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greenwoodspicers's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
cupsofteaandnovels's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
lorien13's review
4.0
For those of you who don't know the amazingness of the movie of Willow I suggest you search it out and watch it. You might have trouble as it's only on VHS.
It follows the story of Willow Ufgood, a Nelwyn farmer (aka little person) who gets caught up trying to get a Daikini (average sized human) baby girl to a lost city before the evil sorceress queen Bavmorda kills her. He meets fantasy Han Solo Madmartigan (which is cool this is a story from George Lucas), and a badass princess who can't decide which side she's on, and rescues another sorceress and then there are the crazy brownies who are about 5 inches tall. Also the prophecy isn't about Willow he and Madmartigan just get caught up in this awesome story about sorceresses and princesses and empresses. It's got strong female characters in solid roles, and while Madmartigan might be the greatest swordsman that ever lives Sorsha could give him a run for his money in a duel. And there is no debate, the ladies hold all the magic power and the only king mentioned is pretty dang useless while the ladies, a little person, and someone whose name begins with "mad" save the world all being strung along by a baby girl.
I think it's one of the greatest fantasy movies ever made.
The book however isn't the greatest which is why the 5 out of 5 is wrong, it's 4.5. So many scenes are straight up better in the movie, funnier, and full of more action, horror, sorrow, and just more muchness, to quote Alice in Wonderland. However I think the greatest problem of the movie is there isn't much backstory explored beyond a few lines that don't explain jack diddly. So while it was lacking that final touch that makes the film fantastic it has more of the world.
Characters like Sorsha, Vohnkar, Fin Riziel, even Madmartigan get a boatload of backstory, as well as why Tir Asleen is everyone's last hope. Oh and of course the greatest question of just how a baby is supposed to save the world is sorta answered: she's gonna be an adult when she does it, which is why this is labelled book 0 of a trilogy that was the sequel to the movie the book's based on.
So do I recommend it? Yes. Yes I do. I think you should watch the movie and then read it.
Now I need to find the first book of the sequel series cuz I have 2 & 3 only...
It follows the story of Willow Ufgood, a Nelwyn farmer (aka little person) who gets caught up trying to get a Daikini (average sized human) baby girl to a lost city before the evil sorceress queen Bavmorda kills her. He meets fantasy Han Solo Madmartigan (which is cool this is a story from George Lucas), and a badass princess who can't decide which side she's on, and rescues another sorceress and then there are the crazy brownies who are about 5 inches tall. Also the prophecy isn't about Willow he and Madmartigan just get caught up in this awesome story about sorceresses and princesses and empresses. It's got strong female characters in solid roles, and while Madmartigan might be the greatest swordsman that ever lives Sorsha could give him a run for his money in a duel. And there is no debate, the ladies hold all the magic power and the only king mentioned is pretty dang useless while the ladies, a little person, and someone whose name begins with "mad" save the world all being strung along by a baby girl.
I think it's one of the greatest fantasy movies ever made.
The book however isn't the greatest which is why the 5 out of 5 is wrong, it's 4.5. So many scenes are straight up better in the movie, funnier, and full of more action, horror, sorrow, and just more muchness, to quote Alice in Wonderland. However I think the greatest problem of the movie is there isn't much backstory explored beyond a few lines that don't explain jack diddly. So while it was lacking that final touch that makes the film fantastic it has more of the world.
Characters like Sorsha, Vohnkar, Fin Riziel, even Madmartigan get a boatload of backstory, as well as why Tir Asleen is everyone's last hope. Oh and of course the greatest question of just how a baby is supposed to save the world is sorta answered: she's gonna be an adult when she does it, which is why this is labelled book 0 of a trilogy that was the sequel to the movie the book's based on.
So do I recommend it? Yes. Yes I do. I think you should watch the movie and then read it.
Now I need to find the first book of the sequel series cuz I have 2 & 3 only...
bnielsen214's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
funkyspacerat's review
This is kind of a massive slog, which is a shame because I adore the film it's an adaptation of. It has good moments, and it's cool seeing the stuff that was in the original script draft, but overall I don't think it's really worth it, sadly.
thirty37seven's review
4.0
Biased rating. I didn't think I would care for this much because I've seen the movie more times than I can count but I genuinely enjoyed this book. It was the same story but with some differences.
Mims seems to have some sort of "second sight".
Animals help Willow along his journey, things like giving Elora milk and covering their tracks from death dogs.
Vohnkar's backstory about becoming a warrior and trying to find Tir Asleen.
Fin Raziel's backstory with Bavmorda.
Some of Madmartigan and Airk's history together is described.
Sorcha's father.
Pohas are described as big, bald, tattooed men. Movie fun: In the scene where Willow enters the bar asking for milk for Elora the camera will pan over some of the people in the bar, look for a bald tattooed man, that's a Poha.
Spoiler
In addition to her Nockmaar soldier lackeys Bavmorda has trolls for servants as well.Mims seems to have some sort of "second sight".
Animals help Willow along his journey, things like giving Elora milk and covering their tracks from death dogs.
Vohnkar's backstory about becoming a warrior and trying to find Tir Asleen.
Fin Raziel's backstory with Bavmorda.
Some of Madmartigan and Airk's history together is described.
Sorcha's father.
Pohas are described as big, bald, tattooed men. Movie fun: In the scene where Willow enters the bar asking for milk for Elora the camera will pan over some of the people in the bar, look for a bald tattooed man, that's a Poha.
maryhastoomanybooks's review
5.0
Let me start off by saying that I adored this movie. I loved the soundtrack. I loved the story. I loved the acting. Everything was simply amazing. Well worth watching.
Now... On to the book.
Like any book that is released after a movie, things were added, and things were taken out. The majority of the dialogue was the same, and the storyline was the same. I read this book over the course of three hours during school, the day before Spring Break, since I did essentially nothing in any of my classes.
The whole time, I was enthralled. Wayland Drew wove the story in a way that did the movie such incredible justice. I was sad and happy and tense and relaxed at every appropriate moment, and I really have no complaints about it.
It was odd to me, a few things that were slightly altered for the sake of the novel. But still, it was done so smoothly that it felt effortless. If I were to really complain about anything, it would have to be the length of the book. Yeah, it was long-ish, and maybe this has something to do with how quickly I read it, but the adventure was just there-and-gone. I blinked and all of a sudden Bavmorda went from being inexplicably evil to definitely nonexistent. I missed the story in the movie, the story that was so slightly different that it felt like a long and exhausting, fast-paced adventure, not a road-trip-in-disguise.
Despite that one little tidbit of pickiness, this book is beautiful. Perfect for anyone, whether or not you've seen the movie. Five stars! :P
Now... On to the book.
Like any book that is released after a movie, things were added, and things were taken out. The majority of the dialogue was the same, and the storyline was the same. I read this book over the course of three hours during school, the day before Spring Break, since I did essentially nothing in any of my classes.
The whole time, I was enthralled. Wayland Drew wove the story in a way that did the movie such incredible justice. I was sad and happy and tense and relaxed at every appropriate moment, and I really have no complaints about it.
It was odd to me, a few things that were slightly altered for the sake of the novel. But still, it was done so smoothly that it felt effortless. If I were to really complain about anything, it would have to be the length of the book. Yeah, it was long-ish, and maybe this has something to do with how quickly I read it, but the adventure was just there-and-gone. I blinked and all of a sudden Bavmorda went from being inexplicably evil to definitely nonexistent. I missed the story in the movie, the story that was so slightly different that it felt like a long and exhausting, fast-paced adventure, not a road-trip-in-disguise.
Despite that one little tidbit of pickiness, this book is beautiful. Perfect for anyone, whether or not you've seen the movie. Five stars! :P
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