Jensen Farley Pictures/Rankin-Bass, 1982
Voices of Mia Farrow, Jeff Bridges, Alan Arkin, and Tammy Grimes
Directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass
Music and Lyrics by Jimmy Webb
Tales of high fantasy, of swords and mages and knights and barbarians, became big business in the late 70's and early 80's. In the wake of the overwhelming success of Star Wars and the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, sword & sorcery novels that were previously considered the realm of sci-fi geeks were now enjoyed by people who had never even read the Lord of the Rings series. Rankin-Bass, who had done film versions of Return of the King and The Hobbit, now turned their attention to a later fantasy novel. The book of the same name debuted in 1968 and was shopped around to several studios, Rankin-Bass was the last they talked to and finally signed on. How does this darkly romantic tale of unicorns and magicians and red bulls look today? Let's start with the unicorn of the title (Farrow) and a singing Butterfly (Robert Klein) who sends her on her way and find out...
The Story: After much cajoling, the unicorn finally goes out into the world to figure out what happened to others like her. She first encounters Schmedrick (Arkin), an incompetent magician, at the sideshow of old witch Mommy Fortuna (Angela Landsbury). He rescues her from Mommy's cage, and later from bandits. The head bandit's frustrated lover Molly Grue (Grimes) agrees to join them as well.
They do find the legendary red bulls who drove the unicorns to the sea, but it's attracted to the Last Unicorn. Schmedrick turns her into a human to hide her from the bull. He names her the Lady Amalthea when they're found by Prince Lir (Jeff Bridges) and his father King Haggard (Christopher Lee). It was Haggard who ordered the unicorns driven to the sea for his amusement. Schmedrick and Molly look for clues that will lead them to the bull and how to fight it...but meanwhile, Amalthea is falling for Lir, and becoming more and more human and less like a unicorn...
The Animation: While not on the line with even what Disney was doing at this point, it's still some of the best work to come from Rankin-Bass. Most of it was animated by Toei Animation in Japan. Not only had many of these people animated some of the most popular animated shows in Japan, but some would go on to form Studio Ghilbi, creators and animators of some of the most beloved anime ever. The wide eyes and flowing lines of Rankin-Bass are here augmented by some still-impressive special effects, including the red bull and the unicorns in the sea.
The Song and Dance: Dark and dreamy, this has been a favorite of me and my sisters since we were very little. Farrow is perfect as the wide-eyed mythical creature who is delicate enough to make a willowy human, yet tough enough to take on a long journey cross-country. Arkin and Grimes also do very well as the magician who discovers he's better at this whole magic thing than he thought and the cook who wishes she could have seen the unicorn in her younger, more innocent years. Lee's King Haggard is appropriately frightening, and the red bull is the stuff of nightmares when we finally do see it.
Favorite Number: The dreamy title song has become a bit of a standard over the years; here, it's heard in the opening and closing credits, performed by country band America. They also perform "Man's Road" twice, as the Unicorn as traveling alone early in the film, and later when she's close to her goal with Molly and Schmedrick. "In the Sea (Where Do Unicorns Go?)" has them questioning what happened to those unicorns as the now-human Amalthea tries to remember her goals...but only knows she's in love with Lir. Bridges and Farrow duet late in the film as Lir tries to tell Amalthea how much he loves her, and "That's All I've Got to Say."
What I Don't Like: First of all, despite the G rating, this is a very dark movie. There's some violence with the red bull, especially in the end when Lir nearly dies, and quite a bit of cursing that's retained on most prints currently available. Mommy Fortuna and her sideshow and Captain Cully and his men have grotesque designs that are the stuff of nightmares, and there's Mommy's gruesome fate. Farrow does well in the book sequences, but she can't sing, making her solo "Now That I'm a Woman" flat and a bit painful. Bridges can't sing, either, and it does no favors to the otherwise-decent "All I've Got to Say." Some of the dialogue gets pretty stiff too, once again mostly towards the end in the castle.
The Big Finale: If you have young fantasy lovers who are up to some of the rougher moments and characters, they'll find a lot to love in this unique romantic fable.
Home Media: Easily found on all formats, often for under $10. Look for the remastered "Enchanted Edition"; earlier video and DVD releases cut some of the nastier language. Many online streaming companies have it for free, including Tubi.
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