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I remember seeing this film in theaters back in '88 and long to see it again on the big screen. There is a motherload of crappy fantasy flicks out there and this one is better than most. I was kinda young when I saw it and didn't find it too violent but some parents may think it gruesome at times. I myself feel that gave it an edge. Along with swordplay there are nasty trolls,a 2-headed beast,mean-spirited characters and some intense scenes at the end. Of course there are lots of special effects. This was a technically well made film with awesome cinematography and interesting locations. Every now and again Fox airs the movie but it's 2 1/2 hr running can be really cut. Ya gotta see it!

For its day, Willow was one of the better fantasy movies. The effects look a little dated now (especially the two-headed beastie) but it has enough humour and action to keep most satisfied. It's no LOTR, but then it was made 14 years ago.

Warwick Davis plays Willow, a Nelwynn, a race of hobbit-sized folk who don't have anything to do with "The Big People" as they call humans. Basically, it's the Shire transplanted into this movie, but without the budget. Billy Barty is the village's wizard and basically plays the character Gweldor again (from Masters of the Universe) but without the silly make-up and stupid musical key.

Val Kilmer is Madmartigan, a human warrior who befriends Willow and helps him on his journey with varying degrees of ulterior motive.

The acting is all reasonably good. Warwick Davis was only 18 when this film was released so his performance is very good considering his age and lack of experience (prior to this he'd played a goblin in Labyrinth and an ewok in Return of the Jedi). It's also interesting to see Pat Roach here. Pat was a former wrestler and has carved out a little niche for himself playing villains and tough guys. Here he plays General Kael, the right-hand henchman of Queen Bavmorda, played with gusto by Jean Marsh. That woman is truly frightening.

It's all good fun and the two funniest characters in the movie are Franjean and Rool, two Brownies, who "help" Willow regardless of the latters wishes. They have the funniest double act and reminded me more than a little of Merry and Pippin in LOTR.

All in all well worth a watch if you want some pure, and somewhat silly, entertainment.

All the people who are complaining that it's "too much like Lord of the Rings?" How much fantasy have you read? Have you read viking sagas or Greek myths? How about the bible? There are no new stories, just new ways of telling them. It's called Archetypal Criticism and it's one of the most popular ways of looking at literature. And George Lucas and Ron Howard managed to do that excellently in Willow.

I'd rather watch Willow yell at Madmartigan and call him stupid than watch Sam and Frodo "Just hold on a little longer, because everything will be happy because of LOVE!"

There's betrayal, redemption, action, the scariest dragon I've ever seen in my life, love, purposfully corny poetry and lots of jokes. The characters despair, but fight against it rather than just wandering around listlessly saying "woe is me!" People are allowed to be petty and shallow without being influenced by The Greatest Evil Known To Man (tm). There's no one hanging around with no other purpose than to be encouragement- everyone claims Willow won't succeed but he still fights on, and wins everyone over to his side. In my mind that makes him a lot more admirable than Frodo McAngstypants who only keeps on going because Sam keeps telling him he's fantastic and he thinks he's going to die anyway.

When Willow was released in 1988, I was in my mid-teens and though I think I did see it not long after that and have watched it once or twice in the years since, it's not a film that had stuck in my memory or affections. However, with an imminent new Disney+ sequel series, I thought I'd give it another shot and was pleasantly surprised to find more to like than I'd recalled.

The story, written by George Lucas, is a pick-'n'-mix of fantasy genre staples. We have evil sorceror Queen Bavmorda, played by Jean Marsh as though she's in panto, who is seeking a new-born child prophesied to become empress Elora Danan and end her evil reign. We see the baby placed in a river and found by the children of farmer and aspiring sorceror Willow (Warwick Davis), who sets out on a quest to return her to her people, encountering on the way swordsman Madmartigan, who is a kind of fantasy Han Solo played by Val Kilmer, sorceress-turned-possum Raziel (Patricia Hayes), Bavmorda's daughter and general (Joanne Whalley), and some irritating if occasionally amusing brownies (Kevin Pollak and Rick Overton).

But while the story elements aren't original, the film is self-aware enough to realise this and have fun with the tropes. It's not as comedic in intent as near-contemporary fantasy classics The Princess Bride (1987) and Labyrinth (1986), but nor does it take itself seriously, and it has heart in bucketloads.

Warwick Davis, who was 17 during filming, is way too young to play a convincing father of two, and it's a slightly puzzling decision to make him one when apparently the role was written with him in mind after George Lucas had been impressed by his performance in The Return of the Jedi. But I guess I can see dramatic reasons for such a choice, and Willow's journey from farmer to a sorceror who has the courage, if not necessarily the skill, to face Bavmorda is compelling. His relationships with mentor Raziel, reluctant hero Madmartigan and baby Elora Danan feel authentic and are the heart of the film.

Madmartigan is a scoundrel and selfish womaniser and, like Joanne Whalley's Sorsha, you'd quite like to kick him in the face in the early parts of the film. But he's played with such charm by Val Kilmer that, also like Sorsha, you can't help falling in love with him. Whalley herself is great as Sorsha, ruthless and strong but still showing us vulnerability and torn loyalties. There are also some memorable minor characters, such as as Willow's friend Meegosh (David Steinberg) and Madmartigan's sort-of-friend Airk (Gavan O'Herlihy).

Some of the special effects have held up reasonably well but others have dated, and by today's standards the production values are a bit shoddy. And while the film has a sense of humour, it's not quite witty enough to carry off its rather clichéd premise.

Despite this, it's a charming, heart-warming adventure that is still worth a watch, particularly if you're planning to follow the Disney+ series that picks up the story a couple of decades later.

(At least I do, every time I see it.) I first watched this movie a long time ago, and have seen it several more times over the years (it pops up on TV somewhat frequently). I have enjoyed it with each viewing, mainly because I just take it for what it is to me – namely, just a fun, escapist fantasy flick that whisks you away to a magical kingdom where all kinds of mystical, cute, clever, and at times even sinister things are happening, all against a backdrop of remarkably beautiful scenery. Oh, yeah: you also get to see Val Kilmer (Madmartigan) step squarely into a fresh pile of troll poop – truly a classic moment in cinema history!

I noticed that other reviewers herein went to great efforts to point out glaring similarities between Willow and Star Wars, and these similarities apparently ruined the movie for them (or at least, they just didn't *like* Willow). Well, to each their own… As for me, I won't even begin to compare Willow to Star Wars, because: (drum roll please...) I've never even seen Star Wars. Not even once. So there!! ("You've never seen STAR WARS!!" I can hear the collective gasp of all you moviegoers out there. Yeah, okay, so just shoot me already!). But similarities shmimilarities! As Bill Murray said in Meatballs, "It just doesn't matter! It just doesn't matter! It just doesn't matter!..."

Anyway, if you haven't seen Willow, then I would recommend you see it at once and enjoy it for what it is: a fun, escapist fantasy movie that (heaven knows, current events and all...) we could all use a little more of in this day and age. If you have already seen it and love it, well, go see it again! And finally, if you have seen it but don't like it because of annoying similarities between it and Star Wars, well, what can I say? I would hazard that, all things considered, Willow nevertheless DOES have its own special charms that you probably won't find in Star Wars. At the very least I haven't heard that Madmartigan's counterpart in Star Wars, Han Solo, stepped in a big wet pile of troll poop!

Well, I'm glad I got all this off my chest. I feel BETTER!!