asks Madmartigan if he was serious about being in love with her. Madmartigan says that he wasn't himself and has since come to his senses. Insulted, Sorsha escapes from Madmartigan and Willow and goes back to find Kael. The arrival at Tir Asleen is quickly tempered when the group realizes that the castle has been cursed by Bavmorda- it is now overrun by trolls, and its inhabitants are frozen in quartz-like rock formations. As Madmartigan equips himself from the castle's armory, Willow retries in his attempts to turn Raziel human, but fails once more as the approach of Kael's army provides distraction- Raziel is now a goat. After barring the gates, Madmartigan uses what little time he has to set up defenses, while Willow fights off a troll, turning it into an Eborsisk, a two-headed dragon which he promptly kicks into the moat below in disgust. As Kael shatters the gate with a battering ram, the Eborsisk grows at an alarming rate, forcing Kael to shift his men between fighting Madmartigan, the beast, and searching for Elora. Through the ensuing chaos, Sorsha turns coats and fights alongside Madmartigan, and Airk's army (with Ranjeen and Rool in tow) arrives, but Kael manages to injure Willow and escape with the child. Back at Nockmar, Bavmorda is pleased to see that Elora has been finally caught, but is enfuriated to hear that Sorsha has turned against her. At the gates of Nockmar, Airk's army has set up camp. Bavmorda promptly turns the entire force, excluding Willow and Raziel, into pigs. Willow, knowing the hour is desperate, tries a final time to return Raziel into human form, as she undergoes a massive transformation from a menagerie of animals, until she is finally human. Taking the wand, she proceeds to return the army back to human form- at this point, Bavmorda has already prepared the ritual. With little in the way of plans, Willow suggests a strategy that will get them inside the castle- though it is a long shot, it is also their only hope. Come morning, the ritual has not finished, and Willow and Raziel beckon Nockmar to open its gates- Airk's army, disguised under seemingly empty tents, ambushes the cavalry and rides hard into the castle, disabling the gate's mechanism and allowing more troops to get inside. As Kael wades into combat, Sorsha guides Raziel and Willow to the tower where Elora is held. During the battle, Airk is killed. Before he dies, he tells Madmartigan to win the war for him. Madmartigan attacks Kael in a rage. Though evenly matched, he manages to impale Kael on his own sword, throwing him to his death afterwards. Meanwhile, Sorsha manages to kill Bavmorda's aides, but is rendered unconscious when her mother attack her magically. Fin Raziel and Bavmorda begin fighting over the wand, and eventually Raziel is choked until she is also unconscious. On his own, Willow manages to grab Elora, but is cut off when Bavmorda seals the doors. Though it seems all is lost, Willow tricks Bavmorda by seemingly making the child disappear- in a rage, Bavmorda knocks over a vial of blood that would have been used on Elora. Moments later, she is struck by cursed lightening, instead exiling her ''own'' soul to the Netherworld. As Madmartigan arrives, and Sorsha and Raziel regain consciousness, Willow explains that he used his classic "disappearing pig trick" to hide the baby. Elora is safely hidden behind a stone table. Back at Tir Asleen, the curse is lifted, and the kingdom is restored to its former glory. Madmartigan and Sorsha stay and raise Elora Danon as their daughter. Raziel gives Willow a book of basic magic, and tells him that he is on his way to becoming a great sorcerer. He is sent home on a white pony. Back in the Nelwyn village, Willow is greeted with a hero's welcome from the whole village. He is happy to see Meegosh, the High Aldwin, and especially his family again. RELEASE When Willow was released, it was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Lucasfilm, Ltd. At The Time, the videotape was From RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video. The DVD was THX-Certified. The film is currently being distributed by Fox Home Entertainment. RECEPTION Critics blasted ''Willow'' on its initial release (the movie carries a 43% "rotten" rating among critics at and '' Gulliver's Travels '', as well as the work of J. R. R. Tolkien and other fantasy authors. In the years since its release, it has built up a strong cult following and currently holds an 82% "fresh" rating among users at Rotten Tomatoes as well as a "B" at Box Office Mojo . [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=willow.htm CAST
DVD RELEASE ''Willow'' was released 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. Features:
Many fans and critics complained about the lack of extensive deleted scenes, a more in-depth documentary, and a commentary from the filmmakers. SOUNDTRACK The music in the film was composed by James Horner and is considered a very strong musical score. Distinct echoes of Robert Schumann 's Rhenish Symphony may be heard in the triumphant theme. The main theme also bears a resemblance to the "Redemption" motif from Richard Wagner 's operatic tetralogy Der Ring Des Nibelungen . SPINOFFS Video game The film was the basis of the video game '' Willow '', which was released in 1989 for the Nintendo Entertainment System by Capcom and also the PC which was done by Mindscape. Capcom also created a '' Willow '' arcade game which played much differently than its console cousin, being a side-scrolling platformer rather than an adventure/RPG game similar to Zelda , and also followed the plot of the film more closely. Novels The novelization, written by Wayland Drew and available around the time of the movie's release, contains all the scenes that were eventually cut from the film, along with additional history and character backgrounds added by the author. George Lucas outlined a trilogy to follow the film and hired comic-book writer/novelist Chris Claremont 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. The books are:
Comic Book Marvel Comics published a three-issue adaptation of the film. It featured many of the scenes which were cut from the film. TV series In April 2005, during the ''Star Wars'' "Celebration III" fan convention, ) was moving into television production again, there could be a ''Willow'' television series. TRIVIA
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