The long-awaited sequel to the movie of the same name has finally completed airing. I wouldn't consider the movie Willow a cult classic like Rocky Horror for example, but I feel the heart and the fun that existed in the movie touched a lot of people and it's remembered fondly. I'm one of those people.
I don't think I can talk about the series without first
touching on the movie. After a recent
re-watch, and looking at it with adult eyes, its purpose was simple - to show
that even though Willow was smaller than everyone else and a struggling farmer
trying to support his family, he was brave and selfless, willing to protect a
child simply because it was the right thing to do. To that simple story, the writers added some
fantasy elements like magic, prophecies, witches, fairies, and trolls, and the
result is that the small world starts to get a little bit bigger, growing with
potential for a rich backstory and world building.
With small beginnings, Willow comes upon Madmartigan, the
unlikely ally, as well as two homeless gnome like creatures named
Brownies. All three add a lot of humor
to the journey which makes it much more enjoyable. The reaction shots of the baby are also quite
humorous. Mix in an awkward George Lucas
trademark love story, and good overcoming evil, and we end up with a delightful
fun story. The finale even recalls a
"magic" trick from the start of the movie, bringing everything full
circle and ultimately a happy ending.
Last, but not least, the music in the movie is well done. While it heavily relies on the Willow theme,
Ron Howard and his team made good use of it, knowing when to use it to ramp up
an already exciting action scene or slow it down during a more dramatic scene
like one with Willow and his wife.
Now, does the series have that same heart and fun? Sadly, I don't believe it does.
Storyline wise, what happened between the end of the movie
and the start of the show? Baby Elora is
now a young adult, who Willow thinks needs to be trained to fulfil her prophecy
of being a great sorcerer that will destroy evil. Sorsha disagrees and decides to have Elora
work in the kitchen, not tell her about her destiny, rename her, and hide her
in plain sight by having her hair dyed to blond instead of red.
Madmartigan is absent.
We later learn that he went in search of a magical protective
armor. Sadly, due to Val Kilmer's health
issues, I don't think he could physically be in the show, so his lack of
appearance needed a story and unfortunately, it's not a very good one. His friend Boorman's humor is a welcome
addition as first, but his humor turns to lies which turns to mistrust which
turns to a dislike of the character.
All the new characters have similar issues where they're
poorly written. They fight with each
other. They don't trust each other. They barely bond. The writers give us very little reasons to care
about any of them or their quest.
Lastly, on the topic of music, the Willow theme is heard
briefly, maybe twice in the entirety of all 8 episodes. If I recall correctly, I think it's heard
once in 107 and then once in 108. While
the movie might have overused it, I think the series drastically underuses
it. Also, the series chooses to use
popular songs during the credits. Why
just the credits? Why not use the music
in the episode? I think they did use the
modern music in episode twice, but mostly it feels like it was saved for the
end for no apparent reason.
Overall, I was optimistic when the series was announced. While I give the movie a glowing review it is far from perfect, but it had the right idea. I feel the show might have had some good ideas, but the execution of those ideas was very poor. I kept hoping with each episode there would be a course correction, but I was just let down each week. I don’t know if we’ll get another volume of stories; I just hope Lucasfilm can find someone to bring the heart and fun back to the story.
