As a seasoned cinephile with decades of movie-watching under my belt, I can confidently say that Warwick Davis‘ frustration over Disney+ scrubbing ‘Willow’ from their platform is entirely justified. Having grown up with the original 1988 film, I can attest to its charm and the impact it had on a generation of fantasy fans, myself included.
Warwick Davis, renowned for his roles in beloved franchises such as Harry Potter and Star Wars, has voiced his thoughts to Disney, reminiscing about the way they chose to exclude the legacy sequel series of Willow from their streaming platform, Disney+. Known to many as Willow Ufgood, a character that shared screen time with Val Kilmer’s Madmartigan in the cherished ’80s fantasy film, Davis is not in agreement with the contentious decision to withdraw the series from Disney+, a platform where most Disney-owned franchises have their second lives (primarily on TV).
Davis shared a behind-the-scenes photo from the Willow series on X/Twitter, and he criticized Disney+ for prioritizing shareholders’ satisfaction over subscribers’ preferences. The caption of his post states, “‘This image surfaced as a memory. A BTS shot from the #Willow Series. It’s unfortunate that @DisneyPlus values shareholders over subscribers in their creative choices. #Justsaying I only ever watched each episode once!’
A year ago, if you hadn’t been peeking out from under your rock, here’s the scoop: The folks at Disney, in a move that raised eyebrows, decided to bring back Davis as Willow in an eight-episode series, exclusively available on Disney+. Critics initially praised the show, but it failed to attract the viewership that Disney had anticipated. To add insult to injury, it was removed from the platform due to cost-cutting measures, vanishing without a trace alongside other content from both Disney+ and Hulu.
The 1988 movie, a timeless fantasy from the ’80s, featured Davis, Kilmer, Jean Marsh, and Kevin Pollak, among others. Directed by Ron Howard, it was initially based on a story by George Lucas, but didn’t quite match the box office success of its contemporaries, earning over $137 million despite a hefty production cost of around $35 million in mid-80s terms. However, when it hit home media, it began to gain traction and eventually developed a decent cult following among ’80s film enthusiasts.
Was ‘Willow’ Worth Revising as a Franchise?
It’s likely that the strong fan base was the reason Disney considered reviving the franchise as a TV series. After all, their partnership with Lucasfilm has led to massive Star Wars productions, which, despite varying critic reviews, have attracted a significant number of enthusiastic fans. However, it’s important to note that Star Wars and Willow are very different entities.
In simpler terms, the Star Wars universe can sometimes seem like a money-making machine, with some tales appearing less creative. The original Willow movie presented an intriguing wizard fighting against an evil witch to protect a baby. However, there’s more depth to the story. Willow was a groundbreaking film in CGI and dark fantasy, but the question was whether viewers would be interested in seeing more of Willow in the context of the series’ narrative. With a production cost of over $150 million, was there enough fan enthusiasm to justify a show based on what felt like a common fantasy plot?
It’s possible that the solution might stem from what Jonathan Kasdan, the series creator, mentioned about the unavailability of Willow. He expressed concerns about various things, but not one of them is about Willow being gone forever. So, while it may not be permanently off the table, if Kasdan’s statement holds true, there could be many individuals who share Warwick Davis’s sense of frustration.
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2024-12-12 21:03