Jonathan Kasdan Wanted The Willow Series To Remind People Just How 'Terrifying' '80s Kids Movies Were
Ron Howard's 1988 fantasy adventure "Willow," starring Warwick Davis as the titular character and Val Kilmer as the medieval swashbuckler Madmartigan, won the hearts and minds of kids and young adults who wanted a little more magic in their movies. The story about a sorcerer's apprentice who embarks on a quest to find a home for a noble Daikini baby is instantly relatable, mainly due to Davis's genuine performance and the feeling of overcoming evil against all odds. "Willow" is a tale of triumph, but it's also a frightening tale filled with dark armies, evil queens, hungry bridge trolls, and two-headed fire-breathing dragons. The world of "Willow" is a dangerous one, and young Willow Ufgood must overcome his amateur mistakes (of which there are many) to become the competent, brave wizard he was always meant to be.
It's widely recognized today that kids movies used to be a whole lot scarier and, generally speaking, far more unsettling in the 1980s. The concept of death was always looming, and the villains felt like they could inflict real damage. The diabolical circus in "Something Wicked This Way Comes" really did have the potential to destroy a small town, and the giant apathy cloud called The Nothing in "The NeverEnding Story" could possibly wipe out the wonders of our imagination. Did parents actually watch "Labyrinth" or "The Dark Crystal" before they let their kids check them out? Even the animated world was darker and more threatening thanks to heartbreaking films like "The Last Unicorn."
Granted, the new sequel series to "Willow" on Disney+ is not as foreboding as Howard's film. All the same, showrunner Jonathan Kasdan (who co-wrote "Solo: A Star Wars Story") has managed to retain some of the wickedness that made kids movies in the '80s so disturbing.
'A sense of scale that was a little terrifying'
In an interview with Collider, Jonathan Kasdan made a great point that touched on why some of the kids movies of the '80s seemed so frightening. Kasdan compared the events in "Willow" to the arduous journey of Atreyu in "The NeverEnding Story," stating that he linked both adventure stories together in his mind when developing the new Disney+ series:
"'NeverEnding Story' was huge to me in this period, and I pair it with 'Willow' in a lot of these conversations because one of the things that both were [sic] Ron [Howard] and Wolfgang Peterson gave each of those movies was a sense of scale that was a little terrifying when you were a kid."
Kasdan, it would appear, was referring to the fear induced by the films' awe-inspiring, vast fantasy landscapes and how they seemed insurmountable to humble '80s movie heroes like Atreyu and Willow. When Atreyu reaches the Southern Oracle and tries to pass through the Sphinx Gate in "The NeverEnding Story," the oracles tower over him. It's incredibly daunting and his life is at stake. Similarly, once Willow reaches the castle gates of Tir Asleen, the mission to scale those walls and defeat the evil Queen Bavmorda appears to be an impossible task.
Kids who grew up watching Willow face incredible odds saw a little of themselves in the role, largely because they were watching a character who was smaller in stature refuse to let fear get the best of him.
What are you afraid of?
Jonathan Kasdan went on to talk about how his childhood fears hugely influenced the way he went about crafting the legacy story of the "Willow" Disney+ series. He also astutely pointed out that Warwick Davis's physicality and size helped make him even more relatable to kids:
"Warwick fundamentally adds to this, too, because he was this little person in this world of giant people. And I always thought that, fundamentally, I related to Willow as a kid."
Bringing back Wolfgang Peterson's dark fable "The NeverEnding Story" into the conversation, it's clear Kasdan equates Willow and Atreyu in his mind. The moments of horror and tragedy in both their stories have made an indelible mark on his psyche, it seems. He explained:
"I related to Atreyu as this kid who's up against giant forces, and likewise, was this tiny little scrawny, skinny boy against, really, in that movie, sort of almost Lovecraftianly cosmic forces, and the Nothing, and all that stuff, and that hugely impacted, certainly, what I was afraid of growing up and then how I thought of this show."
The "Willow" series created a bridge between the grandeur of the 1988 film with the smaller scale formula and inherent limitations of a television series (as highlighted in Josh Spiegel's /Film review). Willow is a part of a much bigger ensemble cast this time out, but Davis still manages to steal the spotlight. Part J.R.R. Tolkien and part George Lucas, the character of Willow Ufgood has become something of a bridge as well, connecting hobbits and the high fantasy of "Lord of the Rings" with the more modern fantasy of "Game of Thrones" and the renowned hero Tyrion Lannister.
Both the "Willow" series and film are now streaming on Disney+.