To take us into the festive period, Disney Plus has returned an old classic to the small screen and we explore Willow’s age rating and parents’ guide to determine if the content is suitable for children.
The sequel series is returning many characters to the forefront of this follow-up, minus Val Kilmer’s Madmartigan. The actor was forced to exit the series during the brunt of the pandemic.
Based on the characters created by George Lucas and developed by Jonathan Kasdan for Disney Plus, the fantasy adventure series Willow is a direct sequel to the 1988 film of the same name by Ron Howard, starring Warwick Davis, Ruby Cruz, Erin Kellyman, Ellie Bamber, Tony Revolori, Amar Chadha-Patel, and more.
Willow | Official Trailer | DisneyPlus Hotstar
Willow Age Rating
Willow is rated TV-14 in the United States and 16+ in the United Kingdom for “sequences of strong violence, action, and some language.”
The original 1988 movie was rated PG, suggesting the series has upped the ante when it comes to mature content.
Violence and suspense, language, adult themes, and sexual innuendo have all been flagged under the rating and we break these down below.
Willow Parents Guide – Is it Suitable for Children?
The main content contributing to the mature rating is the violence with medieval weapons and the suspense that accompanies it. There is reportedly more gore, vomit, blood, dark magic, torture, some jump scares, references to exorcisms and kill shots, combined with scary imagery of demons and other creatures.
The language is fairly mild and not so different from the original film, with uses of “sh*t”, “a**”, “jack***” and more.
Lastly, alcohol consumption is shown alongside a plethora of sexual innuendos compared to the 1988 original. Romantic kissing, shirtless men, references to being naked, and more are in play.
In short, Willow is definitely not suitable for a very young audience, as Raising Whasians compared the series to the adult themes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law mixed with the violence of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
How Many Episodes are in Willow?
Willow is confirmed to have eight episodes and the series debuted with a double bill on November 30, 2022.
After the double-bill, Willow has now settled down into releasing one episode per week for the next six weeks, and the finale is confirmed to take place on January 11, 2022.
Stephen Woolfenden, who worked as a second unit director on the Harry Potter films, will direct the first two episodes of Willow.
Below, we have provided the show’s full release schedule:
Episode 1: The Gales – November 30, 2022
Episode 2: The High Aldwin – November 30, 2022
Episode 3: TBA – December 7, 2022
Episode 4: TBA – December 14, 2022
Episode 5: TBA – December 21, 2022
Episode 6: TBA – December 28, 2022
Episode 7: TBA – January 4, 2023
Episode 8: TBA – January 11, 2023
By Jo Craig – [email protected]
Willow is now streaming on Disney Plus.
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