Willow Celebrates 25th Anniversary With A Blu-ray Release

Warwick Davis in Willow.
(Image credit: United International Pictures)

"Courage, Willow!"

The Hobbit's arrival in theaters will likely increase our appetites for great fantasy adventure stories. So, the timing for the Blu-ray debut of the 1988 film Willow seems perfect. More intentionally, its arrival next March also coincides with the film's 25th anniversary. In addition to sharing some of the details and box art for the Blu-ray, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has also released a trailer for the Blu-ray release.

Directed by Ron Howard and written/produced by George Lucas, Willow stars Warwick Davis as Willow Ufgood, a husband, father and aspiring wizard who sets off to return a baby to her people and becomes her protector when he learns she's destined to end the reign of the wicked Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh). Val Kilmer plays Madmartigan, a brave but sometimes selfish warrior whose path (or cage) crosses with Willow's on his adventure.

Those of us who grew up loving this movie aren't likely to need much persuasion to pick up the Blu-ray + DVD Combo-pack when it hits shelves March 12, 2013, but Fox does a nice job of reminding us of some of the story's highlights with this trailer for the Blu-ray.

Willow really did have a little something for everyone, with magic, adventure, romance and a great story about a small man who takes a big, life-altering adventure.

The trailer also gives us a glimpse of some of the special features. Among the new features included are deleted scenes with comments from Ron Howard and Warwick Davis' personal video diary. Here's the list of bonus features included on the set.

Special FeaturesWILLOW is presented in widescreen with 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio (Lossless). Special features include:? NEW Willow: Deleted Scenes with Ron Howard? NEW Willow: An Unlikely Hero Personal Video Diary of Warwick Davis? The Making of an Adventure with an all new introduction from Ron Howard? From Morf to Morphing with an all new introduction from Dennis Muren? Matte Paintings? Easter Egg

Those of us who have the Willow Special Edition DVD set have seen the "Making of an Adventure" and "Morf to Morphing" featurettes, as both were included on the previously released DVD set, however the introductions from Ron Howard and special effects artist Dennis Muren are new, we'll get a little something extra out of those features.

Here's a look at the box art for the Blu-ray.

And while the release isn't until March, Amazon is already offering the set for pre-order.

Kelly West
Assistant Managing Editor

Kelly joined CinemaBlend as a freelance TV news writer in 2006 and went on to serve as the site’s TV Editor before moving over to other roles on the site. At present, she’s an Assistant Managing Editor who spends much of her time brainstorming and editing feature content on the site. She an expert in all things Harry Potter, books from a variety of genres (sci-fi, mystery, horror, YA, drama, romance -- anything with a great story and interesting characters.), watching Big Brother, frequently rewatching The Office, listening to Taylor Swift, and playing The Sims.