The Last Unicorn (1982)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Admirable film.

A Major Disappointment

The acting in this movie is really good.

It failed to grab my feelings at too many levels. The only thing I really think was great was the surprisingly beautiful forest landscapes and patchwork montages shown in the beginning of the movie and a couple of the voice actors performances like Christopher Lee and Angela Lansbury. Aside from that it didn't really get to me. The beautiful forest was abandoned pretty quickly and the patchwork did only turn up a few times, so it couldn't save the experience, because the too stilted and awkward character animation and the off-pitch musical numbers sung by the prince and Amalfia/the unicorn really dragged it down. There were some designs like The Red Bull and the unicorn itself which were well done, but the central themes of the movie and the quest the unicorn goes on just isn't consistent in its pacing. It either goes frantically fast or drags itself too slow. I really wanted to like it, but it just didn't have to be so. If you like it it's fine, but that did not do the trick for me.

This film is very special to me. I was given a copy on VHS when I was 6 (around 1987) and I loved it ever since. It was my introduction to medieval fantasy, my introduction to Christopher Lee, my introduction to so many things and the feeling of the film has stayed with me always. I keep it close in my heart. The music in the film is so delicate and beautiful, and the songs by America are stunning. Christopher Lee is perfect. The style of animation is beautiful, otherworldly. Unlike many children's animation films the story is quite dark in places and even perhaps quite adult in some of it's themes. I can't say as a child I would have understood it as such but the FEEL of the film made such an enormous impact on my young brain and I grew to understand it over the years. Even now, new layers reveal themselves to me within it. Magical, sad, with a strong theme about belonging.

A lone unicorn learns from two huntsmen passing through her forest that she may be the last of her kind in existence. Unsure of what to think she asks a passing butterfly what he knows of the fate of her species.When the butterfly backs up what the huntsmen said by telling her that long ago all of the unicorns were hunted down by a red bull and now held captive in a faraway location, this prompts the unicorn to leave her forest in search of answers. In the outside world, only those that believe in unicorns can see her for what she truly is. Those who don't, see only a white horse.Pretty soon she is captured by a witch called Mommy Fortuna and held captive in her travelling carnival. Even though Mommy Fortuna can see the unicorn in her true form, she gives her a false horn. In fact, all but one other creature in the carnival, a harpy, is an ordinary animal with a spell cast upon them so that non-believers can buy into the illusion.Whilst captive, the unicorn meets Schmendrick, a magician who wants to be a real wizard. He too, can see the unicorn in her true form and agrees to help set her free. Once free, the unicorn sets the harpy loose, which then kills Mommy Fortuna and her other assistant leaving Schmendrick free to accompany the unicorn along her journey. In a conversation with the unicorn before her death, Mommy Fortuna alluded to the red bull being a minion of an old king named King Haggard so spurred on by her words, they head in the direction of King Haggard's castle.Along the way they meet a band of travellers, one of whom is a jaded, weary, middle aged woman called Molly Grue, who decides to leave her life behind and join Schmendrick in his bid to help the unicorn.As they approach the castle, the red bull appears and tries to force the unicorn into the sea. In an attempt to save her life Schmendrick casts a spell on her, inadvertently changing her into a human. They re-name her 'Amalthea' and continue onward to Haggard's castle.At first Haggard is unimpressed with his unexpected visitors and only lets them stay because he isn't fooled by Amalthea's outward appearance, though they are on borrowed time because the longer Amalthea stays a human on the outside, the more human she becomes on the inside.And to complicate things further, Haggard's son Prince Lir takes a romantic interest in Amalthea who rebuffs him at first, but slowly starts to return his feelings the more human she becomes.This animated adaptation of Peter S. Beagle's novel of the same name captures the wistful, melancholy tone of the book, perfectly.The music, sang and composed by America, while not to everyone's taste, also adds to this tone wonderfully.

I first discovered this film a couple years ago. I had seen so many people posting images and talking about it that I decided that I should watch the movie myself. It wasn't just curiosity that led me to it, though. My mom, being a fantasy lover, had me hooked on fantasy since I was a baby. Unicorns are by far my favorite mythical creatures. They're graceful, and they are the true symbol of innocence and purity. An animated movie about unicorns seemed promising to me.At first, I thought this film was weird, but in a nice way. I began watching it more and more, and I became more hooked on it. Anyone who knows Rankin Bass movies knows their animation isn't perfect, but at times, it really is nice in this film. The songs are corny, and I often skip them, save one. I usually let the duet with Lir and Amalthea play, since it's a cute song, despite it being incredibly corny. I don't let the songs ruin the movie for me, though. I also like the maturity with this film. The word "damn" is said a few times, and there's a bit of nudity when Amalthea turns human. It looks like a kid's movie, but feels like an adult movie that takes its audience seriously, unlike most of the garbage that's thrown at us today.As far as the story staying true to the book, I discovered the movie first, so I had no idea how the book would be. I did read it, along with the graphic novel, and I must say that this movie came pretty close to the book. I believe it's because the book's author actually helped out with the movie. They did leave out quite a lot, but from what I remember, some things in the book wouldn't have worked in the movie and would've just taken up more time.This movie is by no means perfect, but it certainly is an underrated classic. It's also one of my personal favorite movies. I recommend this movie to any fantasy lover out there, or anyone who enjoys Rankin Bass movies. In case anyone wants to see another unicorn based film, Legend perfectly captures the beauty of unicorns. It's an old 80's film just like this one, and it is actually Tom Cruise's first film. It also has Tim Curry as a freaky looking devil. Definitely check Legend and The Last Unicorn out. They're true classics.