Willow

Willow (1988) starring Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Warwick Davis, Jean Marsh. A little person named Willow (Davis) becomes the protector of a baby who is destined to overthrow the Evil Queen (Marsh). Of course the Evil Queen is pursuing the baby throughout her kingdom with the object of killing her before she can grow up. Willow gets the help of a human-sized person named Madmartigan (Kilmer), who turns out to be a great warrior. He also has magical help from the queen of the fairies. This film is targeted mostly at a young audience, not adults, but suffers from the flaw of having some scenes that might be too intense for younger viewers. For adults, it is a little too silly to be taken seriously. The movie's main distinction is that it contains the first known instances of morphing, wherein a character changes shape onscreen -- e.g., from a human to a tiger, or the like. The Extras  make much of this fact, but of course it seems rather passé now. (Subtitles in English are available, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B