Willow Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
Adventure doesn't come any bigger than this.
Forget all you know, or think you know.
A world where heroes come in all sizes and adventure is the greatest magic of all
Beyond Good... Beyond Evil... Beyond your wildest imagination...
Willow, a small farmer/apprentice magician, meets Madmartigan, a great swordsman, and together they journey through a war-torn land of magic and monsters, to save a baby princess from death at the hands of an evil queen.
| Warwick Davis | |
| Val Kilmer | |
| Joanne Whaley | |
| Jean Marsh | |
| Patricia Hayes | |
| Billy Barty |
| Ron Howard |
7.10 out of 10 (23297 votes)
Visitor Reviews
funny and lovable
posted on 07 Aug 2009to be honest, im never sure just why this movie flopped at the box office... it is highly watchable, quite halarious in a subtle way...slightly campy, but it surely doesnt take away. must admit that i think madmartigan is one of the funniest fantasy guys ever created. anyway, this is a great movie to watch with the whole family. imaginative, lovable characters.
A good film for Kids.
posted on 18 Apr 2009I saw this movie when I was a school going boy when this movie was released.
Though I could not understand any english word spoken by the characters I was able to grab the story completely because it needed no explanation.
This is a qualification of this story to be a story for kids. Nothing complex is involved. Simple characters. Simple evil and simple good, simple love. Recently I saw this movie again after I saw the Lord of the Rings. Still Willow did not loose its character and charm. Lord of the Rings is also a very good movie. In both the movies dwarfs and Hobbits, men grown in less proportion are heroes. In Willow I enjoyed the music(James Horner) and photography too. A must movie for your kids too. The character I liked the most is 'Willow' himself and his clan.
Deserves to be more recognized!
posted on 10 Mar 2009This movie is an all around great movie. It is considered to be a movie for younger viewers but i still very much enjoy this film. I know many others that are my age who really emjoy this film too. It is unique and creative. Warwick Davis deserves an applause for his role. The unknown Jean Marsh deserves to be recognized for her role as well. The special effects and the sound quality are fair but nothing great but i include this movie to be in my top ten movies of all time
A fantastic fairytale adventure.
posted on 05 Feb 2009This film is very cool. There is action, humour and surprisingly (and thankfully) precious little gratuitous romance as these sort of films tend to have. Ideal for the family, but may be slightly worrying for smaller kids. The troll-beast is actually a very memorable monster and seeing Val Kilmer dressed as a woman is very amusing. It is also good to see short people in a role that doesn't necessarily demand it and Warwick Davis is perfect for the role.
Rent this film, you probably wont be disappointed.
A Great Film
posted on 03 Jan 2009I love this film. The music composed by James Horner is fantastic, the plot is excellent. A 17 year old Warkick Davis(Willow Ufgood) steals the show in this film. It is a good story written by George Lucas of how even the smallest person can make the biggest difference. This film has some brilliant special effects which are not computer generated and are done the old fashioned way which probably took along time to do.Val Kilmer(Madmartigan) in this film is very amusing because he does not get many opportunities to play these types of characters.This is my favourite film directed by Ron Howard, I urge you to watch this film and i hope you enjoy it as much as I did. A great film for kids and big kids.
a cult classic
posted on 04 Dec 2008I really enjoy this film, I've seen it every since renting it back in the late 80's. I know have it on video, thanks 2 Ebay. :) Its 1 of the best fairy tale type movies, along with LEGEND with Tom Cruise.Warwick Davis did a great job as Willow & all the other midgits. They r just sooooo cute! Val Kilmer did an alright job, sometimes his acting sucked, & the effects were good 4 its time. Some of the effects were easily fake like the entire scenes with the brownies & that 2 headed beast. If u wanna se a great swash-buckling sci-fi fantasy film, see this 1. The dvd comes out on Nov. 17th. :)
This has been my favorite movie since I was 3 years old!!
posted on 16 Nov 2008This movie is special to me, it is the very first movie I ever watched and owned!! It came out the year I was born. My mom used to watch it non-stop when she was pregnant with me. So I guess I have an unexplainable connection to it. But what can I say, it is one awesome movie. But a movie from such a great directer as Ron Howard it is obvious it is great. The characters and their personality's are so incredible. They definitely did great casting for this movie, I mean Val Kilmer did a great job at portraying Madmartigan, and there couldn't have been a better pick than Warwick Davis for the role of Willow. Joanne Whalley was also great as Sorsha in the beginning you love to hate her, but when she falls in love with Madmartigan, you just plain love her. Willow is outstanding in so many ways. It is and will always be my favorite movie.
fun for all
posted on 07 Nov 2008This movie is adventurous, fun and a great movie for all and it still holds up even now as on of my most favorite movie. this is a fun for all kind of movie it has the fairy tale with a twist if you like PG/G movies then you'll love this movie i watched it recently and I'm 23 now and still love it it's a great movie. Thank you for letting me have my say.
A good fantasy tale...
posted on 29 Oct 2008Not since the days of Conan have I enjoyed a good fantasy film. Sadly this type of genre doesn't appeal to well for the box office. Willow with what it had made the best of it. It kept true to it's fantasy form, throwing in some humor and irony around Mad Martigan played well by Kilmer, and Willow played by Warwick Davis. I too found the brownies silly and annoying and for the sake of someone else's sanity wished they were never added in.Until the release of AD&D and Lord of the Rings can prove it wrong, Willow and Conan will remain as the greatest fantasy epics of all-time.
one of the of the best Fantasy epics of all times!!!!!!!!
posted on 08 Oct 2008This was a excellent movie. It had good acting, good music, and a story that might remind you of the LORD OF THE RINGS series. The special effects were great. I loved the "Eborsisk", the two-headed Dragon. This is a must see movie. I plan on getting it on EBAY soon. 4 stars out of 5.
Great Movie.
posted on 02 Oct 2008`WILLOW' is an excellent movie, but can seem to be boring.There's a lot of actions, and the special effects are very good. The scene that I most appreciated was at the end, when Willow used one of his old tricks to mislead the evil queen. I didn't really liked the hounds which were a little bit disgusting. There's a lot of surprising events, and the actors played really well, especially Warwick Davis (Willow). I recommend this movie to all!
A Classic Film...
posted on 15 Aug 2008This movie is fantastic. It has been one of my favourite films since i was 6 years old. I have just recently purchased this film on DVD and i couldn't be happier with it. It is one of those rare movies that you can watch over and over again and it is still as enjoyable every time.I would recommend this movie to anybody who enjoyed the Lord of the Rings and similar movies.This film truly is a classic and deserves a place in the top 100 films.
Good film
posted on 12 Aug 2008I have always enjoyed this film.Should have done better at the box office.Special effects are good, they do not stand up too well.Film makers, that means you need to do a special edition DVD.You do need widescreen/letter box version to properly see film.Val was good in the film. Good to look at. His career NEVER took off.Where he met the "Now" ex-wife.Warwick Davis was good. But, sometimes he could get on your nerves with Willow's point of view & judgments being pushed onto Val's character & other characters.At least he has "Return of the Jedi" as Wicket (another W character) in his resume.A good film.
Lots of magic and adventure
posted on 25 Jul 2008This is a really fun movie. It's innocent and is great for people of any age. It's one you can watch over and over again and have just as much fun as the first time. There is plenty of action and even good doses of humor to keep the somewhat weak plot moving.It's nice to see Val Kilmer at least looking like he's having a good time making. His portrayal of Madmartigan exudes arrogance but he's also charming and quite romantic. Warwick Davis was obviously cast for his size but nonetheless he makes us like him and we want his mission to succeed. Willow (Davis), must bring the infant Elora Danon to Tir Asleen where she will be safe from evil and someday take over the reign of the evil and merciless Queen Bavmorda. If he fails the whole realm faces years of darkness and terror. This is a highly enjoyable film, 8 out of 10.
Wow. The most fun I've had with a movie, probably ever ...
posted on 22 Jul 2008I attended a screen writing class once, and the teacher said that the worst movie ever made was "Willow" ... he also defended "White Chicks" (in the same class) as being some sort of underrated theatrical gem.What an idiot. Obviously, this man has no soul.Anyway, it must have been this sort of "I'm too good for that" attitude that killed "Willow" in the theaters. I remember seeing previews for it when I was a kid, and there was nothing more in the world that I had wanted to watch. I was raised on "The Neverending Story," "Legend," "Krull," "The Beastmaster," and "The Dark Crystal." So, sure, I loved fantasy. It was my favorite genre. And even though many will say that "Lord of the Rings" is better, I have to disagree. "The Lord of the Rings" is a good melding of drama, real-life struggle and fantasy, but's it not fun to watch. "Willow," on the other hand, is a blast to watch.The music from Horner's great ... I can still whistle the adventure theme song, and often do sometimes. Val Kilmer as Madmartigan was a great rogue hero, who had plenty of great lines, laughs. Sorcia was by Joanne Whalley, was hot as hell ... a fiery redhead who just refused to be ordered or commanded. General Kael (who was supposedly based on one of Lucas' critics) is awesome. His look spawned an entire decade of me thinking that people with skull masks were horribly cool. The woman who played Fin Razel (sp?) was great. The Brownies were hysterical. And last but not least, give it up for Billy Barty and Warwick Davis, little people with big roles. I think little people probably thank Mr. Lucas and Ron Howard for making them stars for once, for giving them a showcase piece. Davis really had no better role in his life than this one. And he shined in it.Well, if that particular teacher is reading this by any chance, I hope you go back and re-watch this as a kid. For me, and obviously many others on this website, the movie was more than a fun, little escape ... it was almost a genre-leading film. If there's one thing that pre-prequel George Lucas was good at, it was at giving the audience a good time ... Indiana Jones, Willow, Star Wars ... the best adventure/fantasy films ever to come out. Each of them with charming heroes, obvious bad guys, magic, swords, and humor."Pirates of the Carribbean" resurrected this sort of cinema, I think, and the American public responded to it with verve. I still remember hard-nosed critic Lisa Schwarzbaum giving "Pirates" a D rating in Entertainment Weekly. I bet she about choked on her own vomit when she saw how much fun everyone had with the film.And "Willow" is the same thing. It's pure magic. Pure escape. Especially good for children, but good for the adults, too. If you can't have fun with this one, than you better go get your laughs from movies like "White Chicks" ... just don't be surprised when the kids come out making jokes about d*cks and p*ssies afterward.
Charming when taken with salt
posted on 07 Jun 2008I saw this movie as a teenager when it first came out in the cinema. I was totally entranced and obsessed by it and I think i used to watch it every few months on video. Going back to it now as an adult I can see its flaws, but it still charms.As other people have said, the special effects look old now. Even at the time I remember being slightly disappointed by the two-headed dragon, and there were other flaws I picked up even in my state of obsession.The costumes in this movie are pretty good all-round. I never fail to be cut the bone with terrifying shivers when I see Queen Bavmorda wrapped feet to neck in bandages under her robe. Gruesome.The script is probably both the strength and the weakness of the movie. There are some fantastic one-liners in the script that still leave me helpless with laughter even now. Never has the word 'Beer!' sounded so hilarious! I won't quote any more of them, discover them for yourself. Having said that, many of the characterisations were quite weak. Our hero Madmartigan himself does not always make sense though he is very funny. Sorsha is not a particularly strong character either, though she is so beautiful and so 'tough' that it's easy to forgive and go along for the ride. I always found the score entrancing, I think it echoed the heroic, magical, quiet and terrifying nature of so many different events extremely well. It's worth buying on its own.Some people have mentioned that the brownies are very annoying but I have to say I never found them so, they just make me laugh. They are only there for comic relief anyway - 'You? what did you do? Just hung around and eat our eggs!' The only character I found annoying was Cherlindrea, queen of the fairies. She seemed too wierd to be a good character, I always found her slightly alarming.So really, to sum up, there's a lot of laughs, some great chase scenes, fantastic scenery, a beautiful heroine and hunky (if slightly bemusing) hero. An evil witch and her henchmen, a lot of magic, and plenty of fights. Suspend your disbelief and go along for the ride.(Incidentally if you've read my reviews of 'First Knight' or 'Merlin', I have always thought that Gavin O'Hillerhy, who played Madmartigan's mate Airk Thaughbaer, would make the BEST king Arthur ever. There's a great shot of him with his sword, near the end of the film, in the tent just before the final battle - he looks every inch the king.)
The FINEST EVER Howard film!
posted on 01 Jun 2008A true masterpiece, it does and has everything that a superb fantasy genre film should, Immaculate special effects to create certain fantasy elements,Fight/magic sequences, Romance, Creatures great and small, Contrasting, environments, Zero-to-hero protagonist. Containing Stars Warrick Davis as Willow in his first "face" appearance in a film, (his debut being an Ewok in Executive Producer George Lucas' film 'Star Wars Episode 6 - Return of the Jedi'). Val Kilmer as Mad Martigan, the acclaimed great swordsman, (no other actor could of played the part in my opinion) who later went on to be Batman in the film of the same name. For anyone who likes 'Star War' films, Ronnie Baker,(who was R2D2) makes a cameo appearance as a band member in Willow's village at one of their festivals. Although 'Cocoon'and 'Cocoon 2: The Return' were great Howard films, 'Willow'is head and shoulders above both! A great film for all ages, but especially families.5/5, 10/10, thumbs up, 100% brilliantly created fantasy film!
The Very, Very Bottom of the Barrell
posted on 14 Apr 2008Willow is hands down the worst movie ever made. A cinematic pile of crap so awful that the stink could be felt in all ensuing Ron Howard movies. Howard's movie are populist to a fault, and utilize some of the most dishonest, simplistic devices to move their narratives along and to insure audience identification with Joe or Mary Bland. Willow is a shameless rip-off of ten other famous stories ineptly blended together so that all the chunks still show. It's precious, it's stupid, it's creaky. Its incoherent. It's shrill. It's as if an alien came to earth and before learning anything about the culture or communication, made a movie. It causes me pain to even think of sitting through any five minutes of it ever again. My mouth was hanging open as I watched it. It is heinous.
Great
posted on 15 Mar 2008I thought this film was great. I didn't watch it when it 1st came out as i was only 8, but when i did watch it i thought it was a very good, all time, classic film. The story was sweet and i loved the little people. I have since bought the film and love to keep watching it.
Admirable but failed attempt at Fantasy.
posted on 22 Aug 2009The screenplay for "Willow" is extremely Tolkienesque - which does not mean it could not have succeeded - but it is also much too... flighty and cute. What most directors fail to see is that Fantasy movies need a touch of the dark ages to succeed; they must convey a sense of harshness... hard people for hard times. As is the norm with American action/adventure movies, there is little real sense of darkness and evil in this tale of halflings and heroes. More war, less children! Look to "Conan the Barbarian" for the kind of atmosphere necessary.