Movie · 1988 · Fantasy, Adventure, Action · 2h 6m · PG · English
Curator score: 3.4/10 (237K ratings)
A world where heroes come in all sizes and adventure is the greatest magic of all.
Overview
The evil Queen Bavmorda hunts the newborn princess Elora Danan, a child prophesied to bring about her downfall. When the royal infant is found by Willow, a timid farmer and aspiring sorcerer, he's entrusted with delivering her from evil.
Ratings
Curator score: 3.4/10
IMDb: 7.2/10
Letterboxd: 3.44/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 52%
Metacritic: 47
TMDB: 7.0/10
Director
Ron Howard
Production
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Lucasfilm Ltd., Imagine Entertainment
Cast
Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Patricia Hayes, Gavan O'Herlihy, Phil Fondacaro, Pat Roach, Rick Overton, Kevin Pollak, Billy Barty, Jean Marsh, David Steinberg, Tony Cox, Robert Gillibrand, Mark Northover, Maria Holvoe, Julie Peters, Mark Vande Brake, Dawn Downing, Michael Cotterill
Where to watch
Disney Plus
Curator Review
Verdict
A charming, old-school fantasy adventure with strong creature work, a memorable supporting cast, and a sincere underdog spirit, but it also feels uneven, familiar, and occasionally thin by modern standards. Its appeal is strongest as a nostalgic quest film with practical-effects warmth rather than a tightly plotted epic.
Best for
80s fantasy fans
viewers who like practical effects and creature design
family-friendly adventure seekers
nostalgia-driven rewatches
fans of earnest quest stories
Skip if
you want a tightly written modern fantasy
you’re allergic to familiar chosen-one plotting
you prefer darker or more sophisticated worldbuilding
you need consistently polished pacing
Overview
Willow is the kind of fantasy movie that survives on charm, texture, and momentum. It builds a convincing fairy-tale world with practical effects, big sets, and a genuine sense of peril, then keeps things moving with a scrappy underdog hero and a scene-stealing supporting cast. The result is less about originality than about how confidently it sells its adventure.
Worth noting
The film’s weaknesses are real: the story can feel familiar, the emotional stakes are sometimes broad, and a few stretches play more like a greatest-hits fantasy sampler than a fully distinctive epic. But the movie has enough personality, visual invention, and playful energy to make those flaws easy to forgive.
Bottom line
If you grew up with it, the movie’s appeal is obvious. If you’re discovering it now, it works best as a snapshot of late-80s fantasy filmmaking at its most earnest and handmade, with enough action and humor to keep the ride lively.
Top Letterboxd reviews
emma (4★) · 1151 likes
more movies should include old ladies fistfighting
Kat (5★) · 854 likes
This movie is epic. I probably watched it 1000 times as a kid. And it still holds up really well. Love it.
- Val Kilmer has his shirt off for half the film, take note other action movies!!!
- Watching Sorsha fall in love with Madmartigan knowing she'll lose her life and family to be with him... Same girl, same 😍
- That is the world's greatest Baby actor. Seriously how did they get her to make all those faces??
- The brownies know how to party lol
- RIP hottie Eric
Matt_Samahl (4★) · 765 likes
Sam stayed with Frodo even though the journey was almost certain death. Willow tells Meegosh to go home once, and he immediately does.. what a douche.
Max Power (3.5★) · 758 likes
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Warwick Davis
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emma (4★) · 414 likes
thinking about how val kilmer wanted special horse riding lessons for this movie, but george lucas said no. so instead of being normal, val found a huge wooden cross and dragged it to george lucas’s trailer in protest and i guess…cosplayed jesus? until he got his lessons. lucas never hired val again