During the 1982 filming of Return of the Jedi, in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, a young child actor is making a giant impression. Warwick Davis, a British actor with dwarfism, is playing a tiny version of a Wookiee called a Ewok. In his first ever role as Wicket, Davis is showing such professionalism and passion for acting that Star Wars creator George Lucas promises the lad to create a movie for the newcomer to star in.
Jump to 1987 and George Lucas kept his word. Working on an idea he first developed in 1972 originally called Munchkins, Lucas created the story of Willow. Set in an unnamed mystical world, Willow Ufgood is a struggling farmer and amateur magician with aspirations at becoming chief sorcerer of his race of little people called Nelwyns.
One day, Willow's children find a baby girl floating on a makeshift cradle in the nearby river. The infant is a Daikini, the name of full-size humans who share the land with the Nelwyns. Tasked by his people to deliver the child to the first Daikini he sees, Willow begins an epic quest that promises to restore freedom to all of the people of the land.
The Daikini child is in reality Elora Danan, an infant princess who has been prophesied to one day overthrow the evil ruler of the land of Nockmaar, Queen Bavmorda. In order to stop Bavmorda, who wishes to sacrifice Elora Danan in a demonic ritual, Willow must find the aged sorceress Fin Raziel. Which Willow does. Unfortunately, Fin Raziel has been rendered powerless as Bavmorda changed her into a possum. All seems lost, unless the aspiring Nelwyn sorcerer can restore her back into human form.
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Aiding Willow in his quest is the mercenary Madmartigan; a mercenary of questionable character but unsurpassed swordsmanship. A pair of brownie warriors named Rool and Fanjean, whose diminutive sizes make Willow look like a Colossus in comparison add comic relief and some assistance as tiny combatants. Adding to the adventure is the warrior princess Sorsha, daughter of Queen Bavmorda, whom Madmartigan becomes enamored with and just might have a shot with, if she doesn't kill him and the infant first!
Willow was directed by Ron Howard. A protege of George Lucas, Howard starred in the Lucas' 1973 homage to the early 1960s, American Graffiti. With a script by first time movie screenwriter Bob Dolman, Lucas had hoped that Willow would be on par with E.T. as the new all-time money maker at the box office. While the film was a moderate hit, mostly bolstered by international movie sales, Willow face stiff competition against a 1988 American film slate included colossal blockbusters such as Big and Rambo III.
Willow went on to become a kind of cult classic. In the early 90s, George Lucas tasked X-Men's Chris Claremont to pen the Chronicles of the Shadow War trilogy. Set 15 years after the first film, a teenaged Elora Danan is the central character. Last year, an 8-episode sequel starring Warwick Davis aired on Disney+. Also titled Willow, conflicting reports list the series as cancelled after one season or in indefinite hiatus.
As part of Lucasfilm and MGM's original marketing campaign, a number of tie-in products were issued. TOR issued a 6-player board game as well as a RPG source book. Tonka's 'action figures' were in reality die-cast figurines much like tin soldiers and lacked vital points of articulation.
In the realm of comics, Marvel was tasked with a 3-issue adaptation. Star Wars' Jo Duffy penned the script. Artwork was by Bob Hall (Super-Villain Team-Up) with assists and inks by Romeo Tanghal (The New Teen Titans). The miniseries was later collected in 2 formats: as a tabloid sized Marvel Graphic Novel and in as an illustrated edition much like a trade paperback.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.
Completing this review completes Task #5 (A Movie Adaptation) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.
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