Willow (1988)

A reluctant dwarf must play a critical role in protecting a special baby from an evil queen.

Director:

Ron Howard

Writers:

George Lucas (story by), Bob Dolman (screenplay by)

Stars:

Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Warwick Davis

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Val Kilmer	...	Madmartigan
Joanne Whalley	...	Sorsha
Warwick Davis	...	Willow Ufgood
Jean Marsh	...	Queen Bavmorda
Patricia Hayes	...	Fin Raziel
Billy Barty	...	High Aldwin
Pat Roach	...	Gen. Kael
Gavan O'Herlihy	...	Airk Thaughbaer
David Steinberg	...	Meegosh
Phil Fondacaro	...	Vohnkar
Tony Cox	...	Vohnkar Warrior
Robert Gillibrand	...	Vohnkar Warrior
Mark Northover	...	Burglekutt
Kevin Pollak	...	Rool
Rick Overton	...	Franjean

Storyline

A baby girl is discovered in a river by Ranon and Mims, the children of Willow Ufgood, a dwarf farmer and magician and the baby girl is taken into the care of Willow's family. But when a terrifying dog-like creature attacks Willow's village, whilst tracking down the baby. Willow consults the village council and the wizard The High Aldwin. The High Aldwin gives Willow a task and Willow leaves the village and embarks on the task to give the baby girl to a responsible person. But Willow soon learns the baby is Elora Danan, the baby girl destined to bring about the downfall of the evil sorceress Queen Bavmorda. Joined by his allies: swordsman Madmartigan, sorceress Fin Raziel and the Brownies Franjean and Rool, Willow takes it upon himself to protect Elora from Queen Bavmorda, who intends to kill Elora and prevent Elora from fulfilling her destiny. And Willow and his allies are pursued by Queen Bavmorda's daughter Sorsha and the evil commander of Queen Bavmorda's army General Kael, whom ...

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Plot Keywords:

evil woman | tough girl | tough guy | falling downhill | good man | 

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Taglines:

Adventure doesn't come any bigger than this.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

20th Century Fox [Belgium] 20th Century Fox [Spain]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 May 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Vilou

Filming Locations:

Cannon Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,300,169, 20 May 1988, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$57,269,863

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),Lucasfilm,Imagine Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ron Howard's wife and Warwick Davis' sister both appear as extras atop the snowy mountaintop village.

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Goofs

Upon Willow's grand return to his village, his wife Kiaya can be seen in the crowd waiting to greet him. Later on in scene, she's surprised by her husband and runs to him.

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Quotes

Franjean: Oh no, where did everybody go?
Rool: Maybe it was something we said.

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Alternate Versions

Also, during the fight at the castle towards the end, Willow zaps the troll with his wand, and 2 creatures emerge from its skin. In the UK version of this film, the bit where the creatures quickly rip the skin off of the troll is missing.

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Connections

Referenced in Spellbinder (1988)

User Reviews

This movie has everything! Well... Lots of things!

A wonderful fantasy full with lots of wonderful creatures and characters. The plot is great and the cast is brilliant. I wish this movie was more known, it's almost a hidden gem.

The movie is just one exciting ride after the other.

It's one of the best fantasy movies ever made, and if you're a fantasy fan you just got to see this one. I wish there were more movies of that kind, hopefully the upcoming Lord Of The Rings will deliver similar excitement.