In 1988 Willow had everything you could ask for a good time at the movies. A great story, a unique approach, excellent special effects by ILM, a grand scale, a rollicking score, a thrilling pace, plenty of humor and more importantly a sense of fun about the proceedings. It didn't take itself so damn seriously like LOTR did. Which is in large part why I love it so much. The film is just so lovable. From the characters to the effects to the score to world it creates it is just so captivating and wonderful to watch. You want to be a part of this world and walk around and experience it for yourself. You want to go on a grand adventure with Madmartigan and Willow Ufgood on a battle against Queen Bavmorda and the forces of evil. It has a saturday morning feeling to it that just places you back in the time of captain crunch cereal and reruns of Masters Of The Universe. I think that saturday morning feeling it gives me though isn't felt by everyone though. Some of us didn't get to experience this magical adventure when they were young so they don't have such fond memories associated with it. Hence why they don't care so much about Willow.
I remember watching Willow so many times on VHS that the tape got worn out and my parents had to buy a new one. I know the film like the back of my own hand. I can quote dialogue along with the film, I am a Willow fan, and a big one too. I have the VHS, the Laserdisc, the DVD and The Blu Ray. I have the poster magazine from 1988, I have not one but two copies of the comic adaptation one in black and white and one in color, I also have the novelization which I read so many times the spine is worn out. If I could walk around town with a Willow T Shirt I would, but for some reason there aren't any I can find for sale anywhere. Because Willow for some reason is a cult film. One of those movies that if you watched it like I did as a kid religiously you have devoloped a taste for it. I think there are a lot of people that appreciate it now but not as many that love the film to death like I do. Where are the Willow conventions? The Willow fan films? Maybe they exist but they sure don't get advertised all that much. Probably because sadly the movie made next to nothing when it came out and was considered by many to be one Lucasfilm's greatest failures. I swear to god Howard The Duck got talked about more in the 80's than Willow did. I happen to like that film too but the point is still rather ridiculous. One of the worst movies of the 80's gets more pub than one of the best fantasy flicks of all time? What the fuck?
Who talks about Willow nowadays? Go on the internet and you will find a few fansites here and there, and a handful of reviews on you tube but in the end not much. And for a big fan of Willow that really saddens me. It seems much like the film did in 1988 it has gotten lost in the shuffle. This film is great. I don't care what anyone says. No film can make me feel like a kid again as much as Willow does. I still feel the same exact way that I felt watching the film for the first time when I was eight. A sense of wonder and awe at the sheer spectacle of the film, a sense of fear of the evil queen. Especially the scene where she turns Willow and his friends into pigs. That scene still freaks me out til this day. Excellent make up effects. And the two headed dragon is still bad ass. The stop motion may look a little dated now but it is a hell of a lot better than CGI in my book. And no end fight between a hero and a villain has made me cheer as much as the final battle between Madmartigan and General Kael. I loved the look of General Kael too. I mean he has a fucking skull helmet. Darth Vader is a pussy compared to General Kael.
If you see this coming for you? You are already dead.
That final fight like I said earlier was just so bad ass. Early in the film Madmartigan was dressing in drag and cracking jokes and being a big goof but as soon as he lays that memorable strike that knocks the jaw clean off of Kael's skully face Madmartigan is truly the greatest swordsman that ever lived. Then he stabs him in the chest with two swords and he is a god. So epic. A perfect finale to such an epic film.
Sure there are plenty of other great moments that I remember from the film, like the thrilling shield sled sequence, the beautiful scenes with the fairies in the woods, the hilarious expressions baby Elora makes, the romantic trysts between Sorsha and Madmartigan, the dragon fight, the final fight with Bavmorda just to name a few. I am sure there are even more great moments I forgot to mention.
Willow is one of the greatest movies of all time in my book, and no one can tell me different. My pick for my favorite fantasy movie of all time. It might have flaws but I don't care to see them or care about them. To me Willow is a perfect film, and exactly what I look for in a movie. If you haven't seen it yet, you are missing out on quite the adventure.
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