The Similarity of "Star Wars" and "Willow" Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Willow is a young man who spends his days toiling on a farm, but dreams of excitement and greater things. Now then, who would be his counterpart in "Star Wars"?

Answer: Luke Skywalker

Just as Luke longs to join the Academy and become a pilot, so Willow longs to become an apprentice sorcerer. Luke compensates for his unfulfilled dreams by buzzing around Tatooine (and bulls-eyeing womp rats in his T-16), and Willow does magic tricks at the village fair. Warwick Davis, the British actor who plays Willow, also had a role in "Star Wars", playing Wicket the Ewok in "The Return of the Jedi".

2. Willow's prospects for excitement increase as it emerges that he has an innate talent for using the power of sorcery; a talent that he must try, as the movie progresses, to develop. His "Star Wars" counterpart also has the gift of using a mysterious source of power. What is that source of power called?

Answer: The Force

Luke's quest begins when he learns about the Force and is entrusted with his father's lightsaber. Willow's begins when he is entrusted with the magic wand of Cherlindrea, Queen of the Brownies. Willow's attempts to learn to use the wand, and unleash the power of sorcery, begin just as badly as Luke's attempts to unleash the power of the Force and come to grips with the lightsaber. Luke gets shot in various places by a remote while training with his lightsaber and Willow blasts himself into a tree with the wand.

As the story goes on, both grow in confidence and ability at using sorcery/the Force.

3. Willow is a Nelwyn, one of a race of little people. The leader of his village, the High Aldwin, is an elderly, bearded sage who is the first to introduce Willow to his gift for using sorcery. Which elderly, bearded sage sets the hero of "Star Wars" on his true path?

Answer: Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan Kenobi, like the High Aldwin, is the first to recognize the young hero's gifts and begin him on his quest, explaining to Luke about the Force and encouraging him to realize his potential. Also, like the High Aldwin, Obi-Wan is present only at the beginning, leaving his young protege to continue training with another teacher.

In Obi-Wan's case, of course, this is because he is brutally killed. The High Aldwin drops out of the picture by the simple expedient of staying home in the village while Willow goes off to face the dangers of the outside world.

4. After leaving the High Aldwin, Willow is guided to another mentor who continues his training, the sorceress Fin Raziel. To find her, he must journey to a lonely and distant island. The hero of "Star Wars" must journey to a lonely, distant planet to find HIS new teacher. What is that teacher's name?

Answer: Yoda

Yoda, when Luke meets him on the swampy planet of Dagobah, surprisingly turns out to be a pointy-eared, wizened little creature. Fin Raziel, when Willow meets her on her island, is under a curse and turns out to be a small, furry animal. Yoda, of course, is not under a curse.

He just naturally looks the way he does. Both Yoda and Raziel complete the training of their young charge, irritably overcoming the first disappointments (Luke fails to negotiate the cave or raise his X-Wing out of the swamp; Willow haplessly changes Raziel into a succession of different animals) until Luke/Willow is ready to take on the enemy.

5. Willow is on a quest. By sheer luck, a baby has fallen into his hands who, it is prophesized, will grow up to defeat the forces of evil. All he has to do is deliver her to the good guys. By sheer luck, the hero of "Star Wars" has also stumbled on a means by which the forces of evil can be beaten. All he has to do is deliver to the good guys the technical blueprints of what fearsome installation?

Answer: The Death Star

In "Star Wars", Luke finds that his inadvertent possession of the plans to the Death Star, with the forces of evil hot on their trail, results in his finding himself on a reluctant quest to take them to the people who will know how to use them and perhaps even restore the Galactic Republic.

In "Willow", the baby, Elora Danan, is destined to be a great leader who will overthrow the powers of darkness and perhaps even restore the Galactic Republic...or whatever the equivalent of the Galactic Republic is in this movie. With the forces of evil hot on her trail, she is discovered by Willow's children. As a direct result, Willow reluctantly finds himself on a quest to escort her to the people who will know how to make use of her talents.

6. Willow is accompanied on his quest by Franjean and Rool, two miniscule Brownies, one taller than the other, who hang around, help out occasionally, and provide comic relief. Franjean, the taller one, is somewhat officious and likes to boss his shorter companion around. Who is his counterpart in "Star Wars"?

Answer: C-3PO

C-3PO, or "Goldenrod" as he is sometimes affectionately known, is a know-it-all and stickler for the rules, who believes that he is in charge of his diminutive friend. Franjean is similar, constantly scolding Rool for, as he sees it, reckless and improper behavior.

There is even a scene where Franjean tries to assert his authority in an argument about the direction in which the two of them are going to go. I was half expecting him to tell Rool that he would be "malfunctioning within a day, you nearsighted scrap pile".

7. And Franjean's companion, the even shorter Brownie Rool, corresponds to which denizen of the "Star Wars" universe?

Answer: R2-D2

R2-D2 is more carefree and good-humored than his taller companion. Rool, similarly, is far less uptight than HIS taller companion. He indulges in fairy love potions and swims around in kegs of beer. But none of that matters - the real questions are these:

1. Why does R2 speak in electronic beeps and whistles? If 3PO can be designed with components that allow him to speak, why not R2? He needs to communicate with people too.

2. Why do the Brownies speak in those exaggerated French accents? Don't get me wrong, I thought it worked very well. But why French accents?

8. Willow ventures into the world of the Daikini, the big people. The first one he meets is the swordsman, Madmartigan. Madmartigan is a scoundrel, an outlaw anti-hero, who seems at first to care for nothing but his own material wellbeing. Who is his counterpart in "Star Wars"?

Answer: Han Solo

Solo, the master spacepilot, is "quite the mercenary", a scoundrel who seeks only to help himself. The exact same thing could be said about Madmartigan the master swordsman. Like Han, Madmartigan cares for no one but himself. Despite being told of the importance of Willow's quest, he bows out at the first opportunity. Like Han returning to take part in the attack on the Death Star, however, Madmartigan redeems himself by finally committing to the quest with the deeply moving words, "I serve the Nelwyn!" Madmartigan's difficult relationship with the Brownies also recalls Solo's clash of personalities with C-3PO.

When Willow first meets Madmartigan, the outlaw's criminal past has caught up with him and he has been suspended in a cage and left hanging there. It doesn't sound as bad as being frozen in Carbonite until you remember that when you're frozen in Carbonite, you don't need to eat or drink. By the time Willow and Madmartigan meet, the Daikini is starting to feel the pangs of thirst real hard.

9. Soon after taking up with Willow, Madmartigan meets Princess Sorsha, with whom he immediately clashes. This initial hostility, however, hides the chemistry between them and by the end of the movie, they are in love. Who does Sorsha remind you of?

Answer: Princess Leia

I'll admit, this one is a bit more of a stretch, because Princess Leia, unlike Princess Sorsha, is one of the good guys. Sorsha, however, begins as one of the bad guys. While Han and Leia certainly bicker, Sorsha in fact takes Madmartigan prisoner, drags him behind a horse, and kicks him in the face. The chemistry, however, is definitely there from the beginning, and the antagonism-developing-into-love theme emphatically recalls the Organa-Solo courtship.

Another echo of "Star Wars" adds to the romance. Joanne Whalley (playing Sorsha) and Val Kilmer (playing Madmartigan) fell in love on the set of "Willow" and went on to marry. Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, meanwhile, allegedly had a brief fling on the set of "Star Wars". Okay, that's not quite as romantic as the Whalley-Kilmer thing. But still.

10. Willow and his friends are pursued by the army of the evil castle Nockmaar. The Nockmaar soldiers are led by General Kael, a towering, black-robed warlord whose face is hidden behind a terrifying mask. That reminds me of a character from "Star Wars"! Which one?

Answer: Darth Vader

Darth Vader, in his flowing black robe and hideous mask, is noted for his cruelty, violence, lust for power, and relentless pursuit of the fleeing heroes. In all this, he mirrors General Kael.

Kael was named after the movie critic Pauline Kael, obviously one of George Lucas's favorite people. Where Vader wears a black face mask that helps him breathe (after an accident involving some lava), Kael has chosen to decorate himself with a human skull (yes, human skull) that he wears over his face. And finally, Kael turns out to be Willow's father. No, not really. I made that up.

11. Like his "Star Wars" counterpart, General Kael is not the supreme leader of the forces of evil. That would be Queen Bavmorda, ruler of Nockmaar, who governs her evil realm with the dark power of sorcery. What is the name of her fellow despot from "Star Wars"?

Answer: Emperor Palpatine

Emperor Palpatine is a master of the same source of power, the Force, that works on behalf of Jedi such as Luke, Kenobi, and Yoda. Queen Bavmorda is a practitioner of the same sorcery that is wielded by Willow and Fin Raziel. Both the Emperor and Bavmorda belong to the dark side, using their gifts as a quick and easy way to gain supreme power. Like the Emperor, Bavmorda is formidable. Unless I missed it, she never blasts anyone with blue-colored bolts of energy.

However, when an army besieges her castle of Nockmaar, it turns out that she is quite safe from their pitiful little band.

In a memorable scene, she transforms them all into pigs, while cackling evilly in a way that would make Emperor Palpatine proud.

12. All Willow has to do is deliver the baby Elora Danan to the good guys. They are to be found at the magical castle of Tir Asleen. When Willow and his friends arrive, however, they find that Tir Asleen has been attacked by Bavmorda and all the people turned to ice. The heroes of "Star Wars" also must deliver their precious cargo to the good guys, who are to be found on a certain planet. When they get there, however, they find it has been destroyed. What is the name of this unfortunate planet?

Answer: Alderaan

When the Millenium Falcon reaches the supposed safe haven of Alderaan, its passengers, believing their quest is over, find that Alderaan has been destroyed by the enemy before they even arrived. The heroes of "Willow", also believing their quest has wrapped up, reach the safe haven of Tir Asleen only to find it has been destroyed by the enemy before they even arrived. You see what I'm getting at here?

Continuing the similarity, both sets of heroes then immediately find themselves under attack by some of the forces of darkness who are still hanging around (by ugly, disgusting trolls in "Willow" and by a TIE-fighter in "Star Wars") whom they successfully fend off only to discover that they are now threatened by the enemy's main force (by General Kael's army in "Willow" and by "that small moon" in "Star Wars").

13. Madmartigan meets up with an old acquaintance, Airk Thaughbaer, who used to be his friend. When he turns to his old buddy for help, however, it quickly becomes clear that the friendship has gone sour. Later, though, it is renewed. In this, Airk resembles a character from "Star Wars". What is that character's name?

Answer: Lando Calrissian

Lando Calrissian, Han Solo's old friend, distinguishes himself by betraying Han to the Empire when Han goes to him for help. Madmartigan, likewise, seeks help from Airk when his old friend turns up and finds Madmartigan hanging in his cage, but Airk is bitter about Madmartigan's abandonment of the castle that they both used to serve, and leaves him in the cage "to rot".

Like Lando and Han, Airk and Madmartigan are later reconciled and find themselves fighting together for the forces of good. Unlike Lando, Airk doesn't make it to the end of the movie - instead, he makes it onto the end of General Kael's sword and dies during the final battle. Madmartigan expresses his newfound friendship with Airk by vengefully striking Kael down.

14. The forces of good launch an attack on Nockmaar and find themselves in a desperate race against time. They must win the battle before Bavmorda can complete a sorcerous ritual to destroy Elora Danan once and for all. The heroes of "Star Wars" also find themselves in a race against time as they battle to defeat the Imperial forces before they can destroy the rebel base. In which star system is it located?

Answer: The Yavin System

The Yavin System houses the rebel base, the last hope of the forces of good. By destroying the Death Star before it can obliterate Yavin, Luke establishes his credentials as a hero and saves the day. Willow, like Luke, saves the day by preventing Bavmorda from obliterating Elora Danan. Willow's contribution is not quite as dramatic as Luke's - instead of blowing anything up, he manages to trick Bavmorda with a sleight of hand, leading her to accidentally obliterate herself.

The showdown at the climax of "Willow" is also oddly similar to that of the "Star Wars" prequel "Revenge of the Sith". As that movie features a fight between the Emperor and Yoda, so "Willow" features a fight between Bavmorda and Fin Raziel. It starts off impressively, with each of them performing imaginative feats of sorcery, but ends up with the two elderly women simply punching each other in the face.

15. Hey, wait! Somebody's missing! Which founding "Star Wars" character, present in all three movies of the original trilogy, have I NOT mentioned as having a counterpart in "Willow"?

Answer: Chewbacca

That's right, there's no parallel for Chewbacca. Perhaps Lucas took to heart the comments of one of his favorite critics, Roger Ebert, who finds Chewbacca annoying. Personally, I still think the same thing I did when I first saw "Star Wars" at the age of five: Chewie is the coolest sidekick of all time.

He should have been in "Willow"! Madmartigan could have had a magical bear for a friend. Or something.

Source: Author Finduskeepus

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor skunkee before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

I enjoyed George Lucas's fantasy movie "Willow", but I couldn't help noticing that many of its plot elements are strikingly similar to "Star Wars". See if you agree! You don't have to be familiar with "Willow", but you do need to know "Star Wars".

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