Rating: 
Summary: Great for kids!
Review: I remember seeing this movie as a child and absolutely loving it. The sets and monsters are magical and entertaining, and the plot is well-crafted and fast-paced for a kid. I did get the movie for Christmas, and it doesn't hold up as well to my now adult mind as The Dark Crystal or The Princess Bride, especially the acting, but still, it's fun to watch. If you liked this as a kid, or are still a kid, I'd recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: You'll either like it or you won't.
Review: Willow is not the perfect movie. It suffers from some of the annoying film conventions of the time, such as stupid chase scenes and shots of the baby making editorial faces (yawning when everyone else is scared, being disgusted, etc. which reminded me of some really awful dog-cop movie) and one unconvincing projectile-vomit. The special effects do date the movie, but progress has to come from somewhere.I wrote this review mainly to put in my two cents on the originality and plot. Willow has a lot of fairy-tale elements, such as an evil queen (this was not invented by Snow White), an unlikely hero, prophecy fulfilled by a(n often orphaned) child. That is not borrowing someone else's original material, that is using _archetypes_, which in literature is considered fair game. I do not understand why people are comparing this to Lord of the Rings for originality--LoTR follows the books. You get the gist of the plot mostly from Willow's perspective. He doesn't understand all the details, he just has a mission and he's following his nose. If you can see something as a serious plot hole, you can probably come up with a reasonable explanation for it. Example: requiring that the baby's soul be exiled rather than just killing her. If her soul is released, she could be reborn and the threat would remain. As for the acting, I thought the characters had some wonderful interactions in the film. I love the scene where Willow rescues Mad Mardigan, and I love the sorceress's little white lie. Their bickering really works for me, and I chose to enjoy the little brownies with their French accents not following Faerie stereotypes. They were more happy-go-lucky and careless with magic than I would have made them, but they were pretty marginal so it didn't matter. The princess came off to me as just following Mom's orders rather than being evil in her own right, so I didn't mind when she changed sides. It is not normal to follow Mom's orders forever. In a nutshell, I thought the acting was appropriate for who the characters were supposed to be. It's been a while so I don't remember the "scary-looking" guy, but I felt it is more powerful to let the queen have all the evil anyway. If you spend more energy attacking the film than you do enjoying it, you will voluntarily be missing out.
Rating: 
Summary: The Whole Family Loves It!!!
Review: Before there was The Lord of the Rings (the movie), there was Willow!!! This was the first fantasy movie that I really fell in love with. It is fun and magical and recommended to everybody. I've been anticipating this DVD release for a long time and I'm so glad to have this movie in digital (my VHS was wearing down over the years).
Rating:
Summary: Always a pleasure to watch
Review: I am watching this movie again for an uncountable time, fastfowarding through the commercials from some long ago Christmas taping.
I think the time has come to buy an actual, commercial free copy. It is lots of fun to watch.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Movie
Review: Ignore VIEWER FROM NJ folks. Willow has all the components for a fantasy story: a fairly long journey, myth, legend, a band of varied heroes, a witch, a dragon, trolls, and brownies...action, adventure, humour, romance... For the time when it was made, it is great; as time passes, all your favourite movies will seem slip backwards, from a technological point of view. You appreciate a movie for what it is. And while VIEWER FROM NJ mentions THe Phantom Mencace, which I must agree was tardy from every stand point, except the effects, he or she does not appreciate Willow. It's not that the movie is bad as he/she states; they just can't appreciate it for what it is. It is not on the same epic scale as Lord of the Rings in terms of the books and the movies (after all, Willow is 1 movie, not 3). And unlike what VIEWER FROM NJ stated about "You gotta have plot character and the mythic element of the hero for fantasy to work and to make great movies on the subject", Willow has it all then some (see first paragraph). See this movie remembering whence it came. VIEWER FROM NJ does appreciate that fact; also he/she seems to be young since they praised LOTR, saw The Phantom Menace then asked if there was "CGI back then". This seems to be the norm, for the younger folk not to appreciate and respect the movies from the previous years that has paved the way for the great (and unfortunately, not-so-great) movies of today and tomorrow. The dragon was actually done using a method called stop-motion animation; not CGI. There was more worked involved in this method - actual (minitaure) models were used. So ignoring VIEWER FROM NJ review, borrow Willow if you can; I'm pretty sure you'll want to own it afterwards. Also have a look at Neverending Story (The first one), The Princess Bride, Legend, and Krull.
Rating:
Summary: Redfern and redheaded princess
Review: I have to put this at 4 stars instead of 5 when comparing it to Legend for fantasy subject and presentation. I thought Legend's plot was a bit more believable, and the unicorns (like photographer Robert Vavra's creations) were perfect. Only the warrior in Willow was "perfect" as far as my tastes go! If only he were single... The warrior Redfern is handsome and intelligent - nice, instead of just a sweaty grunt - and it was interesting to have "traditional" stereotypes turned around. The good princess is a redheaded baby, not the "mandatory" blond. Willow is a midget, not a big, burly hero type. As far as comparisons to Lord of the Rings, well, Tolkein and CS Lewis influenced alot of fantasy writers and fans, so some similarities would be inevitible. However, basic sci-fi and fantasy stories share common elements and it is easy for a non-writer to think copycatting took place. It probably did not. How many ways can you retell an "evil sorceress wants to rule the world and kill her opposition" story? There is a villain, a protagonist (hero) and something valuable that is in danger, which the hero must save or the villain wins. Eaaasy :-)plot. I'm really surprised no one accused this movie of copying Moses, since the baby is set adrift in a basket, and gets found by her rescuers. The sorceress could be a female copy of Pharaoh. (as if) It's a movie I am buying before VHS is totally wiped out by DVD! I think this can rightfully sit beside Red Sonja, Conan, and Legend on any fantasy lover's shelf...especially if they want "clean" fantasy that is not dark. Not full of gratuitous splatter, either.
Rating:
Summary: Please! WILLOW IS A CLASSIC!
Review: Anyone with real knowledge about good films knows that Willow is a classic. To compare it to films like Lord of the Rings is unfair because Willow was made years ago DUH!( before special effects took over Hollywood). " Lord of the Rings " may be a good film but Willow has a generation of fans and is one film that lasts a lifetime. Come five years from now when all the hype about " Lord " is gone will we ever hear about it again? Maybe, maybe not. " Lord of the Rings " wouldn't be anything without loads of costly special effects. Willow beats the film in acting hands down. Willow has already been around almost twenty years so that should say something for its worth. True fans of good films and exciting fantasy tales should enjoy this movie. Willow lives on in the hearts of many grown ups who were once children during the time of this film. I suggest everyone see this movie at least once. And if you already love it such as many do, enjoy this super DVD and ignore unfair comparisons to other films. Willow was a great film for its time and still is. At least take the advice of someone who can spell before making your final decision. This movie rocks!
Rating: 
Summary: AWFULL MOVIE!!!
Review: PLEASE save your money and buy instead any of the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings extended editions and not this piece of garbage! That fact that george Lucas directed this (see my review for Phantom Menace) shoulda warned me but I watched this anyway and boy was it BAD! George Lucas is not a directer of stories characters or actors he just throws BIG special efects on the screen and hopes it all makes sense and that you'll care. WRONG! You gotta have plot character and the mythic element of the hero for fantasy to work and to make great movies on the subject. I wish Peter jackson would remake this cuz it has some cool things in it like the two headed dragons [did they have cgi back then??] and the devil-dog creatures and the guy with the skull face but this is tipical of Lucas who likes to spend money on everything but a good scriptwriters and a good story. Oh well!
Rating:
Summary: Hehehehe!
Review: I haven't seen this since I was a little girl, my sister taped it off the TV and we would watch it all the time. From what I remember, it was such a great movie, with all the fairy tale elements, and the most unlikely hero. I remember very vividly those darn brownies, and they're mischievous ways. Go see it, its great!
Rating:
Summary: Willow Finds New Life On DVD
Review: Willow is an eighties classic I remember from my days in elementary school. It's the perfect adventure fantasy that paved the way for movies like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Before Willow people hardly stepped into the fantasy realm on screen. It was hard to accomplish but you get no let downs from Ron Howard and George Lucas. The DVD is amazing. It has every ounce of information you ever wanted to know about Willow. Warwick Davis' commentary is superb and he made me believe it was 1988 again and I was still in elementary school. Now that I am grown I still love Willow and I hope a new generation of children will continue to see it for the gem its worth. This is perfect family entertainment. Skip the VHS version because you are missing a lot. This DVD is one of the best DVD releases. Usually when a DVD claims " Special Edition " you get a snotty little photo gallery and boring director's commentary with nothing to show for it. The Willow DVD proves that just because a film is old doesn't mean its stale. I recommend this DVD highly! Warwick Davis' commentary is the best I've heard on any DVD. I wished Val Kilmer could have joined Warwick but... Warwick does a great job at bringing you behind the scenes of the film and capturing the time it was made. You'll love it! By the way, does anyone remember the cute little Willow cards they gave out in cereal boxes back in 1988? What a great movie experience!
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