Willow (1988)

Little feller Willow has to protect a baby from the depredations of witch Bavmorda, with the help of disgraced warrior Madmartigan and some pixies.From a story by George Lucas, and directed by Ron Howard, this sword and sorcery adventure fantasy introduced the world to 17-year old Warwick Davies. It's great fun, full of action, adventure, humour, magic, dirt, and what were at the time cutting edge special effects. It's interesting to see the first cinematic use of morphing, and the last major use of stop-frame animation (Phil Tippett, who took over the mantle of premiere stop-frame man on Ray Harryhausen's retirement).Some parts might be a bit worrying for the tinies but, generally speaking, this is a pretty enjoyable ride for the family.

Plot: Willow, a small farmer/apprentice magician, meets Madmartigan, a great swordsman, and together they journey through a war-torn land of magic and monsters, to save a baby princess from death at the hands of an evil queen.This is easily my favorite fantasy film. The reason why I call it my favorite is because of the simple story that it creates, the movie doesn't try to over explain what's going on like they did in the Lord of the Rings films. Warwick Davis does a great job playing a farmer who has abilities that he never explored before. His character is very well-developed, likable, and interesting. Val Kilmer gives the best performance based on his wits, charm, and overall vulnerable traits that make his character stand out the most. Joanne Whalley, Jean Marsh, and Billy Barry all give great performances and are never overshadowed unlike in other fantasy films.My only problem with the film is the two comic reliefs played by Kevin Pollak and Rick Overton who get very annoying and are only there for the kids. Besides that, this is my favorite fantasy film of all time. I hope you give it a chance, I believe it is worth your time especially if you love these types of films.

This is by far one of the best fantasy films ever made, as a kid I probably watched this on repeat, and now at least every 4 years.It's captivating, fun and cute, no extended running around in caves, or rushing down a stream in a barrel just to show off some new 3d animation technique. It's got everything ones needs from a family friendly fantasy film; dazzling sword fights, amazing sorcery, cure babies, whirlwind romances, good witches, bad witches, very tiny people and slightly larger small people, faeries and fairy dust, do I need to say more, it's even got some sort of dragon/hydra thingie!!

An older film - but worth watching if you love fantasy. It is a simple story plot "a reluctant dwarf helps to protect a special baby from an evil queen" but the movie will take you on an incredible adventure with lots of action and magic. The story is so much better than the film's description.This a film from my teen years - I loved it back then it was one of my favorites and today I still find it a good motion picture.If you like the movie Willow then you might like the following good classic films: "Legend", "The Dark Crystal", "Labyrinth", "Ladyhawke", "Krull" and "Time Bandits".8.5/10