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Rewatching the 1988 movie Willow scene-by-scene. Why? Because it’s freaking Willow! It’s the usual heroes-embarking-on-their-journey scene, 19:31-22:41 on the Blu-ray.

We begin somewhere in the woods, where a bunch of Nelwyn are walking along, many of them carrying large packs, and others solemnly waving, as if to say goodbye. These little details might not be noticeable upon first viewing, but they inform the audience that this is the beginning of the big trip. The High Aldwin walks alongside Willow, asking Willow what’s troubling him. Here’s where we get the payoff for the “pick a finger” scene during the festival. After a little prodding Willow admits that his first instinct was to pick his own finger. The High Aldwin says that was the correct answer. He then says Willow lacks faith in himself, and more than anyone in the village, Willow has the potential to be a great sorcerer.

Some thoughts on this: Does Willow truly lack faith in himself? He’s a good father and husband who’s running a successful farm, and he had the confidence to get up on the High Aldwin’s stage at the festival. On the other hand, he lets Burglekutt boss him around and he was afraid the presence of the Daikini baby would give the superstitious villagers an excuse to run him out of town. I guess this one’s up to the interpretation of each viewer.

The High Aldwin has more advice. “When you’re out there, listen to your own heart.” We’ll see quite a few times when he does that, reminding his future traveling companions what’s important when things get really crazy. The High Aldwin then hands Willow some small objects, saying “These will protect you.” They are acorns, and Willow is unimpressed. The High Aldwin says they’re magic, explaining “Anything you throw them at turns to stone.” Willow doesn’t say anything, but pockets the acorns.

Because this is coming right after the “the bones tell me nothing” scene, these acorns become quite a ticking clock throughout the movie, as viewers aren’t sure if they’re genuinely supernatural, or total B.S. The movie makes you wait (or does it?) for the answer. The actors’ hands are at the bottom of the screen, so there’s no way to tell just how many acorns there are. The Willow graphic novel adaptation adds a few extra lines of dialogue, where Willow asks if he can throw an acorn at Burglekutt, and the High Aldwin answers, “Use sorcery for evil, and you will become an evil sorcerer.” That’s some Polonius-from-Hamlet logic right there.

In the movie, the High Aldwin says “You have much to learn, young Ufgood,” and then concludes the conversation with a series of hand motions. First he clasps his hands together as if in prayer, next he locks his fingers together tightly, then places one hand over his heart, and finally makes a flying away motion with that same hand. Willow pats the High Aldwin’s shoulder, as if to say he understands. I suspect the audience at home is not meant to know the specific meaning of this.

There’s a shot of the Nelwyn milling around some flat stone sculptures, somewhat reminiscent of the ancient stone circles that can be found in remote areas of the U.K. Then we cut back to Willow, talking with his kids, Ranon and Mims. Mims asks if he’s scared and he says no. The kids then rattle off a list of dangers of the outside world, making for some nice foreshadowing. First Ranon asks about fairies of the forest, putting travelers to sleep for 100 years. He also asks about Brownies, and Mims asks about dragons. Willow says these don’t bother him. Then Ranon asks about trolls, specifically, “Trolls that’ll skin you alive and take your face off?” Willow chides Ranon, saying “You know I hate trolls.” Does this mean trolls have attacked the village before, or at least live nearby? Are trolls why the village has a spear-carrying security force? The movie doesn’t say. What’s important here is that all the things the kids mention are more or less things that Willow is going to run into — fairies, Brownies, trolls, and, yes a dragon. (Multiple dragons, if you count the Shadow War tie-in novels.)

The kids offer to join Willow on his journey to give him some help. He doesn’t actually say no, but instead says what a lucky father he is. He gives the kids a hug and tells them to go play. Mims says “Goodbye Dada” here, but it’s hard to hear unless you’ve got the volume way up. Kaiya then helps Willow with the large backpack he uses to carry the baby. She says “We’ve never been apart.” I think we can assume she means for an extended period of time, because we already saw her stay home while he went to the festival. The tie-in books offer no background information about Kaiya. How did she meet Willow? What was her life like beforehand? We may never know.

Kaiya says “I miss you already.” He says he’ll be fine and he’ll be back before she knows it. Her next line is hard to understand. According to the Blu-ray’s subtitles, she’s saying “Remember to keep her warm.” She then hands Willow a braid of her hair, he compares it to a tuft of hair coming from under the headscarf thing she’s wearing, and realizes she’d just cut it off. “This will bring you luck,” she says. They hug, and kiss. The braid isn’t going to have as many appearances throughout the movie as the acorns, but when we do see it again, it serves as a reminder of how far Willow has traveled.

The background music shifts from romantic to heroic, as the High Aldwin addresses the crowd. “Good brave people,” he says. “The outer world is no place for a Nelwyn. Give the baby to the first Daikini you see, then hurry home.” This raises a lot of questions. First, just how much do the Nelwyn know about the outside world? They know the location of the Daikini crossroads, and they kinda/sorta know who the Daikini are. Second, just how good is this advice, of giving the baby to the first person they see? Does the High Aldwin have some sense of the future, knowing who Willow and co. will run into, or is he merely desperate to protect the village from another attack by killer dogs? Hard to say.

The High Aldwin reaches down, picks up a rock, says three magic words, and throws it into the air. In a nifty special effect, the rock transforms into a bird in midair. People react with smiles and wonder, and the High Aldwin says to go in the direction the bird is flying. Burglekutt then points out that the bird is going back to the village. The High Aldwin appears to be surprised by this, but covers for it, dismissively saying, “Ignore the bird, follow the river.”

For all the talk about magic so far in the movie, this is the first time we see it in action. But even after casting a spell successfully, the High Aldwin is still in “the bones tell me nothing” mode. This once again casts doubt over the acorns, and what will or won’t happen once Willow tries to use them. The camera pulls back to reveal the whole group. Vohnkar is all business, ordering a gruff “Move out!” With that, everyone is on their way.

Next: What are all these Jedi and Wookiees doing here?

****

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Rewatching the 1988 movie Willow scene-by-scene. Why? Because it’s freaking Willow! Things are getting political up in here, 16:13-19:30 on the Blu-ray.

First things first: Where are we, exactly? The previous scene had Willow stating he needs to take the baby to the village council, so thanks to movie editing we can surmise that this is the village council. But it appears to take place inside a big barn, complete with a rope and pulley system to get to a balcony area. One Nelwyn demonstrates this as the camera passes across the room. The tie-in fiction states that the Nelwyn are not normally political, so the town council only meets on rare occasions, usually to settle disputes between farmers. Therefore, this barn (or barnlike structure) is being used a makeshift meeting place rather than an established town hall. Notice there are also several chickens in this scene, walking around in the background just being chickens.

There are about 50 people in the room, all shouting at once. I find it unlikely that all these people are members of the council, but rather have attended the council meeting out of concern. Burglekutt’s voice cuts through the din, saying, “Silence! One beast we can kill, but there may be more.” He says the death dogs won’t give up until they find what they are looking for.

Willow enters, with the baby and his family. Note that Kaiya is wearing one of the elaborate headdresses worn by several other Nelwyn women during the big festival. One voice cries out “We must find who is to blame,” and another demands that the culprit be thrown into “the pit.” It’s left up to the imagination what “the pit” is. The Nelwyn go into bloodthirsty mob mode, chanting “In the pit! In the pit!” Willow and Kaiya turn to leave, but the High Aldwin spots Willow, quiets the crowd, and asks him to come forward.

Willow explains that his children found the baby by the river, and the High Aldwin instantly recognizes the baby as a Daikini child. Burglekutt deduces that the baby is what the death dogs are after and suggests turning the baby over to them. Willow rightly points out that the dogs will kill the baby. Burglekutt goes into full-on jerk mode and argues “It’s not one of us.”

The High Aldwin quiets the crowd again, saying there is something special about the baby, and that it must be taken to Daikini crossroads far outside the village, across the great river. Burglekutt nominates Willow to be one to make the trip. Willow doesn’t seem down with that idea, and Kaiya reacts with a big dramatic “No!”

The High Aldwin holds up a small black bag tied around his neck with a black string. He shakes it and proclaims, “I will consult the bones!” He drops a small group of bones from the bag. Finger bones, most likely, but it’s hard to know. They’re on the ground right next to the baby, who can be seen in the corner of the screen. The High Aldwin calls Willow over for a whispered, private conversation. I wonder what all the other Nelwyn are doing why these two are whispering to each other. I suppose the High Aldwin has enough good will to get away with stuff like this. He says “The bones tell me nothing,” as Willow looks surprised by this. He then asks “Do you have any love for this child?” Willow looks at the baby and says “Yes, yes I do.” The High Aldwin stands and announces to the room, “The bones have spoken.”

The humor here is that the bones appear to be magical and wondrous, but are really B.S. The High Aldwin is playing on the beliefs of the locals to get his way, even if his way is for the better of the community. The tie-in fiction confirms this, saying flat-out that the bones have no supernatural properties. Further, in the novel Shadow Moon, Willow kept the bones with him in his old age, a gift from the High Aldwin, saying that the bones never did anything for him either, but they came in handy whenever he needed to look impressive.

The High Aldwin says the safety of the village depends on Willow, and Burglekutt, no doubt thinking this means getting rid of Willow, chants “Praise the bones!” The High Aldwin says Willow will need help, and asks who has the courage to protect Willow and the baby on the journey. Meegosh volunteers, and Burglekutt says, “Excellent choice.” So I guess he doesn’t like Meegosh either. Then Vohnkar volunteers. Burglekutt argues that Vohnkar is the best warrior in the village and must stay. Note that Vohnkar brought his spear to the meeting. Was he concerned a fight would break out? Also, a group of men standing behind Burglekutt are holding matching staffs with white tips. Are these the other members of the village council?

Reading the room, the High Aldwin then says the expedition needs a leader, and he alleges that bones are telling him that Burglekutt is to be that leader. Then there’s more comedy as a panicking Burglekutt turns and shouts for Vohnkar, even though Vohnkar’s right there in the room with him.

Next: First steps.

****

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Rewatching the 1988 movie Willow scene-by-scene. Why? Because it’s freaking Willow! Here’s the movie’s first action scene, albeit a brief one, 13:46-16:12 on the Blu-ray.

We’re still at the Nelwyn festival, where the peppy music starts playing, everyone is again doing that dance holding up green leafy branches. The sound of a wild animal is heard in the distance and everyone starts to panic. It almost sound like two animals, with a growl and howl overlaid on each other. One of the death dogs comes running right through the center of the festival.

We saw death dogs briefly in the opening scenes, but this is their starring moment. In the Willow tie-in books, they get an origin story. They were created from dark sorcery by the Veil Folk, magical fairy-like beings who live hidden away in the deep woods. Because the Veil Folk cannot touch steel without being harmed, they created the death dogs to protect them from sword-wielding Daikini (humans). Many years later, the death dogs were corrupted by Bavmorda and her people, who used them as hunters. The tie-in books state that dogs’ mouths are acidic, and cause lethal injections into anyone they bite.

The dog’s presence in the festival causes a lot of commotion, with everyone running around like crazy. Burglekutt and the High Adlwin both get reaction shots. Willow asks Meegosh where little Mims ran off to, and Meegosh says he doesn’t know. Ranon takes the other kid, Ranon, away for protection while Willow looks for Mims. The dog continues to run through the festival, and there’s a great Evil Dead-style shot of the dog’s POV, chasing everyone at high speed. Then there’s a shot of Mims, standing on a wooden platform of some sort, crying.

The dog stops by one of the small structures, which I guess is somebody’s house, again calling into question exactly where this festival is taking place. There aren’t enough buildings around for this to a proper  village center, yet there are still some buildings. The dog makes an impressive 90-degree turn and enters the building. As it does, we can see it has long rat-like tail.

Willow continues to search for Mims, some more people run around, and what appears to be a second dog runs past. Willow finds Mims, takes her hand, and leads her to safety. There are more shots of the dog running around, editing against a Nelwyn woman carrying a baby, foreshadowingly. A dog does a super-cool leap over a fence and starts tearing apart an empty wooden baby carriage on the other side. Willow and Mims are close enough to this so that they see it happen through openings in the wooden fence between them.

The when the character we’ll soon come to know as Vohnkar leads the village guard into action. These guys are great, with their matching leather armor, spears, and dive-headfirst-into-battle attitude. Vohnkar and the others climb over the fence, and it’s a spears vs. dog battle. It appears a few farmers have joined the guards, dressed in regular clothes and carrying pitchforks instead of spears. The dog snaps at the guards, and one of them stabs it.

The dog’s stab wound is a yellowy mustard color, further establishing these as otherworldly monsters. The dog rears up and, with a spear still stuck in its back, knocks Vohnkar onto his feet. Vonkhar isn’t down for long, though. Another Nelwyn tosses him a spear just as the dog attacks. The dog leaps right onto the spear as Vohnkar holds it up to defend himself. The rest of the guards leap in, brutally stabbing the dog to make sure it’s dead.

The danger seemingly passed, the Nelwyn gather around, and Willow is reunited with Ranon. Vohnkar holds up the destroyed carriage and says, “It was after somebody’s baby.” Cut to a woman with a baby, but not the one we saw seconds earlier, reacting with shock. Willow and his kids also react with horror, all remembering the mysterious baby that washed up on their land. There’s an overhead of shot of Willow running through the festival to get back home, nearly running right over a lit fire pit.

The next shot is Willow bursting through the front door of his house, suggesting that his land isn’t that far from the festival’s location. He calls for Kaiya, and for a few seconds there is no answer, suggesting the death dogs got her. But then she walks into frame holding the baby. Willow embraces his wife and tells her they can’t keep the baby, and must take her to the village council. Kaiya responds with a nod, understanding that this is important, and they embrace again.

Several questions are unanswered during these scene. First, is it just one dog that attacks the festival, or multiple dogs? The tie-in books always describe the dogs running in packs, and the quick editing makes it look like there’s more than one. But once Vohnkar and his crew kill just one, the danger is over. Also, where are the dogs’ keeper, to whom they must report? Perhaps this unseen threat, more than the dog itself, is what prompts Willow into action. Finally, we’ll see later in the movie that Bavmorda wants the baby alive to perform a ritual, but in this scene the dog clearly is out to kill the baby, the way it tears up the carriage. Was this dog (or dogs) separated from the rest of the pack and gone wild on its own, finding the right scent by accident?

On the plus side, all this animal carnage provides some character development for Willow. Even though he’s not the one doing the actual fighting, this scene establishes him as the hero, as he protects his kids, and then decides to take the baby the village council, even at risk of harming his status in the community.

Next: No bones about it.

****

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Rewatching the 1988 movie Willow scene-by-scene. Why? Because it’s freaking Willow! We’re talking about magic and sorcery as we meet the High Aldwin, 11:56-13:45 on the Blu-ray.

The band plays a fanfare, and out comes the High Alwin, on a chair being carried by four male Nelwyn. Just who are these four guys carrying him around? His servants? His students? Something uglier? We can only wonder. An unidentified man announces that the High Aldwin will now make his choice for apprentice. The tie-in books state that as part of this festival, each year the High Aldwin tells the story of the first Nelwyn settlers. Either that’s already happened, or he’s saving it for later.

The tie-in books describe the High Aldwin as the “informal leader” of the Nelwyn village, so that the village council looks to him for advice on especially difficult matters. The High Aldwin’s name is Junn, except that upon becoming High Aldwin, he gave up his birth name, replacing it with “High Aldwin,” as per tradition. Upon death, a High Aldwin’s name is then restored for use in the Nelwyn archives. Also, it was in this part of my research that I came across fleeting references to other Nelwyn villages, each having its own High Aldwin. Most of the tie-in fiction, however, ignores them in favor of focusing on this one Nelwyn village. The “High” part of the Aldwin’s title comes from how the apprentices are also known as “Low Aldwin.” The tie-in books also state that both men and women can be High Aldwins, with the women often being stronger in magic than the men.

Back to the movie. A man cries, “Attention! The High Aldwin will know make his choice for the new apprentice.” I haven’t found any info on who this character is. We did see him previously, in the front row of the group watching Willow’s disappearing pig act. He adds, “Bring forth the hopefuls.” This man and the High Aldwin are now seated on a stage in front of a crowd. (Crowds gather and disperse awfully quick during this festival.) The stage is decorated with a flowered arch and two statues, one of a pig and one of a dog. I wouldn’t make much of this other than to further establish this is a farming/agricultural society.

We see Meegosh with Willow, telling him “Good luck.” We’ve seen Meegosh in the crowd during the festival, but this is the first time we’ve established he and Willow are friends. The graphic novel adaptation does a better job of introducing Meegosh, as he and Willow recite a customary rhyme to each other. Meegosh: “Round the bend.” Willow: “Fat rear end.” Meegosh: “He’s a donkey.” Willow: “I’m your friend.”

As Willow walks up to the stage, of course Burglekutt heckles him, saying “Is this a joke?” and laughing. Willow gives him an angry stare and, it’s worth noting, the High Aldwin also gives Burglekutt an angry stare. Willow and two other unidentified males stand before the High Aldwin, who stands and says, “Magic is the blood stream of the universe. Forget all you know, or think you know. All that you require is your intuition. Now, the power to control the world is in which finger?” He holds up his hand.

The first man points at the High Aldwin’s middle finger, and the High Aldwin shakes his head no, dropping the finger. Willow watches carefully. The second man points at the index finger and he, too, is wrong. Then the High Aldwin comes to Willow. I’ve noticed that first-time viewers have a lot of fun with this scene, playing along. They usually shout-out to the screen, wanting Willow to choose either the thumb or the pinky finger. The movie very clearly shows us Willow looking at his own hand first, and then he select’s the High Aldwin’s ring finger. The High Aldwin makes a fist and says, “No apprentice this year!” The payoff for this choose-a-finger bit won’t come until later.

The crowd sounds disappointed, and I wonder what ceremony or celebration would have happened if the High Aldwin had selected someone. Further, the tie-in books fiction states the apprentice eventually becomes the new High Aldwin. Nothing Willow has said or done indicates a desire to lead the village (although I’m sure he’d be fine with getting Burglekutt out of office). Instead, Willow seems interested in learning sorcery just for the sake of learning sorcery. We see little Ranon look sad about this. Does this mean that being named apprentice would be beneficial to Willow’s wife and kids as well, or is Ranon just sad because his dad lost? The peppy festival music starts playing again, and the crowd moves on to whatever attraction is next.

Fantasy fans love fussing about magic systems, so we might as well talk about the one in Willow. The movie’s novelization has a wholly different version of the High Aldwin’s speech, but one that offers a glimpse into the story’s bigger picture. In the book he says, “The Great Mystery is the bloodstream of the universe, and sorcery is the way to its energy.” Notice that Great Mystery is capitalized. In the tie-in books, the Great Mystery is the name of a godlike being that oversees the laws of nature in this world. Sorcerers are individuals who have somehow channeled the power of the Great Mystery. Basically, the Great Mystery lends a small (or large?) part of its power to a sorcerer, allowing the sorcerer to perform feats that bend or even break the laws of nature. While the movie and the books tend to use the words “magic” and “sorcery” interchangeably, the High Adlwin’s view is that magic is slight-of-hand tricks, while sorcery is genuine supernatural power. That said, the book also contradicts the movie when the High Aldwin says sorcery is “not thought or knowledge,” while movie repeatedly states that concentration is important to perform sorcery.  (Get used to hearing the phrase, “Concentrate, Willow!”)

A few more details: The High Aldwin walks with a staff, which is clearly ornamental/symbolic rather than, say, Yoda’s cane, which Yoda often leaned on to walk. The staff is adorned with tufts of black fur, feathers, strips of green cloth, and rattling pieces of metal and/or bones. The specific symbology of this is lost on me, although here in the real world, many cultures feature shamanistic staffs, sticks, and poles in their beliefs, with a variety of symbols and meanings given to them. I’ll let you kids go ahead and Google those on your own. Finally, it’s worth noting that the High Aldwin has a long grey beard. Traditionally, wizards in fiction have these beards to represent a lifetime of experience and knowledge. In the Shadow War trilogy of novels, Willow eventually grew a long white beard of his own, braiding it in the same style as the High Aldwin’s.

Next: Who let the dogs out?

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Rewatching the 1988 movie Willow scene-by-scene. Why? Because it’s freaking Willow! Today we’re going to a party and to one of the movie’s definitive scenes — the disappearing pig trick! It’s 9:49-11:55 on the Blu-ray.

We begin with an exterior shot of Willow’s farm, with him saying goodbye to Kaia and taking the two kids with him while she stays behind with the baby. Based on the previous scene, we can assume this is the next day, a.k.a. the “big day” Willow has been looking forward to.

Peppy music starts playing, and we’re at a Nelwyn festival.  Specifically, this is the Planting Festival of 1342, according to the tie-in books. It might seem backwards to hold a festival celebrating planting instead of harvest, like most farming communities do, but it is consistent in that we just saw Willow plowing his field, and Burglekutt’s talk about seeds. The year 1342 is relevant only to the Nelwyn, as this festival celebrates the time that the Nelwyn first arrived and settled in this land, 1,342 years earlier.

This opening shot of the festival is impressive, with tons of extras and quite a few animals all about, with a lot of bustling activity. Willow can be seen on the right of the screen, on a small stage with a crowd gathering around him. Other than some small huts, there are no buildings of any kind in the background, suggesting that this is not the village center, but instead the Nelwyn have set up this festival out in the woods somewhere. The tie-in books say one part of this festival involves a wicker man, representing peace and generosity. There’s a structure in the center of the fair in the movie that might be this wicker man. It’s just sort of human shaped, so I can’t be sure.

There is a shot of a bunch of Nelwyn men and women dancing, where they dance together at first, only for the women to sit in a small clump of chairs where the men dance in circles around them. We get a shot of the Nelwyn band playing, with two notable (heh) cameos. The first is Kenny Baker of Star Wars fame, and the second is Baker’s longtime friend and performing partner Jack Purvis, who also acted in Star Wars and was prominently featured in Time Bandits.

Still more festival stuff. There is a fire eater, followed by some sort of game where some Nelwyns have bags over their heads and others don’t while they all dance around some poles. I have no idea what that’s about. There is a shot of a woman holding a baby, with the camera slowly pushing in on them (a little foreshadowing there, perhaps). Then there’s a tug of war, with the losing team falling in the mud and a bunch of men laughing as they watch. Throughout this whole scene, several Nelwyn women can be seen wearing light blue dresses with large blue-white headdresses. Is this merely fashion, or do these outfits have some significance?

We then catch up with Willow, doing stage magic. His son Ranon is his magicians’ assistant, adorably. Willow covers his arm with a hollow sleeve, and then makes a small torch pass right through the arm. (No CGI here, actor Warwick Davis learned to perform his illusion and did it in front of the camera.) Burglekutt can be seen in the crowd, nodding in approval (mock approval?) at Willow’s act. We also see Willow’s friend Meegosh for the first time, though first-time viewers won’t know he’s a significant character yet.

We get more festival business, with a spear-carrying guard helping himself to fruit from a fruit cart, establishing that there is a security force present. Then there’s what appears to be a wedding, with a man and woman kissing as everyone around them throws confetti. There’s a shift in the upbeat music, represented by a close up of hands strumming furiously on a guitar-like instrument.

Back to Willow, he has a small pig in hands. Willow is all showmanship, promising the audience an amazing feat, saying the entire pig will disappear. Willow covers the pig in a blanket (heh) and lifts it up, chanting magic words. These magic words sound a lot like ones he will say when doing real magic later in the movie, for what that’s worth. He pulls the blanket away, to show the pig has indeed vanished. The crowd applauds, only for the pig to run out from under the table in front of Willow, breaking the illusion. The crowd, especially the kids, have a good laugh. Burglekutt says “I’ve seen enough.” He starts to leave, and everyone leaves with him.

The word “magic” has been thrown around a lot in this movie, with little definition of how magic works in this world. Here we see stage magic, with no hint of the supernatural. According to the tie-in books, the High Aldwin could see that young Willow had potential for great magic power, but Willow’s father insisted he be a farmer. Sometime later, the Nelwyn were visited by a traveling entertainer, Pesto the Magnificent. Pesto stirred Willow’s interest in magic, albeit of the slight-of-hand variety.

Even though his audience clearly had a good time, Willow sits on his stage looking defeated.

Next: Giving the finger.

****

Want more? Check out my book, CINE HIGH, now available for the Kindle and the free Kindle app.