We don’t want to deny that Ron Howard’s “Willow” is adventure fun, suitable for families – but not for the little ones, because the FSK has the 1988 fantasy classic, which is based on an idea by the inventor of “Star Wars” George Lucas is only approved for children aged 12 and over.
This is probably due in no small part to the scenes in the film’s big action finale, where the film, which is packed with (state-of-the-art for the time) special effects, could at times be mistaken for a horror film. Many children will probably benefit from this Scene where the troll turns into a slimy mass of flesh, also loosely adapted from John Carpenter’s “The thing from another world“ could come from Had nightmares.
“Willow”: the movie on TV and on Disney+
Don’t know what scene we’re talking about? Then during the night of December 24 to 25 (Merry Christmas!) 0.05 am. Turn on ProSieben and watch “Willow”. – or you can stream the fantasy classic with a Disney+ subscription. The sequel series ‘Willow’ was also released there at the end of 2022, in which Warwick Davis again took on the role of Willow Ufgood. However, the series has since been removed from the streaming service, and since it isn’t available on Blu-ray or DVD (yet), it’s basically nowhere to be seen at the moment.
In the film, Willow ends up after an adventurous journey in the castle of the evil Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh), where the aforementioned encounter with the troll takes place. And although the scene in which the troll dissolves into a steaming ball of mud from which two growths sprout is by far the most disturbing moment in the film, many other scenes in the film’s finale are also not without it. The Troll-Klop turns into a two-headed monster, which comes to a rather spectacular end and will probably also scare younger viewers.
Fun fact: The monster was named Ebersisk by the filmmakers, in honor of the two famous film critics Rogert EBERT and Gene SISKEL – what a wink…
But before the battle with Ebersisk takes place and the soldiers around swordsman Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) turn into pigs in a kind of body horror scene (see news photo above), In “Willow” things are actually quite civilized. Farmer Willow Ufgood, who aspires to become a sorcerer, wants to return the foundling Elora Danan to the human world. Along the way he meets fairies, brownies, sorceresses and the swordsman Madmartigan – and ultimately he must realize that Elora is wanted by the evil queen. Now Willow will do everything she can to protect the little girl…
If you want to know more about “WillowIf you want to know, watch this video from FILMSTARTS video editor Sebastian Gerdshikov, who loved the film since childhood and revisited it in 2022 when the Disney Plus series began: