The Last Unicorn

Rating:
Summary: Unexpected Anime intro
Review: I grew up on this movie. It was a very common thing for my prents to rent this one from the video department for me when they got a movie. At first it might just have been the unicorn. I was little and held interest in them. I look back at it now and see more. It wasn't the typical sugar cartoon of the 80's. Look at the colors, most of this movie is pretty dark.

My parents had always rented it as a cartoon and I once didn't know better either. Looking at story and color style it very easily fits in with many animes. I would love to buy it again but VHS seems like a waste now that DVDs are becoming more easy to obtain.

Rating:
Summary: More like 10 stars...
Review: I used to make my mom check this movie out for me everytime she took my brother and me to rent something. Just recently I saw it on t.v. I felt like I was six again watching that movie. It completely and totally touched my heart. It made me feel like a little girl again with thoes imagitive thoughts that children have. It was an amazing feeling that I got. I just bought the book yesterday and started reading it. It is wonderful too. I can't describe the magical feeling that I got from this movie. I read about it on the internet the other day because I was curious to find out more info on it and a woman wrote about the feeling that I get when I see that movie. She said it would be a shame if not everyone could feel that, but it may not be for everyone. I agree that it would be a shame for someone to never feel that feeling that I have experienced. I would very highly recommend seeing this. It is one of thoes movies that you never forget.

Rating:
Summary: A struggle to survive, while learning to understand...
Review: My favorite story as a kid. A Unicorn, not wanting to believe she is the last of her kind sets out on a journey to find others like her. On the way she meets a bumbling, but good natured, magician, and a hard bitten woman who never stopped believing in Unicorns. Through an accident of magic, she becomes human, and learns what it means to feel love and regret, something none of her kind have ever known or understood.
Simply one of the most wonderful stories ever told.
"They will stare, unbelieving, at the last unicorn!"

Rating:
Summary: A tie-in with my life...
Review: At age 6, my parents rented this video for me, knowing of my love of mythical things. From that day forth, the movie (and eventually the book as well) held a place near and dear to my heart. While I'd never recommend the film for children who aren't used to mild cursing or animated violence, it remains a testament to looking beyond the first glance of things.

Rating:
Summary: The best movie!
Review: The movie is incredible! It has everything, action, humor and romance. A unicorn sets out to find others like her after hearing that she is the last. She travels to King Hagrid's land because he suppsedly has them all. She is joined by Schmendrick & Molly who aid her in her journey. To save her from the Red Bull, who captures unicorns, she is turned into a woman, Lady Amathea. They continue to travel to Hagrid's castle and stay with him for a while. Here Lady Amalthea falls in love with Prince Leer and no longer wants to find the other unicorns. Scmendrick forces her to keep searching and they end up battling the Red Bull. Prince Leer is hurt, and in order to save him Lady Amalthea turns back into a unicorn to battle the Bull and heal him. By defeating the Bull, all of the unicorns are free and Hagrid is destroyed. A happy ending except the unicorn still loves Prince Leer and vice versa, but they can never be together. It is a wonderful tragic love story but with plenty of action. There are like two spots that are kinda scary but the rest is fine, teaching about accepting who you are and loving someone without regard for their appearance. It's a great adaptaion of the book of the same name by Peter S. Beagle, who also wrote the screenplay. The opening song by America is unbelieveable and the animation is great. Worth the buy.

Rating:
Summary: An Unforgetable Fairy Tale
Review: When the last eagle soars over the last crumbling mountain, and thel ast lion roars at the last dusty fountain. In the shadow of the forest, though she may be old and worn, they will stare unbelieveing at the last unicorn. . .
Thus begins the adventure. When two men passing through a forest comment that unicorns don't exist anymore, they are overheard by the resident unicorn.
Deeply troubled by the thought that she might be the last of her kind, she tries to reassure herself, only to be spurred on by the words of a well travelled butterfly, regarding her kind. "They passed down these roads long ago, and the red bull ran close behind them and covered their footprints."
This causes her to leave her home, to travel into the world of man and risk her life, to find out if she is truly the last.
Along the way, she encounters well established characters such as Mommy Fortuna, the old witch, Schmendrick the bumbling but well meaning magician, and Molly Grue, a woman who never stopped dreaming of meeting a unicorn.
With their help, the unicorn continues on her quest, facing the travelling circus, the outlaws, the red bull, and finally, the evil king responsible for the dissapearance of her kind.
Will she rescue the others, or is she doomed to be the last unicorn?

Rating:
Summary: The Last Unicorn
Review: One of my childhood favorites and now one of my daughters favorites. A movie I had almost forgotten. Never again, will I forget. Full of fantacy and magic. Keeps one interested.

Rating:
Summary: The Last Unicorn: A Magical Masterpiece
Review: Peter S. Beagle, one of the modern era's finest story-tellers (and certainly the *premiere* writer of fantasy in contemporary literature), has written in the preface of his "The Fantasy Worlds of Peter S. Beagle" (1978) that,"The Last Unicorn is the book that people know who don't know anything else I've ever written; it will probably haunt the rest of my career..." His prediction has not gone unrealized, and with good reason. The story of a unicorn who fears she is the last of her kind in the world and sets out to find what may have happened to the others is a world class example of a story thoughtfully, intelligently, and unforgettably told.

The same holds true for the screen adaptation of Beagle's novel, primarily for one reason and one reason only: it is based on a screenplay written by Beagle himself. He remains overwhelmingly faithful to the original story, preserving not only the major portions, but the more subtle details as well.

The film explores the relationship between identity and illusion. It is not (repeat NOT) a happy story full of whimsy and silly horned creatures prancing in meadows of dandelions. It explores mythology, reality, art, magic, greed, sexuality, and other such adult themes. It is not a film for the immature (which is certainly not restricted to those who happen to fall under a certain age group) and if you deem it a "kiddie" flick solely because it is animated, be prepared for a rude shock.

The animation, though an early example of the then budding art form of anime, is splendid. The opening sequence features the famous "Unicorn Tapestries" and are expertly combined with the initial credits. More splendid than any other drawn figure in the film, however, is the Unicorn herself. She is shown in the most magically delicate depiction I have ever seen for mythology's most popular and cherished hero.

Part of the magic which the film generates lies in its absolutely fantastic voice performances, led by the peerless Mia Farrow who lends the unicorn a tragic innocence with her emotionally aware dialogue delivery. Christopher Lee is pat perfect as the consciously mad King Haggard. A truly brilliant performance. Angela Lansbury, for all her performances in the past as celluloid's ideal mum/nanny, puts tangible terror and self-delusion in the character of the faded witch Mommy Fortuna. Arkin voices Schmendrick capably, by turn stoic and clumsy, while Tammy Grimes(Molly) puts in yet another terrific performance as a woman wounded, but not defeated, by Fate. Robert Klein is inspired in his cameo as the Butterfly, and Jeff Bridges is suited to the character of Lir.

Though he is a dependable film critic, Leonard Maltin knows not what he speaks of when it comes to the soundtrack of this film. It is brilliant. It is unforgettable. The title track remains one of the most haunting songs ever composed for a feature, and the combined efforts of Jimmy Webb and AMERICA are a listener's delight. Especially memorable are the tracks "Man's Road" and "In the Sea". True, the soundtrack is entirely alien to the realm of show tunes and Broadway-style songs which saturate recent Disney (and wannabe-Disney) animated features, but then this film has a very different sensibility. There is nothing flashy or theatrical about this unicorn story.

Fortunately, the film has grown in popularity in recent years (probably because of the public's growing interest in both fantasy and animation (and anything made during the eighties)) so it may yet emerge from its cult-following to a more mass appreciation.

Rating:
Summary: the last Unicorn
Review: I have been looking for this video for my new gradchild. This is a very good animated flim, that children and adults love in my home. My order was very quick in getting to me. I ordered on a Fri. and get it on the next Wed.The flim was in excelint conidecent. I would like to see this flim and other children flims like this put on DVD in the future. I will order from here again. Thank you

Rating:
Summary: Great but innapropriately rated G
Review: The last unicorn is a breathtaking classic about a beautiful unicorn (mia farrow) who is destined to discover if she is the last of these mythical creatures. The reason that it should be rated PG is because it has the word "damn" in it quite a few times and also the expression "what the hell." Not for small children.