'Willow,' directed by Ron Howard and based on a story by George Lucas, is quite literally a fantastic film, for it is all about fantasy - and the very real world of emotional courage.
In energy, its music score and special effects, 'Willow' owes quite a bit to Lucas's previous film efforts, the 'Star Wars' trilogy and 'Indiana Jones' series. But Howard brings the movie its sweet soul, the commodity that made his recent efforts, 'Cocoon' and 'Splash,' so special.
It doesn't take long before you realize there will be no let-up in this movie: the action is non-stop, the special effectsand scenery are dazzling, the story line, though simple, has every roadblock imaginable thrown up before the conclusion. It is glorious, this excess, just like a child's fantasy, something no one should grow too old to appreciate.
The cast includes hundreds of extras, and some extraordinary main characters, from the 9-inch-tall 'brownies,' the film's court jesters, to the 3-foot-tall little people known as 'Nelwyns,' to a 6-foot, 6-inch giant who plays an evil general. It's 'Willow''s special magic that somehow, you manage to know so many of these characters so intimately by film's end.
But the human creatures share the screen with an equally impressive array of trolls, 'Death-Dogs,' a two-headed monster and fairies. There is danger everywhere.
Yet at the heart of 'Willow' there is pure love -- gushing, romantic, true-blue love. It's your basic good vs. evil story line. Guess who wins.
Willow Ufgood, the film's central character, played by Warwick Davis, lives with his Nelwyn neighbors in a quiet village in an area surrounded by the war waged by the big people, the Daikinis. The fates call upon Willow and an outcast Daikini warrior Madmartigan, played by Val Kilmer, to do battle with the forces of evil to make sure a special Daikini baby fulfills her destiny to bring down the wicked Queen Bavmorda, played by Jean Marsh. The pair and their small ward -- who manages to mug the camera about the best any 6-month-old has ever done - are accompanied on their journey by a good sorceress, played by Patricia Hayes, and the daughter of Queen Bavmorda, Sorsha, played by Joanne Whalley. (Whalley and Kilmer end up lovers in the film, and in real life as well; they got married in March.)
That's the film's outline, but it's what fills in the spaces that is so unforgettable, often breathtaking, sometimes silly, many times funny and mostly lovable.
Special commendations go to the production designer, Allan Cameron, and prosthetic make-up designer Nick Dudman, who helped create such a fantastic fantasy-world. And to the mountains, lakes and hills of North Wales, and the spectacular glacial areas of New Zealand that serve as the backdrop for 'Willow.'
The world may not need yet another swashbuckling epic adventure, but one with so much heart and soul and fantasy surely is a welcome addition.
This film is rated PG. The movie contains some violent scenes.
