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

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".

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.

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.

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.

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.

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".

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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").

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.

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.

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.