A Charming Willow Returns for Worthwhile New Adventures on Disney+
Photo Courtesy of Disney+
Long before Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movie trilogy showed mainstream audiences how one hobbit could save the world, Star Wars director George Lucas conjured his cinematic tale of an unlikely small wizard. 1998’s Willow, written by Lucas and directed by Ron Howard, introduced audiences to Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis), a little person from the village of Nelwyn, whose heart and determination are needed to, well, save the world. Willow was a modest success at the box office and a diversion from Lucas’ Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. Then it went away for thirty-plus years. When Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, no one was expecting Willow would be one of the franchises that would receive a second chance.
In the new Disney+ series, Warwick Davis once again returns as Willow Ufgood. It’s a direct sequel to Lucas’ movie, which featured supporting roles from actors Val Kilmer as Madmartigan the swashbuckling anti-hero, and Joanne Whalley as the evil sorceress’s not-so-evil daughter, Sorsha. Whalley appears in this sequel, but there are a whole slew of new faces, including the children of legacy characters and the now grown-up Elora Danan, the movie’s child of prophecy. It’s a bizarre franchise to develop a sequel for, but when every streaming service is releasing fantasy series such as House of the Dragon or The Rings of Power, Disney went into its own back catalog and found a fantasy world already developed and ready to go.
Still, the Willow series carves a nice niche for itself in this cluttered fantasy landscape. Of the three episodes (out of eight) that were available for review, it’s clear the show is intended for teenage viewers. Its lighter tone is definitely a strength when it comes to this newest adventure, as is the ability to set its own course as a sequel rather than a prequel. It also doesn’t hurt that Warwick Davis again provides indelible charm as Willow Ufgood; that same charm that served him well in the movie continues to work wonders here.
Audiences coming to Willow without having seen the movie might be a little lost as the series begins, though—even if the show does provide a light recap. The movie introduced us to the child of prophecy, Elora Danan, born to save the world and bring about the end of Queen Bavmorda. When the series opens, the audience learns that was only the beginning, and the true ancient evil will rise again and destroy Elora. In premonitions, Willow witnesses a world without Elora and how it would be the beginning of a new dark age. In order to avoid that dark vision from becoming a reality, Queen Sorsha decides that Elora’s true identity should be hidden away from everyone, including Elora herself.
The premiere spends a long time introducing the collection of new characters. Queen Sorsha protects the kingdom and prepares her children for their future. Her daughter, Kit Tanthalos (Ruby Cruz), is the princess of Tir Asleen and is engaged to marry Prince Graydon (Tony Revolori) of Galldoorn to unite the two kingdoms. There’s a problem with that engagement and it’s that Kit has her own aspirations in life—she wants to see what’s outside the barrier protecting the kingdom and travel the world with her close friend, Jade (Erin Kellyman). Kit also has a brother, Prince Arik, who’s a heartbreaker for many of the kingdoms’ young women. His latest conquest is Dove (Ellie Bamber), who’s in a romance way outside of her station in life as a lowly maid. But when an evil force known as The Gales attacks Tir Asleen and kidnaps Arik, the wedding is put on hold. A group comprised of Kit, Graydon, and Jade must set out to find the last great wizard, Willow, in the hopes that he can use his magic to help rescue Arik and stop the evil premonition from coming true.