- Title: Willow – The Gales
- IMDb: link
So if Disney+ is resurrecting failed franchises more than 3 decades old and turning them into TV-series, does that mean I can expect a Condorman series in the near future? Set a generation after the events of 1988’s Willow, we are introduced to Princess Kit (Ruby Cruz) and Prince Airk (Dempsey Bryk), the spoiled children of Queen Sorsha (Joanne Whalley) and Madmartigan on the eve of Kit’s arranged wedding to Prince Graydon (Tony Revolori) when her brother is kidnapped by shadowy figures. Proving Willow’s (Warwick Davis) prophecy of a coming darkness true, the Queen sends out a party to rescue her son led by her daughter, Kit’s friend/lover Jade (Erin Kellyman), Graydon, and a thief (Amar Chadha-Patel) who is pardoned for guiding them on their journey.
Despite needing to fit within the existing (and a bit convoluted) mythology of a film forgotten by most, but beloved by a loyal following, and still offer an easy enough path for new viewers, “The Gales” succeeds better than I expected with an introduction of evil, a kidnapping, and a quest for a group of talented, but unproven, young heroes. A young kitchen maid (Ellie Bamber) in love with the prince also signs up for the quest. Despite being told to turn back by the other members of the party, she’ll earn her place when Willow pronounces her to be the future Empress of Tir Asleen who was secreted away since the time of her birth and hidden in plain sight.
