First Things First…
I don’t know how I missed this when I was a kid. It came out when I was seven. But I’m giving it my first watch now, and then I’m going to check out the new series on Disney+. I’ve heard mixed things about both, and honestly, I don’t even know what the story is about, just that it’s fantasy. But that’s usually good enough for me. So here we go…
5 Things I Like
5. Respect Earned
“Give me some water, peck, or you die. Do you understand?”
Madmartigan
It might be a stretch to say Willow and Madmartigan develop a bromance, but they definitely earn each other’s respect and admiration.
When Willow and his traveling party first meet Madmartigan, he’s in a cage, left for dead, with nothing to eat or drink. Yet he still calls them “pecks,” a derogatory term for Willow’s people, the Nelwyn.
It’s not the most promising start to their friendship.
But they become much friendlier throughout the movie, even though Madmartigan has the baby stolen from him by the Brownies, and later is captured and forced to take the queen’s troops right to Willow.
I think the first time Madmartigan shows any concern for Willow is during the middle of the fight/chase on the horse-drawn carriage, when he yells for Willow to stay down.
Later, as Madmartigan is about to go his own way, he whispers to baby Elora…
“If you really are a princess, take care of him.”
After they’re captured, they’re chained to the wagons that are going back to the queen’s castle. But as they walk through the snow and Willow falls because he can’t keep up any longer, Madmartigan picks him up, puts him on his shoulders, and carries him.
Most telling of all, though, is when they’re with Airk. Willow defends Madmartigan to Airk after Airk calls him a thief. And when Airk accuses Madmartigan of never having served anyone but himself, Madmartigan replies…
“I serve the Nelwyn.”
That’s some hard-won loyalty right there.
4. James Horner’s Score
Sometimes a movie score is so iconic you’ll recognize it even if you haven’t seen the movie.
This ISN’T one of those scores—but it should be.
I was a little caught off guard by how great the music is. It has all the themes you’d want from a fantasy score—mystery, love, adventure, dread, trouble, hope, and triumph.
Of course, James Horner is one of the GOAT’s, so as soon as I saw his name in the opening credits, I should’ve known it’d be awesome.
3. Misfit Among Misfits
“You need a warrior for a job like this. I’m a nobody. Elora, you don’t want me. Tell her. I’m short, even for a Nelwyn.”
Willow
There’s a great line in the old-school Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer special when Rudolph and Hermey ask for permission to live on the Island of Misfit Toys. But when King Moonracer says they can’t because they’re not toys, Yukon Cornelius comments, “Even among misfits you’re misfits.”
I feel like something similar happens with Willow here. Now, I’m not calling him or the Nelwyn misfits. But as a community and a people, they’re all discriminated against because they’re seen as small and lesser.
Not only does that happen to Willow—he must get called “peck” about 30 times in the movie, and the patrons in the tavern throw lettuce at him and threaten to cook him—but he gets discriminated against even within his community. Especially by Burglekutt, the prefect of their village, who’s much more physically imposing than Willow and lords his superior size over him as he threatens his farm.
Even the Brownies call him “Shorty.” And they’re miniature creatures who can literally fit in the palm of your hand.
As Willow says himself, he’s small even for a Nelwyn. But that doesn’t stop him from having the courage to protect Elora, the wherewithal to outsmart the evil queen, and the ability to start becoming a powerful sorcerer.
2. Willow’s Hero’s Journey
“All creatures of good heart need your help, Willow. The choice is yours.”
Cherlindrea
It’s no surprise that, in a story from the mind of George Lucas, an unlikely hero who dreams of bigger things goes through his own hero’s journey.
Willow is just expected to tend his farm and raise his two kids alongside his wife. He wants to become a sorcerer but fails the trial to become the High Aldwin’s apprentice, even though he knew the right answer that would’ve gotten him chosen but didn’t trust his instincts.
But when it comes time to protect his village by brining Elora to her own people, he heeds the call to adventure. And unlike the rest of his traveling party, he sees it all the way through, demonstrates incredible courage along the way (not to mention a great deal of love for a baby who isn’t even his own), learns to begin harnessing his magical ability, and returns home a changed person.
He’s such a likable, easy-to-root-for character that it’s a totally satisfying journey.
1. Monsters and Scares
Some of the monsters in this are legit scary. It might have been for the best that I didn’t see this when I was seven.
The dogs that Queen Bavmorda sends out to hunt down the baby are unlike any dogs I’ve ever seen. They’re not just trained, vicious attack dogs like in a couple of John Wick movies. They’re MONSTERS. They’re big and dark, with long rats tails, huge fangs, and red eyes. And there’s something about their spindly legs carrying their bulk that makes them even more unsettling. Their first order of business is tearing apart baby Elora’s midwife just after she’s able to send Elora downstream on a makeshift raft.
Then there are the trolls. When I hear trolls, I picture big, dumb oafs, like the troll Harry, Ron, and Hermione fight in Sorcerer’s Stone. Instead, these trolls look more like the beast Dracula turns himself into in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (the Gary Oldman version).
But the trolls get even weirder…
When Willow uses his wand against the first troll, it looks like it gets turned inside out—literally. From that mess, a two-headed monster that could’ve been from a Godzilla movie is birthed. How does that happen? No idea! But it’s cool, and probably scary for kids.
But I still haven’t gotten to the most horrifying thing of all. When Willow, Madmartigan, Sorsha, and Airk—with his army—arrive at the gates of Bavmorda’s castle, she casts a spell that turns most of the invaders into pigs. We see Madmartigan and a few others as they’re caught in the middle of transforming—not fully pigs yet, but more like pig-men, on two feet but with a snout and tusks.
I was amazed at how well done the effects are for all these scares. They could’ve been horribly cheesy, especially in 1988, but they make the movie so much better by being truly frightening.
1 Thing I’m Mixed On
1. What Was Her Evilness?
The movie opens with Queen Bavmorda having imprisoned all the pregnant women in the realm because there’s a prophecy that a baby girl is going to cause her downfall. The plan isn’t even to kill the baby when she’s born—it’s to perform a ritual that will send her spirit to the netherworld, so she can never hurt Bavmorda.
So I’m not questioning whether or not she’s evil. But what I’d like to know is, how was she oppressing her people beforehand?
In other words, why would there even be a prophecy about her downfall? Why would the realm be clamoring for that? We see her do evil things during the movie, but I want to know her track record of evil that got her to this point.
Even in the opening scroll, it starts with “It was a time of dread,” but then goes right into the prophecy and imprisonments, with no mention of anything else dreadful that brought them to this point.
1 Thing I Don’t Like
1. Sorsha’s Change of Heart
“I read the signs. One day, I fear, your daughter will betray you.”
The Seer
At least Bavmorda’s advisor warns her that her daughter will eventually turn against her. They plant that seed early. But Sorsha seems pretty evil when she’s out hunting for a baby girl.
And I get that Val Kilmer looks great as Madmartigan. He’s got his best Han Solo, scoundrel-with-a-heart-of-gold vibe cookin’. But she seems genuinely upset and betrayed that Madmartigan professed his love for her—she doesn’t know he was under the influence of the Brownies’ love powder—and then takes it all back afterward.
Yet she still turns against her mother’s forces that she was leading literally in the middle of the fight at Tir Asleen.
I don’t know if it’s because she sees his courage and skill as a swordsman and is just so impressed, or turned on, or whatever. But it’s not the smoothest or most believable babyface turn.
Tim Matassa
