The Last Unicorn

The Last Unicorn is a 1982 animated fantasy film directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass and based on the novel of the same name by Peter S. Beagle, who also wrote the film's screenplay. The film was produced by ITC Entertainment and distributed by Jensen-Farley Pictures, and was released on November 19, 1982.

Why It's Great

• The animation is beautiful. While not as fluid and lifelike as some of Disney's movies, it gives the story a dream like or tapestry quality. The film was animated by a Japanese studio called Topcraft, the core of which would later form Studio Ghibli.
• The voice cast is superb and understand the story and source material very well. They never talk down to the audience and give the characters great gravitas.
• The characters are interesting and flawed. On the surface many of the characters are fantasy staples, but the movie gives them more depth. The best example is Molly Grue, who is a very tragic character. She mourns her lost youth and innocence, it is suggested she has lived a life of abuse at her bandit husband and she lashes out at the unicorn for her lost hopes and dreams.
• Continuing with the characters, the villains are also fully fleshed out as is their motives. Unlike most other villains from children's movies, they are not driven by a thirst for power or are just plain evil. Mommy Fortuna, the carnival owner, uses her magic on her captive animals to give her patrons what they want to see; terrifying mythical creatures. She knows that her prize collection, the harpy, will one day escape and kill her. She however fully embraces that as, being an immortal creature, the harpy will always remember she was captured, hence giving Fortuna immortality. King Haggard is even more morally ambiguous. He has exhausted nearly every pleasure in the world, even his own adopted son Prince Laird. His only joy now is the unicorns he has imprisoned in the sea, as a reminder of his lost youth. While a threatening character, he is not evil and is clinging to the only cure for his crushing sadness.
• The movie deals with complex themes,including mortality, lost love and broken dreams. Unlike a typical Disney movie, there is no happy ending and the tone is bittersweet. It is a deconstruction of fairy tale tropes. Molly Grue is an older, broken woman and not an idealised young maiden who are often the protagonists of fairy tales. The unicorn falls in love with Laird when she is turned into a human and when returned to unicorn form, she acknowledges she is the only unicorn who will have known human emotions. Both prince and unicorn depart, never to see each other ever again. The wizard Schmendrick performs magic, but knows he will never have true control over it.