Hi everyone! Welcome back to another session of movie reviewing! Today, we are going to enter the world of fantasy. No, it won’t be Lord Of The Rings, or even The Chronicles Of Narnia. The latter will most likely be saved for sometime in the future. Anyway, today, we will be reviewing an old animated film, by the name of The Last Unicorn, from the 1980s, which has seemed to become a cult classic, and was evidently based on the novel of the same name, by author Peter S. Beagle. Not only that, but, at this point in time, other animation studios were attempting to make animated films that could potentially feel like they might be a little more for adults than kids. Some of these animated films included films like Don Bluth’s 1982 movie, The Secret Of NIMH, from the MGM studio, and Disney’s The Black Cauldron in 1985. Yeah, can you believe that even companies like Disney made a bold move by making a really dark film like The Black Cauldron? Not to mention that that film was the first one to be given a PG rating. But enough of that, and back to talking about The Last Unicorn! In the year 1982, the same year that Steven Spielberg released E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, and Don Bluth released his first full-length animated movie, The Secret Of NIMH, a smaller animation company, by the name of Rankin Bass, released a dark animated fantasy film that acted very much like a Lord Of The Rings, or Chronicles Of Narnia type of film. As I mentioned before, that film is of course the one that we’ll be reviewing, The Last Unicorn.
Plot: When a Unicorn is informed by two human hunters, and a butterfly, that she is the last of her kind, and that others of her species were pushed to the ends of the Earth by a fiery red creature, known as the Red Bull, the Unicorn decides to take on the courage of going, and finding them. With the help of new friends, such as Schmendrick the Magician (Alan Arkin), and a scullery maid named Molly Gru (Tammy Grimes), will the Unicorn be able to succeed in her quest?
Now, if any of you were to hear the name The Last Unicorn, you might think that this is a little girl’s movie that involves unicorns, and maybe barbies, or something like that, would you not? Well, if you’re one of those people who might think that, then worry not. This animated film is far from such a type of film. Oh yes, there are at least unicorns in this film. However, what we have here is a film that is a Lord Of The Rings kind of story. Not only that, but for an animated film, The Last Unicorn is surprisingly very deep, and mature. I remember watching this film a few times as a kid. Watching it again for the first time in years, I was astonished by how much depth there was to this story, the characters, and the fantasy world that this story takes place in. Honestly, for a movie that was released before the 1990s, and onward, that most likely says a lot. Now, I’m sure that the novel had more things happening than this movie did. How often is that not the case? Rhetorical, I’m sure! Nevertheless, The Last Unicorn knows how to pace it’s story. Now yes, there are a couple points where one might feel like the story may drag a little bit. In many cases, it may get annoying when something like that may happen. However, in a unique case like with this film, it miraculously works very well. The only reason why is because it makes up for it with some very witty humor, and other good qualities like that. Fascinating, is it not? Next, there are the characters. Now, unlike with many other animated films, the characters in this film aren’t entirely black and white. Yes, the movie does have it’s good characters, and villains. However, at the same time, most of the characters are very, very complex. What I mean is that people will likely understand why the villains are villains, and same with why the heroes are good guys. Even so, this animated film is not afraid to show that even the protagonists have flaws, and are also capable of making mistakes, big, or small ones. Now, that’s what one should call great writing. Because of reasons like this, each of the characters, both the good guys, and the bad guys, are really memorable. Honestly, even if someone is seeing this movie for the very first time in their lives, they are bound to remember most, if not all of the character’s names by the time they’re done watching this film. That says something, does it not? Not to mention animated films like 2000’s Titan A.E. should have taken notes from a movie like this. I bring that film up mainly because that’s an example of an animated film that had a dark, and mature story, but, unlike The Last Unicorn, had characters that didn’t seem to stand out quite nearly as much. Oh, and let’s not forget the acting in this film. I was surprised to find out the cast for this film. You have Mia Farrow, Alan Harkin, Tammy Grimes, Angela Lansbury, a younger Jeff Bridges at the time, and Christopher Lee. Man, when you take a look at some of the villain roles that Christopher Lee played like the one in 007: The Man With The Golden Gun, Saruman in Lord Of The Rings, and even Count Dooku in Star Wars Episodes 2, and 3, and in this film as King Haggard, one can most likely tell that he seemed to really love playing his villain roles. Oh, and let’s not forget the animation! For a movie that’s made by a lesser known animation company, the animation is superb, whether it be with the characters, both the humans, and the magical creatures, and the backgrounds overall. If you like Studio Ghibli films, that studio apparently helped out with the animation in this studio. Additionally, there are also the songs in this film. The band, America, wrote the songs for this film, while Jimmy Webb composed the score for this film. You may be wondering how either are. Well, the songs are surprisingly very catchy, especially songs like “The Last Unicorn,” “Walking Man’s Road,” “Everything Has Changed,” and “That’s All I’ve Got To Say” to name a few of them. What’s even more fascinating is that not all of them are sung by the characters. In fact nearly half of them are sung by Jimmy Webb, and the band, America. Anyway, the reason that most of these songs end up being memorable is because they help either build up the story, or the characters involved in it. Oh, and there of course is the score. Now, let me ask, some of you guys like video games like the Zelda games, or ones involving video game characters like Marth, or Roy, do you not? Well, if you have, and/or have an appreciation for video games like those, then people will probably love the score for this film even more. For the score, it’s almost like the music seems to have a feel of a Legend Of Zelda type of game, with movie music thrown in the mix. Regardless, people are still most likely going to love the score that helps keep people engaged with this film. Another thing to like about this film is the great amount of symbolism that is in this movie. Man, there are some really clever symbolic moments in this film. Some of these include things like how sorcerers would make illusions of things that wouldn’t actually be real, but would appear real just to make people feel impressed. Yeah, considering that God shows true miracles in people’s lives, while the devil will continue to perform counterfeit miracles in an attempt to draw people away from God, this is a good symbolism to have for a film like this one, wouldn’t you say? There would be that, along with how most humans in this film would think that a unicorn would just be a regular horse. Oh, and most importantly, there was also the deal about how unicorns seemed to represent the light, and all things good in the world, while characters like the Red Bull, and the other villains represented all the principalities of darkness in the world. In addition to all of this, The Last Unicorn has a script that is genius, witty, and sometimes very funny. We’re talking about a script that has dialogue that one may not expect in terms of, for example, how the audience may think a character will say one thing, but says something a little differently than they expect. Again, very clever! Oh, and another thing! The movie also does well with relating the message about how one should not let the distractions of life keep him/her from accomplishing certain tasks that he/she may need to. Finally, people will more than likely love the sentimental moments that are scattered throughout this film, whether they be in the beginning, the middle, or towards the end of this film. The only thing to say is if one can overlook there being a slightly inappropriate moment, or there being one, or two moments that involves cussing, then people are bound to enjoy this film even more. If not, people will most likely still enjoy The Last Unicorn for the most part.
And that’s my review for The Last Unicorn. Yes, I may have enjoyed the movie when I first borrowed it from a friend of mine when I was a kid. However, after rewatching this movie as an adult, I’ve come to realize that this film can easily grow on people either for the first time, or for those who are rewatching it. It has the great feel of a fantasy story, has good animation, very good songs, and some of the most memorable characters in animation history. If you want a film with those qualities, then this film is most definitely worth seeing. The makers of this movie were clearly courageous to go out of their comfort zone, and make a mature kind of story that not even companies like Disney, or MGM seemed to want to go with their animated films, at least not until over a decade later. If you have never seen The Last Unicorn, then wow, you need to. Especially if you love fantasy, and want a really great story, this movie will most definitely be your type of film. You’d be surprised by how well done this film clearly is.
Final Grade: A+
P.S. Happy 40th anniversary to The Last Unicorn come next year!
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 