Contains minor spoilers.
Willow is my mum's favourite film, so we eagerly awaited this continuation.
What we have is a fairly decent fantasy show with some bizarre writing and soundtrack choices.
The story follows on from the original by being set 20 years later. Sorcha is Queen, her twin children are preparing for their futures and the kingdom is safe (having hidden itself away behind a mystical barrier) and life is good for everyone. Madmartigan is missing, a story choice necessitated by the illness of Val Kilmer, presenting one of many mysteries. What happened to Ellora Danan, the baby at the heart of the film? Why has magic been banned and what became of Willow Ufgood?
Ayrk, the lovable but somewhat feckless Prince, falls for one of the serving girls, naming her Dove, who has a way with recipes. He proposes to her and she agrees to marry him. His sister Kit trains with Jade, one of the palace guards and a woman she is clearly in love with. Unfortunately Kit has been betrothed to a Prince, played by Tony Revolori from the Marvel Spider-Man films. Neither Kit or the Prince is enthused by the situation but agree to go ahead with the wedding. It is during these festivities that the palace is invaded and Ayrk is kidnapped.
This sets in motion a quest to rescue Ayrk from acolytes of The Wyrm, an ancient evil that threatens to destroy the world. The kidnappers are allies of The Crone, a witch who gave original villain Bavmorda her powers and the enemy who feared the birth of Ellora. Queen Sorcha sends Kit, Jade, the Prince Graydon and Thraxas, squire of Madmartigan, to travel beyond the barrier and find Willow. He knows of The Crone and can tell the adventurers where they can rescue Ayrk. Unbeknown to the heroes, the serving girl has also left to find and rescue Ayrk.
Finding a deserted and spolied Nelwyn village, the gang find Willow is now the High Aldwin of the Nelwyn and is living with his daughter. Life hasn't exactly gone as Willow would like. He fell out with Sorcha over the training of Ellora, with Sorcha making the decision to hide her true identity from her and banishing magic. Sorcha is concerned because Bavmorda's spirit still exists, within herself and her children.
Willow agrees to help everyone find Ayrk. He will take them beyond the lands seen in the film to parts of the world where evil survives. It is around here that we learn that one of the travellers is the hidden Ellora Danan (most will have a pretty good guess at working out who she is) but is concerned that he has had multiple visions of a final battle where in order to defeat the evil of the Wyrm, Ellora must die.
Willow as a whole is a decent fantasy show with plenty of action and adventure, characters who have proper arcs and a good mix of practical and CGI effects. What lets the series down for me is some strange choices in the writing. This is a fairy tale world so it is very jarring when characters suddenly speak like they've stepped out of some US teen drama, or behave like they are in a totally different franchise. We have a whole episode with trolls who act like amateur dramatics Lord Of The Rings Orcs and sound like they've stepped out of a Game Of Thrones parody. It just does not work and doesn't fit with the overall tone of the film and series.
The other choice I found strange is the decision to suddenly drop in a well-known rock/pop song (original or cover) generally at the end of an episode. Again, it doesn't fit with the type of series this is.
Overall Willow is a franchise with potential and the door is left open with a cliffhanger and several unresolved plots for a second season, which I hope it gets. It just needs better writers who understand the source material.
Give Willow a chance.
Willow is my mum's favourite film, so we eagerly awaited this continuation.
What we have is a fairly decent fantasy show with some bizarre writing and soundtrack choices.
The story follows on from the original by being set 20 years later. Sorcha is Queen, her twin children are preparing for their futures and the kingdom is safe (having hidden itself away behind a mystical barrier) and life is good for everyone. Madmartigan is missing, a story choice necessitated by the illness of Val Kilmer, presenting one of many mysteries. What happened to Ellora Danan, the baby at the heart of the film? Why has magic been banned and what became of Willow Ufgood?
Ayrk, the lovable but somewhat feckless Prince, falls for one of the serving girls, naming her Dove, who has a way with recipes. He proposes to her and she agrees to marry him. His sister Kit trains with Jade, one of the palace guards and a woman she is clearly in love with. Unfortunately Kit has been betrothed to a Prince, played by Tony Revolori from the Marvel Spider-Man films. Neither Kit or the Prince is enthused by the situation but agree to go ahead with the wedding. It is during these festivities that the palace is invaded and Ayrk is kidnapped.
This sets in motion a quest to rescue Ayrk from acolytes of The Wyrm, an ancient evil that threatens to destroy the world. The kidnappers are allies of The Crone, a witch who gave original villain Bavmorda her powers and the enemy who feared the birth of Ellora. Queen Sorcha sends Kit, Jade, the Prince Graydon and Thraxas, squire of Madmartigan, to travel beyond the barrier and find Willow. He knows of The Crone and can tell the adventurers where they can rescue Ayrk. Unbeknown to the heroes, the serving girl has also left to find and rescue Ayrk.
Finding a deserted and spolied Nelwyn village, the gang find Willow is now the High Aldwin of the Nelwyn and is living with his daughter. Life hasn't exactly gone as Willow would like. He fell out with Sorcha over the training of Ellora, with Sorcha making the decision to hide her true identity from her and banishing magic. Sorcha is concerned because Bavmorda's spirit still exists, within herself and her children.
Willow agrees to help everyone find Ayrk. He will take them beyond the lands seen in the film to parts of the world where evil survives. It is around here that we learn that one of the travellers is the hidden Ellora Danan (most will have a pretty good guess at working out who she is) but is concerned that he has had multiple visions of a final battle where in order to defeat the evil of the Wyrm, Ellora must die.
Willow as a whole is a decent fantasy show with plenty of action and adventure, characters who have proper arcs and a good mix of practical and CGI effects. What lets the series down for me is some strange choices in the writing. This is a fairy tale world so it is very jarring when characters suddenly speak like they've stepped out of some US teen drama, or behave like they are in a totally different franchise. We have a whole episode with trolls who act like amateur dramatics Lord Of The Rings Orcs and sound like they've stepped out of a Game Of Thrones parody. It just does not work and doesn't fit with the overall tone of the film and series.
The other choice I found strange is the decision to suddenly drop in a well-known rock/pop song (original or cover) generally at the end of an episode. Again, it doesn't fit with the type of series this is.
Overall Willow is a franchise with potential and the door is left open with a cliffhanger and several unresolved plots for a second season, which I hope it gets. It just needs better writers who understand the source material.
Give Willow a chance.