Review of The Last Unicorn (1982) by Jon T — 06 Jan 2012

Produced by Rankin-Bass Productions and animated by Japanese animation studio Top Craft (who would gain greater notoriety for Hayao Miyazaki's NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND), this animated feature - based on a sci-fi novel by Peter S.

Beagle (who wrote the screenplay for this film) is a rather old film, but it's quite a compelling story. It's about a unicorn - the last of her kind (duh!) who teams up with a bumbling wizard and a fiery female bandit to the castle of a miserable king where she falls for a prince.

Although a box office failure in its 1982 release, THE LAST UNICORN has become a cult classic of animation, particularly fans of Anime. Personally, I cannot believe it has taken me this long to see this film.

It is indeed an entertaining movie, with rich, shadowy colors, a great voice cast (Angela Lansbury as a raspy old hag and Christopher Lee as the mean king being standouts), and a haunting title track by America.

The only thing that left me puzzled was the identity of the movie's other villain, the Red Bull. I couldn't tell whether he was the creation of the king or just an evil creature, but I felt very confused.

I also felt that the "love" subplot felt very rushed; Prince Lir's screen time is so scanty that it's a bit difficult to see why the unicorn ends up falling for him. In spite of my quibbles, though, I ultimately enjoyed the film.

This is a story that deserves the term "essential viewing", mainly for animation buffs. For fans of fantasy, folklore, animation, or imagination, THE LAST UNICORN could very well be worth checking out.