Revisited this animation from my childhood today. Sad how many people overlook this movie, thinking it's a childish, girly 'little pony' movie. It so isn't! If anything, this is one of my favourite movies of all time. The vivid and sometimes frightening characters still continue to haunt me. This is a 1982 animated film adaptation of Peter S. Beagle's fantasy novel. It's be known to be a very accurate portrayal of the book. The book itself was published 40 years ago and is still his most popular and well-loved novel.
Taken from http://utd500.utdallas.edu/~hairston/lastunicorn.html, cos I'm too lazy to write my own synopsis right now:
The story follows the Unicorn (she is never given a proper name) who leaves her enchanted forest where she has lived forever, only to find there are no other unicorns left in the world. She goes on a quest to find what has happened to them and is joined by an incompetent wizard, Schmendrick the magician, and a middle-aged scullery maid, Molly Grue. Together they travel to the castle of King Haggard having heard that he and his magical creature, the Red Bull, have imprisoned all the other unicorns. Before they arrive, the Red Bull appears and begins to chase the Unicorn. Schmendrick saves her by turning her into a human woman, thwarting the Bull which can only see unicorns. The Unicorn is revolted at having been transformed into a mortal shape, but Schmendrick explains it is the only way they can gain entrance to the castle. He gives her the name Lady Amalthea and the three of them reach the castle. King Haggard recognizes her for what she truly is, but allows them to stay as his new "playthings". The king's adopted son, Prince Lir, falls in love with Amalthea and devotes himself entirely to trying to win her love. The rest of the novel follows Schmendrick and Molly's effort to find the lost unicorns before Amalthea loses her memory of being a unicorn and becomes completely a mortal human being.
Because it is about a unicorn and a quest for magic, most people mistakenly dismiss it as nothing but a children's story (it's amazing how much of the best and deepest of the world's literature gets classified as children's stories, folk tales, and myths so they can be safely ignored).In reality it is a story that can be read on many levels, simply as an adventure story or more deeply as a fantastic exploration of the nature of truth, beauty, reality, immortality, and the purpose of life. Peter S. Beagle himself has written that the book is sort of "a personal I Ching, which gives me no advice, no handy warnings, but slowly tells me things I had forgotten, or hidden from myself."
I remember first watching this when I was around primary 2 or 3 in Leigh Lyn's house (my then neighbour and best friend in USJ 2). Then again on TV3 in which I videotaped. Being still little and all, I found the red bull, and the scene where the harpy devours Mommy Fortuna (oops! spoiler!) particularly frightening. Even now I still watch those scenes with a slight twinge. I love the beautiful, old-school Japanese style animation. Coupled with fantastic screenplay, voice actors (Mia Farrow and Christopher Lee among them) and hauntingly beautiful music, it really set the tone for the story.
Watching The Last Unicorn made me feel strangely melancholic. I Don't know why. It reminded me that the world is cruel and impermanent, yet in it love grows. This is a story of an immortal being, immersed in the world yet detached from it. In a twist of fate, she becomes a fragile mortal who learns to love and regret.
To love is to let go, to sacrifice, and to cherish the memory.
Taken from http://utd500.utdallas.edu/~hairston/lastunicorn.html, cos I'm too lazy to write my own synopsis right now:
The story follows the Unicorn (she is never given a proper name) who leaves her enchanted forest where she has lived forever, only to find there are no other unicorns left in the world. She goes on a quest to find what has happened to them and is joined by an incompetent wizard, Schmendrick the magician, and a middle-aged scullery maid, Molly Grue. Together they travel to the castle of King Haggard having heard that he and his magical creature, the Red Bull, have imprisoned all the other unicorns. Before they arrive, the Red Bull appears and begins to chase the Unicorn. Schmendrick saves her by turning her into a human woman, thwarting the Bull which can only see unicorns. The Unicorn is revolted at having been transformed into a mortal shape, but Schmendrick explains it is the only way they can gain entrance to the castle. He gives her the name Lady Amalthea and the three of them reach the castle. King Haggard recognizes her for what she truly is, but allows them to stay as his new "playthings". The king's adopted son, Prince Lir, falls in love with Amalthea and devotes himself entirely to trying to win her love. The rest of the novel follows Schmendrick and Molly's effort to find the lost unicorns before Amalthea loses her memory of being a unicorn and becomes completely a mortal human being.
Because it is about a unicorn and a quest for magic, most people mistakenly dismiss it as nothing but a children's story (it's amazing how much of the best and deepest of the world's literature gets classified as children's stories, folk tales, and myths so they can be safely ignored).In reality it is a story that can be read on many levels, simply as an adventure story or more deeply as a fantastic exploration of the nature of truth, beauty, reality, immortality, and the purpose of life. Peter S. Beagle himself has written that the book is sort of "a personal I Ching, which gives me no advice, no handy warnings, but slowly tells me things I had forgotten, or hidden from myself."
I remember first watching this when I was around primary 2 or 3 in Leigh Lyn's house (my then neighbour and best friend in USJ 2). Then again on TV3 in which I videotaped. Being still little and all, I found the red bull, and the scene where the harpy devours Mommy Fortuna (oops! spoiler!) particularly frightening. Even now I still watch those scenes with a slight twinge. I love the beautiful, old-school Japanese style animation. Coupled with fantastic screenplay, voice actors (Mia Farrow and Christopher Lee among them) and hauntingly beautiful music, it really set the tone for the story.
Watching The Last Unicorn made me feel strangely melancholic. I Don't know why. It reminded me that the world is cruel and impermanent, yet in it love grows. This is a story of an immortal being, immersed in the world yet detached from it. In a twist of fate, she becomes a fragile mortal who learns to love and regret.
To love is to let go, to sacrifice, and to cherish the memory.
