Editor’s Note: I follow the writing guidelines for inclusion set forth in Respect Ability: “Appropriate terms include little person, person of short stature, dwarf or LP, though it is most respectful to refer to someone just by name. The word “midget” is considered highly offensive. A little person may choose not to identify as a person with a disability or part of the disability community.”
“Little People/Dwarfism”
If you ask me what I remember about Ron Howard’s 1988 movie Willow:
- The prologue was one of the most frightening things I’ve ever seen in my short life up to that point
- The scene where Willow goes against his instinct and loses the competition for apprentice to The High Aldwin:
- And, of course:
When I rewatched it, memories flooded over me. The movie’s a dark fantasy with plenty of weird plots and a great collection of fantasy characters. It’s clunky and weird, and rude, and I love it.
It’s also fairly violent, especially in the prologue, where the black sorceress Bavmorda (March) has imprisoned all the pregnant women in Nockmaar until she finds the one with a particular mark, who is prophesied to bring about her downfall. Then the midwife who smuggles the baby out is mauled by wolves. No, you don’t see the mauling, but this is one of those instances when my own young imagination filled in the blanks and settled into my nightmares.
I took advantage of IMDB to discover that Jean Marsh, the frightening villain Bavmorda, also played Mombi in Return to Oz, the most frightening collector of heads in cinema history. (She was also one of Doctor Who’s Companions (in fiction and real life, and created/starred in the original “Upstairs, Downstairs.”)
But I digress.
Dialogues
Scary stuff:
So that’s the first thing: if your children don’t like violence or can’t handle it, it is not a movie you want to show them. Although most violence plays on that thin line between fantasy and reality, it is a rougher fairy tale than some others. There is also suggested sexual references in the scene where Mad Martigan dresses like a woman to sneak by his lover’s husband. 90 minutes into the movie, Willow uses his wand on a troll and what happens is gross and could be scary, but it is short-lived. The then fight a two-headed monster that breathes fire and eats another troll who’s attacking Willow. The trolls are kind of hilariously costumed: clearly just people in a bad costume, prosthetics, and makeup. Then there’s the little matter of a baby being in danger. Ah, the 80s.
Legacy:
The movie got panned by critics as derivative of previous Lucas films and has turned into a bit of a cult classic. It feels more than that, though. Bring up Willow among the 80s kids and there’s an unabashed love, almost a precious memory of the film.
In this NY Times interview with George Lucas on the movie’s supposed failure, he pointed out something that might account for my attachment: “In the end, only the women and one dwarf are important in ”Willow,” no matter how many enemies the warriors kill. The climactic fight is between sorceresses, and the talisman over which they are fighting is a baby girl.”
That fact, plus Sorsha as such a beautiful, rugged, tough but susceptible to romance warrior….yeah, I get it now. She’s also my first memory of the woman in a fantasy romance kissing the man first. It’s an enemies-to-lovers story that still gets me.
Before we watch it as a family though, I’m anticipating the potential questions that we’ll face.
Dwarfism slurs, and microaggressions:
In Willow, actual dwarves play the dwarves in the story. Lucas actually wrote the movie for Warwick Davis while he was playing the Ewok Wicket in Star Wars. Although the Nelwyns live happily secluded in Nelwyn Valley, other cultures refer to them as “pecks,” which is understood to be a slur. This is a chance to talk to your family about not only dwarfism and how to treat anyone with a physical difference, but it also opens a conversation about using hurtful language.
Children love to test the boundaries of what they can say and how they can make grown-ups react. Understanding that words are powerful and can hurt others is a long road. Whether they’re young and you’re just at the start of it or it’s been brought up before, Willow shows how slurs can be tossed off without much thought from those who use them, and how the people at the receiving end of a slur feel.
We often see Willow’s reactions when he is called “peck.” Since children are likely to feel affection for the title character — who can stop from loving Warwick Davis, seriously? — it’s a good time to have them stop and use emotional language to show how Willow feels. How would they feel if they made someone feel like that? Is there ever a good time to make someone feel like that? How must it feel to be in a position where those around you think nothing of calling you a slur?
For older children, this could be an inroad to introducing microaggressions and implicit bias, which is discussed in more detail here.
Representation:
This movie also shows great representation in media and respectful casting. Seeing themselves as heroes onscreen made a huge difference for little people as well.
“Willow has a positive message to all people who are different, but especially so to people with dwarfism. In this film, little people get to play people. Not goblins, not creatures, but people with hopes and dreams like everyone else. This movie shows the determination and struggles that come with being a little person in a big person’s world. Most of all, the message that Willow sends to people who may be different is to believe in yourself, and who knows, maybe you will change the world.”
-Laura Cannata, Twin Cities Geek
Peter Dinklage has used his fame in Game of Thrones to advocate for casting dwarves in roles not necessarily written for them, and also urges against stereotypes. The conversation is still complicated and ongoing, and Warwick Davis playing a hero in Willow was an excellent step.
Prophesies:
Whenever there’s a movie about a prophecy, we inevitably talk about destiny, fate, and why anyone would believe in all that. It’s interesting to pinpoint the difference between fantasy ideas of prophecies in films versus living your life by astrology or under the flag of fate and “everything happens for a reason.” One is a storytelling device for dramatic effect; the other is often a hurdle on the path to critically thinking.
Rewatching Willow brought up a lot of fascinating memories. From fear to love to thrills and back to fear before triumph, I’m sure we’ll introduce the kids to it over their winter break. It’s also a pretty straight line from 1988 to the new Willow series on Disney+, although how violent the show will get is still to be determined.
READ MORE: New on Disney+: Zootopia+ and the Lessons in Zootopia the film
Image Credits: LucasFilm
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