Ron Howard's 1988 fantasy film "Willow" was a striking hit when it was first released, mixing Tolkien-like wizard magic with traditional "Star Wars"-like story beats. The title character (Warwick Davis) was an innocent Nelwyn sorcerer who finds an abandoned human infant in his remote village. This infant was born with a mystical birthmark, implying that she would bring about the downfall of the evil Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh). The birthmark also explains why hellhounds seem to be on its tail. Willow decides to leave home and return the baby to her parents. Along the way, he'll fall into the company of a wisecracking criminal named Madmartigan (Val Kilmer), and several other co-adventurers besides.

The film was a notable hit, making over $137 million on a $36 million budget, although it wasn't a runaway success. It did, however, face still competition that year from films like "Big," "Rain Man," "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?...