Here's a movie that's been rolling around in my head for some time now. I was seriously debating with myself about whether or not to review this film as I'; not sure if many people have even heard of it. But in the end I decided "screw it" and just go ahead with it anyway.
So here's the story. A long time ago, when I was about six or something, my family and I went to visit some relatives on the other side of the country. It was a pleasant enough visit but when we first got there our parents decided they wanted some peace and quiet so me and my brother got sat down in front of the telly with the other kids and made to watch this film from 1982 they had on an old VHS tape. And let me tell you right now, I remember being completely engaged from start to finish with this movie.
But the funny thing about this is, I never actually watched the movie again for a good number of years. In fact, so long ago was my last viewing that I even forgot it's name. It was only a few months ago when I was strolling down the "bargain bin" section of my local DVD store that I happened upon it again and the memories started flooding back.
"The Last Unicorn".
When I saw it there on the shelf I said to myself, "yeah I remember that film being pretty good back then", and I bought it.
And now, after having watched it a couple more times since then, I can honestly say that it's an interesting enough film for me to write a review of. So here we go.
Please bear in mind that this review will contain spoilers for the film. Those of you who haven't watched this film yet but want to, please turn away from this review now.
So the film starts in what I assume is Medieval times, where a pair of hunters are lamenting that they're finding no game to hunt in the forest they're in. One says that because they can find no animals to kill, there must be a unicorn in the woods and that she is the last. As they leave to find better hunting grounds, we find our main lead, the Unicorn (voiced by Mia Farrow) who had been listening in on them. She ponders to herself for some time about the possibility of her being the last of her kind, or whether the men were merely mistaken. During this, she's met by a butterfly (voiced by Jeff bridges), who, like many butterflies it seems, is obsessed with reciting songs. despite growing frustrated with the visitor, the Unicorn learns that he knows of her and her kind. After much probing, the butterfly reveals that the other unicorns of the world were hunted down long ago by a creature known as the "Red Bull".
Upon learning this, the Unicorn vows to leave her forest and not return until she's found others of her kind. After travelling for some time she stops and rests, wherein she's captured by an old witch named Mommy Fortuna (voiced by Angela Lansbury) who then puts her in her circus. It's revealed that ordinary humans cannot see a unicorn's horn, thus making them appear as simple white horses in the eyes of regular people. Because of this, Fortuna uses her magic to create a false horn beneath her real one so that visitors to her circus can see her for what she is. The circus contains many regular animals like snakes and monkeys, which Fortuna has cast spells on so visitors think they are in fact mythical creatures, like dragons.
However, one of Fortuna's henchmen, a magician named Schmendrick (voiced by Alan Arkin) offers to help the Unicorn escape. It's at this point we discover that one of the other captured animals is a real mythical creature, a harpy named Celaeno (voiced by Keenan Wynn). Later that night, Schendrick manages to free the Unicorn but gets into a fight with one of the other henchmen. The Unicorn attempts to free the other animals, including the Harpy, despite Schmendrick's protests. With the Harpy freed, the Unicorn and Schmendrick escape whilst it kills Fortuna and her servant.
Schmendrick asks to join the Unicorn on her quest and she agrees, although reluctantly. During their journey she asks what he knows of the Red Bulla. He explains that it is a beast controlled by a man named King Haggard who lives in a castle by the sea. As they journey on they soon separate when a group of bandits arrive and take Shmendrick prisoner. He's taken to their camp where their leader welcomes him. His companion, Molly Grue (Voiced by Tammy Grimes) isn't so happy about the arrangement and demands that he be sent off. However, she and ther rest are taken aback when Shmendrick uses his magic to conjure images of the cast of Robin Hood.
Much of the bandits go after the images, leaving only the bandit leader and his right hand, who are now rather angry with Shendrick's actions. They tie him to a nearby tree and leave him there. Using his magic, Schmendrick accidentally causes the tree to come to life. It's at this time that the Unicorn returns to free the magician from the tree and the two try to get back on with their journey. However, Molly Grue finds them and becomes rather upset at the sight of the Unicorn, demanding to know why a creature like her never appeared to her when she was younger, like in the fairy tales. This tirade doesn't last long however as molly forgives the Unicorn and joins the two of them.
After much more journeying, the three take rest in the land near to Haggard's castle. But while they sleep, the Red Bull itself makes it's appearance, waking them. Seeing the Unicorn, the Bull charges and attempt to herd it towards the castle. In an attempt to save her, Schmendrick uses his magic to transform the Unicorn into a form that the Bull will have no interest in, that of a human woman. The Bull leaves but the Unicorn is not happy at the situation, with her now being mortal as a result of the transformation. However, she understands that if she were to face the Bull again, she would not beat it. So the three of them continue onto the castle. Here, they meet with King Haggard (Voiced by Christopher Lee) and his adopted son, Prince Lir (again voiced by Jeff bridges). Schendrick names the changed Unicorn as "Lady Amalthea" in order to keep Haggard from finding out who she is.
All three of them enter his service as a means of finding the other unicorns. During their stay there, Lir begins to fall in love with Amalthea. She however is uninterested at first because of her being a Unicorn. But as time passes and she remains human for longer, she begins to forget her true identity and reciprocates his feelings. Haggard meanwhile, reveals to Amalthea that he knows who she is and that he used the Bull to capture the Unicorns long ago. He first encountered them when he was younger and that the sight of them was the only thing to have ever made him happy. So he vowed to have them all, and that they now all dwell in the sea beyond his castle.
After much searching, the group finds a secret entrance to a cave beneath the castle where the Red Bull resides. They attempt to go through when they are joined by Lir, who is now aware of Amalthea's true identity, but still loves her regardless. Haggard attempts to stop them but is unable to do so. Going through the cave, Amalthea worries about the possibility of becoming a Unicorn agaim as she will not love Lir once she changes back. Before long, the group encounter the Bull once more, and this time, it recognises Amalthea for what she is. During their escape from it, Schmendrick uses his magic to restore Amalthea to her unicorn form. Lir, in an attempt to protect her from the Bull, becomes seriously injured. This enrages the Unicorn to the point where she begins to turn the tables on the Bull and drive it back to the sea itself. This leads to all the unicorns freeing themselves from the sea and escaping as the Bull is finally vanquished. The releasing of the Unicorns causes the collapse of the castle and the death of King Haggard.
The Unicorn returns to the others and uses her magic to revive Lir. She simply states that she "remembers" him before running off, much to Lir's dismay. He says his goodbyes to Schmendrick and Molly before riding off himself. Later that night, the Unicorn makes one final visit to her two travelling companions, saying that she fear returning home as she, unlike other Unicorns, has known regret and is no longer like them. With those final words, she says goodbye to them and returns home, ending the film.
So then, after so many years since I last saw this movie, does it still hold up?
First things first. This film is actually an adaptation of a fantasy novel written by acclaimed writer, Peter. S. Beagle. Now let me say right now that I never heard of the book before seeing this film, nor have I read it once in my entire life. I say this because I'm well aware that there are many people out there who are of the opinion that those who review or have something to say about adaptations need to have an understanding of the source material first. If you out there who are reading this believe that I'm somehow "not allowed" to say anything about this movie because I haven't read the book yet, leave. I have little tolerance for that kind of thinking. A film needs to be judged on it's own merits rather than simply how well it stacks against something that came before it. Still. I don't think faithfulness to the source material is an issue here. Sources tell me that Mr Beagle himself wrote the screenplay for this film, so chances are it's as faithful as we could hope for.
Well, let's start with the story. At it's bare-bones, this is a fairly standard fantasy story with plenty of action, magic and all those other things that films like this had at the time. But what elevates a story like this in my eyes is the fact that it takes such a bittersweet approach to the whole thing. There are many messages and themes present in this film that I'm actually surprised to find in a film intended for children. The primary theme shown here is the nature of mortality and immortality. What does it mean to me mortal, or immortal? Which is truly better? Is mortality preferable? The film never gives us any definitive answers to these questions but there are instead many different interpretations by the various characters. Mommy Fortuna for example desire immortality simply by way of being remembered forever by an immortal creature, the harpy she captured. The Unicorns herself is an immortal creature but becomes mortal through the course of the film. Though it's clear that it's not something she would've chosen for herself given the opportunity, she eventually comes to see the value of a mortal life and regrets having to go back to the way things were. And as for Lir, he gains a form of immortality by earning the love of the Unicorn, despite knowing he could never be with her.
I'm not sure that I'm going to be the only one who was thinking of this at the time, but to me, happiness is also a fairly important theme in this movie. And that's odd when you consider that this is not a happy movie. Oh sure you could argue that it has a happy ending with the defeat of the villains and the return of the unicorns to the world. But like I said there is a very bittersweet element to this story. The Unicorn loses the love of her life simply by being what she is. That's pretty upsetting notion from where I'm standing. And the other characters fare no better really. Schmendrick himself states that people don't always know what makes them happy though admits that being a full wizard satisfies him. Happiness is also the primary motivation for the film's main villain, King Haggard. This always struck me as interesting because it's a very unusual motivation to have, yet also a pretty simple one. He's not after wealth or land or power. He's just wants to be happy. Now that's something I think anyone can identify with but what bothers me about that motivation is that we never quite understood why he was never made happy by all the other things he had. Even adopting a son and raising him brought him no joy and we're given no explanation for it.
As a fantasy story there are of course many elements that one would recognise from other fantasy stories. But what makes this film interesting in comparison to those other films is that it acts with a greater degree of self-awareness about it's genre. By this I mean it seems very often in this film that the characters are aware of the fact that they're in a fantasy story. They make references to well-used fantasy tropes like "heroes" and "happy endings" and even mock those concepts on occasions. The best example I can think of to illustrate this would be a line spoken by Schmendrick towards the end of the story. Molly asks him about the possibility that there may be no happy ending, and his response is, "there are no happy endings, because nothing ever ends". That struck me as a rather profound thing to say in a kids movie. And while I appreciate that kind of message nowadays I can honestly say that I think it's a message that's a bit too advanced for the film's intended audience, children. I say this because when I first saw this as a young child, lines like that went completely over my head. However, I at least give it credit in that it obviously means they did not think of their audience as idiots, which is always good.
The ending of this story perfectly embodies the bittersweet feel of the film that I've been talking about. In any other kids' films I've seen it would be expected for the lead female to get together with the princes and live "happily ever after". But here we get the opposite. They don't end up together and in fact never see each other again. That really took me aback when I was younger. In fact I cannot recall a single time in any other kids movie where something like that happens, so I give credit for this film breaking the mould on that one. The whole final few scenes were overall pretty heartbreaking when I get right down to it. I remember distinctly being in tears when I watched this film as a kid when the ending came about, and even now, watching it as an adult, I couldn't stop myself from getting a little teary-eyed. The direction, the dialogue, the music. These elements all combine together to provide one hell of a good, though not necessarily happy, ending. Be warned, if you haven't seen this film yet, be sure to have a few handkerchiefs handy during those last five minutes. Even those I've spoken to who say they hate this film confess to getting choked up at the end. I suppose that's a testament to the quality of the film if it's able to do that.
I'd like to take a moment to talk about the characters for a moment. The Unicorn (or Amalthea, whichever you prefer) is a fairly decent protagonist. It's always been an opinion of mine that a story's main character is much more effective if you put them in a position people can identify with. This film gives us a relatively good example of that. With her supposedly being the last of her kind, it makes sense that she'd put herself on a journey like this, something any one of us would do in her place. She's a character I came to care about greatly as the story progresses. Kind and naive about the outside world and yet with a strong empathy for others. When bad things happened to her in this film, I felt genuinely sad that it was happening. Schmendrick for the most part is a comic relief character and does this role fairly well. If I had to cite one defining moment of comedy for him it would be his line, "my lady you deserve the services of a great wizard but I'm afraid you'll have to settle for the help of a second-rate pickpocket". The timing and delivery of that line had me in absolute stitches. However, I will say now that his reasons for wanting to join the Unicorn on her journey were never clear to me and was always something that bothered me about the character.
Molly Grue was a fairly interesting character to watch. She struck me as a rather world-weary woman who's grown bitter and cynical because of things that have happened to her in her past. There was a moment shortly after her introduction that heavily implied that she's been through some rough times. And while I would have loved for the film to have expanded on that, I'll settle for the fact that it's there in the background. Lir, the prince character, I'm sorry to report, is not as interesting as some of the other characters we've had so far. He's nice enough I'll grant him that. But overall he came across as rather dull. Plus, there were moments when the man seemed completely oblivious to his actions. A perfect example of this was that he attempted to court Amalthea by presenting her with the head of a dragon he killed. I have no idea if this sort of thing is common in fantasy, but that just struck me as incredibly odd. As for his father, Haggard, here we have a much more engaging character. He has a real presence and sense of authority to him, as one would expect of a character voiced by the great Christopher Lee. While he may have come across as a typical fantasy bad guy, his motivations, as I mentioned earlier, were very unique to the character and gave him a depth that I haven't seen in many other children's villains before.
Those of you who are reading this right now are probably wondering if I found anything in this movie that I disliked. Well, yes and no. Yes in terms of the fact that there were indeed things I didn't like about it, and no because I'm willing to forgive those elements in the face of the overall quality of the film. There were moments in the story where I was scratching my head in confusion, wondering why things were turning out the way they did. Just as an example, there was the Red Bull. We never learn what it really is, where it came from or how it came to be under the command of Haggard. I'd have really liked to know how this thing came about. The fact that ordinary people can't see unicorns was a bother also. It was explained that only those who search and believe hard enough, like Molly, can see one. If that's the case then what about the people who visited the circus of Mommy Fortuna? If they go to a circus that boasts about having a real unicorn captive, doesn't that, by default, make them the kind of people who'd believe in unicorns enough to be able to see her?
But for me, the biggest downside to this film was the character of the butterfly. Now don't get me wrong, Bridges does a fine job with the voice and I'm guessing that this is how the character was like in the book, but he always bothered me. His entire presence in the film was just to come along, say something that puts our heroine on the path, and then leave. But he spent much of that time spouting songs. And the songs themselves were the most annoying part as they were all, at the time, relatively modern songs that would not have existed back in medieval times. If they'd gone ahead and had him sing genuine medieval songs, I might have tolerated it. But to have a character in a fantasy film singing songs about "The Muffin Man" really bugs me. It's one of the reasons I can't get into films like "Shrek" or "Aladdin". I just don't like pop culture references in my fantasy stories.
As this is an animated film let's talk about the animation for a moment. The animation and most of the production was done by famed animation studio, Rankin Bass, famous for their other animated works like "Thundercats" and the 1977 "Hobbit" film. The look and feel of this films is very interesting to consider as it was apparently an attempt to combine both western and eastern animation styles and techniques. That becomes very clear during several parts of the story. Characters like Molly or Schmendrick look very western in their designs, and in many cases the overall look of many of the human character had me thinking of drawings by Norwegian artists. But then you have characters like the Unicorn, who, once human, made me think like she just stepped out of an anime. As for her when she's a unicorn, I have to say I liked the design. Whenever I've thought of unicorns in the past I've typically imagined a standards white horse with a horn. But here, the unicorn looks very different, lighter and more delicate. Almost as though it's something not of this world. I felt it was very appropriate for the tone of the film
But then we have the other side of the coin. While I found much of the styles and looks to be impressive or even beautiful, this film also boasts some of the ugliest characters I have ever seen in anything animated. The worst example of this was Mommy Fortuna. I know that being a film intended for children it's tradition to make the villains unattractive, but there is such a thing as overkill. She looks like something someone thought up after waking up from a nightmare. And speaking of nightmares, I can confess to have had quite a few after seeing that Red Bull in my youth. It looked truly terrifying and intimidating. The overall quality of the film's animation is a mixed bag for me. Whilst it's certainly an impressive looking film by my standards and it certainly has a distinctive and memorable look to it, it doesn't quite compare to some of the animation that was coming out at the time. But then again I've heard that this film wasn't working on anywhere near as big an animation budget as some of those other films of the era, so I should cut it some slack.
There are many famous named contributing to the voices here and I have quite a range of feelings regarding all of them. Mia Farrow as the Unicorn does, in my opinion, a pretty good job in her role. I haven't actually seen this actress in any other film so I don't know how her performance compares, but to me, I found it suitable for the role. There was a lightness to her voice, a quality I just can't put my finger on that made me go, "yes, that is the voice of a unicorn". I can't explain it any better than that I'm afraid. For me, her defining moment in terms of quality voice acting had to be the scene where she's transformed into a human for the first time. You really feel the distress in her voice as she comes to terms with what she has become and I just couldn't help but feel sympathy for her in that moment. The other protagonists don't fare quite as well as her but they do alright. Alana Arkin for example, though better than many voice actors I've heard, seems rather flat compared to his co-actors here. Tammy Grimes provides a real element of passion to her character and you really feel like she was putting her all into this role. Lir, as I said earlier, was a rather bland character for the most part and his voice actor, Jeff Bridges, didn't really seem to be giving the Prince character much dedication. In fact I actually remember saying to myself at one point, "he did better as the butterfly", that's how bland he sounded.
But for me, the best voice actor in the whole film had to be Christopher Lee as the villain, King Haggard. As I said before, an actor of his calibre was able to give Haggard a real sense of presence and authority, owing largely to Lee's famously deep voice. But there was also an element of the theatrical about it that took the character to a new level. Like Farrow there was one moment that I can cite as the best example of his work in this film. That scene was his dialogue with the Unicorn in human form, the moment when he confesses to knowing what she is. The entire scene is filled with all kinds of emotions on Lee's part, from a kind of melancholic nostalgia at the thought of how he came to raise Lir, to a great deal of passion and rage as he presses the matter about the Unicorn's identity. If you want a perfect example of the kind of acting that's in this film, look to this scene.
This film also contains a number of musical moments which i will now discuss. Many of the songs in this film, including the opening, were written and sung by then-popular folk rock band, "America". I admit, I've never actually heard any of their other songs so I can't be sure how these ones compare to their regular work. But I confess to liking a great many of their moments in the film. No joke but throughout most of my childhood I used to hum the tune of a song to myself whenever I was bored. For years I could never remember where I'd heard that tune from or what it was even called. So imagine my surprise when I watch this film after all these years and discover that it was actually the tune of the film?s opening song. That's a real testament to how good I think America's songs are in this film if they can leave that much of a lasting impact on me. Many of their musical moments here have a real sense of melancholy to them, which is appropriate given the feel of the film. However, there were also moments of triumph in their work here and there, most notably in the end credits as they repeat the film's opening song. Overall I really like these songs and recommend checking out the soundtrack if you can find one.
Unfortunately for this film, America's songs are not the only songs here. During the latter half of the film, after the Unicorn becomes human, we also get a couple of other songs, sung by Amalthea and Lir. I'm not going to sugar-coat this one Folks, I didn't like these songs one bit. Now don't get me wrong, it's not that Mia Farrow or Jeff Bridged are bad singer, because trust me, I've heard far worse in my time. It's just that whenever I heard them, I couldn't help but think that their inclusion was the result of an executive asking the film's writers to put in something resembling a Disney number. We even get a love song that seems like something Disney would put into one of their lesser movies. And when you compare that to the quality of the America songs, they just didn't feel like they belonged here.
Overall, I'd have to say that I really do like this film. Oh sure, there were plenty of negative things in here that I was able to criticise, things my mind catches now that I'm older that I wouldn't have noticed when I first saw this film years ago. But like I said earlier, those bad points do not detract from the quality of the film as a whole. The story, though simple, was memorable enough to warrant a film like this being made. The pacing could be slow at times but never so much that the whole thing became boring. The characters were enjoyable and memorable and there were plenty of dark moments and good ideas that showed that this was not a film that was looking down on it's young audience. I would honestly put this film up there with some of the better kid?s films. In fact if I'm being brutally honest, I would actually call this one of the best fantasy films I've seen in my entire life. No, really, I mean it. It totally deserves to be watched and I understand completely how it could have left such a big impact on me as a child enough for me to remember it to this day.
If you see this film lying around anywhere, check it out. I promise you will not be disappointed.
So here's the story. A long time ago, when I was about six or something, my family and I went to visit some relatives on the other side of the country. It was a pleasant enough visit but when we first got there our parents decided they wanted some peace and quiet so me and my brother got sat down in front of the telly with the other kids and made to watch this film from 1982 they had on an old VHS tape. And let me tell you right now, I remember being completely engaged from start to finish with this movie.
But the funny thing about this is, I never actually watched the movie again for a good number of years. In fact, so long ago was my last viewing that I even forgot it's name. It was only a few months ago when I was strolling down the "bargain bin" section of my local DVD store that I happened upon it again and the memories started flooding back.
"The Last Unicorn".
When I saw it there on the shelf I said to myself, "yeah I remember that film being pretty good back then", and I bought it.
And now, after having watched it a couple more times since then, I can honestly say that it's an interesting enough film for me to write a review of. So here we go.
Please bear in mind that this review will contain spoilers for the film. Those of you who haven't watched this film yet but want to, please turn away from this review now.
So the film starts in what I assume is Medieval times, where a pair of hunters are lamenting that they're finding no game to hunt in the forest they're in. One says that because they can find no animals to kill, there must be a unicorn in the woods and that she is the last. As they leave to find better hunting grounds, we find our main lead, the Unicorn (voiced by Mia Farrow) who had been listening in on them. She ponders to herself for some time about the possibility of her being the last of her kind, or whether the men were merely mistaken. During this, she's met by a butterfly (voiced by Jeff bridges), who, like many butterflies it seems, is obsessed with reciting songs. despite growing frustrated with the visitor, the Unicorn learns that he knows of her and her kind. After much probing, the butterfly reveals that the other unicorns of the world were hunted down long ago by a creature known as the "Red Bull".
Upon learning this, the Unicorn vows to leave her forest and not return until she's found others of her kind. After travelling for some time she stops and rests, wherein she's captured by an old witch named Mommy Fortuna (voiced by Angela Lansbury) who then puts her in her circus. It's revealed that ordinary humans cannot see a unicorn's horn, thus making them appear as simple white horses in the eyes of regular people. Because of this, Fortuna uses her magic to create a false horn beneath her real one so that visitors to her circus can see her for what she is. The circus contains many regular animals like snakes and monkeys, which Fortuna has cast spells on so visitors think they are in fact mythical creatures, like dragons.
However, one of Fortuna's henchmen, a magician named Schmendrick (voiced by Alan Arkin) offers to help the Unicorn escape. It's at this point we discover that one of the other captured animals is a real mythical creature, a harpy named Celaeno (voiced by Keenan Wynn). Later that night, Schendrick manages to free the Unicorn but gets into a fight with one of the other henchmen. The Unicorn attempts to free the other animals, including the Harpy, despite Schmendrick's protests. With the Harpy freed, the Unicorn and Schmendrick escape whilst it kills Fortuna and her servant.
Schmendrick asks to join the Unicorn on her quest and she agrees, although reluctantly. During their journey she asks what he knows of the Red Bulla. He explains that it is a beast controlled by a man named King Haggard who lives in a castle by the sea. As they journey on they soon separate when a group of bandits arrive and take Shmendrick prisoner. He's taken to their camp where their leader welcomes him. His companion, Molly Grue (Voiced by Tammy Grimes) isn't so happy about the arrangement and demands that he be sent off. However, she and ther rest are taken aback when Shmendrick uses his magic to conjure images of the cast of Robin Hood.
Much of the bandits go after the images, leaving only the bandit leader and his right hand, who are now rather angry with Shendrick's actions. They tie him to a nearby tree and leave him there. Using his magic, Schmendrick accidentally causes the tree to come to life. It's at this time that the Unicorn returns to free the magician from the tree and the two try to get back on with their journey. However, Molly Grue finds them and becomes rather upset at the sight of the Unicorn, demanding to know why a creature like her never appeared to her when she was younger, like in the fairy tales. This tirade doesn't last long however as molly forgives the Unicorn and joins the two of them.
After much more journeying, the three take rest in the land near to Haggard's castle. But while they sleep, the Red Bull itself makes it's appearance, waking them. Seeing the Unicorn, the Bull charges and attempt to herd it towards the castle. In an attempt to save her, Schmendrick uses his magic to transform the Unicorn into a form that the Bull will have no interest in, that of a human woman. The Bull leaves but the Unicorn is not happy at the situation, with her now being mortal as a result of the transformation. However, she understands that if she were to face the Bull again, she would not beat it. So the three of them continue onto the castle. Here, they meet with King Haggard (Voiced by Christopher Lee) and his adopted son, Prince Lir (again voiced by Jeff bridges). Schendrick names the changed Unicorn as "Lady Amalthea" in order to keep Haggard from finding out who she is.
All three of them enter his service as a means of finding the other unicorns. During their stay there, Lir begins to fall in love with Amalthea. She however is uninterested at first because of her being a Unicorn. But as time passes and she remains human for longer, she begins to forget her true identity and reciprocates his feelings. Haggard meanwhile, reveals to Amalthea that he knows who she is and that he used the Bull to capture the Unicorns long ago. He first encountered them when he was younger and that the sight of them was the only thing to have ever made him happy. So he vowed to have them all, and that they now all dwell in the sea beyond his castle.
After much searching, the group finds a secret entrance to a cave beneath the castle where the Red Bull resides. They attempt to go through when they are joined by Lir, who is now aware of Amalthea's true identity, but still loves her regardless. Haggard attempts to stop them but is unable to do so. Going through the cave, Amalthea worries about the possibility of becoming a Unicorn agaim as she will not love Lir once she changes back. Before long, the group encounter the Bull once more, and this time, it recognises Amalthea for what she is. During their escape from it, Schmendrick uses his magic to restore Amalthea to her unicorn form. Lir, in an attempt to protect her from the Bull, becomes seriously injured. This enrages the Unicorn to the point where she begins to turn the tables on the Bull and drive it back to the sea itself. This leads to all the unicorns freeing themselves from the sea and escaping as the Bull is finally vanquished. The releasing of the Unicorns causes the collapse of the castle and the death of King Haggard.
The Unicorn returns to the others and uses her magic to revive Lir. She simply states that she "remembers" him before running off, much to Lir's dismay. He says his goodbyes to Schmendrick and Molly before riding off himself. Later that night, the Unicorn makes one final visit to her two travelling companions, saying that she fear returning home as she, unlike other Unicorns, has known regret and is no longer like them. With those final words, she says goodbye to them and returns home, ending the film.
So then, after so many years since I last saw this movie, does it still hold up?
First things first. This film is actually an adaptation of a fantasy novel written by acclaimed writer, Peter. S. Beagle. Now let me say right now that I never heard of the book before seeing this film, nor have I read it once in my entire life. I say this because I'm well aware that there are many people out there who are of the opinion that those who review or have something to say about adaptations need to have an understanding of the source material first. If you out there who are reading this believe that I'm somehow "not allowed" to say anything about this movie because I haven't read the book yet, leave. I have little tolerance for that kind of thinking. A film needs to be judged on it's own merits rather than simply how well it stacks against something that came before it. Still. I don't think faithfulness to the source material is an issue here. Sources tell me that Mr Beagle himself wrote the screenplay for this film, so chances are it's as faithful as we could hope for.
Well, let's start with the story. At it's bare-bones, this is a fairly standard fantasy story with plenty of action, magic and all those other things that films like this had at the time. But what elevates a story like this in my eyes is the fact that it takes such a bittersweet approach to the whole thing. There are many messages and themes present in this film that I'm actually surprised to find in a film intended for children. The primary theme shown here is the nature of mortality and immortality. What does it mean to me mortal, or immortal? Which is truly better? Is mortality preferable? The film never gives us any definitive answers to these questions but there are instead many different interpretations by the various characters. Mommy Fortuna for example desire immortality simply by way of being remembered forever by an immortal creature, the harpy she captured. The Unicorns herself is an immortal creature but becomes mortal through the course of the film. Though it's clear that it's not something she would've chosen for herself given the opportunity, she eventually comes to see the value of a mortal life and regrets having to go back to the way things were. And as for Lir, he gains a form of immortality by earning the love of the Unicorn, despite knowing he could never be with her.
I'm not sure that I'm going to be the only one who was thinking of this at the time, but to me, happiness is also a fairly important theme in this movie. And that's odd when you consider that this is not a happy movie. Oh sure you could argue that it has a happy ending with the defeat of the villains and the return of the unicorns to the world. But like I said there is a very bittersweet element to this story. The Unicorn loses the love of her life simply by being what she is. That's pretty upsetting notion from where I'm standing. And the other characters fare no better really. Schmendrick himself states that people don't always know what makes them happy though admits that being a full wizard satisfies him. Happiness is also the primary motivation for the film's main villain, King Haggard. This always struck me as interesting because it's a very unusual motivation to have, yet also a pretty simple one. He's not after wealth or land or power. He's just wants to be happy. Now that's something I think anyone can identify with but what bothers me about that motivation is that we never quite understood why he was never made happy by all the other things he had. Even adopting a son and raising him brought him no joy and we're given no explanation for it.
As a fantasy story there are of course many elements that one would recognise from other fantasy stories. But what makes this film interesting in comparison to those other films is that it acts with a greater degree of self-awareness about it's genre. By this I mean it seems very often in this film that the characters are aware of the fact that they're in a fantasy story. They make references to well-used fantasy tropes like "heroes" and "happy endings" and even mock those concepts on occasions. The best example I can think of to illustrate this would be a line spoken by Schmendrick towards the end of the story. Molly asks him about the possibility that there may be no happy ending, and his response is, "there are no happy endings, because nothing ever ends". That struck me as a rather profound thing to say in a kids movie. And while I appreciate that kind of message nowadays I can honestly say that I think it's a message that's a bit too advanced for the film's intended audience, children. I say this because when I first saw this as a young child, lines like that went completely over my head. However, I at least give it credit in that it obviously means they did not think of their audience as idiots, which is always good.
The ending of this story perfectly embodies the bittersweet feel of the film that I've been talking about. In any other kids' films I've seen it would be expected for the lead female to get together with the princes and live "happily ever after". But here we get the opposite. They don't end up together and in fact never see each other again. That really took me aback when I was younger. In fact I cannot recall a single time in any other kids movie where something like that happens, so I give credit for this film breaking the mould on that one. The whole final few scenes were overall pretty heartbreaking when I get right down to it. I remember distinctly being in tears when I watched this film as a kid when the ending came about, and even now, watching it as an adult, I couldn't stop myself from getting a little teary-eyed. The direction, the dialogue, the music. These elements all combine together to provide one hell of a good, though not necessarily happy, ending. Be warned, if you haven't seen this film yet, be sure to have a few handkerchiefs handy during those last five minutes. Even those I've spoken to who say they hate this film confess to getting choked up at the end. I suppose that's a testament to the quality of the film if it's able to do that.
I'd like to take a moment to talk about the characters for a moment. The Unicorn (or Amalthea, whichever you prefer) is a fairly decent protagonist. It's always been an opinion of mine that a story's main character is much more effective if you put them in a position people can identify with. This film gives us a relatively good example of that. With her supposedly being the last of her kind, it makes sense that she'd put herself on a journey like this, something any one of us would do in her place. She's a character I came to care about greatly as the story progresses. Kind and naive about the outside world and yet with a strong empathy for others. When bad things happened to her in this film, I felt genuinely sad that it was happening. Schmendrick for the most part is a comic relief character and does this role fairly well. If I had to cite one defining moment of comedy for him it would be his line, "my lady you deserve the services of a great wizard but I'm afraid you'll have to settle for the help of a second-rate pickpocket". The timing and delivery of that line had me in absolute stitches. However, I will say now that his reasons for wanting to join the Unicorn on her journey were never clear to me and was always something that bothered me about the character.
Molly Grue was a fairly interesting character to watch. She struck me as a rather world-weary woman who's grown bitter and cynical because of things that have happened to her in her past. There was a moment shortly after her introduction that heavily implied that she's been through some rough times. And while I would have loved for the film to have expanded on that, I'll settle for the fact that it's there in the background. Lir, the prince character, I'm sorry to report, is not as interesting as some of the other characters we've had so far. He's nice enough I'll grant him that. But overall he came across as rather dull. Plus, there were moments when the man seemed completely oblivious to his actions. A perfect example of this was that he attempted to court Amalthea by presenting her with the head of a dragon he killed. I have no idea if this sort of thing is common in fantasy, but that just struck me as incredibly odd. As for his father, Haggard, here we have a much more engaging character. He has a real presence and sense of authority to him, as one would expect of a character voiced by the great Christopher Lee. While he may have come across as a typical fantasy bad guy, his motivations, as I mentioned earlier, were very unique to the character and gave him a depth that I haven't seen in many other children's villains before.
Those of you who are reading this right now are probably wondering if I found anything in this movie that I disliked. Well, yes and no. Yes in terms of the fact that there were indeed things I didn't like about it, and no because I'm willing to forgive those elements in the face of the overall quality of the film. There were moments in the story where I was scratching my head in confusion, wondering why things were turning out the way they did. Just as an example, there was the Red Bull. We never learn what it really is, where it came from or how it came to be under the command of Haggard. I'd have really liked to know how this thing came about. The fact that ordinary people can't see unicorns was a bother also. It was explained that only those who search and believe hard enough, like Molly, can see one. If that's the case then what about the people who visited the circus of Mommy Fortuna? If they go to a circus that boasts about having a real unicorn captive, doesn't that, by default, make them the kind of people who'd believe in unicorns enough to be able to see her?
But for me, the biggest downside to this film was the character of the butterfly. Now don't get me wrong, Bridges does a fine job with the voice and I'm guessing that this is how the character was like in the book, but he always bothered me. His entire presence in the film was just to come along, say something that puts our heroine on the path, and then leave. But he spent much of that time spouting songs. And the songs themselves were the most annoying part as they were all, at the time, relatively modern songs that would not have existed back in medieval times. If they'd gone ahead and had him sing genuine medieval songs, I might have tolerated it. But to have a character in a fantasy film singing songs about "The Muffin Man" really bugs me. It's one of the reasons I can't get into films like "Shrek" or "Aladdin". I just don't like pop culture references in my fantasy stories.
As this is an animated film let's talk about the animation for a moment. The animation and most of the production was done by famed animation studio, Rankin Bass, famous for their other animated works like "Thundercats" and the 1977 "Hobbit" film. The look and feel of this films is very interesting to consider as it was apparently an attempt to combine both western and eastern animation styles and techniques. That becomes very clear during several parts of the story. Characters like Molly or Schmendrick look very western in their designs, and in many cases the overall look of many of the human character had me thinking of drawings by Norwegian artists. But then you have characters like the Unicorn, who, once human, made me think like she just stepped out of an anime. As for her when she's a unicorn, I have to say I liked the design. Whenever I've thought of unicorns in the past I've typically imagined a standards white horse with a horn. But here, the unicorn looks very different, lighter and more delicate. Almost as though it's something not of this world. I felt it was very appropriate for the tone of the film
But then we have the other side of the coin. While I found much of the styles and looks to be impressive or even beautiful, this film also boasts some of the ugliest characters I have ever seen in anything animated. The worst example of this was Mommy Fortuna. I know that being a film intended for children it's tradition to make the villains unattractive, but there is such a thing as overkill. She looks like something someone thought up after waking up from a nightmare. And speaking of nightmares, I can confess to have had quite a few after seeing that Red Bull in my youth. It looked truly terrifying and intimidating. The overall quality of the film's animation is a mixed bag for me. Whilst it's certainly an impressive looking film by my standards and it certainly has a distinctive and memorable look to it, it doesn't quite compare to some of the animation that was coming out at the time. But then again I've heard that this film wasn't working on anywhere near as big an animation budget as some of those other films of the era, so I should cut it some slack.
There are many famous named contributing to the voices here and I have quite a range of feelings regarding all of them. Mia Farrow as the Unicorn does, in my opinion, a pretty good job in her role. I haven't actually seen this actress in any other film so I don't know how her performance compares, but to me, I found it suitable for the role. There was a lightness to her voice, a quality I just can't put my finger on that made me go, "yes, that is the voice of a unicorn". I can't explain it any better than that I'm afraid. For me, her defining moment in terms of quality voice acting had to be the scene where she's transformed into a human for the first time. You really feel the distress in her voice as she comes to terms with what she has become and I just couldn't help but feel sympathy for her in that moment. The other protagonists don't fare quite as well as her but they do alright. Alana Arkin for example, though better than many voice actors I've heard, seems rather flat compared to his co-actors here. Tammy Grimes provides a real element of passion to her character and you really feel like she was putting her all into this role. Lir, as I said earlier, was a rather bland character for the most part and his voice actor, Jeff Bridges, didn't really seem to be giving the Prince character much dedication. In fact I actually remember saying to myself at one point, "he did better as the butterfly", that's how bland he sounded.
But for me, the best voice actor in the whole film had to be Christopher Lee as the villain, King Haggard. As I said before, an actor of his calibre was able to give Haggard a real sense of presence and authority, owing largely to Lee's famously deep voice. But there was also an element of the theatrical about it that took the character to a new level. Like Farrow there was one moment that I can cite as the best example of his work in this film. That scene was his dialogue with the Unicorn in human form, the moment when he confesses to knowing what she is. The entire scene is filled with all kinds of emotions on Lee's part, from a kind of melancholic nostalgia at the thought of how he came to raise Lir, to a great deal of passion and rage as he presses the matter about the Unicorn's identity. If you want a perfect example of the kind of acting that's in this film, look to this scene.
This film also contains a number of musical moments which i will now discuss. Many of the songs in this film, including the opening, were written and sung by then-popular folk rock band, "America". I admit, I've never actually heard any of their other songs so I can't be sure how these ones compare to their regular work. But I confess to liking a great many of their moments in the film. No joke but throughout most of my childhood I used to hum the tune of a song to myself whenever I was bored. For years I could never remember where I'd heard that tune from or what it was even called. So imagine my surprise when I watch this film after all these years and discover that it was actually the tune of the film?s opening song. That's a real testament to how good I think America's songs are in this film if they can leave that much of a lasting impact on me. Many of their musical moments here have a real sense of melancholy to them, which is appropriate given the feel of the film. However, there were also moments of triumph in their work here and there, most notably in the end credits as they repeat the film's opening song. Overall I really like these songs and recommend checking out the soundtrack if you can find one.
Unfortunately for this film, America's songs are not the only songs here. During the latter half of the film, after the Unicorn becomes human, we also get a couple of other songs, sung by Amalthea and Lir. I'm not going to sugar-coat this one Folks, I didn't like these songs one bit. Now don't get me wrong, it's not that Mia Farrow or Jeff Bridged are bad singer, because trust me, I've heard far worse in my time. It's just that whenever I heard them, I couldn't help but think that their inclusion was the result of an executive asking the film's writers to put in something resembling a Disney number. We even get a love song that seems like something Disney would put into one of their lesser movies. And when you compare that to the quality of the America songs, they just didn't feel like they belonged here.
Overall, I'd have to say that I really do like this film. Oh sure, there were plenty of negative things in here that I was able to criticise, things my mind catches now that I'm older that I wouldn't have noticed when I first saw this film years ago. But like I said earlier, those bad points do not detract from the quality of the film as a whole. The story, though simple, was memorable enough to warrant a film like this being made. The pacing could be slow at times but never so much that the whole thing became boring. The characters were enjoyable and memorable and there were plenty of dark moments and good ideas that showed that this was not a film that was looking down on it's young audience. I would honestly put this film up there with some of the better kid?s films. In fact if I'm being brutally honest, I would actually call this one of the best fantasy films I've seen in my entire life. No, really, I mean it. It totally deserves to be watched and I understand completely how it could have left such a big impact on me as a child enough for me to remember it to this day.
If you see this film lying around anywhere, check it out. I promise you will not be disappointed.
