Back in 1988, the movie Willow arrived at just the right time for me, at just the right age, to absolutely love it -- probably to an irrational degree. I was old enough to go to a movie without an adult (if I could get a ride), but still young enough that I still had many storytelling and moviemaking tropes to encounter for the first time.
In recent years, as I re-encountered various 80s entertainment I loved at the time -- only to discover how truly weak much of it was -- I resolved not to revisit Willow. I could still quote half the movie from memory, I'd seen it so many times. Better to sit with my memory of it than re-watch it and shatter any illusions.
But now there's another way for me to "revisit" Willow, via the Disney+ television series that picks up the story years later. The prince of Tir Asleen has been abducted by evil forces, and his sister has resolved to rescue him. The child of prophecy, Elora Danan, now a young adult, is swept up in a new adventure with the Nelwyn Willow Ufgood.
The creative forces behind Willow the series know that you know that the movie was kind of a cheesy 80s movie. So they've resolved to amplify that approach and create a show that skewers fantasy tropes even as it enthusiastically embraces them. An episode of Willow can only take itself seriously for so long before it seems to break out in an allergic reaction, making a joke or cracking (if not breaking) the fourth wall.
No other fantasy series has its young cast use real-world slang. No other fantasy series would dream of using needle drops, songs that you absolutely know the words to, that could tear you away from the world building. No other fantasy series so emphatically refuses to be grimdark in its sensibilities. You could scarcely make a more irreverent and simply "fun" fantasy show short of making, say, The Princess Bride: The TV Series. All of this makes Willow a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of "prestige television" you're probably watching right now. On a heavy night when you're not quite ready to face the newest episode of The Last of Us, I guarantee you are emotionally ready to tackle an episode of Willow.
Yet even as this wildly different tone is an asset for show, it can be something of a liability at times too. Willow finished airing its first season weeks ago, but it's taken me this long to reach the end because it's never the show I want to watch first. Sometimes, its lightness edges into corniness. The wild cameo appearances in some episodes often overwhelm the serialized storytelling. And that storytelling is truly not all that engaging; as unconventional as the overall tone can be, the core story is as conventional and straight up the middle as it comes.
It's nice to see Warwick Davis back in a starring role (though it's quite possible I feel that largely out of nostalgia for the original film). Amar Chadha-Patel is a hell of a lot of fun as the swaggering character of Boorman -- a new swordmaster/roguish proxy for a character from the original film. (Val Kilmer's cancer prevents his return here.) But the rest of the cast doesn't necessarily pop as much as their characters do; for example, it's a welcome tweak to fantasy conventions that the core romantic subplot here is a lesbian relationship.
Ultimately, I liked Willow and I'm glad I watched it. Yet at the same time, a season two renewal has yet to be announced, and I can't say I'd be especially disappointed if that didn't happen. I'd give the season a... B, perhaps? If my own nostalgia is affecting that mark, then the show probably isn't for most people. On the other hand, if you -- like me -- are a bit weary of fantasy being so damn serious all the time, you might find Willow a welcome departure.
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