The Last Unicorn

The Last Unicorn

by
rating:
list price: $19.98 USD
Amazon price: $16.99 USD

Amazon Review:A story line that truly deserves the A-list treatment, The Last Unicorn is memorable for its attempts to stay faithful to its origins, the Peter Beagle novel of the same name. The animation is vintage Rankin/Bass, and that's too bad; but there's an undeniable strength in this tale and telling. A unicorn (Mia Farrow)--she believes herself the last--searches for any others of her kind, while avoiding the malevolent Red Bull, the agent believed to have destroyed the rest of the herd. Along the way, she is mistaken, ignored, attacked, and obsessed about, finally finding help from a magician named Schmendrick (Alan Arkin) and a knight named Prince Lir (Jeff Bridges). A haunting film that pays homage to mythology and the people who love it. --Keith Simanton

Anhata's Review:

A classic book turned into a classic movie. I love the Rankin Bass animated movies, especially this one. The story is good for young and older kids, the supsenseful scenes are not too scary and hardly have any real violence, and the soundtrack is by America.

A unicorn discovers by chance that she is the last of her kind and sets off on a quest to find out what happened to the others. She ends up with several adventures and a few companions by the time she gets to her destination, the castle of an evil king who has imprisioned the rest of her kind in the sea. She must find a way to free her brothers and sisters, but it's not easy, and once her quest is complete, no one will ever be the same.

There's a harpy, a witch, a fledgling wizard, a flaming bull, bandits, a prince, a talking piratical cat, a rather mad, giggling skeleton, and magic.

I watched this movie when I was a little girl and there are several parts of it that have stayed with me ever since. The cat's "purr, purr" for instance, and the astounding imagery of hundreds of unicorns appearing on the crest of the ocean waves among the seafoam as the waves break on the shore. It's a must for any young one who love unicorns, magic, or fairy tales. The ending is bitter-sweet and lovely.

I got this for my DD's seventh birthday and I enjoyed watching it with her as much as she did. Probably more, truth be told.