Two distinct types of brownie arrows were used in the movie. The footage of the
brownie actors was shot separately from the footage of Willow and Meegosh, and special
effects work integrated the different films. The arrows that I've designated as
live-action arrows were used in the Willow and Meegosh portion of the scene.
Live-action arrow #1 is exactly four inches long; the arrowhead is sharp and heavy, and sticks
in a tabletop when dropped. Some of these arrows were thrown by the production crew
during filming. The arrows that stuck in Nelwyn clothing didn't have an arrowhead
because it worked better that way, and the ones that stuck in tree trunks DID have
the arrowhead. Live-action arrow #2 is one of the headless arrows, and was described on
eBay as a wooden arrow with a tape tip.
The arrows in the brownie footage were a different matter. The full-size brownie
actors would need full-size arrows to look right on screen, and that would
be dangerous. According to Cinefex #35's article on the movie's special effects:
Animation also supplied tiny arrows for a sequence in which the
brownies launch an assault on Willow and Meegosh. "Since no one wanted to contend
with arrows putting out expensive lights and destroying bluescreens," said
[Animation Supervisor Wes] Takahashi, "all the brownies were shot just pantomiming
the act of pulling arrows out of their quivers and firing. So we were responsible for
animating the arrows. The model shop came up with some small-scale arrows - about
two inches long - and we put them on model movers underneath our animation cameras.
Not only did they have to fly with a lot of blur, but they also had to look like they
were being drawn out of quivers and placed in bows. Bruce Walters had to program all
that, as well as determine the specific trajectory for each arrow. And sometimes,
not only were the brownies pulling arrows out of their quivers and firing, they
were also running down branches and logs at the same time. So it was quite a
feat."
However, it appears that the brownie actors did at least hold some full-sized
arrows. Live-action arrow #3 is a full-sized arrow - see how it compares to the
flooring underneath it. Since it looks remarkably similar to the miniature
live-action arrows (#1 and #2), it's most likely a brownie arrow rather than
a Nockmaar or Galladoorn arrow.
In June 2003, an auction on eBay offered three arrows that were said to be Willow
props; these are pictured above as Group #1. In response to my question, the seller wrote:
"Thank you for your interest in my ebay auction for the three
miniature arrows from the movie WILLOW. My arrows were also made in the ILM model shop,
and sent down here to VCE, who did the optical visual effects of the arrows flying
through the air in front of a blue screen, which was then composited with the
live action."
The Cinefex quote makes it sound like ILM did all the animation themselves, and
the movie's closing credits make it clear that
Wes Takahashi and Bruce Walters are ILM employees. On the other hand, the closing credits
say "Additional Optical Effects by Visual Concepts Engineering" which matches
the VCE in the seller's letter. The larger arrow in the Group #1 plastic case looks
like it's about two inches long as described in Cinefex, and the fletching (feathers)
looks sort of like the screen captures. The seller's knowledge of the
special effects certainly counts in their favor; the Cinefex reference is obscure, and if
someone was peddling fake arrows it's not likely that they would know about the animation work.
So are the animation arrows shown above the real thing? Although I was uncertain at
first, I'm inclined to believe it now. Several months after the Group #1 auction,
a similar large arrow was was offered on eBay by a
completely different seller, who described it as an original miniature arrow from Willow
that was made by Industrial Light and Magic for some miniature shots. It was additionally
described as handpainted and very detailed.
Two different sellers offered these
arrows with compatible descriptions, which indicates that they're the real thing even though
the big one looks like a rubber child's toy to me. Obviously none of these arrows look
much like the live action arrow, but this is appropriate; the screen captures indicate
that the two types were quite different.
