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Nelwyns Village

Movie Willow Ron Howard (1988)
Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis) lives with her family in a Nelwyns village, far from the world of men. One day, while trying to become the great wizard's new apprentice, Willow sees his destiny change forever. The village was recreated in the gardens of Brocket Hall in England.
Brocket Hall
Brocket Hall by Ian Capper. Wikimedia.

“Magic is the bloodstream of the universe! Forget all you know or think you know. All that your require is your intuition. Now, the power to control the world is in which finger?”

The great Aldwin (Billy Barty)

Even though he was crowned with the massive success of the Star Wars trilogy, George Lucas had a hard time selling Willow to the studios. In the end, one producer chose to take the risk while Lucasfilm provided half the financing.

Determined to make his new project another triumph, the creator of Yoda recruited Warwick Davis, whom he knew on the set of Return of the Jedi, when he played the Ewok Wicket, then Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley. The entire team takes place at Brocket Hall, where Lucasfilm and Industrial Light and Magic craftsmen create the village of the Nelwyns, Willow’s people.

Almost hobbits

Obviously inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien’s hobbits, the Nelwyns live in the forest. In reality, their habitat was reconstituted according to George Lucas’ instructions in the forest adjacent to Brocket Hall.

Even the houses of the Nelwyns are reminiscent of Bilbo’s or Frodo’s. However, the comparison ends there because the Nelwyns are also inclined to practice magic, like Willow (Warwick Davis) himself.

A demanding role

It is at Brocket Hall that Warwick Davis slips into the clothes of the young hero for the first time. A demanding role in many ways, as he explained in 2001 on the Av Club website: “I mean, it was like nothing I’ve done before, in many ways. It was the first role I’d done where the audience would see my face. In roles prior to that, I was behind a mask. And all sorts of physical aspects: I had to learn to horse-ride, and I was terrified of horses before Willow. I had to learn to sword-fight, and perhaps most difficult of all, I had to learn parenting skills, basically. I had to learn how to hold the baby correctly, and how to feed a baby, and how to change a diaper. I had a couple of weeks of baby-parenting skills, which was probably the most difficult part for me. (Warwick Davis was only 17 years old at the time of the shooting).”

240

Willow required the hiring of 240 small-scale actors. A first for the time.

Village des Nelwyns
Village des Nelwyns dans Willow. Tous droits réservés : Lucasfilm Ltd.Imagine EntertainmentMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Village de Willow
Village de Willow. Tous droits réservés : Lucasfilm Ltd.Imagine EntertainmentMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Brocket Hall

A neo-classical country house, Brocket Hall has been listed as a Grade I monument. It is also a famous film location.

Taking place in a park on which buildings were built from 1239, Brocket Hall was bought by Matthew Lamb. The latter built the current building in 1760. Subsequently, the place saw the owners pass by, including the second Viscount of Melbourne, who was Queen Victoria’s prime minister from 1835 to 1841. Brocket Hall became in the 1990s a park and a hotel. He appears in the credits of films like The Queen, Willow, Pride and Prejudice or even Johnny English Reborn.

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By Gilles Rolland

Friday, November 25, 2022

Passionné de cinéma, de rock and roll, de séries TV et de littérature. Rédacteur de presse et auteur des livres Le Heavy Metal au cinéma, Paroles de fans Guns N' Roses, Paroles de fans Rammstein et Welcome to my Jungle : 100 albums rock et autres anecdotes dépareillées. Adore également voyager à la recherche des lieux les plus emblématiques de la pop culture.

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