Willow. No, not the Buffy Willow. The Lucas/Howard Willow.

In 1988, Ron Howard directed (with George Lucas as the Executive Producer and story writer) Willow, a classic fantasy flick, full of magic, non-human critters, sword fights, romance, dark and evil threats, etc. It had all the elements of being as much of a breakthrough for the genre as the original Star Wars was for sf, but, somehow, it never did.

There's DVD of the film out, now, and, lying on my sickbed yesterday (and with a nap in-between), I watched it, and remembered again both the parts that I love and the parts that don't quite work.

Warwick Davis is Willow Ufgood, a nelwyn (think hobbit without the furry feet) who inadvertently comes into possession of an incredibly cute little daikini (human) girl. Said infant is, of course, the foretold downfall of the evil Queen Bavmorda, a dark sorceress played to scenery-chewing perfection by Jean Marsh.

Willow's sort of an everyman character. He wants to be a magician, but instead is the low man on the totem pole in his little hamlet, his farm on the edge of foreclosure, the butt of jokes and ribbing by the nasty village headman, Burglekutt. When it becomes clear that Evil Forces are after the baby, Willow and others are tasked by the village High Aldwin (Billy Barty) to take the baby back to the humans.

Willow eventually discovers the baby's true nature, and must act as her protector, alongside rogue swordsman Madmartigan, shapechanged sorceress Fin Raziel, and a pair of comic relief (and French-accented) brownies, Franjean and Rool. Arrayed against them are the dark armies of the Queen, led by the fearsome General Kael, and the comely-but-nasty Princess Sorsha. Sorcery, chase scenes, and big battles ensue.

Will Willow gain self-confidence, learn magic, be successful in protecting little infant Elora Danan, and return to his beloved wife and children in one piece? Three guesses.

The movie was filmed on the cusp of the digital cinematography revolution. The digital technique of morphing was first used here, as Willow changes Finn Razael from a possum to various other animals. Still, there were plenty of old-fashioned effects — blue-screen and oversized sets for the diminutive brownies, bits of optical animation and "blue fire," gorgeous matte paintings supplementing the gorgeous countryside of Wales, New Zealand, and Marin Co. The result is a beautiful film that, at the time, was on the cutting edge, but today feels slightly dated.

A lot of friends of mine at the time criticized Willow as a Lord of the Rings rip-off, but in reality it's more of a swipe from Lucas' Star Wars story — the farmer boy in custody of something that the Evil Guys want who eventually comes to understand the power within him, the handsome rogue who reluctantly goes along on the quest and eventually woos the aloof princess, flight to a safe place that turns out to be a trap, etc., etc. Its lack of success versus Star Wars likely comes from a number of reasons, any of which a curmudgeon like myself could gripe about.