#Queen Bavmorda

[theconjurervfx]

Queen Bavmorda.

[pageofqueens]

Queen Bavmorda

[knight-princess]

Ok so Boorman’s line “Bavmorda knew how to romp” in episode 4 was obvious levity intended to lift Graydon’s spirits but I cannot stress how much I had not seen the movie before watching the series and I was then watching the movie, being introduced to this character:

And suddenly realising the full absurdity and hilarity of Boorman’s line. This is 100% not a character you associate the word “romp” with. So it was kind of like the real life version of me going “hold on I need to look something up. Ok yeah this is funny”

[witchesnet]

Jean March as Bavmorda  Willow (1988) 🎞️️ Ron Howard

[harrycosmo]

Fumito Ueda was inspired by… Willow (1988).

We get a brief backstory at the beginning of Willow with the following text - 'It is a time of dread. Seers have foretold the birth of a child who will bring about the downfall of the powerful Queen Bavmorda. Seizing all pregnant women in the realm, the evil Queen vows to destroy the child when it is born…' The child that the queen is after, a baby girl who has a distinctive marking on her arm, is placed on a raft to be carried down stream, out of danger. Willow finds the baby and throughout the movie, it's his task to protect her from the evil queen.

When Willow first encounters Madmartigan, a 'Lovable Rogue' who teams up with him, he's been imprisoned the same way as Yorda.

An army arrives with soldiers wearing helmets that made me think of the Shaman's Mask from Shadow of the Colossus.

An interior of Queen Bavmorda's castle and one from the castle in ICO -

At Tir Asleen, trolls climb around the ramparts, chasing after our heroes like shadow creatures.

Madmartigan takes down a two-headed monster in a manner I thought only Wander was capable of.

When Willow and Madmartigan arrive at Tir Asleen they find the people there have all been trapped in stone by Bavmorda. Willow is also in possession of magic acorns that turn to stone whatever they're thrown at. The queen in ICO has the power to turn people to stone.

Apparently, Willow did very well in Japan and I think some brilliant young artists and storytellers were in those cinemas.

[roseunspindle]

Queen Bavmorda

[bitchypuppystarlight]

For all of my childhood I though Queen Bavmorda

And Mother Superior

were played by the same actress.

[jackiestarsister]

Reactions while re-watching Willow: Episode 4 “The Whispers of Nockmaar”

Warning: spoilers ahead.

~ Having an entire episode where characters are trapped in a location, especially a haunted castle, is so symbolic and fascinating. St. Teresa of Avila compared the soul to a castle, and that kind of symbolism is also used in stories like “Beauty and the Beast.” The characters are forced to face aspects of their history and identity as they go through the different rooms.

~ This episode provides a lot of backstory, worldbuilding, and connective tissue between the movie and the series.

~ Didn’t Ballantine and the other soldiers survive mortal wounds because of their possession? If so, why are they talking about killing Graydon?

~ I think this is the first time anyone mentions the Wyrm’s vermiscous goo. It’s so quick it’s easy to miss. So that was what went into Ballantine and Graydon when they were wounded? That tracks with how it is eventually shown.

~ Naming a specific forbidden place/action is classic fairy tale setup.

~ “I hope you never have to” = foreshadowing of Kit having to fight Airk in the finale

~ Bavmorda’s promises sound like the baptismal promises made at Easter

~ Kit lighting the tapestry on fire ties in with the Wyrm’s fire imagery

~ When Boorman talks about his partner dying, does he mean Madmartigan? I didn’t catch on to that the first time I saw it.

~ I appreciate Elora talking about the woodcutters and still feeling guilty about them. She seemed to get over it a little too quickly in the previous episode.

~ Elora following a mysterious voice to a dark part of the castle is very much like Sleeping Beauty.

~ Why did Willow leave Graydon unattended? Did Graydon/the Lich fight or frighten him?

~ There is a lot of ambiguity about whether the things the characters see and hear are real, their imagination, an effect of the castle, or the action of the Crone. Airk speaking through Graydon could be real, as he is shown coming out of a cell at the end of the episode. But Mims’ voice seems like an attempt by the Crone to drive a wedge between Elora and Willow.

~ Is that General Kael’s skeleton mask on the ground when they’re leaving the castle?

[evilsapphyre]

I just did Neve’s veilguard hero quest again. And Amelia’s way of speaking and voice nagged at me, and I realized that she really reminded me of Queen Bavmorda.

I have no clue if that was an actual inspiration, but that’s what I was hearing.

[agatharioscoven]

I feel like Sorsha very much had in the forefront of her mind that she didn't want to become her mother when it came to her kids.

Yes Sorsha hurt the kids in different ways, but she very much was trying not to inflict on her children the trauma her mother inflicted on her.

She didn't want to marry Kit off, as you said, the conversation she has with Boorman proves that, but being the Queen of Tir Asleen after her mother she was probably trying to get in everyone's good books.

People will remember how Bavmorda ruled and Sorsha would very much be trying to show the people that she's not her mother.

Ok flaming hot take here: Sorsha was not a bad mother.

I've spent an unhealthy amount of time browsing the tags, reading basically every Kit adjacent fanfic currently available (AND I LOVE THEM DON'T MISTAKE ME), and rewatching the series (on a loop. Gonna boost the view numbers singlehandedly if I have to because I need season 2 and 3 to keep living) and in each and every fan iteration of her character people portray her as emotionally abusive and cold.

In the series we're introduced to her at her choice to marry off her lesbian daughter to a prince of the neighbouring kingdom. I would argue that King Hastur was the driving force behind that arrangement, when we see Graydons flashback of his dad screeching about having an heir with ties to Tir Asleen. Sorsha doesn't want to put Kit through that, as we see her confiding in Boorman. I would argue that if King Hastur had a daughter she would probably have pushed Airk to get married instead but as he had a son and heirs are the point of arranged unions, Kit drew the short straw for her kingdom.

Every attempt she has made towards keeping our young heroes safe (hiding Elora, not telling Jade who she really was) were all acts made out of a genuine place of love. Doesn't mean they were right, particularly in Jades case, and obviously best intentions and all that they still caused harm in the end, but it wasn't manipulative or cruel in intent.

When Sorsha is injured in episode 1 Kit is at her mothers side helping her, they have a real conversation about things when she's recovering and Sorsha treats her with respect.

When Kit sees wyrm-Sorsha she is filled with confusion which is why she isn't receptive to her reaching out initially, but she leans into her mother's embrace after a few moments because she's glad to see her even though part of her knows it's not real.

Anyway it's 1am and I had some thoughts and feelings and basically in the long list of fictional mothers Sorsha is one of the better ones in my opinion. Show me anyone with a truly positive relationship with their mother, this one at least feels realistic.

[bberry005]

ALRIGHT EVERYONE guess what insane thing I did? I made a really rough concept for if the universe of Willow got the full Star Wars-esque saga treatment. I will say it's a lot more focused on characters and general plots than themes, but for anyone who wants to see it, here it is.

The Willow Saga (chronological order)

Kymeria, movies: movie series (maybe a trilogy?) about the fall of the Kymerian Empire and the creation of the Kymerian Cuirass. Could contain all kinds of narrative parallels to the Willow (2022) show.

Elora Danan Origin Story (Movie): A movie about the origins of the myth of Elora Danan and the past Elora Danans and all that fun stuff.

Paladins of Cashmere (series): TV series about the Princess of Cashmere and how she went missing, followed by the Paladins of Cashmere trying to find her. Provides a lot of cool worldbuilding about the other kingdoms in the realm.

Lands End (movie or 3 season series, depending on importance/vibes/plot): a tv show/movie about the war leading up to the fall of Bavmorda. About Madmartigan’s time as a knight of Galladoorn. Emphasis on the Battle of Land’s End because that’s mentioned multiple times.

The Princess (movie, working title): The story of Sorsha Tanthalos, from child to queen.

Willow (1988), movie: Nelwyn farmer Willow Ufgood finds a baby in a river and embarks on a quest to protect her after learning she is Elora Danan. He teams up with rogue swordsman Madmartigan and eventually together they defeat the evil queen Bavmorda and save the realm.

Tales from the Wildwood, TV series: Follows the story of teenage Venoma Scorpia and Thraxus Boorman as the Bone Reavers establish themselves in the Wildwood and the pair seek to find the rest of General Kael’s thirteen children.

The Cuirass, movie: Madmartigan, Allagash, and Boorman on their quest to find the Kymerian Cuirass in order to prevent Elora Danan from having to save the realm alone. Also shows some of life in Tir Asleen immediately after the war. Opportunities for tiny Kit and Airk. Willow (2022), 3 season TV series: Set approximately 20 years after the original movie, Willow (2022) follows Elora Danan as she undertakes her quest to stop the Withered Crone. She is joined by washed up sorcerer Willow Ufgood, a timid prince Graydon Hastur, valiant knight Jade Claymore, criminal and rogue Thraxus Boorman, and a cocky princess Kit Tanthalos.

[halloween-post-its]

Day 16 🧙🏻‍♀️ Bavmorda, Queen of Nockmaar - Willow 🪄⚔️

[mcufan1066]

Kit Tanthalos has elf ears

Over on my Willow Discord server we've been talking about Ruby Cruz's ears.

They're semi-pointed.

So we've come to the conclusion that because Kit is expressing her fey blood, she has elf ears. Elora has the same thing, and possibly Airk. Sorsha doesn't express her fey blood, so she doesn't. Bavmorda, the Witch Queen, wore her hair covering in order to hide her elf ears. Daikini are naturally wary of the fey.

[greencheekconure27]

What happened to the sorcerers?

Bavmorda.

Bavmorda happened.

Given how she ruled it's very clear that any sorcerers that could oppose her got exterminated early on. Remember how the closest one power wise to her we have in the movie is Fin Raziel, who had been imprisoned and turned into an animal for a while at that point.

And the remaining ones were loyal to Bavmorda, so guess what happened when Sorsha took the throne? (Assuming they even survived the massive magical catastrophe at Nockmaar). That's right. Off with their heads.

And I don't mean to portray Sorsha as some vengeful tyrant when I say this.

Because aside from being a pragmatic political decision to deal with a threat to Sorsha's rule, I don't doubt that after Bavmorda's reign of terror the magic ban and the execution/imprisonment of her mages would've been met with massive support if not outright popular demand. Both from the people of Tir Asleen and any neighbours & potential allies.On top of that Sorsha really needed (and no doubt wanted) to distance herself from everything associated with her mother.Her claim to the throne is based on her father the king of Tir Asleen.(Sorsha had a scene finding her father among the frozen tir asleen people which leads to her heel face turn that got cut. it's more clear in the novelization). You know who she doesn't want to be associated with in that situation? That's right, her evil magic wielding mother who enchanted the king and usurped the throne and stole babies and pregnant women.So to legitimise her rule she needs to stress how completely UNmagical she is. Also it may have been a diplomatic necessity. Because Nockmaar&Tir Asleen barely have an army at this point and are surrounded by what no doubt are some very, very angry neighbours. So you know, some guarantee that the whole Bavmorda thing won't repeat himself might be in order.

So the old school of magic gets killed off or dies of old age, and they're not being replaced, because a) magic is largely banned and b) nobody is particularly eager to un-ban it either, because, y'know , it's now largely associated with the mad baby stealing queen that tried to destroy the world and her cronies. Yes there's Willow and Fin Raziel, but they were the divine child Elora Danan's special chosen ones.Legends, not "normal" mages. c) there's almost nobody to find & teach new mages either, so people with magical potential never learn to use it or even find out they have it.

Plus, it's not necessarily that there's no sorcerer at all when Willow asks Sorsha, it's that they have no trustworthy mages that could train and protect Elora Danan. And I don't think Sorsha is inclined to start trusting any new ones besides Fin Raziel (gone, possibly dead of old age and the stress all that magic inflicted on her health) and Willow (as far as she knows, still a novice and a bit of a hack). Any powerful famous mages in the vicinity are gone (see above); there are probably a few local witches etc. out there, but are they qualified to handle this? (And where would be the line between folk belief and magic in this world anyway? Who knows.)

They really don’t make very much about how magic is outlawed do they

[adarkrainbow]

Witches in fairytales: Fairytale-flavored

This post is a companion to my "Melting-pot" one. Here you shall find both A) Witches that are part of a fairytale world, but not based on a specific "type" or pre-existing character and B) Witches that are not from a fairytale work, rather coming from the worlds of fantasy or horror, but who still have a fairytale flavor to them. (And let's be honest, also some I forgot to add earlier Xp)

The Beldam from Coraline:

Yubaba from Spirited Away:

Howl's Moving Castle's The Witch of the Waste

The witch from the animated movie "Brave"

The Grand High Witch from Roald Dahl's "The Witches"

The Sanderson sisters from Hocus Pocus

The Three Mothers in Argento's Suspiria and Inferno (Mother of Tears doesn't count)

Queen Bavmorda from "Willow"

The witch from "The VVitch"

Xayide, from The Neverending Story

The witch from the "Tales from the Darkside" movie (I should have put her next to the witch of Nightbooks)

The Hexenbiest from Grimm

"La Pieuvre" from "La Cité des Enfants Perdus"

And there are so many more... but a Tumblr post must unfortunately be limited!

[deuterosapiens]

Tonight's weird has been the 1985 Disney fever dream Return to Oz, which is a pseudo-sort of-sequel to the much more popular Wizard of Oz.

Oof.

So the film begins as one would expect a follow-up to The Wizard of Oz to begin: with Dorothy undergoing electro-shock therapy to get rid of all of those unpleasant thoughts and dreams of whimsical enchanted lands. Okay, technically a storm knocks out the power just before this can occur, but Auntie Em literally takes her niece to a zap-happy shrink to cure her of her imagination (evidently dreaming of Oz has given the Gray Gale severe insomnia, making her useless at farm work).

Had this failed, I'm sure a lobotomy would have been the next logical course of action.

The mechanics of inter-magical-landial travel are once again quite vague, but after nearly drowing in a river after escaping discount Nurse Rached and discount Doctor Chenard (three years before that movie came out, which surprises me because the opening of this one reminds me so much of Hellraiser II that I would have sworn this to be ripping off that, but it appears inexplicably to be the other way around. Weird.), we find ourselves in an Ozian Desert of Death.

During Dorothy's (weirdly easy) escape of the Deadly Desert, we have our first glimpse at one of our main villains, the Nome King, via one of his servants (discount Link's Awakening's Façade, a few years early). The Nome's are animated in a Claymation style that's weird and unusual, but honestly, this one holds up pretty damn well.

We bare witness to the post-Ozpocalyptic Emerald City, which has been over-run by wheeled creatures called Wheelers which are so damn Eighties in their design, despite the film taking place in 1899. They serve the Nome King or are enslaved to our other main villainous force, The Witch Mombi (pin in that- I had a joke for her- but I cannot mention this oddity of the Wheelers' role without mentioning her, so I'm in something of a bind); it's actually extremely unclear since they seem to revere him, fear her, are enslaved to her, but she is enslaved to him. The dynamics of this one faction are odd, to say the least.

We meet the rest of our supporting cast: a tick-tock automaton named Tik-Tok (fulfilling the role of The Tin Woodsman as our metallic companion); Jack Pumpkinhead (a pumpkin-headed Scarecrow with an Oedipus Complex whose insistence on calling Dorothy "Mom" left me uncomfortable); a sofa construct known as The Gump (a Gump being evidently an Ozian moose-like creature, brought to life by magical means, whose name is a vowel-shift away from being hilarious to me). Also we have a talking Chicken. The Chicken is relevant (and no, Valentine, the Chicken is not the Charm! (I will personally lay down my hand in marriage to the first person who gets this joke without Googling it)). The relevance of the Chicken is just kinda out of left field.

We are introduced to our second reminder of the Eighties-ness of this film: the Witch Mombi who's doing her best glam-rock-on-a-mandolin impression:

Holy shit, that's Bavmorda from Willow! Haha, that's cool (should have recognized her when this actress appeared earlier but whatever...). Okay, technically this Mombi isn't the Bavmorda one: Mombi has a problem with stealing women's heads and swapping hers out with theirs. You do you, Queen.

We escape Bavmombi's castle and fly across Oz on The Gump's back before crashing into the Nome King's mountain. We see the Nome King whose cooler moments are animated in the same stop-motion Clay animation as his Façade-esque servants and whose less cool moments bore me because I can see too much of his actor in them. Weird criticism for me to have, but nothing can ruin a cool design like being forced to see the human beneath an otherwise entirely non-human design.

Oh, during all of this, we were traveling to the Nome King in order to rescue the Scarecrow, captive under the mountain. The Scarecrow's design in this movie is, like many things, well...

You are welcome for that.

This thing does not have friends. This thing is not a brainless figurehead. This thing has a body count. This thing is as much a friendly Scarecrow as Bob Gray is a harmless Clown. It.. moving on.

So, the Nome King has Dorothy play a rigged game to win back the Nightmare King Scarecrow, under the condition that if she fails, her new friends will be turned into ornaments. Mombi arrives to warn The Nome King that Dorothy has arrived, he gets bored and cages her. Threat eliminated with extreme ease (part one).

The Chicken defeats the Nome King because apparently chicken eggs are poisonous to Nomes. Sure, why not? I guess we could also ask why water melts witches. This one somehow feels more contrived. Threat eliminated with extreme ease (part two).

Dorothy steals the Ruby Slippers from the corpse of the Nome King and wishes for the Emerald City and all of its residents to return to normal. Threat eliminated with extreme ease (part the third).

The Scarecrow is in the process of being recrowned King of Oz when Ozma (whose importance was totally made clear to us earlier on, oh yeah, very much so... I am lying. The name is mentioned, but lacking any actual context renders her appearance kind of flat) is revealed to not have been murdered in the Wizard's Coup. Wait... wrong book. Does this count as Out of Oz spoilers...? Moving on. Ozma takes over as Queen of the Land of Oz(...ma) and promises to stalk Dorothy periodically once she returns to Kansas.

I'm not even really joking about that last bit, by the way.

This movie is weird. Do any of the Oz Books actually get this strange and horrifying? I need to know from someone more qualified than myself if this movie is actually accurate in any way to any of the L Frank Baum novels.

If I'm being honest though, I think we need more weird-as-balls children's movies. Things that intend to disturb for the sake of just embracing how disturbing movies can be before they become outright not-for-children.