Psychotronic Cinemavision: The Last Unicorn

A female unicorn (Mia Farrow) discovers that she is the last of her kind and that all the other unicorns have been captured by an entity called the Red Bull.  Upon learning this information, she goes on a quest to find her fellow unicorns and free them.  On the way she is joined by Schmendrick (Alan Arkin), the magician, who is basically incompetent at his chosen profession, and Molly (Tammy Grimes), the lover of a forest brigand, something akin to Robin Hood.  When the trio approach the castle of King Haggard (Christopher Lee) the Red Bull attacks and in order to save the unicorn, Schmendrick turns her into a human mortal female.  Once safe, they seek refuge in the castle where the now human unicorn going under the name Lady Amalthea falls in love with the king’s son, Lir (Jeff Bridges).  Amalthea begins to question whether she wants to return to being a unicorn as her love for Lir grows and she begins to lose that mystical side of herself.  But once they have learned where the Red Bull’s lair is, they go to confront it and in doing so change all of their lives forever and finally freeing the captured unicorns adding magic back to the world.

The Last Unicorn is a 1982 animated fantasy adventure film directed and produced by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass.  The pair are best known for the stop-motion animation Christmas films like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman. The film is written by Peter S. Beagle who also wrote the 1968 novel that it is based on.  Beagle also co-wrote the 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings.  The Last Unicorn hit theaters on November 19, 1982, and was met with mainly positive reviews.  Critics praised the cast, writing and storyline while noting that the animation is not at the same level.  The film garnered a cult following and in 2003, the Online Film Critics Society ranked it as 96^th greatest animated film of all time.  And although the reviews were generally positive, the film was a financial failure, grossing only $6.5 million in the United States.

There are few films that give me goosebumps when I just think of it and this is one of them.  Where the animation may not have been as fluid as some other films, the artwork and visual style I found stunning and magical, with dark hues accented by the vibrant light coloring of the unicorn and the dark red and orange of the bull.  The story is well told with some very dark and deep themes for a children’s movie. With aspects like the Red Bull symbolizing fear and cowardice and the theme of being your own person and loving who you love, no matter what.  These are all valuable lessons that were subtly and not so subtly taught through the animated medium.  With the screenplay being written by the same person who wrote the source novel, the story remains true to itself and as critic Colin Greenland wrote in Imagine magazine, “Beagle has kept all the good bits, including the jokes, the smart, wry dialogue, and many bursts of brilliant imagination…”.

But we can’t discuss what makes this movie so amazing without talking about the stellar cast.  Mia Farrow (Rosemary’s Baby) adds so much depth to what could otherwise have been a vapid character.  Alan Arkin and Jeff Bridges both do outstanding jobs and Tammy Grimes added so much to a character who was purposefully given no real back story or history.  Other great voice performances were given by Angela Lansbury, Christopher Lee, Paul Frees, Rene Auberjonois in various roles throughout the film.  I was nearly thirteen years old when I sat in a darkened theater and watched this film for the first time and that experience has left an imprint on me for my entire life.