The Disney+ revamp of the 80s movie is a sassy, brisk coming-of-age caper. Then the lead actor appears, fantasy gubbins bogs the action down – and the comedy goes awry
Who remembers Willow, the magical quest-in-a-forest film with Warwick Davis in it? It was released in 1988 and hasn’t spawned a spin-off screen universe since – when it has been mentioned, it’s usually in brackets after Davis’s name when he’s doing something else. But in the vicious streaming wars, any viewer-curiosity foothold is deemed invaluable. So here we are: there’s now a sequel in the form of a TV series on Disney+.