Willow is a 1988 American fantasy film directed by Ron Howard, produced by and starring Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Jean Marsh and Billy Barty. Davis plays the titular lead character and hero in a sword and sorcery setting: a reluctant farmer who assumes a crucial role in protecting a special baby from a tyrannical queen. Industrial Light & Magic created the visual effects sequences, which resulted in a revolutionary breakthrough with digital morphing technology. When it was released in 1988, Willow received mixed reviews from critics, but it was a modest financial success and received two Academy Award