https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-UpwWauZ50 - The Last Unicorn Original Theatrical Trailer
I may describe myself as a three year old trapped in a twenty-three year old's body. I can be described as a Peter Pan like character - I refuse to grow up and remain in the times where I could watch fantasy/Disney films and not be judged for it. Well, I am still that excited little child who is drawn in by the stories and animation displayed on the screen in front of me. I don't care and I would take an animated kids film over a horror/thriller/action film any day.
In this post, I am reviewing the film The Last Unicorn (1982). Based on the book by Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn tells the story of a lone unicorn who is the last of her kind. The unicorns were chased out into the ocean and presumably killed years ago by a mysterious ghost-like creature called the Red Bull.
The unicorn goes on a quest to find out where the other unicorns have gone and whether they can be rescued. Along the way, she meets an amateur magician called Schmendrick, Molly a bandit's wife, gets kidnapped by a carnival owner called Mommy Fortuna and then escapes, is turned human and taken to the castle of King Haggard and Prince Lir, with whom she falls in love.
It is different watching your favourite childhood films as an adult. Many adult themes and jokes which go completely over your head as a child stick with you as a grown up. You wonder how on earth the film makers manage to subtly put them in, but they do. However in this case, the film is based on the book which reading it is aimed at children over twelve, those who are maturing from childhood into adulthood. The unicorn represents purity, specifically the part when the unicorns visited the young girls who would soon be of marital age. These girls of course were virgins and it is nice in a sense that The Last Unicorn displays a sense of innocence and when that innocence is taken away prematurely it can be completely devastating.
The Last Unicorn has an all star cast, Mia Farrow, Jeff Bridges, Christopher Lee, Angela Lansbury, Alan Arkin and Tammy Grimes lend their voices to the colourful collection of characters. The film features the music of the band America (who performed three of the songs on the film's soundtrack) and a glorious, magical soundtrack composed by Jimmy Webb (who wrote all of the songs featured in the film). I am reading the book at the moment and so far the film has stayed true to the book, in terms of dialogue and also characterization. The author Peter S. Beagle wrote the screenplay for the film, so of course the film would stay true to the book. Both the film and the book portray feelings of regret and love, which unicorns cannot express, however this unicorn can. She also confronts the Red Bull who will drive her out to make her species extinct.
The Last Unicorn is one of my favourite films of all time. Not only is the musical score absolutely gorgeous, but it is animated, animated as in hand drawn, which is so much better than computer generated imagery in my opinion. We sometimes miss the days where it took years to painstakingly hand-draw each picture frame by frame. Films such as The Last Unicorn are films that we treasure, they are films we grew up with but even now we can enjoy them and hopefully one day I will be able to enjoy them with my children.
The Last Unicorn is available to buy on DVD. The book is available to buy from any online retailer.
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