In the books they talk about ‘Willow’ Although it reached number one in the United States when it was released in May 1988, it was a commercial disappointment. And also as a movie that critics disliked. “It’s a ‘Star Wars’ with no star quality,” they called Time. And at ‘Newsweek’ they wanted to ironically christen George Lucas, the writer and producer of their stories, as ‘The Great Regurgitator’, in this case ‘The Bible’, Tolkien, or ‘The Wizard of Oz’, as if there was no value in creating something new from old influences. “. As if it could be created out of nothing.
This historian gets a little defensive because some of the movies we enjoyed as kids basically escape any critical judgment. For those of us who grew up in the eighties, ‘Willow’ is synonymous with a happy getaway, as Nick Hornby said, in the days when there were no good or bad movies, only what they wanted to see. ‘Söğüt’ called out to the cinema. And a few times the video shop was empty.
Jonathan Kasdanson of the great Lawrence Kasdan (among other things, a veteran ‘Star Wars’ screenwriter) and a trusted Lucasfilm man, he was one of the boys dazzled by Willow’s story in the late eighties (Warwick Davis), that nelwyn farmer (shrunken race) assisted by swordsman Madmartigan.Val Kilmer) and the rebel princess Sorsha (Joanne Whalley), managed to protect a baby destined to end Queen Bavmorda’s persecution (terrible jeanmarsh).
How would his eight-year-old self react if told thirty years later that he would be responsible for launching a sequel of the same name in the form of a series (Disney+, starting Wednesday 30th)? “She fainted at first,” says the screenwriter, laughing. “Then I would ask why there won’t be a sequel in 1994 or 2003. But now we have a chance to revisit that story and go places we never thought we would go back to.” But now or a few years ago, when the hunger for Disney+ content made it possible to expand a priori small intellectual property rights.
“Everything was great except me”
Ten years ago, Warwick Davis, a major actor afflicted with achondroplastic dwarfism, joked about the future sequel to “Willow” in a special episode of his self-edited sitcom “Life is very short.” “In that episode – he reminds us -, Val Kilmer was seeking funding for the so-called second part of the film and kept the money.. That’s not how the series budget was created. I didn’t have to put anything. Disney+ paid for everything.”
Davis can’t breathe without jokes, both on-screen and in interviews, which caused problems for his young ‘Willow’ co-stars: improvisation prevailed. “But Kasdan asked me to do it,” he excuses himself, smiling. “He encouraged us to break the script and have a good time. It’s pretty rare. It was hard for me because I really respect scripts.” There was no question of jeopardizing such a wasteful production, was it? “Everything was so big except me,” he jokes again.
According to Davis, he saw almost no difference between this shot and that of the first ‘Willow’, or many moviesStar warsBeginning with ‘Return of the Jedi’ he revealed ‘: he was the vicious Ewok Wicket.. “It was another chance to feel like part of the Lucasfilm family.”
problems are growing
So how did Kasdan justify Willow’s return to our lives? “We always knew there was going to be a show about it. What would baby Elora be when she grew up?; and that we want to tell about his friendship with other women. At the center will be Warwick and three young actors, each with a character who approaches the adventure in a different way.”
Ruby Cruz (Seen in “Mare of Easttown”) is the swordsman princess Kit, the daughter of Queen Sorsha (also Joanne Whalley), who decided to hide her identity from Elora after the liberation of the kingdom of Tir Asleen. “To create my role, I thought about what impact Sorsha might have on her daughter and how she would want to distance herself from her mother. That’s how we all are when it comes to parents: we admire them but reject them.” Kit’s best friend and combat trainer is Jade. erin kellyman (Karli Morgenthau from ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier) described her as “a brave, honorable, reliable young woman…
After the kidnapping of the flirtatious prince Airk (Dempsey BryckA rescue team is formed, in which Kit’s brother, the cook, nicknamed Palomita, secretly joins.Ellie BamberBamber from “Pride + Prejudice + Zombies”) is a “strong-spirited young woman who doesn’t quite know who she is and will only learn along the way.” The required magic will be cast by the only wizard left in the vicinity: Willow Ufgood.
light and lightness
In times of solemnity so common in fantasy, ‘Willow’ is an almost radical commitment to light and lightness. According to Kasdan, it’s “something that happened in the original movie and is also part of the director of that movie. Ron Howardor my own personality”. In the final cocktail of influences, nods to John Hughes’ ‘youth’ cinema or cult TV series ‘This is my life’Revealing Claire Danes: This is also about young people making their own way.
Without fear of disrespect, this chronicler dares to confirm that the ‘Willow’ series even outstripped the movie ‘Willow’. The liveliness of their characters and relationships, the twists of the plot, or perhaps most of all, their gender politics are astounding. As Ellie Bamber (and don’t be fooled by the nickname), also known as Popcorn, puts it: “I would have loved to have seen this show when I was little. Her perspective on gender politics is really important, with not one but three women in the lead role, all of them being as complex as they are powerful.“.