131. Willow
Willow (1988)
Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Billy Barty, Jean Marsh
Synopsis: Evil sorceress Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh) has imprisoned all the pregnant women she can get her hands on because an infant child has been prophesied to destroy her. Queens, am I right? Through the quick thinking and not-so-quick traveling of a midwife, the child of prophecy escapes Bavmorda’s grasp! Due to a combination of the Queen’s evil muppet dogs and plot-convenient waterways, the child ends up in the possession of Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis), farmer, aspiring sorcerer, and patriarch of the most adorable family ever seen in cinema. After another close call with the muppet dogs, Willow is tasked by the village’s elder/wizard/mayor(?), the High Aldwin (Billy Barty) to return the baby to her own kind. This sets in motion an epic adventure for Willow and the friends he makes along the way: Madmartigan, the handsome and horny** swordsman (Val Kilmer), Rool and Franjean, the tiny baby-stealing, possibly French-Canadian brownies (Kevin Pollak and Rick Overton), and Fin Raziel, a sorceress cursed by Bavmorda to be a weird talking weasel thing (Patricia Hayes). Together, they must battle Bavmorda’s forces as she gets distressingly closer to murdering a child on camera. Also there’s a guy named (checks notes)…Airk.
**drug-induced (mostly)
Bechdel-Wallace Pass? Yes
“You don’t order a baby around. It’s a request.”
The Episode
We recall Willow (1988) for our nine-year anniversary! We cover everything from Val Kilmer to prophecies to golf! Thank you so much for listening over these last nine years even when we go wildly off topic.
