The Last Unicorn (1982) (25th Anniversary Ed.)

A Great Story, but...

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Feb 24, 2004 | 1 out of 1 found this The Last Unicorn (1982) review helpful

Pros: Musical background, characters, and styling

Cons: Animation technique, plot, and deserving of PG rating

I first saw this movie when I was 10 when it aired on cable. I have always liked this movie and avidly support anyone interested in seeing it to give it a try. However, I feel a more thorough review is needed over the "all 5 star" reviews t...hat have been done.Firstly, the music is fantastically arranged, composed, and performed. Jimmy Webb composed some of the most memorable music seen in film for The Last Unicorn, ranking in my estimation with Alan Menken, Richard Rodgers, and Richard Sherman as far as musical talent. (note that Alan Menken is the only person alive today to have personally won 8 Academy Awards) America did a fabulous job with the title piece, "The Last Unicorn". It's well done enough that it can carry without the movie, a must in my book to establish good musical styling.The characters as portrayed in the film are believable and well written. They have flaws and quirks, even among the heroes. The voice casting was nothing short of a "who's who" list of voice character actors. More than the short list that has been described so far, there are many well-known actors in this film. Paul Frees (best known as Boris Badenov from the original "Rocky and His Friends" and Professor Ludwig Von Drake, he is also the "Ghost Host" from Disney’s Haunted Mansion) as the master magician Mabruk, Keenan Wynn (aka Alonzo Hawk from many Disney films) as the scoundrel Captain Cully, Rene Auberjonois (Odo from Deep Space 9) fills in the voice of the laughing skeleton, Don Messick (who did hundreds of voices for dozens of Hanna-Barbera and Warner Brothers cartoons like Boo-Boo Bear and Hamton Pig) as the pirate-ish cat that that "never gave anyone a straight answer", Theodore Gottlieb (aka. Brother Theodore best known for his "dark humor" and listed in "Who's Who in Comedy" circa 1992) as Ruhk the hunchback of Mommy Fortuna's carnival, and Jeff Bridges (who was also acting the lead character Kevin Flynn in the movie TRON at the same time) as the voice of Prince Lir. In addition to Angela Lansbury, Mia Farrow, Alan Arkin, and Christopher Lee, these were the reason why the characters felt so real. All of these talents had spent years honing the art of voice acting.The basic styling of the film is what you'd expect on a much higher budget film. Jules Bass did a wonderful job given the lack-luster response of his two previous animated attempts into children's literature, The Hobbit and The Return of the King. Many felt his attempt to translate yet another fantasy style book into animation would translate as poorly as has the others, but Bass had learned a lot in those earlier films and it shines through in The Last Unicorn.Now the downsides...Unfortunately
, it seemed the spent all their budget on the cast and production and had little left over for actual cell animation. The poor repetitive animation style of The Hobbit and ROTK are continued here, translating into a poorly animated translation of great acting and overall style.IMHO, the plot was left vacant and predictable. (even at age 10) I knew what was going to happen before it did during most of the film and as such, many of the plot twists ended up as "plot bends." The original book was held to faithfully enough, (having read it in later years) but the problem with the thin plot meant for children was compounded by the awesome and often terrifying visualizations of the film, leaving it too intense for small children and too thin for teens. It needed a higher rating, PG was called for here, animated or otherwise.Overall, I rate the film highly. The plot and story line won’t surprise you, but as the saying goes, "Knowing the destination isn't the same as taking the trip." Read more Less

What is wrong with you people?

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Oct 21, 2002 | 1 out of 1 found this The Last Unicorn (1982) review helpful

My vocabulary lacks the requisite articulation to fully explain how horrible this movie is. My girlfriend told me how much she liked it when she watched this movie as a child, so we rented it and watched it together. We both couldn't watch the movi...e to its completion and returned the film back to its dusty shelf in blockbuster the same day. I can imagine that the only way that reasonable people could like this movie is the sense of nostalgia they attribute to it from their childhood. Otherwise, I'm embarrassed to say I've actually watched this movie. Read more Less

family magick

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Feb 22, 2007

Pros: good story

Cons: none

this is a fun family film. I have loved this movie for years & hear that a live action vertion is being worked on.

The Last Unicorn's faults and featur

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Mar 22, 2004

Pros: For the day, it is a good trasfer with little loss of color from 1982.

Cons: Poor quality paid to the overall transfer.

While the film was mostly made for children, the transfer from film to video was done in an assembly line fashion. With the transfer, there are numerous artifacts in the film and luminous issues. While the Last Unicorn is no academy award winning ...animated classic, there is still a respect to be paid to the media and art form. The expence of a restoration tranfer these days can consum a budget just as if it were a first drawn feature. But in the case of The Last Unicorn, there was little needed to really do the film justice in the transfer. Still with the lack luster of quality, there is still great enjoyment for those who wish to travel down memory lane or for those who are young enough to appreciate any animated feature. Read more Less

Cried in Kindergarten!!

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Mar 3, 2004

Pros: Very Enchanting & Touching Story

Cons: It's Sad!!!

I saw this when I was 4 and when it was showed in my Kindergarten class I cried and cried . This movie was why I joined Blockbuster (the local stores didn't have it). I will certainly be getting it on DVD so I don't have to wear our a VHS t...ape. Twenty years later, I still love the movie and it still has the magic of when I first saw it. Read more Less

My favorite of all time

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Jan 13, 2004

Pros: A dreamer's movie

Cons: none!!

I was about 7 or 8 when I first saw this movie on TV. My mom taped it for me, and I fell in love with The Last Unicorn. She was beautiful and beautifully drawn. I'm 25 and I still have that tape my mom recorded and I still watch it to this day.... It's the best movie out there about a fantasy world like this one. I definitely recommend it to anyone that likes fantasy-type movies. I've always been into unicorns, fairy tales and fantasy-type things. I'm a big Disney fan for that reason, but in my opinion this movie does not compare to any Disney movies out there today. I've been looking for the DVD because my recorded tape is soon to deteriorate, and I'm glad it is finally coming out in March. I'll definitely go out and buy this one!! This movie also inspired me to become an animator, which I'm going to school for right now, so watch out for my movies someday!!! Read more Less

The Best of Fairy Tales.

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Sep 24, 2003

Pros: Beautiful classic 1980's animation

Cons: none what so ever

It's the only movie I own that has out lived all the others. I no longer own Aldain, but I still have this beautiful piece. The book is was wonderful read, and the movie does well to follow. I recommend this movie to anyone who dreams. I love it ...so much that while reading the book, years and years since I last watched the movie, that I could hear their voices come to life in my ears. I could quote them word for word and even sing the songs from the soundtrack. "Oh, don't cry. If you've become human enough to cry, then no magic in the world could change you back." This is the most prefect movie in the world. Read more Less

lov it lots

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Sep 7, 2003

i have beenlooking for this ever since i was 10 and i an 21 and still love it

My favourite

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Aug 18, 2003

I remember when i was about seven and this film was my favourite in all the world, even over the little mermaid! (She was my heroine because she had red hair.) I loved the music and would take the video out from my local library all the time. But one... day i went to the video section and i couldn't find it! I went to the desk and asked where it was, but they said that somebody had borrowed it and not brought it back. I was devastated and was very angry with whoever had kept it for themselves. Then a few years later, it was shown on tv and i watched it with delight. It is still one of my favourite films because it is so magical. Read more Less