by Brendan Foley
Two Cents
Two Cents is an original column akin to a book club for films. The Cinapse team will program films and contribute our best, most insightful, or most creative thoughts on each film using a maximum of 200 words each. Guest writers and fan comments are encouraged, as are suggestions for future entries to the column. Join us as we share our two cents on films we love, films we are curious about, and films we believe merit some discussion.
THE PICK
When the last moon is cast, o’er the last star of morning, we’ll still have that goddamn America song stuck in our heads.
The Last Unicorn debuted in 1982, but despite widely beloved source material, a prominent voice cast, and the participation of guys-behind-every-Christmas-special ever Rankin & Bass, financial trouble meant that the film barely sneaked into theaters and vanished shortly after.
But you can’t keep a good unicorn off the man’s road, and the film has developed a passionate cult fanbase that continue to hold The Last Unicorn up as a modern classic.
We decided to see for ourselves just whether there was any magic left in this don’t-call-her-a-mare. Join us, won’t you, as the Two Cents team learns just what friendship is all about- shit, wrong thing- as we spend time with a wizard that sounds like Alan Arkin, a Prince Charming that sounds like Jeff Bridges, and an evil insane king that sounds like Christopher Lee. That last one is not much of a stretch, admittedly.
Did you get a chance to watch along with us this week? Want to recommend a great (or not so great) film for the whole gang to cover? Comment below or post on our Facebook or hit us up on Twitter!
Next Week’s Pick:
The Universal Soldier series, once a widely mocked Terminator knock-off, has become one of the leading lights of the current DTV action renaissance. With Scott Adkins poised to deliver another ungodly level of ass-kicking in the forthcoming Wolf Warrior, it seemed only appropriate to check out the moment when he and this seemingly unkillable series went head-to-head.
So join us next week as we dive into Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning. It’s streaming on Netflix, so give it a watch!
Would you like to be a guest in next week’s Two Cents column? Simply watch and send your under-200-word review to twocents(at)cinapse.co!
Our Guest
Brendan Agnew:It would be easy to recommend the Rankin/Bass adaptation of Peter S. Beagle’s lyrical fantasy novel on the voice cast alone. You really could stop at “Christopher Lee as an ennui-stricken tyrant,” but where else can you hear Jeff Bridges bumble his way through Prince Charming so adorably or Alan Arkin fail so spectacularly at magic opposite Angela Lansbury as a cackling sideshow witch? In what other film does the brilliantly earthy Tammy Grimes scream swear words at the captivatingly ethereal Mia Farrow?
But arguably the best and most enduring element of this film is the way it throws singular characters and memorable circumstances into a familiar (but notably gender-flipped) hero’s quest narrative, taking enough diversions to feel creative without being overstuffed. Sure, it doesn’t all quite land the way it should. The songs don’t always work and the cheapy animation isn’t up to the striking art style, but underneath the odd corners is something touching and clever and absolutely genuine. The story of a talking unicorn seeking out the rest of her kind could easily be so much saccharine fantasy tripe, but Beagle’s script and the cast create something beautifully human.
And again, Christopher Lee. Ennui-stricken tyrant. Mic drop. (@BLCAgnew)
The Team
Frank:There are always some films that are able to retain their sense of wonder and magic in spite of the many technical innovations that cinema has experienced throughout the decades. For me, The Last Unicorn definitely falls into that category. Simply put, it is the epitome of the fairy tale with its mythical creatures, surreal world and underlying cultural subtext. While many films like it have come and gone, The Last Unicorn’s charm and sweeping fantasy remains undeniable all these years later.
There’s a lot to be said when a film suffers one of the sloppiest distribution histories ever, yet is still beloved by virtually everyone who knows of it.
The Last Unicorn boasts so many treasures including a lush (if somewhat dated) soundtrack by America, a fantastic collection of voice talent and a brilliantly woven tale of adventure. All of this is only heightened by its stunning animation which is pure old school drawing at its best. Almost every frame of this movie is like a gorgeous piece of art that quite literally laughs in the face of modern animation.
It’s been a long road for The Last Unicorn in terms of finding the audience it’s so richly deserved all these years. Thankfully though, that is no longer the case for this highly enchanting film. (@frankfilmgeek)
Austin:I casually suggested The Last Unicorn as a Two Cents entry because it’s got a huge cult following and I figured most of us had never seen it. As I started the movie and was subjected to a handful of groan-inducing songs, I suddenly thought to myself, “I may have made a huge mistake”.
It’s hard to be tough on this movie. It’s got a melancholy story and wonderfully eerie mood, beautiful visuals from noteworthy Japanese animators, an impressive voice cast, and a highly respected source material of a celebrated novel by Peter S. Beagle, who also wrote the screenplay. It’s also a representation of Rankin & Bass basically creating an anime, and at the top of their prowess.
But it’s just so darn haphazard and abbreviated. Every story beat is told in shorthand and the expository dialogue is incredibly on-the-nose. The songs — which are constant — well, I’m not a fan. Plus it’s just so… brony-friendly.
Yet, credit where it’s due — despite a number of problems, the story is malencholy and poignant, and still managed to draw me in. (@VforVashaw)
Brendan:Considering that it has an art-style that can best be described as, let’s see, ‘Lisa Frank Vomiting Skittles’, there’s a surprising melancholy at the heart of The Last Unicorn. In its considerations of mortality, morality, and the intrinsic bonds between love and regret, the film goes to darker, more mature depths than you might expect from a cartoon fairy tale. It never fails to surprise me, at least.
The Last Unicorn has its share of pacing problems, in that way recalling some of its 80s fantasy brethren like Labyrinth or Legend. But it has a cheeky sense of humor and a constant spirit of invention and magic, and that overrides whatever narrative quibbles might arise. Plus, the film boasts a truly magnificent turn by Sir Christopher Lee as the mad King Haggard, and that alone puts it square above its ilk.
So it’s beautiful and mesmerizing, but also profoundly human and flawed. Given the ultimate fate of the eponymous equine, that’s about as fitting a final form as the film could have hoped for.
Also… this movie totally had a scene where Alan Arkin-wizard was molested by a giant-boobed tree, right? That wasn’t just a brown cocaine hallucination? Wowza. (@TheTrueBrendanF)
Justin:The Last Unicorn is not a kid’s movie. Let’s make that abundantly clear first. This doesn’t mean that I haven’t watched it with my kids, but in the grand tradition of 80s fantasy family films, it’s scary as shit.
I was introduced to this film in college by my then-girlfriend, now-wife. At the time that she introduced me to this movie, it was very difficult to obtain a good copy on VHS. As a gift to her while we were dating, I purchased both this film and The Sea Prince and the Fire Child on eBay. Both of these films meant a great deal to her in her childhood.
Since then, I have watched this movie many times. My eldest son really loved this movie when he was just a baby. Once old enough to actually get it, it became a much scarier experience for him. However, he seems to love being scared by movies and, perhaps, that began when watching this film at a very young age.
The long and the short of it, this is a great movie, both dark and beautiful, a true Grimm style fairytale. And you just can’t beat that soundtrack by America. (@thepaintedman)
Did you all get a chance to watch along with us? Share your thoughts with us here in the comments or on Twitter or Facebook!