"My dear you deserve the services of a great wizard, but I'm afraid you'll have to be glad of the aid of a second-rate pickpocket" is now my favorite movie line.
Fun Fact about Molly: Her backstory in the book is that she was a princess and was in an arranged marriage. But before she could marry, she had to sing into the woods and summon a unicorn to prove her virginity. However she had already lost it but tried anyway. When no unicorn appeared, it became clear she was no longer pure and the prince would no longer take her so she was casted out by her father.
There is a lot... more to it than that if i remember. Theres a good case that connects her with Haggred as her possible father and the marriage was for him to get money. It was an arranged marriage that she did not want and she ran away and in her words Cully "ruined" her, there for making her unfit by the standards so yeah. No unicorn. She did that just to get out of the arrangement but then it didint go anywhere with Cully when she went back to him after her being kicked out.
@@freakystories3583 I don't think it was ever said. He was just an enchanted skeleton, that likes booze, guarding the entrance to the energy drink stash. Then again, it's been a while since my only viewing, so could be wrong. Though liver failure from alcoholism would be a safe assumption, since his request as an undead creature, is booze. Dude basically solos an entire bottle of wine. EDIT: Added the "solo a bottle of wine" line to emphasize heavy drinking.
I was just gonna say lol that’s a major part of the scene, I think Smendrick literally says “it’s empty now why would you want it?” and the Skeleton says “I remember”
@I Think Wow! King Haggard seems to be more of an evil dick in the book than in the movie! Decapitating someone, and then making them a glorified security camera in the afterlife. The skeleton/skull wanting his skull crushed as repayment, REALLY shows his sorry state of affairs. Let's not forget that in most fantasy settings with necromancy magic, that the undead are the most horrifying form of slavery. Since the subject is being taken from their rightful rest/afterlife, and being made to do menial labor or carryout violence on the necromancer's behalf. So yeah. King Haggard is a dick.
If I may in Greek mythology unicorns are associated with Poseidon god of the sea. There are paintings of great herds of unicorns moving Poseidon's chariot. So it makes sense of a sort.
@@catscratchfever7106 She was the Goddess of love, beauty and sexuality. She was also the patron goddess of prostitutes of all stations. She also had sex with almost every god of the Greek Pantheon (even as deformed as Hephaestus was). There was "sacred prostitutes" who worked out of her temples. It might have been the first organized prostitution organization.
I love Schmendrick’s backstory in the book. He’s a terrible wizard not because his magic is weak, but because it’s so powerful not even the greatest wizard of the time could help him control it. So, he turned Schmendrick immortal so he could have all the time in the world to learn. At the end Schmedrick finally becomes mortal.
The "love plot"as you put it acts as a kind of gauge. Unicorns are unable to feel human emotion given that they are immortal beings. So when she is turned human she starts to change since she becomes mortal with everything that entails. She even laments that she can now feel her body dying around her. The idea is the longer she remains in the human body the more human she becomes, and love is a very human emotion. She rebuffs him at first because she is still more unicorn than human, but as she continues to change and forget immortality she begins to be able to feel love. So her relationship with Lir ends up being the gauge to show how much mortality is affecting her. It's even hinted that if she had remained human for much longer she may never have been able to go back. She doesn't WANT to go back because she has almost forgotten what it was like to be a unicorn and the compensation in the form of love would be heartbreaking to lose. This is why it is tragic when she is turned back and ends up becoming the only unicorn that can feel regret. Because she knew what it was to love, and now can never feel that way again. As for Molly and Schmenderick, they didn't have a love plot, but there is nothing to bring two people together than an epic adventure, and so it's indicated at the end that maybe there is more there for them to explore than just the world as they embark on a new adventure. It's not out of the blue, it's budding.
It also does relate to the Unicorn plot, because she almost meets the same fate as the others, being pushed into the sea, but seeing Lir die pushes her to fight back. The emotions she gained as a human, separate her from the others, but that separation is what in the end saves the others.
It seems a bit off that unicorns can't feel love like we can despite their sentience and speech, i mean they're not mindless drones, they should be able to have some kind of love, doesn't she feel love for her own kind, if she didn't she wouldn't be looking for them to begin with
@@jareththegoblinking3191 she likely feels respect for her kind, or at least those of her kind she's seen, but being mostly isolated, it's a feeling she probably never learned nor missed until she was put into a situation where she felt she need to suddenly make the most out of her life, as she was no longer immortal.
This really helped me realize why she falls in love because I remember watching this growing up and trying to figure out why does she end up loving him
in defense of the love story, it makes sense why Lir and Amalthea fall in love. Amalthea has always been a unicorn, incapable of feeling lust. Being a human, suddenly she’s overwhelmed with the ability to feel new things. Amalthea is naive and therefore falls in love with Lir very quickly. Also Lir is impressionable by nature and the only thing he really knows is to play by the rules. He’s a naive prince who sees a pretty woman and immediately thinks he can win her over by slaying dragons or giving her flowers (following the rules). It just so happens that the woman he’s trying to win over is, in fact, also naive and impressionable.
yeah, there are reasons which are expressed but if you are looking at it as a more simple kids film, you will miss them.. a lot.. Also shame Steve makes so many mistakes on this one ¬_¬ like he has not only been pirating but using Wikipedia as a 'fact' source.. sigh.. the film is American-Japanese-British.. thus Lew Grade and ITC Entertainment.. he also seams to kinda miss a lot of the scene with the skeleton (Rene Auberjonois), missed out key parts of Lir's story (Jeff Bridges), Celaeno (named for the greek mythical Harpy, a 'disgusting' fusion of bird and woman, as well as a few others.. but taking into account how much he seamed to miss, he did a fair enough job as normal. but yeah Amber, Lir has been brought up pretty much all alone with his 'father' who didn't care too much after a time is very naïve, at the same time, the unicorn is too as she is forgetting who she is and becoming human and she is also very naïve. she doesn't know anything of love or joy or anything of the sort, until she meets him.. oh well. also, as he pointed out, techinally King Haggat isn't a bad guy. in fact, the red bull is probably the closes thing to a real villain in the film. (oh and as is common knowledge, due to him being fluent, Christopher Lee also reprised the role in the German dub.. much like Andrew Sachs in Faulty Towers)
Also Lir was living alone with his adoptive father and the old magician for god knows how long. I think Amalthea is the first young girl he has met. So he draws all his knowledge about courting a woman from the old books about knights that are in the castle.
Came here to say exactly this. You did a better job evaluating this than I did. I really feel like Steve was coming at this from the totally wrong angle.
I think you made a very good point here. Prince Lear says at the end of the movie that he never had friends before he met Schmendrick and Molly. He is clearly socially inexperienced and naive. Thinking he can win over Lady Almathia by being a hero, or writing her poetry and song. Almathia is inexperienced at being a human and doesn't understand human emotions such as love and is also experiencing love for the first time. Thank you for your post, I enjoyed it.
@@queenfopsie5442 of course she is angry she was supposed to be married away! But because there were no unicorns left to show up for her call and everyone thought she wasn't a virgin anymore and cast her out..
Yeah, I have to give it to the actress, Tammy Grimes for her performance. She was an incredible Broadway actress in the 60s especially in the musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown (where ironically, she plays the lead character Molly). But to see her go for something for dramatic, really shows.
All of the characters are tragic figures. The unicorn who has to become human and has to live with regret for the rest of eternity in order to save the others, the hapless magician who has a good heart but is a mocked and belittled by his peers because of his lack of talent, the prince who has been raised by a father incapable of true love, joy, and happiness in a dark looming castle, the king who is deeply unhappy, and brings upon his own doom, and not to forget about the woman who has lost her innocence, youth, and beauty, living a life of misery and poverty in the forest before meeting the unicorn.
@@qweadd6987 A French movie from 1995, directed by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. It's really cool and stylish, but it also has some weirdness common in French cinema (weird sense of humor, odd close-ups of people's faces and so on) which may put some people off. Still highly recommended. Krank was a genius who couldn't dream, which somehow caused him to age faster. He started kidnaping children and hooking them up to machine which could transfer their dreams to him. The problem was, the kids were so scared that they only had nightmares, and Krank was too miserable and flustrated to grasp that.
The prince who showed no real emotions and didn't seem to be affected by anything and only character depth is thirsty after a hot woman creating the problem of them not wanting to leave then fixing it, now making the unicorn have to live with regret.
"My dear, you deserve the services of a great wizard, but I'm afraid you'll have to be grateful to the skills of a second rate pick pocket" I legit love this line so much
For those wanting to watch the movie, check out the book first. It does have a lot of details that movie left out, like how the harpy is one of a group of sister harpies (I believe they're the rainbow sisters and they're the most powerful harpies known), it also explains Schmendric's backstory and why his magic goes wild, it even explains why the cat begins to talk. Love this story, grew up with it, and inspired some of my own artwork.
Lmao it inspired me to make a heist series where the unicorn is trapped as a woman and becomes a thief and partners up with a demi god short man 😆 they rob gods and other fairy tales and mythical beings while she finds a way to restore her unicorn body and finding her siblings who have vanished.
@@mslightbulb unicorns dont really have eyes anyways and are far from gentle. You ever wonder how much precision it takes to shred a butterfly to flakes mid flight?
People legitimately like the "romance" between the Unicorn and the prince? I loved the fact she considered being human the most horrible thing for her. When she describes how she can feel her body dying I felt that. She may not be that likeable as a character but I like how they portray as this nonhuman creature trapped in the body of a human for that portion of the film. Then when she starts to forget her true nature you see her becoming more human in her personality and desires and I really like that it is presented as a tragedy the loss of her identity. Lol maybe it's just my self hatred but I really found this aspect of the film really cool.
It reminded me of the original little mermaid, how when she was human it felt like she was walking on glass constantly. I thought her human form was beautiful, she’s one of my favorite characters in a fever dream movie from my childhood
i always liked how tragic the romance was, like i wanted her to go back to being a unicorn but he truly did love her and at the end so did she, but only because of how human she was becoming. when she goes back to being a unicorn she still loves him but its different. we want happy endings for all the good characters but lir's happy ending and the unicorn's happy ending cannot co-exist so a choice must be made and its sad, cause if she stayed human she still would have been happy, but only because she doesn't know why she shouldn't.
The romance part of the plot ties into the theme of immortality and regret. As an immortal creature the unicorn was unburdened by both love and regret. "I can feel sorrow, but it's not the same thing." As a human, trapped in a mortal body she slowly but surely becomes prone to these feelings, when she is not only likely, but assured to "grow old and die." It is the vulnerability of being mortal that brings these feelings on, so when she is transformed back into a unicorn, these feelings follow her. There's a lot there to follow, and you won't have watched it as often or as enraptured as I've always been with the film and that's okay.
Yeah I think he was way to negative with the critic. Same with the comment about how a butterfly only has a lifespan of 2 weeks and shouldnt know of the bull because of that (he didnt directly say that but to me it sounded like he implied it). The unicorn said that butterflies only know stories, songs and poems they picked up on their travels and its later confirmed by schmedrik that there are a lot of stories about the red bull being told so its perfectly logical that the butterfly knows the story
The love story is to represents that shes losing her unicorn-ness. Just unicorns cant love or regret. I thought that's kinda obvious, but what do I know.
@@starchild8822 I always figured they could feel some kind of love for each other on their level, or at least enough attraction for breeding purposes...but not love on a human level, which can be that much more intense because our lives on this earth are so much shorter.
You can even see it. When she was Turned, her Skin was white as Snow, and she still had the "Star" on her Forehead. And the more she loved, the more her Skin became "colored", her Eyes became Human and the Star vanished. She couldnt even use Magic anymore - a thing she could, when Mabruk invoked his own Magic.
Fun Fact: Christopher Lee actually voiced the King in different languages at least in the german version of the movie it is still Christopher Lee's voice for the king
It IS a kids movie. Just like Watership Down. You don't need to shelter kids like this. It's just as stupid, as the parents of today wanting to ban the advertising billboards for "It Chapter 2".
@S I N I S T E R C L A N No need to be rude about it. There are way to many overprotective helicopter parents, who want to make children think that the world is just sunshine and rainbows.
unicorn: i can't turn you into something you're not. i can't turn you into a true magician Schmendrick: it's alright don't worry about it unicorn: i'm not. damn that is one savage unicorn
I think the unicorn being trapped in the sea is supposed to be a symbolic representation of sea foam and charging waves, always making it to the shore, then retreating to the sea.
YES. They even showed Narwhals in a scene with Prince Lir if my memory serves. It was a lovely symbolism to how people once thought narwhals were unicorns!
Sir Christopher was a fan of the novel, and brought a copy with him to the voice recording sessions. He'd underlined the passages that he felt were the most important to his character and should not be omitted.
@@jenniferschillig3768 yes!!! he became good friends with the author- i went to one of the movie screenings a few years ago just before Sir Christopher Lee passed away, and Peter S. Beagle said that Lee had told him that if he passed away before a live action film could be made, he would rise from his grave just to reprise his role again. Bittersweetly funny, what an amazing guy he was. Haggard is one of my favorite roles hes ever played
@@IdioticOracle Unfortunately, Sir Christopher will never get to reprise his role of Haggard (unless he DOES pull a Dracula and rises from the grave)...but if that live-action version ever does come off, who could be a better Schmendrick than Tom Hiddleston?
@@jenniferschillig3768 ill be perfectly honest, if anyone WOULD rise from his grave just to Act, it would be Sir Christopher Lee. Hiddleston as Schmendrick would be absolutely delightful, though!
Fun fact, Christopher Lee brought his own copy of the book to every recording session as Haggard and refused to leave out several of his favourite lines.
Just something I found interesting: "Amalthea" means "holy goat". Unicorns used to be depicted as horned horses or goats. Amalthea was also the name of the goat that fed the god Zeus after his mother hid him from his father.
It was on the Disney channel when I was 6 and my dad made me turn it off halfway through. I may understand half of the plot. But he just didn't get it.
@@AndreNitroXI agree with locogrunt39012 and cynical joker on this point it's just lazy writing nothing to read into. most likely was nearing the due date for the movie trashed the original script and made a new streamlined story.
@I Think let me guess you are going to remark on how we should learn from this movie ands its complex stroy arc. Forgive the candid remark but honestly i can sum the entire idea into one phrase. "Being imortal doesnt seam like living forever, its watching everyone die" said by Peter Capaldi. Look man i am not a judge on what you like i just notice a huge lack of actual story building and carracter development, so aparently they fall in love for no reason? Its just lazy writing on all levels except animation.
To explain the random change in her character, when she is transformed into a human, she can feel emotions unlike when she unicorn because her human side is growing and replacing her unicorn self. She has the emotional maturity of a child as of being human for a few months and experiencing these human traits for only a few months, the first handsome man she sees tries to pursue, having no prior knowledge of love, of course she falls for him. She becomes irrational due to her human qualities which is why she becomes selfish and lets the other unicorns be trapped as she no longer feels her unicorn superiority.
Y'know you keep mentioning "The voice-actor's performance", but do you who voiced these characters? That's Mia Farrow as the Unicorn. Alan Arkin as Schmendrick. Angela Lansbury as Mommy Fortuna. Jeff Bridges as Prince Lear. Rene Auberjonois as the skeleton. And friggin Christopher Lee as King Haggard.
That's an all-star cast if ever there was one and they did a great job. Though in some cases, a listers can't always do well in some movies. Garfield comes to mind.
@@bezoticallyyours83 Yeah. But to be fair, I think Murray was fine as Garfield, they just didn't give him much to work with. The script was kinda garbage, paint by numbers stuff that we've all seen 100 times already. Had they come up with a better story, with better dialogue, and replaced Breckin Meyer, and JL Hewitt with Jeff Goldblum, and Janeane Garafalo, that movie could have been a lot better.
At one point, there was talk of a live action adaptation and Christopher Lee was so excited to play Haggard again, because he’d adored playing that role. However, it fell through, and he never got to :(
The Last Unicorn was my favorite movie as a kid growing up, and I would watch It time after time. learning something new and deciphering meanings in the film each time. I still love the animation, beauty, and soundtrack in this film.
Mollies emotional break down at seeing the Unicorn is understandable if you know how the legends go. Unicorns normally only appear before those who are pure of heart and virtuous, and it's said after having "sinned" they lose the ability to see a unicorn. Molly is a woman in her mid to late 40's, lives with thieves, and is supposedly married to the leader. She's no longer a "pretty virgin maiden" but a haggard old woman who lost her innocence years ago. To be able to see a Unicorn so late in life, after everything she's been though. "How dare you? HOW DARE YOU come to me now?! When I am *this* !" Followed by sobbing Molly is overwhelmed with so many emotions in that moment. Joy to finally seeing a unicorn, the anger of having been forced to wait so late in her life, and so many others I can't even begin to comprehend. She's been through so much yet hear heart was still full of enough purity that she could see the unicorns horn, which is invisible for those who don't believe. And for that I'm sure she's also thankful for being given the chance to finally see one.
Also, when maids (virgins) saw a unicorn it was a (we dont have a word for it) prerequisite/sign that she was going to find her true and destined love.
@@maggieent3215 yeah, but there were alot of elements to it. It was seen as an omen, but also a duty or destiny or obligation or purpose of the unicorn. There was also the aspect that only the worthy, pure, ect could recognize they were seeing a unicorn at all.
A lot of people have also pointed this out, but... The vulture is a harpy, that's why it has three boobs. Unicorns are associated with Poseidon. That's why they're in the sea. The skeleton was drinking the memory of the wine from an otherwise empty glass. It's not an animation error. The butterfly's appearance is based on the author himself. While I like your content Steve, you do have this sort of reoccurring problem where you don't try to research these sorts of things and instead question it and act as if it's a sort of flaw. I noticed this with your Animal Farm review as well, where you somehow did not grasp that it was a piece on the negatives of communism when it takes just a few seconds to find that the author himself has confirmed as much.
You can't criticize a film based on its source material. All knowledge needed to understand the plot should be present within the film, viewers should not have to go to an outside source to have something explained.
The Huntsman said that it's always Spring in that forest. I like to think that after the unicorns experiences, autumn finally came to the forest, as a manifestation of her regret.
The book explains things way better. The movie cut out like, half the castle/Red Bull plot . As for the three tiddy Harpy...They usually are presented like that in mythology. Same with the Unicorns in the sea, I think they're generally associated with Poseidon.
Whenever anyone reviews "The Last Unicorn," no one really ever talks about how amazing of a character Mommy Fortuna is. I find that to be a shame since Angela Lansbury did a fantastic job voicing her, and the character herself is both horrifying and relatable. She is so obsessed with her own legacy that she is willing to die at the hands of her own captive creatures so long as they remember that she was the one who held them prisoner. :o
Gosh, this is one of those movies I watched over and over and OVER again as a kid, and there's so much in there that took me years to understand. A woman accepting her death because she earned it under impossible odds, sadness and regret not being the same thing, Molly having her dreams come true and being furious about it, the unicorn having a breakdown because she's in a mortal body, true magic being magic that changes people regardless of whether or not it makes "real" things.... I don't think this movie goes ten minutes without a really challenging concept being thrown in there
In the book she is actually very powerful. She takes part in her own show as a wizened old woman singing a song about how time and opportunities slip by. She is more terrifying than the Harpy to the attendees. Schmendrick, who is actually immortal in the book, and has lived for hundreds of years quips "that old woman knows more than she knows she knows."
I feel like you missed some of the most important plot points and brushed them off as silly errors or filler when they were actually some of the most nuanced scenes in the entire film. For example, the "love plot" is bizarre to have appeared in a story about a Unicorn at all. Being immortal, they should be relatively emotionless--no fear or worry of death, living exclusively in an enchanted utopia, would also mean a lack of appreciation for it, since it would be the norm for a unicorn. The fact that she fell in love with the prince is a sign of her increasing distance from her unicorn identity, with her even declaring that she's a human and wishes to be mortal--something she initially, and rightfully, feared. The "animation error" with the skeleton is another of the movie's frequent reminders of death. The skeleton drinks for the sake of remembering what it was like to be alive because he's now trapped in a state with no senses, no ability to truly "die," but no opportunity to "live" either. I thought this scene was especially depressing, to be honest.
9:37 - Aw! You completely missed and dismissed that whole scene with the mantle-skeleton! Schmedrick tried getting the skull to speak because of a riddle told by the awesome pirate cat (Because cats are a-holes and will never give a straight answer. They can find the Red Bull It's when the skull speaks, when the wine drinks itself, and when the clock strikes the right time). The skull just lavishes in making fun of Shmendrick for being so inept. Shmendrick then tries to fulfill the rest of the riddle but doesn't have any access to wine, so he tries to make some using water. Of course, Shmendrick fails and drinks all the water, saying it was like a weak vinegar at best, but the skeleton saw the newly empty vessel as a corpse like him. He then gets drunk off the memory of the wine, which was better than the real thing anyways, and tells them that they can just walk through the clock. Ghosts can't drink living wine, they can only drink the memory of it, obviously!
My memory of the scene is slightly different. (Perhaps no more correct, but I will also state that I did NOT read the book, so I'm only going on my speculation.) Not so much the memory of the wine, but the fact it was a vessel that contained wine, regardless of how good (bad?) it was. To me, it seemed like it was more of a play on words that the skeleton wanted to drink from the empty vessel. He was a spirit drinking the spirit of spirits. So, at the end of the day, it's just another way of saying what you've already said.
Also, after reading the original novel as an adult, there are some nuances that were significant and thought-provoking elements that were unfortunately left out of the movie (probably because of keeping to a certain run-time for the movie and that they wouldn't have translated well directly out of the book). Things like Haggsgate, the spider that thought it was Arachne, Captain Cully being in denial of reality, and so on had a lot of interesting perspectives (also making Prince Lir more interesting with a tragic backstory). Plus, the novel has satirical elements for fantasy stories too (in a similar way to Scream having satirical elements for the slasher genre).
I always saw Lir's role in the story not as a Love Interest, but as the "Temptress" from the Hero's journey. That element that draws the hero away from their quest. In fact I would go so far as to say he is the best example of this I have ever seen in a story. we've all seen those stories where some figure tries to convince the hero to quit, offering money, fame, or whatever else the hero could want. But it always hollow so of course the hero says No or if they say Yes the audience is yelling at the hero for being stupid. But here that not what happens, no here we meet a kind and noble person, if the unicorn did marry him she would most likely live a happy human life, It would be a happy ending in its own way if we just abandon the quest. The audience itself is being drawn away from the goal, after all the name of the story is the LAST unicorn, maybe this is how magic died in the world... Lir is the only time I have ever been tempted to say, "Abadon the quest!" in any other story I would say "NO KEEP GOING! Gold wont buy you happiness! You could never hurt your friends this way!" but with Lir... she would have happiness with him... her friends would be just fine... the only ones to suffer would be nameless figures we have never seen in person... we've accepted worse for a happy ending. In a way its poetic that Lir is who convinces her to go on, because he is not just an evil "Temptress". Those same qualities that made us like him would never let him let her abandon the quest, and so we feel the sting of the ending all the more because that happy ending with the two of them together will never happen. P.S.(I am actively choosing to overlook the shallowness of their relationship as a consequence of the movie medium, developing a deep romance takes time (or a musical number) and can easily eat up 80%-90% of the movie's run time. We need to remember that movies have 90~120 minutes to tell a full story. Compare that to a book's unlimited run time and not even having to complete the story! OF COURSE SOMETHING IS GETTING STREAMLINED OR CUT!)
There is one more thing to this; I don't remember how it was in the movie, but I know the book by heart. At one point of the story, after crossing the clock, it was Schmendrick to first agree to not finishing the quest, letting the story to end right here and now- "Marry the prince and live happily ever after." to which Amalthea agreed yet it was Lir to say "No.". He motivated it by being a hero by trade and knowing the right flow of the story where "Quest may not simply be abandoned; prophecies may not be left to rot like unpicked fruit [...]. The happy ending cannot come int he middle of the story." with this he changes, to...to what exactly? Was Lir really a Temptress to Unicorn's journey, or to us, audience this whole time? Now that I think of it, this book while having the quality of monomyth can be so hard to pinpoint who is who, archetype speaking! To the point I might risk saying Prince Lir went of his own hero's journey. A journey within journey.
@I Think ... I'd like to just interject here and say that the book was not written as a parody of anything. It is it's own fairytale. I was at a panel with Mr Beagle himself when he explained the writing of the book and how it came to be. I do like your interpretation, though. I agree with you. :)
I think it's implied that a lot of time was taken, as he spent (what I remember to be) months trying to please her. There is a tragic truth to it that makes me think of my first, real heart breaking, failed love. I remember feeling a similar, but less heroic, impression of Molly. Having spent years and decades waiting for the blessing of a unicorn, only to find one far too late. The lesson? Maybe that we will all lose our innocence. Even the immortal, mythical creature can't stay a child forever.
@@whitemagus2000 In the book they are with the King/Prince for months! Lir spends a lot of time doing all the things he thinks will please her until he finally asks her what he can do
I think the reason the love interest appears shallow is because the song and singers were rather lame (sorry Mia and Jeff, but you didn't sound very good) and because there was not enough time in the film to develop the love story. In the book, Lir is the temtress, but he honestly has fallen in love with Amalthia and spends months trying to get her to see him. She is experiencing love for the first time and is confused by what she feels. Fortunately, Schmendrake is there to help remind everyone of their role in the story.
the point of the movie is what happens when an immortal creature feels what mortality is like, and then has to give it up. she started out as lonely, the last of her kind. and when the movie ends she is still lonely, and is still different from everyone else. because even though all the unicorns are back now, none of them know what it's like to be in love, to be mortal. but she remembers, she remembers the heartache, she remembers what it was like to be mortal, and to be in love, and she has to live out eternity with those memories. she is now forever cursed with the knowledge that she was in love with someone, and who she knows she will outlive. yes the movie is weird and odd and defiantly has it's flaws, but it is also very sad.
Aitor Rosell Torralba besause he even said the magic has a mind of its own. Both times he turned the unicorn it was when he allowed said magic to do what it’s meant to. Magic is used to further ones destiny not to change what should be. The unicorn was meant to save the unicorns but prince Lear has his own destiny as does she. So even if he wanted to change her back he wouldn’t be able to
The most important part is to remember that the movie is based from the book The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. While the book itself is rather short, it does go into more detail about characters such as Molly and Schmendrick. Schmendrick has an entire tragic back story linked to what is made a throwaway line in the film "last of the Red Hot Swamis." The Prince is meant to be seen as Amalthea's equal in human form- they're both painfully naive and single-minded, however their tragedy is that they could never be together as she is a unicorn and he a human. They've both been sheltered and alone all their lives and find solice within each other. In the end he teaches her to regret. The whole love story side plot is because, to quote Amaltha, "I can feel this body dying all around me." She's searching for something, anything to tether her to this world and because of it she begins to lose her immortality and become human- truly forgetting who she is. I've always loved this film in how tragic it is. No character ends up getting what they want in the end, and they all end up losing something along the way.
Well, Schmendrick gets to be a real wizard like he wants and do real magic, Molly gets to see a real unicorn, and both get to go forth and explore their own stories. The unicorn loses her innocence and purity, but the experience enables her to fight and thereafter she will have more complexity and wisdom than her fellow unicorns. Just as Lir will go on to be a wiser king. I think no one got what they *thought* they wanted, but what they needed, because change is necessary for life to go on. The other option is to be like the king, frozen in his unhappiness, trapping unicorns for his selfish pleasure.
It wasn't supposed to be about the love story in the middle, but the unicorns lost identity. Molly actually ended up saving her in the end by reminding her of who she was supposed to be. A forest god unconcerned about human follies.
This thing is like. A staple of my art inspiration. I honestly don’t care if it’s a good movie or not, I loved this shit as a kid and its imagery was the entire reason I have creativity like this.
I think her deciding to abandon the other unicorns just shows that humanity can become selfish when their own happiness is on the line. But yes! I’ve been waiting for this vid!!
In her defense unicorns are emotionless and she suddenly feels something she never knew in human form. She is emotionally stunted so her selfishness kind of makes sense. As a unicorn was was detached and ran by the logic of her kind.
GrandCorsair Very true. I guess you also have to add the fact that she was encouraged by Molly to love him. Then she finally does then has to give him up...
A few points from the book: Schmendrick cannot control his magic. That's why he's always chanting, "Magic magic, do as YOU will" (as opposed to "Magic magic, do as I will"). Therefore, his teacher "cursed" him so he couldn't age or die until he could control his magic... which he never does in this book. The skeleton cannot see, therefore he couldn't tell the flask he was given was empty. Apparently he could only hear and touch things. If he couldn't touch things, he wouldn't even be able to hold a flask or realize it was touching his mouth. Lir grew up alone with Hagard, who would be arrested for parental abuse nowadays. No wonder he fell for the first pretty lady who didn't treat him like crap, and was referred to as a Lady, implying she had lineage (unlike Molly Grue, who was clearly a peasant). PS: The unicorn didn't really heal Lir. She brought him back from the dead. I suppose technically she had to heal him enough that he wouldn't just die again, but she never does just "healing" on anyone. PPS: I always had the feeling that the "unintended message" of the movie was "being human sucks".
Just a small question, wasn't it implied in book that, in fact, Schmendrick started to control his magic and he started to age? I'm thinking of his talk/dream of the unicorn by the end of the book, where she asked him if he's happy being mortal wizard.
The seemingly change of character when she gets turned into a human is reminiscent of how human nature is human nature. Humans tend to not think about the big picture. It’s one of the sources of many poor habits in human society; craving instant gratification. The Unicorn exists in a state of not possessing this behavior due to, I assume, it’s immortality, and so both doesn’t understand it, and is extremely susceptible to it. Hence why it seems like she just “suddenly falls in love”. And when she resists the idea of returning to what she was, immortal, her human nature resists the concept. That’s a very poor description but hopefully you understand what I’m trying to get at.
Everyone is like- "So what was your frist anime?" And- im over here cause my brother got me into anime- and- "I have no fucking clue- the last unicorn? Wolf children- older good anime-"
@@BonaparteBardithion this is because the whole film is actually about perception and subjectivity. The skeleton expects to taste wine, so he does even when he isn't drinking anything. Same with the man who mistakes the Unicorn for a horse. He cannot see her horn because he doesn't expect to see a mythical creature.
@@mag8256 Actually they did because if you have the physical Journal 3 like I do and read up the entry about that episode Mabel says unicorns aren't what she suspected them to be. She thought they would be nice and friendly and go on adventures with bumbling Wizards and something else that was also a reference I haven't read it a while.
The Last Unicorn was actually a favorite movie of mine when I was really young, like five to eight years old. I'm glad someone reviewed it, as I mostly agree save for the love arc. The animation and character designs still catch my eye and I gotta go watch it again if I can find it somewhere.
I have a love for this movie, but even more, the book is my favorite of all time. Themes of immortality (and what it means to be human, to experience death) and some of the most beautiful writing ever. “I have been mortal, and some part of me is mortal yet. I am full of tears and hunger and the fear of death, although I cannot weep, and I want nothing, and I cannot die. I am not like the others now, for no unicorn was ever born who could regret, but I do. I regret.” Molly being so upset with Schmendrick about turning the unicorn human was because she knew that now she would feel her own death. ("I can feel my body dying all around me.") Which is pretty horrifying! But then there's a great line about how things that can die are beautiful, more beautiful than the unicorn, who is the most beautiful. I loveee the nuance and themes in the book. So. Much.
I also love the quote in the book where she likens her human body to being trapped in a burning building. It really hammers home how being mortal feels to someone who has never been mortal.
I think the way the unicorn is portrayed after become human is good. Because humans in the films are suppose to be greed, selfish, ignorant. Her learning and feeling all those thoughts and emotions helped changed her into what she is at the end
4:30 was the most terrifying scene I've seen when I was kid and it still is. He cut it out but in the movie you actually hear the old lady screaming and moaning in pain while getting eating alive
@@longtaleanimation6849 If you're referring to the shot that occurs when the Unicorn and Schmendrick are walking away, the dead figure on the lower left is actually the old lady, and the harpy has moved onto murdering the son. Kills the two of them. I never noticed as a kid.
Danae Lum If it was in 1988, he’d have to be in his 60s. Dude’s been acting since the 40s. He even played one of the more notable Dracula portrayals back in the day. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Lee_filmography
I remember watching this as a kid. And I remember being so mesmerized by this film, thank you for unlocking a memory that I remembered cherished dearly.
On the Schmendrick + Molly relationship there, I felt like the film did a good job of building a bond between them, as it started off they were only united in service of Amalthea, but that mission brought them into cooperation, which eventually led to them becoming strong friends - & then they "settled" for each other, at the end. That was the point; that the magic was largely gone from their lives with Amalthea's exit, + they were left just two lonely + aging individuals who had lost the purpose that they'd found in her, & all they really had left was each other, so they saw it as just logical that wherever they went next, they'd go together. The idea was that everything went back to being a bit drab + colourless, as it had been for them before the adventure started, once she left, but they had a connection - a real one, built over time + through shared purpose, rather than some great mythic love story in which they as individuals were largely devoid of agency, like Amalthea + Lir had had - & so it made no sense for _them_ to part. So they embarked back into their normal, human lives; all the more bittersweet for the knowledge they now had of how different it _could_ feel - holding on to the one thing that she had left them, which was each other. Honestly, the book covers it a bit better than the film does, but I do feel the movie - for all it leaves between the lives + underplays - does a good enough job of communicating what's going on. You just have to pay attention to what those characters are doing in the background, rather than only focusing on Amalthea.
But schmendrick was youthful and (near) immortal as his growing magics were too colossal to be mastered in a single lifetime... Am i remembering wrong?
@@GrifoStelle no, you're not, but I guess I phrased it wrong; when I say "the magic was gone", I sort of mean the sense of something beautiful and unique and _only theirs_ , like the unicorn had been - Schmendrick understood that his own power wasn't emotionally tied to anything, except maybe to the world. Does that make more sense? They had been united in their awe of, and then love for, Amalthea, and there was a lonely hole when she was gone, so they tried to fill it with their bond with each other, and support each other likewise as they grieved her absence.
I always thought the love plot between Lir and the Unicorn was just so the Unicorn had changed by the end of the film. Somewhere in there it's mentioned unicorns don't feel regret as well as some other emotions. Without turning into a human, loving something and then losing it the Unicorn would've remained the same character from start to finish with no real character arc. As for Lir, he is initially drawn to her beauty so to win her heart he murders a dragon. At this point she's still more Unicorn than human so when he's like "here's a dragon head" she's just super sad and he feels *bad* about killing it. His character shifts from a shallow knight character with a subplot of making daddy proud to...idk understanding dragons are people too. Point is, he changes as well. So for a love story introduced like 2/3rds of the way into the film, it's pretty fleshed out.
I love that this guy just went out to slay a dragon. "Bye I'll be back in time for lunch just gotta go slay this mythical fire breathing lizard" It's crazy!
In the novel, we see Lir a little earlier...he's engaged to a princess whom he doesn't seem to love (and she doesn't seem all that bonkers about him). He's slower and lazier at this point, and hardly your basic Prince Charming--he doesn't even pay that much attention while his betrothed (rather perfunctorily) performs a ritual to call a unicorn, which is apparently some kind of formality she must undergo before she and Lir can be formally betrothed. The unicorn stands hidden, but does not go to the princess, because she is too taken up with her quest and because she knows the princess doesn't really care whether she sees a unicorn or not. When they arrive at the castle, there's Lir, and he is so smitten with "Lady Amalthea's" otherworldly beauty that he breaks off his engagement with Princess Shallow and undergoes all sorts of heroic deeds, becoming stronger, leaner, and more of the heroic prince archetype in hopes that it will win Amalthea's heart. Only when she is human enough to speak with him and he tries to reassure her about her nightmares (which make little sense to her now that she is forgetting her life as a unicorn) does she return his love.
It's interesting that Prince Lir can kill a dragon no problem but barely lasted a second against the Red Bull who was frightened away by a weaker single unicorn when he was able to control and dominant ALL of them
The voice actor for Lir is Jeff Bridges. He wasn't experienced with voice acting for animation. The voice actor for the king is Christopher Lee. Christopher Lee is epic in everything he does. As for the unicorn abandoning her kind in the cave, it was not a "dick move" on her part. She was being consumed by her human nature and overwhelmed by emotions that were new and alien to her. She had no control over it. Lir realized what was happening, and so did the magician.
All I have to say about this is that her not wanting to turn back into a unicorn is because now that she has been human, she makes mistakes in her humanity and in her character profile due to being tainted from loosing her divinity as a unicorn. Spending time being that way changed her but once she was a unicorn, her morals and wanting to be good returns to her once she changes back, she goes back to being this beautiful and spectacular creature full of honor and dignity.
Did he shed the blood of the Saxon men? Sorry, been listening to Christopher Lee's FUCKING HEAVY METAL ALBUM ABOUT CHARLEMAGNE WHO HE APPARENTLY IS A DIRECT DESCENDANT OF.
@@knuckleheadtori eeeehm what? i am german and in the german version King Haggard was synchronized by Christian Rode. Who is in fact the german synchronizer for Christopher Lee. So yes, it was the german voice of Christopher Lee, but that doesn't mean that Christopher Lee actually spoke it himself. ;)
The reason Haggard is so great is because Haggard's voice actor-- the legendary Sir Christopher Lee-- was a huge fan of the book. He even brought his own copy in with him when he was recording. (Fun fact: Lee also voiced Haggard for the German dub of the film)
@@joshua.alvane That scene where they were on the balcony? In the book, it's implied (if not outright stated) that Haggard raped Lady Amalthea in an attempt to understand this strange creature and maybe find happiness from it. Didn't work. He was still a grumpy old depressed guy afterwards.
Garth St.Claire i don't believe that counts. After all, the movie has to stand on its own, and if it can't, then it is a fair criticism to say it does some things poorly. Besides, the thing that intrigues me most in this case is the fact that this *is* the book's author who adapted the story to the screen. So... why did *he* simplify or discard things from his own book?
22:35. The reason the Unicorn did not heal the monkey earlier in the film, it's because she never got to experience the human emotion of compassion at that point. When she healed Prince Ler, she had already experienced human emotions firsthand.
She didn't heal Prince Lir, she brought him back to life. Even he exclaims that he was "dead" after reviving. The monkey on the other hand will heal in time so there was no need interefre with the process.
I love this film! Mommy Fortuna (voiced by Angela Lansbury) accepting her death was sitting in the Harpy’s cage is so dark. She was knew it was going to happen.
9:39 It's not an animation error, Shmendrick drank all the liquid in the bottle himself before handing it to the skeleton. The skeleton couldnt tell the difference anyway, and got "drunk" via the placebo effect. Also, thanks for the review of this movie ☺ both the movie and the book were favorites of mine as a child, and its nice to look at it again from another's pov.
@SenselessPi I loved haggards voice so much when I was a kid. I didn't learn until much later that he was voiced by Christopher Lee. He really is a genious
I love this movie to pieces, it's the ONLY ONE to represent unicorns as being NOT HORSES with a HORN, it's magnificent and the soundtrack! I enjoyed many hours of that beautiful music, especially the main song The Last Unicorn. The book explains many things that in the movie are missing or barely implied, so, if you liked the movie, you should read the book, too. All in all, I liked your review, I agree with some things you say, others not so much XD.
I bought the soundtrack before iTunes was a big thing. Had to have the CD imported from Germany through FYE music store in the mall but so worth the wait. I still have it and listen to it this day. Mia Farrow's song was replaced with another singer, that is the only change. Big thanks to Andrew L Webber and America for making an amazing movie even better. Love every track!
What I want to know, is what kind of tree do I buy to have boob trees in my front yard? Are said trees available at Lowes or Home Depot, at gardening stores, or do I need to special order the seeds online?
As the once crazy horse girl in school, my parents bought this movie for me. It left me confused and horrified. That tree...it haunts me. EDIT: I FORGOT THE BULL THAT THING WAS THE WORST
For me, the worst thing in the film was the romance and prince what's-his-name. I never really understood the point of the character and saw him as a guy with the personality of a wooden plank. Also, I was bummed-out when he slayed that dragon (I had somewhat of an obsession with dragons when I was a kid).
The point of the prince was lost on me as a kid. I just accepted 'oh hey there you go. rince whatshisname.' Funny thing is, that is purely intentional. 'This is the way things go' is the name of the game. Fairy tale logic at work because that's exactly what this is and.... dear sweet god that one scene with Molly. As I grow older I know damned well what caused Molly to break down. As a child I was confused. Age brought context.
@@singletona082 I barely remembered any of the plot of the movie and only had images singed into my poor, innocent brain :))) looking back I can actually appreciate most of the art style but the story is just.... meh.
@@dannyrpg92oak I remember being so bored during that part because there were no unicorns during the whole romance period and that's what I thought I had signed up for 😂
I fear no man, but that thing...
*shows the tree*
It scares me.
BURN IT
It's just a penis tree, nothing to worry about.
It creeped me out too. I was scared for 2 days
You're not the only one. That is the only thing in this film that really got to me since I was a kid.
I don't know why my mom showed me this lol she thought the title was good because it had unicorn in it 🤣
Fun fact, the japanese crew who worked on the animation of this film would later become Studio Ghibli!
You are kidding?
You can even tell from some of the character designs (and particularly w/ the Unicorn/Amalthea) too.
@@szuegyigabriel3159 you gotta start somewhere!
@@sunspotmill1291 It really hit me with the design of Mommy Fortuna
But where's the ramdom hair hovering when a short haied girl gets mad?
"My dear you deserve the services of a great wizard, but I'm afraid you'll have to be glad of the aid of a second-rate pickpocket" is now my favorite movie line.
here's another good one:
If there's one thing I hate, IT'S GHOST DINOSAURS!
Me flirting
Another A+ line from the movie and the book: "Have a taco" -Captain Cully
@@thatguykekai2601 Holy crap! Someone else saw that movie, I am no longer alone!
Same.
Fun Fact about Molly: Her backstory in the book is that she was a princess and was in an arranged marriage. But before she could marry, she had to sing into the woods and summon a unicorn to prove her virginity. However she had already lost it but tried anyway. When no unicorn appeared, it became clear she was no longer pure and the prince would no longer take her so she was casted out by her father.
bro...
Fun'nt fact'nt
There is a lot... more to it than that if i remember. Theres a good case that connects her with Haggred as her possible father and the marriage was for him to get money. It was an arranged marriage that she did not want and she ran away and in her words Cully "ruined" her, there for making her unfit by the standards so yeah. No unicorn. She did that just to get out of the arrangement but then it didint go anywhere with Cully when she went back to him after her being kicked out.
Uhhh wut? News to me. Was this some retconned nonsense in a sequel novel or something?
A yes. What a time when you could make a woman sing to test for her virginity
The skeleton is drinking the "Memory" of wine. He knows that its empty.
He should have heard this explanation when watching the movie.
Did any one learn his name do? The skeleton that is? or why he died?
@@freakystories3583 I don't think it was ever said. He was just an enchanted skeleton, that likes booze, guarding the entrance to the energy drink stash.
Then again, it's been a while since my only viewing, so could be wrong.
Though liver failure from alcoholism would be a safe assumption, since his request as an undead creature, is booze.
Dude basically solos an entire bottle of wine.
EDIT: Added the "solo a bottle of wine" line to emphasize heavy drinking.
I was just gonna say lol that’s a major part of the scene, I think Smendrick literally says “it’s empty now why would you want it?” and the Skeleton says “I remember”
@I Think Wow! King Haggard seems to be more of an evil dick in the book than in the movie!
Decapitating someone, and then making them a glorified security camera in the afterlife.
The skeleton/skull wanting his skull crushed as repayment, REALLY shows his sorry state of affairs.
Let's not forget that in most fantasy settings with necromancy magic, that the undead are the most horrifying form of slavery. Since the subject is being taken from their rightful rest/afterlife, and being made to do menial labor or carryout violence on the necromancer's behalf.
So yeah. King Haggard is a dick.
If I may in Greek mythology unicorns are associated with Poseidon god of the sea. There are paintings of great herds of unicorns moving Poseidon's chariot. So it makes sense of a sort.
Technically, mythology is that the unicorns are, in fact, the foam upon the sea...
Its horses in general that are associated with Poseidon, not just unicorns.
Narwhal?
@Bob Bobbertson goddess of love. Not sex.
@@catscratchfever7106 She was the Goddess of love, beauty and sexuality. She was also the patron goddess of prostitutes of all stations. She also had sex with almost every god of the Greek Pantheon (even as deformed as Hephaestus was). There was "sacred prostitutes" who worked out of her temples. It might have been the first organized prostitution organization.
I love Schmendrick’s backstory in the book. He’s a terrible wizard not because his magic is weak, but because it’s so powerful not even the greatest wizard of the time could help him control it. So, he turned Schmendrick immortal so he could have all the time in the world to learn. At the end Schmedrick finally becomes mortal.
That’s both sad and heart warming
besides molly being barefooted 6:00
Sounds a bit like Rincewind played straight
@@OhsweetOhno*heart-warming
It's a modifier....
One of the few things the book does better than the film.
I always thought the tree had big oversized mitten hands.
There’s something I need to tell you YowLife
Obama Is Gay
u r so pure
@@jurneiadriayndeutschman7411 thank you
Ahhh that's real fucked up now. I could live with the thought of giant tits but giant mitten hands? Can't unsee that now.
The "love plot"as you put it acts as a kind of gauge. Unicorns are unable to feel human emotion given that they are immortal beings. So when she is turned human she starts to change since she becomes mortal with everything that entails. She even laments that she can now feel her body dying around her. The idea is the longer she remains in the human body the more human she becomes, and love is a very human emotion. She rebuffs him at first because she is still more unicorn than human, but as she continues to change and forget immortality she begins to be able to feel love. So her relationship with Lir ends up being the gauge to show how much mortality is affecting her. It's even hinted that if she had remained human for much longer she may never have been able to go back. She doesn't WANT to go back because she has almost forgotten what it was like to be a unicorn and the compensation in the form of love would be heartbreaking to lose.
This is why it is tragic when she is turned back and ends up becoming the only unicorn that can feel regret. Because she knew what it was to love, and now can never feel that way again.
As for Molly and Schmenderick, they didn't have a love plot, but there is nothing to bring two people together than an epic adventure, and so it's indicated at the end that maybe there is more there for them to explore than just the world as they embark on a new adventure. It's not out of the blue, it's budding.
It also does relate to the Unicorn plot, because she almost meets the same fate as the others, being pushed into the sea, but seeing Lir die pushes her to fight back. The emotions she gained as a human, separate her from the others, but that separation is what in the end saves the others.
EXACTLY!!!!!!
It seems a bit off that unicorns can't feel love like we can despite their sentience and speech, i mean they're not mindless drones, they should be able to have some kind of love, doesn't she feel love for her own kind, if she didn't she wouldn't be looking for them to begin with
@@jareththegoblinking3191 she likely feels respect for her kind, or at least those of her kind she's seen, but being mostly isolated, it's a feeling she probably never learned nor missed until she was put into a situation where she felt she need to suddenly make the most out of her life, as she was no longer immortal.
This really helped me realize why she falls in love because I remember watching this growing up and trying to figure out why does she end up loving him
in defense of the love story, it makes sense why Lir and Amalthea fall in love.
Amalthea has always been a unicorn, incapable of feeling lust. Being a human, suddenly she’s overwhelmed with the ability to feel new things. Amalthea is naive and therefore falls in love with Lir very quickly.
Also Lir is impressionable by nature and the only thing he really knows is to play by the rules. He’s a naive prince who sees a pretty woman and immediately thinks he can win her over by slaying dragons or giving her flowers (following the rules). It just so happens that the woman he’s trying to win over is, in fact, also naive and impressionable.
yeah, there are reasons which are expressed but if you are looking at it as a more simple kids film, you will miss them.. a lot.. Also shame Steve makes so many mistakes on this one ¬_¬ like he has not only been pirating but using Wikipedia as a 'fact' source.. sigh.. the film is American-Japanese-British.. thus Lew Grade and ITC Entertainment.. he also seams to kinda miss a lot of the scene with the skeleton (Rene Auberjonois), missed out key parts of Lir's story (Jeff Bridges), Celaeno (named for the greek mythical Harpy, a 'disgusting' fusion of bird and woman, as well as a few others.. but taking into account how much he seamed to miss, he did a fair enough job as normal.
but yeah Amber, Lir has been brought up pretty much all alone with his 'father' who didn't care too much after a time is very naïve, at the same time, the unicorn is too as she is forgetting who she is and becoming human and she is also very naïve. she doesn't know anything of love or joy or anything of the sort, until she meets him.. oh well. also, as he pointed out, techinally King Haggat isn't a bad guy. in fact, the red bull is probably the closes thing to a real villain in the film. (oh and as is common knowledge, due to him being fluent, Christopher Lee also reprised the role in the German dub.. much like Andrew Sachs in Faulty Towers)
Also Lir was living alone with his adoptive father and the old magician for god knows how long. I think Amalthea is the first young girl he has met. So he draws all his knowledge about courting a woman from the old books about knights that are in the castle.
Is better in The book
Came here to say exactly this. You did a better job evaluating this than I did. I really feel like Steve was coming at this from the totally wrong angle.
I think you made a very good point here. Prince Lear says at the end of the movie that he never had friends before he met Schmendrick and Molly. He is clearly socially inexperienced and naive. Thinking he can win over Lady Almathia by being a hero, or writing her poetry and song. Almathia is inexperienced at being a human and doesn't understand human emotions such as love and is also experiencing love for the first time. Thank you for your post, I enjoyed it.
The last unicorn was so beautiful as a child for me. It was my favorite movie growing up
I know like I knew it was deep and meaningful in some way but it wasn’t until I growled up did I understand all the themes and dialogue
Same.
Yes, I agree it was one of my favorites as a child too. And actually, the soundtrack played really often in the radio back then in Germany xD
Rockadoodle the best
Sameeeee
Honestly Molly's monolouge when seeing a unicorn is the best part of the film.
YES X
She's so emotional and all her pent up hurt is so obvious in her voice
@@queenfopsie5442 of course she is angry she was supposed to be married away! But because there were no unicorns left to show up for her call and everyone thought she wasn't a virgin anymore and cast her out..
Yeah, I have to give it to the actress, Tammy Grimes for her performance. She was an incredible Broadway actress in the 60s especially in the musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown (where ironically, she plays the lead character Molly). But to see her go for something for dramatic, really shows.
IT IS
Unicorns: *EXIST.*
King Haggard: *"Hippity hoppity, you're now my property."*
RosieRo I can even imagine that in Christopher Lee’s voice
i thought that said king hagrid
All of the characters are tragic figures.
The unicorn who has to become human and has to live with regret for the rest of eternity in order to save the others,
the hapless magician who has a good heart but is a mocked and belittled by his peers because of his lack of talent,
the prince who has been raised by a father incapable of true love, joy, and happiness in a dark looming castle,
the king who is deeply unhappy, and brings upon his own doom,
and not to forget about the woman who has lost her innocence, youth, and beauty, living a life of misery and poverty in the forest before meeting the unicorn.
The king reminds me of Krank from The City of Lost Children.
@@adenowirus What is "The City Of Lost Childern"?
@@qweadd6987 A French movie from 1995, directed by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. It's really cool and stylish, but it also has some weirdness common in French cinema (weird sense of humor, odd close-ups of people's faces and so on) which may put some people off. Still highly recommended.
Krank was a genius who couldn't dream, which somehow caused him to age faster. He started kidnaping children and hooking them up to machine which could transfer their dreams to him. The problem was, the kids were so scared that they only had nightmares, and Krank was too miserable and flustrated to grasp that.
The prince who showed no real emotions and didn't seem to be affected by anything and only character depth is thirsty after a hot woman creating the problem of them not wanting to leave then fixing it, now making the unicorn have to live with regret.
I think that's what you mean when talking about the prince.
"My dear, you deserve the services of a great wizard, but I'm afraid you'll have to be grateful to the skills of a second rate pick pocket"
I legit love this line so much
When you want to be a mage but your skills were set to theif
Also, guess it turned out fine in the end since the unicorn shows no gratitude for either sets of skill.
Sounds like most of my Skyrim playstyles.
One thing of note is that in the novel he is cursed with imortality until he can control his power
I'm watching this f#cking sh#t again even the sicko Tree woman!
For those wanting to watch the movie, check out the book first. It does have a lot of details that movie left out, like how the harpy is one of a group of sister harpies (I believe they're the rainbow sisters and they're the most powerful harpies known), it also explains Schmendric's backstory and why his magic goes wild, it even explains why the cat begins to talk. Love this story, grew up with it, and inspired some of my own artwork.
I been trying to find the book with no luck
@@dreamvalleyparadiseofwales3932 Should be able to find it on Amazon, or get the audiobook on audible ^_^
Lmao it inspired me to make a heist series where the unicorn is trapped as a woman and becomes a thief and partners up with a demi god short man 😆 they rob gods and other fairy tales and mythical beings while she finds a way to restore her unicorn body and finding her siblings who have vanished.
Ok
I read the book years before the movie even came out. I saw the movie years later,holding the book and comparing. They were almost exactly alike.
"she talks to a weird looking butterfly"
me: **smacks the butterfly** *pEsKy bEe*
Liliana Shoaf Your bringing back 5 years of trauma.
Don’t hug me
HAHAHAHAHAH
Your bringing back the no no topic
i see what you did there -_-
Who is this cat, and HOW, can it talk?
“I just can.”
Love Coraline.
Well, all cats can, they are just jerks
*"A Wizard, Did It"*
I still have nightmares about that cat
I could tell you that what you want and show you that which you seek, but alas. No cat out of his first fir has ever given anyone a straight answer.
"who is this cat?? What is he?? How did he come to be there?? HUSH! And Clopin...will tell you"
Unicorns are meant for purity. Thats why her attitude changed to opposites when she is able to love a human, and feel regret.
I mean..... that is just in fairy tales and children's books and isn't really stated in the movie.
It's all fairy tales.
It’s all fun and fairytales until the unicorn stabs stabs the princess in the chest for being sad because of her fathers illness.
@@mslightbulb unicorns dont really have eyes anyways and are far from gentle. You ever wonder how much precision it takes to shred a butterfly to flakes mid flight?
Unicorn meat is the purist most succulent meat you can find that is not whale bacon.
People legitimately like the "romance" between the Unicorn and the prince? I loved the fact she considered being human the most horrible thing for her. When she describes how she can feel her body dying I felt that. She may not be that likeable as a character but I like how they portray as this nonhuman creature trapped in the body of a human for that portion of the film. Then when she starts to forget her true nature you see her becoming more human in her personality and desires and I really like that it is presented as a tragedy the loss of her identity. Lol maybe it's just my self hatred but I really found this aspect of the film really cool.
Thank you. And even the others are appalled when Amalthea wanted to actually stay human.
It reminded me of the original little mermaid, how when she was human it felt like she was walking on glass constantly. I thought her human form was beautiful, she’s one of my favorite characters in a fever dream movie from my childhood
I agree!!!!! The unicorn is an immortal being - any immortal brought into the realm of mortality SHOULD feel like that! Thank you!!!
Agreed.
I actually liked her, but not this short romance with the prince.
i always liked how tragic the romance was, like i wanted her to go back to being a unicorn but he truly did love her and at the end so did she, but only because of how human she was becoming. when she goes back to being a unicorn she still loves him but its different. we want happy endings for all the good characters but lir's happy ending and the unicorn's happy ending cannot co-exist so a choice must be made and its sad, cause if she stayed human she still would have been happy, but only because she doesn't know why she shouldn't.
The romance part of the plot ties into the theme of immortality and regret. As an immortal creature the unicorn was unburdened by both love and regret. "I can feel sorrow, but it's not the same thing." As a human, trapped in a mortal body she slowly but surely becomes prone to these feelings, when she is not only likely, but assured to "grow old and die." It is the vulnerability of being mortal that brings these feelings on, so when she is transformed back into a unicorn, these feelings follow her.
There's a lot there to follow, and you won't have watched it as often or as enraptured as I've always been with the film and that's okay.
It becomes even more tragic in the book, when we see themes of loss, societal standards, the meaninglessness of virginity, and so many other things.
Yeah I think he was way to negative with the critic. Same with the comment about how a butterfly only has a lifespan of 2 weeks and shouldnt know of the bull because of that (he didnt directly say that but to me it sounded like he implied it). The unicorn said that butterflies only know stories, songs and poems they picked up on their travels and its later confirmed by schmedrik that there are a lot of stories about the red bull being told so its perfectly logical that the butterfly knows the story
The love story is to represents that shes losing her unicorn-ness. Just unicorns cant love or regret. I thought that's kinda obvious, but what do I know.
They can't love? Well in a few years they gonna die from not banging then.
@@ohitsrusher842 lol, no. They can't feel love. I appreciate the joke tho, and seeing something fun like this made me laugh.
@@starchild8822 I always figured they could feel some kind of love for each other on their level, or at least enough attraction for breeding purposes...but not love on a human level, which can be that much more intense because our lives on this earth are so much shorter.
@@jenniferschillig3768 I hadn't thought of it that way before!
You can even see it. When she was Turned, her Skin was white as Snow, and she still had the "Star" on her Forehead. And the more she loved, the more her Skin became "colored", her Eyes became Human and the Star vanished. She couldnt even use Magic anymore - a thing she could, when Mabruk invoked his own Magic.
The bottle wasn't an animation error, he was drinking the memory of the wine.
Fun Fact: Christopher Lee actually voiced the King in different languages at least in the german version of the movie it is still Christopher Lee's voice for the king
The german king has a great voice in german! I grew up with that version
Turns out being a British commando in WW2 has reusable skills.
I thought this movie was for kids.
Then Steve made a review on it.
Now I know why Robot Chicken made such a *jab* at The Last Unicorn.
oof
It is i found the tree funny and the harpy and redbull scared me, but it was one of the most watched cartoons growing up.
It IS a kids movie. Just like Watership Down. You don't need to shelter kids like this. It's just as stupid, as the parents of today wanting to ban the advertising billboards for "It Chapter 2".
@S I N I S T E R C L A N
No need to be rude about it.
There are way to many overprotective helicopter parents, who want to make children think that the world is just sunshine and rainbows.
unicorn: i can't turn you into something you're not. i can't turn you into a true magician
Schmendrick: it's alright don't worry about it
unicorn: i'm not.
damn that is one savage unicorn
To quote Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, "Unicorn!"
And then he turns around and turns her into something she's not
I think she meant that there are no instant shortcuts, he has to hone his talents.
This bit is at 16:28 and it's my favorite part of the video.
I think the unicorn being trapped in the sea is supposed to be a symbolic representation of sea foam and charging waves, always making it to the shore, then retreating to the sea.
"Unicorns being kept in the ocean"
Me: *NARWHALS*
"Why? I dont know"
Me: * pounds table with fist * *THEY ARE FRICKING NARWHALS NOW*
Queue weebls Narwhals song: 'Narwhals Narwhals swimming in the ocean, causing a commotion, coz they are so awesome'
Narwhal song: th-cam.com/video/wbby9coDRCk/w-d-xo.html
YES. They even showed Narwhals in a scene with Prince Lir if my memory serves. It was a lovely symbolism to how people once thought narwhals were unicorns!
@@ravingraven1469 PRETTY BIG AMD PRETTY WHITE THEY'LL BEAT A POLAR BEAR IN A FIGHT
@@ravingraven1469 god damn it! You did the joke first.
"the voice actor [of King Haggard] does a superb job of delivering his lines" i mean YEAH thats Sir Christopher Lee himself!
Sir Christopher was a fan of the novel, and brought a copy with him to the voice recording sessions. He'd underlined the passages that he felt were the most important to his character and should not be omitted.
@@jenniferschillig3768 yes!!! he became good friends with the author- i went to one of the movie screenings a few years ago just before Sir Christopher Lee passed away, and Peter S. Beagle said that Lee had told him that if he passed away before a live action film could be made, he would rise from his grave just to reprise his role again. Bittersweetly funny, what an amazing guy he was. Haggard is one of my favorite roles hes ever played
@@IdioticOracle Unfortunately, Sir Christopher will never get to reprise his role of Haggard (unless he DOES pull a Dracula and rises from the grave)...but if that live-action version ever does come off, who could be a better Schmendrick than Tom Hiddleston?
@@jenniferschillig3768 ill be perfectly honest, if anyone WOULD rise from his grave just to Act, it would be Sir Christopher Lee. Hiddleston as Schmendrick would be absolutely delightful, though!
Christopher Lee even dubt himself for the German version, which sounded terrific. Too bad he didn't too that on his other movies
Fun fact, Christopher Lee brought his own copy of the book to every recording session as Haggard and refused to leave out several of his favourite lines.
Is their slurred words? :3
Sir Lee is a national treasure. I refuse to believe he's dead, he's in Avalon with the other heroes awaiting the time when we need him the most.
@@SwedishSinologyNerd Same here!
this was a movie for kids and adults back in the day, loved it as a child, love it to this day, classic animated movie
Yeah I loved this as a kid not so sure why my parents let me watch it now tho its still a great movie to me
@@smlzbean361 same
Joe Horne man, I'm 14 and I want to watch it soooooooooo bad >_
Just something I found interesting: "Amalthea" means "holy goat". Unicorns used to be depicted as horned horses or goats. Amalthea was also the name of the goat that fed the god Zeus after his mother hid him from his father.
Who else watched this as a kid? (I remember being very scared of the fire bull, and the cat for some reason.)
The skeleton gave me nightmares, not so sure about the bull though
I was terrified of the bull, but I kept watching lol
@@whynterstorme9592 ikr
It was on the Disney channel when I was 6 and my dad made me turn it off halfway through. I may understand half of the plot. But he just didn't get it.
Same- yes.
I like the fact that the main plot took a sideline as often in life our main goals must be set aside
Yeah, and the part where she begins to forget herself is kind of relatable because sometimes in real life we do forget our dreams and goals
@@AndreNitroX doesn't make it not disturbing
@@AndreNitroXI agree with locogrunt39012 and cynical joker on this point it's just lazy writing nothing to read into. most likely was nearing the due date for the movie trashed the original script and made a new streamlined story.
@@budgetbiker26 this is not my favorite movie by any means but you have to appreciate the final product for what it is.
@I Think let me guess you are going to remark on how we should learn from this movie ands its complex stroy arc. Forgive the candid remark but honestly i can sum the entire idea into one phrase. "Being imortal doesnt seam like living forever, its watching everyone die" said by Peter Capaldi. Look man i am not a judge on what you like i just notice a huge lack of actual story building and carracter development, so aparently they fall in love for no reason? Its just lazy writing on all levels except animation.
To explain the random change in her character, when she is transformed into a human, she can feel emotions unlike when she unicorn because her human side is growing and replacing her unicorn self. She has the emotional maturity of a child as of being human for a few months and experiencing these human traits for only a few months, the first handsome man she sees tries to pursue, having no prior knowledge of love, of course she falls for him. She becomes irrational due to her human qualities which is why she becomes selfish and lets the other unicorns be trapped as she no longer feels her unicorn superiority.
Y'know you keep mentioning "The voice-actor's performance", but do you who voiced these characters?
That's Mia Farrow as the Unicorn.
Alan Arkin as Schmendrick.
Angela Lansbury as Mommy Fortuna.
Jeff Bridges as Prince Lear.
Rene Auberjonois as the skeleton.
And friggin Christopher Lee as King Haggard.
That's an all-star cast if ever there was one and they did a great job.
Though in some cases, a listers can't always do well in some movies. Garfield comes to mind.
@@bezoticallyyours83
Yeah. But to be fair, I think Murray was fine as Garfield, they just didn't give him much to work with.
The script was kinda garbage, paint by numbers stuff that we've all seen 100 times already.
Had they come up with a better story, with better dialogue, and replaced Breckin Meyer, and JL Hewitt with Jeff Goldblum, and Janeane Garafalo, that movie could have been a lot better.
@@hamo1701 its not that murray did a bad job, its just that the garfield movie sucked really bad.
@@bezoticallyyours83 I totally agree.
At one point, there was talk of a live action adaptation and Christopher Lee was so excited to play Haggard again, because he’d adored playing that role. However, it fell through, and he never got to :(
The Last Unicorn was my favorite movie as a kid growing up, and I would watch It time after time. learning something new and deciphering meanings in the film each time. I still love the animation, beauty, and soundtrack in this film.
The soundtrack was the band america. Also still love this movie.
Mollies emotional break down at seeing the Unicorn is understandable if you know how the legends go. Unicorns normally only appear before those who are pure of heart and virtuous, and it's said after having "sinned" they lose the ability to see a unicorn. Molly is a woman in her mid to late 40's, lives with thieves, and is supposedly married to the leader. She's no longer a "pretty virgin maiden" but a haggard old woman who lost her innocence years ago. To be able to see a Unicorn so late in life, after everything she's been though.
"How dare you? HOW DARE YOU come to me now?! When I am *this* !" Followed by sobbing
Molly is overwhelmed with so many emotions in that moment. Joy to finally seeing a unicorn, the anger of having been forced to wait so late in her life, and so many others I can't even begin to comprehend. She's been through so much yet hear heart was still full of enough purity that she could see the unicorns horn, which is invisible for those who don't believe. And for that I'm sure she's also thankful for being given the chance to finally see one.
Also, when maids (virgins) saw a unicorn it was a (we dont have a word for it) prerequisite/sign that she was going to find her true and destined love.
@@mattmaughan6871 omen?
@@maggieent3215 yeah, but there were alot of elements to it. It was seen as an omen, but also a duty or destiny or obligation or purpose of the unicorn. There was also the aspect that only the worthy, pure, ect could recognize they were seeing a unicorn at all.
aw it's quite a sweet subversion of that legend
Married to Captain Cully? That's a common law marriage at best
A lot of people have also pointed this out, but...
The vulture is a harpy, that's why it has three boobs.
Unicorns are associated with Poseidon. That's why they're in the sea.
The skeleton was drinking the memory of the wine from an otherwise empty glass. It's not an animation error.
The butterfly's appearance is based on the author himself.
While I like your content Steve, you do have this sort of reoccurring problem where you don't try to research these sorts of things and instead question it and act as if it's a sort of flaw. I noticed this with your Animal Farm review as well, where you somehow did not grasp that it was a piece on the negatives of communism when it takes just a few seconds to find that the author himself has confirmed as much.
Thank you for saying this lol!
tru that
Good job for paying attention. We need more people like you☺
THANK YOU!!! Like, this is pretty simple stuff!
You can't criticize a film based on its source material. All knowledge needed to understand the plot should be present within the film, viewers should not have to go to an outside source to have something explained.
The Huntsman said that it's always Spring in that forest. I like to think that after the unicorns experiences, autumn finally came to the forest, as a manifestation of her regret.
The book explains things way better. The movie cut out like, half the castle/Red Bull plot .
As for the three tiddy Harpy...They usually are presented like that in mythology. Same with the Unicorns in the sea, I think they're generally associated with Poseidon.
The unicorns are easily mistaken for the ocean foam, so it's the perfect place to hide them.
Whenever anyone reviews "The Last Unicorn," no one really ever talks about how amazing of a character Mommy Fortuna is. I find that to be a shame since Angela Lansbury did a fantastic job voicing her, and the character herself is both horrifying and relatable. She is so obsessed with her own legacy that she is willing to die at the hands of her own captive creatures so long as they remember that she was the one who held them prisoner. :o
I SO agree!!!!
Gosh, this is one of those movies I watched over and over and OVER again as a kid, and there's so much in there that took me years to understand. A woman accepting her death because she earned it under impossible odds, sadness and regret not being the same thing, Molly having her dreams come true and being furious about it, the unicorn having a breakdown because she's in a mortal body, true magic being magic that changes people regardless of whether or not it makes "real" things.... I don't think this movie goes ten minutes without a really challenging concept being thrown in there
In the book she is actually very powerful. She takes part in her own show as a wizened old woman singing a song about how time and opportunities slip by. She is more terrifying than the Harpy to the attendees. Schmendrick, who is actually immortal in the book, and has lived for hundreds of years quips "that old woman knows more than she knows she knows."
She actually was (and still is) my favourite character in the movie
Rest in peace, Ms. Lansbury. You were magnificent.
I feel like you missed some of the most important plot points and brushed them off as silly errors or filler when they were actually some of the most nuanced scenes in the entire film.
For example, the "love plot" is bizarre to have appeared in a story about a Unicorn at all. Being immortal, they should be relatively emotionless--no fear or worry of death, living exclusively in an enchanted utopia, would also mean a lack of appreciation for it, since it would be the norm for a unicorn. The fact that she fell in love with the prince is a sign of her increasing distance from her unicorn identity, with her even declaring that she's a human and wishes to be mortal--something she initially, and rightfully, feared.
The "animation error" with the skeleton is another of the movie's frequent reminders of death. The skeleton drinks for the sake of remembering what it was like to be alive because he's now trapped in a state with no senses, no ability to truly "die," but no opportunity to "live" either. I thought this scene was especially depressing, to be honest.
Yea, I don't think he really experienced it right.. Maybe distracted? Why review yet then?
@@darianstarfrogunfortunately, some critics do this. i wish he would've done more research, but oh well.
@@darianstarfrogunfortunately, some critics do this. i wish he would've done more research, but oh well.
9:37 - Aw! You completely missed and dismissed that whole scene with the mantle-skeleton! Schmedrick tried getting the skull to speak because of a riddle told by the awesome pirate cat (Because cats are a-holes and will never give a straight answer. They can find the Red Bull It's when the skull speaks, when the wine drinks itself, and when the clock strikes the right time). The skull just lavishes in making fun of Shmendrick for being so inept. Shmendrick then tries to fulfill the rest of the riddle but doesn't have any access to wine, so he tries to make some using water. Of course, Shmendrick fails and drinks all the water, saying it was like a weak vinegar at best, but the skeleton saw the newly empty vessel as a corpse like him. He then gets drunk off the memory of the wine, which was better than the real thing anyways, and tells them that they can just walk through the clock. Ghosts can't drink living wine, they can only drink the memory of it, obviously!
My memory of the scene is slightly different. (Perhaps no more correct, but I will also state that I did NOT read the book, so I'm only going on my speculation.)
Not so much the memory of the wine, but the fact it was a vessel that contained wine, regardless of how good (bad?) it was. To me, it seemed like it was more of a play on words that the skeleton wanted to drink from the empty vessel. He was a spirit drinking the spirit of spirits.
So, at the end of the day, it's just another way of saying what you've already said.
this point is explained quite thoroughly in the film, it makes me wonder a bit if this was.. a joke or he didnt see the scene..?
Emma Duque Mack he didn’t get it.
_ooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh_
yeap was going to point that out too. maybe Steve was in the bathroom when that happened.
Also, after reading the original novel as an adult, there are some nuances that were significant and thought-provoking elements that were unfortunately left out of the movie (probably because of keeping to a certain run-time for the movie and that they wouldn't have translated well directly out of the book). Things like Haggsgate, the spider that thought it was Arachne, Captain Cully being in denial of reality, and so on had a lot of interesting perspectives (also making Prince Lir more interesting with a tragic backstory).
Plus, the novel has satirical elements for fantasy stories too (in a similar way to Scream having satirical elements for the slasher genre).
You'd like "The Pyrates" George MacDonald Fraser. It's a satirical swashbuckling adventure.
U know what a harpy is? The real version would have looked much grosser
I'd hit it tbh
there are some hot harpies too though. but yeah, I've seen the gross ones.
From what I have seen, harpies can either be super hot or super nasty looking, no in between
@@staplesworld3291 they can be a mix of both just not very often
Only thing I found on google to be on par with this was from MTG. Everything else is basic and no where near as fucked up as this version
“Oh god I’m engaged to a Douglas Fir”
LMFAO
I always saw Lir's role in the story not as a Love Interest, but as the "Temptress" from the Hero's journey. That element that draws the hero away from their quest. In fact I would go so far as to say he is the best example of this I have ever seen in a story. we've all seen those stories where some figure tries to convince the hero to quit, offering money, fame, or whatever else the hero could want. But it always hollow so of course the hero says No or if they say Yes the audience is yelling at the hero for being stupid.
But here that not what happens, no here we meet a kind and noble person, if the unicorn did marry him she would most likely live a happy human life, It would be a happy ending in its own way if we just abandon the quest. The audience itself is being drawn away from the goal, after all the name of the story is the LAST unicorn, maybe this is how magic died in the world...
Lir is the only time I have ever been tempted to say, "Abadon the quest!" in any other story I would say "NO KEEP GOING! Gold wont buy you happiness! You could never hurt your friends this way!" but with Lir... she would have happiness with him... her friends would be just fine... the only ones to suffer would be nameless figures we have never seen in person... we've accepted worse for a happy ending.
In a way its poetic that Lir is who convinces her to go on, because he is not just an evil "Temptress". Those same qualities that made us like him would never let him let her abandon the quest, and so we feel the sting of the ending all the more because that happy ending with the two of them together will never happen.
P.S.(I am actively choosing to overlook the shallowness of their relationship as a consequence of the movie medium, developing a deep romance takes time (or a musical number) and can easily eat up 80%-90% of the movie's run time. We need to remember that movies have 90~120 minutes to tell a full story. Compare that to a book's unlimited run time and not even having to complete the story! OF COURSE SOMETHING IS GETTING STREAMLINED OR CUT!)
There is one more thing to this; I don't remember how it was in the movie, but I know the book by heart.
At one point of the story, after crossing the clock, it was Schmendrick to first agree to not finishing the quest, letting the story to end right here and now- "Marry the prince and live happily ever after." to which Amalthea agreed yet it was Lir to say "No.". He motivated it by being a hero by trade and knowing the right flow of the story where "Quest may not simply be abandoned; prophecies may not be left to rot like unpicked fruit [...]. The happy ending cannot come int he middle of the story." with this he changes, to...to what exactly?
Was Lir really a Temptress to Unicorn's journey, or to us, audience this whole time?
Now that I think of it, this book while having the quality of monomyth can be so hard to pinpoint who is who, archetype speaking! To the point I might risk saying Prince Lir went of his own hero's journey. A journey within journey.
@I Think ... I'd like to just interject here and say that the book was not written as a parody of anything. It is it's own fairytale. I was at a panel with Mr Beagle himself when he explained the writing of the book and how it came to be. I do like your interpretation, though. I agree with you. :)
I think it's implied that a lot of time was taken, as he spent (what I remember to be) months trying to please her. There is a tragic truth to it that makes me think of my first, real heart breaking, failed love.
I remember feeling a similar, but less heroic, impression of Molly. Having spent years and decades waiting for the blessing of a unicorn, only to find one far too late.
The lesson? Maybe that we will all lose our innocence. Even the immortal, mythical creature can't stay a child forever.
@@whitemagus2000 In the book they are with the King/Prince for months! Lir spends a lot of time doing all the things he thinks will please her until he finally asks her what he can do
I think the reason the love interest appears shallow is because the song and singers were rather lame (sorry Mia and Jeff, but you didn't sound very good) and because there was not enough time in the film to develop the love story. In the book, Lir is the temtress, but he honestly has fallen in love with Amalthia and spends months trying to get her to see him. She is experiencing love for the first time and is confused by what she feels. Fortunately, Schmendrake is there to help remind everyone of their role in the story.
the point of the movie is what happens when an immortal creature feels what mortality is like, and then has to give it up. she started out as lonely, the last of her kind. and when the movie ends she is still lonely, and is still different from everyone else. because even though all the unicorns are back now, none of them know what it's like to be in love, to be mortal. but she remembers, she remembers the heartache, she remembers what it was like to be mortal, and to be in love, and she has to live out eternity with those memories. she is now forever cursed with the knowledge that she was in love with someone, and who she knows she will outlive. yes the movie is weird and odd and defiantly has it's flaws, but it is also very sad.
The OG question is, why doesn't she ask the magician boi to turn her in to human again?
Aitor Rosell Torralba besause he even said the magic has a mind of its own. Both times he turned the unicorn it was when he allowed said magic to do what it’s meant to. Magic is used to further ones destiny not to change what should be. The unicorn was meant to save the unicorns but prince Lear has his own destiny as does she. So even if he wanted to change her back he wouldn’t be able to
She will remember him when men are stories in books written by rabbits.... ;)
The most important part is to remember that the movie is based from the book The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. While the book itself is rather short, it does go into more detail about characters such as Molly and Schmendrick. Schmendrick has an entire tragic back story linked to what is made a throwaway line in the film "last of the Red Hot Swamis."
The Prince is meant to be seen as Amalthea's equal in human form- they're both painfully naive and single-minded, however their tragedy is that they could never be together as she is a unicorn and he a human. They've both been sheltered and alone all their lives and find solice within each other. In the end he teaches her to regret. The whole love story side plot is because, to quote Amaltha, "I can feel this body dying all around me." She's searching for something, anything to tether her to this world and because of it she begins to lose her immortality and become human- truly forgetting who she is. I've always loved this film in how tragic it is. No character ends up getting what they want in the end, and they all end up losing something along the way.
Well, Schmendrick gets to be a real wizard like he wants and do real magic, Molly gets to see a real unicorn, and both get to go forth and explore their own stories. The unicorn loses her innocence and purity, but the experience enables her to fight and thereafter she will have more complexity and wisdom than her fellow unicorns. Just as Lir will go on to be a wiser king.
I think no one got what they *thought* they wanted, but what they needed, because change is necessary for life to go on. The other option is to be like the king, frozen in his unhappiness, trapping unicorns for his selfish pleasure.
They even foreshadow that with a story of a unicorn who becamea human king and died as a mortal
It wasn't supposed to be about the love story in the middle, but the unicorns lost identity. Molly actually ended up saving her in the end by reminding her of who she was supposed to be. A forest god unconcerned about human follies.
This thing is like. A staple of my art inspiration. I honestly don’t care if it’s a good movie or not, I loved this shit as a kid and its imagery was the entire reason I have creativity like this.
Same
guppieghost I remember watching this as a kid too
It is pleasant to look at
Apparently I had a vhs of this movie that I played so much it got worn out and didn’t work
Same. This movie along with watership down and the hobbit
I think her deciding to abandon the other unicorns just shows that humanity can become selfish when their own happiness is on the line.
But yes! I’ve been waiting for this vid!!
In her defense unicorns are emotionless and she suddenly feels something she never knew in human form. She is emotionally stunted so her selfishness kind of makes sense. As a unicorn was was detached and ran by the logic of her kind.
GrandCorsair Very true. I guess you also have to add the fact that she was encouraged by Molly to love him. Then she finally does then has to give him up...
@Mystique Dreamer yeah, she forgot who she was.
"To which... This happens"
*Two unskipable ads*
"The butterfly lives about two weeks"
"The butterfly said his piece and is never seen again"
Because he died. xD
Ha dark humor
hA.
talking clothed butterfly is more than likely a fairy in disguise. that would make sense considering the setting
Because he went on to become George RR Martin
@@mrsawesome9300 loool
"Oh god I'm engaged to a douglas-fir." - Schmendrick, 1982.
Magnificent display sir!
So is he an herbophile or an arbophile?
Elizabeth Athineu Why not both?
@@AMagicalTortoise I like your style! ;-)
A few points from the book:
Schmendrick cannot control his magic. That's why he's always chanting, "Magic magic, do as YOU will" (as opposed to "Magic magic, do as I will"). Therefore, his teacher "cursed" him so he couldn't age or die until he could control his magic... which he never does in this book.
The skeleton cannot see, therefore he couldn't tell the flask he was given was empty. Apparently he could only hear and touch things. If he couldn't touch things, he wouldn't even be able to hold a flask or realize it was touching his mouth.
Lir grew up alone with Hagard, who would be arrested for parental abuse nowadays. No wonder he fell for the first pretty lady who didn't treat him like crap, and was referred to as a Lady, implying she had lineage (unlike Molly Grue, who was clearly a peasant).
PS: The unicorn didn't really heal Lir. She brought him back from the dead. I suppose technically she had to heal him enough that he wouldn't just die again, but she never does just "healing" on anyone.
PPS: I always had the feeling that the "unintended message" of the movie was "being human sucks".
Just a small question, wasn't it implied in book that, in fact, Schmendrick started to control his magic and he started to age? I'm thinking of his talk/dream of the unicorn by the end of the book, where she asked him if he's happy being mortal wizard.
-tbh...yeah, being human really does suck--
Ewa A yes, I believe the line is something like ‘he felt his immortality slip away’ as he turns her back into a unicorn.
The plot of this film isn't flawed. It's unconventional. It doesn't take the predictable route, and I admire it for that. Too many films do.
ironically many of the things he criticizes are key elements of the plot.
@@MrChickennugget360yup, he's missed it all..
Its correct for the harpy to have breasts (even 3). In mythology they are often depicted that way.
What is the purpose of an extra breast?
@@weirdguy1495 Bonus supernatural points? Who knows, the person who came up with it probably just wanted them to seem more monstrous
Weird Guy 149 you can really never have enough boobs in your life
Mass Production Waifu This is one of the best yt comments I have ever read.
@@drdispekful747 Lol, good one.
The seemingly change of character when she gets turned into a human is reminiscent of how human nature is human nature. Humans tend to not think about the big picture. It’s one of the sources of many poor habits in human society; craving instant gratification. The Unicorn exists in a state of not possessing this behavior due to, I assume, it’s immortality, and so both doesn’t understand it, and is extremely susceptible to it. Hence why it seems like she just “suddenly falls in love”. And when she resists the idea of returning to what she was, immortal, her human nature resists the concept.
That’s a very poor description but hopefully you understand what I’m trying to get at.
Also in the Book it happened to another Unicorn as well. And it..wasnt good.
Much deep
Please, PLEASE don't get taken down by the TH-cam Copyright demons, I BEG OF YOU
Everyone is like-
"So what was your frist anime?"
And- im over here cause my brother got me into anime- and-
"I have no fucking clue- the last unicorn? Wolf children- older good anime-"
Funny enough, my first anime I didn't know was an anime, was Unico. Yet another unicorn film.
@@HanaTheSloth I forgot this comment ever exist
It wasn't an animation error he actually drink it before giving it to the skeleton 9:42
Yup. He tested it to see if he had successfully made wine and when he failed they sold the skeleton the memory of drinking instead.
@@BonaparteBardithion this is because the whole film is actually about perception and subjectivity. The skeleton expects to taste wine, so he does even when he isn't drinking anything. Same with the man who mistakes the Unicorn for a horse. He cannot see her horn because he doesn't expect to see a mythical creature.
That and if you think your drank you will be acting like it
I knew that that was a good sneaky plan.
@@Lylantares That, and the skeleton couldn't taste or feel if it was real anyway.
Hey I was just thinking about this movie! I watched it a lot as a kid
Same here
I'm sorry that happened to you
Same, and I really loved it
Same here. It was one of my favorite movies as a kid, along with Flight of Dragons.
Was meaning to watch it this weekend oddly enough.
Wait, unicorns fleeing to the ocean, so that one Billy and mandy episode about the depressed unicorn was a reference to this
The crass unicorn. Yep. A mix of this movie and also the belief that unicorns are vain jerks in some lore.
They also heavily referenced The Last Unicorn in Gravity Falls The last Mabelcorn......right down to the Unicorn design actually.
@@teddybearkiller5271 i doubt that they based the design off of this movie. But ehh?
@@mag8256 Actually they did because if you have the physical Journal 3 like I do and read up the entry about that episode Mabel says unicorns aren't what she suspected them to be. She thought they would be nice and friendly and go on adventures with bumbling Wizards and something else that was also a reference I haven't read it a while.
@@teddybearkiller5271 nice, pretty cool when people reference other media's in theirs
The Last Unicorn was actually a favorite movie of mine when I was really young, like five to eight years old. I'm glad someone reviewed it, as I mostly agree save for the love arc. The animation and character designs still catch my eye and I gotta go watch it again if I can find it somewhere.
Procrastinating on homework brought me this far huh
I feel that
I had to get a notification for this, now I can't focus
Same
HailedSpace25 same
I haven't had any homework since I started in late August
I have a love for this movie, but even more, the book is my favorite of all time. Themes of immortality (and what it means to be human, to experience death) and some of the most beautiful writing ever.
“I have been mortal, and some part of me is mortal yet. I am full of tears and hunger and the fear of death, although I cannot weep, and I want nothing, and I cannot die. I am not like the others now, for no unicorn was ever born who could regret, but I do. I regret.”
Molly being so upset with Schmendrick about turning the unicorn human was because she knew that now she would feel her own death. ("I can feel my body dying all around me.") Which is pretty horrifying! But then there's a great line about how things that can die are beautiful, more beautiful than the unicorn, who is the most beautiful. I loveee the nuance and themes in the book. So. Much.
I also love the quote in the book where she likens her human body to being trapped in a burning building. It really hammers home how being mortal feels to someone who has never been mortal.
thank you ♥
Long comment gets big heart ♥️💛💚💙💜❤️
HOLY SHIT I THOUGHT THIS MOVIE WAS A FEVER DREAM OH MY G O D
For a long time, I thought so, too.
TheAbsol at least I’m not the only one lol
LMAO SAME
It basically is
Same here
I think the way the unicorn is portrayed after become human is good. Because humans in the films are suppose to be greed, selfish, ignorant. Her learning and feeling all those thoughts and emotions helped changed her into what she is at the end
4:30 was the most terrifying scene I've seen when I was kid and it still is. He cut it out but in the movie you actually hear the old lady screaming and moaning in pain while getting eating alive
It's quick but you could also see the Son dead belly up in the lower corner of the screen his face dead from fright.
@@longtaleanimation6849 If you're referring to the shot that occurs when the Unicorn and Schmendrick are walking away, the dead figure on the lower left is actually the old lady, and the harpy has moved onto murdering the son. Kills the two of them. I never noticed as a kid.
I don’t even remember screams at that part.
Golen What was horrifying is that she always knew it would killer. It was practically a suicide, and she welcomed it
THATS IN A LIDS MOVIE
The reason King Haggard is so well voiced is because he's voiced by Christopher Lee.
Wow I didn't know that. He musta been super young.
Not to mention Mia Farrow, Alan Arkan, Jeff Bridges. America was a popular band.... I don't get it. "the Voice Actor" smh
Danae Lum If it was in 1988, he’d have to be in his 60s. Dude’s been acting since the 40s. He even played one of the more notable Dracula portrayals back in the day.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Lee_filmography
I remember watching this as a kid. And I remember being so mesmerized by this film, thank you for unlocking a memory that I remembered cherished dearly.
On the Schmendrick + Molly relationship there, I felt like the film did a good job of building a bond between them, as it started off they were only united in service of Amalthea, but that mission brought them into cooperation, which eventually led to them becoming strong friends - & then they "settled" for each other, at the end.
That was the point; that the magic was largely gone from their lives with Amalthea's exit, + they were left just two lonely + aging individuals who had lost the purpose that they'd found in her, & all they really had left was each other, so they saw it as just logical that wherever they went next, they'd go together.
The idea was that everything went back to being a bit drab + colourless, as it had been for them before the adventure started, once she left, but they had a connection - a real one, built over time + through shared purpose, rather than some great mythic love story in which they as individuals were largely devoid of agency, like Amalthea + Lir had had - & so it made no sense for _them_ to part. So they embarked back into their normal, human lives; all the more bittersweet for the knowledge they now had of how different it _could_ feel - holding on to the one thing that she had left them, which was each other.
Honestly, the book covers it a bit better than the film does, but I do feel the movie - for all it leaves between the lives + underplays - does a good enough job of communicating what's going on. You just have to pay attention to what those characters are doing in the background, rather than only focusing on Amalthea.
But schmendrick was youthful and (near) immortal as his growing magics were too colossal to be mastered in a single lifetime...
Am i remembering wrong?
@@GrifoStelle no, you're not, but I guess I phrased it wrong; when I say "the magic was gone", I sort of mean the sense of something beautiful and unique and _only theirs_ , like the unicorn had been - Schmendrick understood that his own power wasn't emotionally tied to anything, except maybe to the world. Does that make more sense?
They had been united in their awe of, and then love for, Amalthea, and there was a lonely hole when she was gone, so they tried to fill it with their bond with each other, and support each other likewise as they grieved her absence.
One of the creation myths of unicorn is that they were born from sea foam caused by the waves hitting the shore.
Plus - narwhals
Wasn’t Sea foam supposed to be dead merfolk?
@@projectgarchomp2380 in Greek mythology sea foam is the cut off balls of Uranus
@@galaxyandspiritstudios8242 That's exclusively Aphrodite
@@ChangedMyNameFinally69 I know
I always thought the love plot between Lir and the Unicorn was just so the Unicorn had changed by the end of the film. Somewhere in there it's mentioned unicorns don't feel regret as well as some other emotions. Without turning into a human, loving something and then losing it the Unicorn would've remained the same character from start to finish with no real character arc.
As for Lir, he is initially drawn to her beauty so to win her heart he murders a dragon. At this point she's still more Unicorn than human so when he's like "here's a dragon head" she's just super sad and he feels *bad* about killing it. His character shifts from a shallow knight character with a subplot of making daddy proud to...idk understanding dragons are people too. Point is, he changes as well.
So for a love story introduced like 2/3rds of the way into the film, it's pretty fleshed out.
I love that this guy just went out to slay a dragon. "Bye I'll be back in time for lunch just gotta go slay this mythical fire breathing lizard" It's crazy!
In the novel, we see Lir a little earlier...he's engaged to a princess whom he doesn't seem to love (and she doesn't seem all that bonkers about him). He's slower and lazier at this point, and hardly your basic Prince Charming--he doesn't even pay that much attention while his betrothed (rather perfunctorily) performs a ritual to call a unicorn, which is apparently some kind of formality she must undergo before she and Lir can be formally betrothed. The unicorn stands hidden, but does not go to the princess, because she is too taken up with her quest and because she knows the princess doesn't really care whether she sees a unicorn or not. When they arrive at the castle, there's Lir, and he is so smitten with "Lady Amalthea's" otherworldly beauty that he breaks off his engagement with Princess Shallow and undergoes all sorts of heroic deeds, becoming stronger, leaner, and more of the heroic prince archetype in hopes that it will win Amalthea's heart. Only when she is human enough to speak with him and he tries to reassure her about her nightmares (which make little sense to her now that she is forgetting her life as a unicorn) does she return his love.
It's interesting that Prince Lir can kill a dragon no problem but barely lasted a second against the Red Bull who was frightened away by a weaker single unicorn when he was able to control and dominant ALL of them
The voice actor for Lir is Jeff Bridges. He wasn't experienced with voice acting for animation.
The voice actor for the king is Christopher Lee. Christopher Lee is epic in everything he does.
As for the unicorn abandoning her kind in the cave, it was not a "dick move" on her part. She was being consumed by her human nature and overwhelmed by emotions that were new and alien to her. She had no control over it. Lir realized what was happening, and so did the magician.
Funfact: Christopher Lee also voiced King Haggard in the german dub.
All I have to say about this is that her not wanting to turn back into a unicorn is because now that she has been human, she makes mistakes in her humanity and in her character profile due to being tainted from loosing her divinity as a unicorn. Spending time being that way changed her but once she was a unicorn, her morals and wanting to be good returns to her once she changes back, she goes back to being this beautiful and spectacular creature full of honor and dignity.
King Haggard: WE SHOULD TAKE ALL THE UNICORNS AND PUSH THEM SOMEWHERE ELSE!
King Haggard: PUSH!! *Him and many townsfolk push giant cage filled with unicorns*
Lol reminds me of our president
ok patrick
The Butterfly is actually the original Author's self insert. He was designed to look like Peter S. Beagle
You forgot to mention that King Haggard is voiced by Christopher Lee
How dare he not acknowledge the legendary Christopher Lee
How about that the fact he also left out that the prince is voiced by the “DUDE” Jeff Bridges. Though I do agree his performance was wooden.
Did he shed the blood of the Saxon men?
Sorry, been listening to Christopher Lee's FUCKING HEAVY METAL ALBUM ABOUT CHARLEMAGNE WHO HE APPARENTLY IS A DIRECT DESCENDANT OF.
Christopher Lee also voiced King Haggard in the German version of this movie. Talk about talented!
@@knuckleheadtori eeeehm what? i am german and in the german version King Haggard was synchronized by Christian Rode. Who is in fact the german synchronizer for Christopher Lee. So yes, it was the german voice of Christopher Lee, but that doesn't mean that Christopher Lee actually spoke it himself. ;)
The reason Haggard is so great is because Haggard's voice actor-- the legendary Sir Christopher Lee-- was a huge fan of the book. He even brought his own copy in with him when he was recording. (Fun fact: Lee also voiced Haggard for the German dub of the film)
My childhood- what a refreshing memory- *sees the tree breasts* not that part- god no
NoT tHaT pArT
I remember bursting out in laughter first time I saw that scene😂 it was hilarious
The tree as a whole looks kind of phalic.
This movie makes me so nostlagic, i used to watch it all the time as a kid. Thanks for reviewing it!
The love between Amalthea and Lyr is better explained and incorporated in the book.
A lot of things are better explained in the book. Like the talking cat. Or the fact that Haggard raped Unicorn.
@@NEETKitten He did what now?!?!
@@joshua.alvane That scene where they were on the balcony? In the book, it's implied (if not outright stated) that Haggard raped Lady Amalthea in an attempt to understand this strange creature and maybe find happiness from it. Didn't work. He was still a grumpy old depressed guy afterwards.
Garth St.Claire i don't believe that counts. After all, the movie has to stand on its own, and if it can't, then it is a fair criticism to say it does some things poorly. Besides, the thing that intrigues me most in this case is the fact that this *is* the book's author who adapted the story to the screen. So... why did *he* simplify or discard things from his own book?
@@NEETKitten jesus christ. Thanks for the warning, i plan on reading the book eventually here
22:35. The reason the Unicorn did not heal the monkey earlier in the film, it's because she never got to experience the human emotion of compassion at that point. When she healed Prince Ler, she had already experienced human emotions firsthand.
She didn't heal Prince Lir, she brought him back to life. Even he exclaims that he was "dead" after reviving. The monkey on the other hand will heal in time so there was no need interefre with the process.
I love this film!
Mommy Fortuna (voiced by Angela Lansbury) accepting her death was sitting in the Harpy’s cage is so dark. She was knew it was going to happen.
More than that, she WANTED IT! She knew she was old and would die, but to be remembered by an immortal creature is to be immortal yourself.
“ she will kill me one day but she will remember for all eternity that I caught her that I held her prisoner, and there’s my immortality” so badass
2:17-2:20: "The RED BULL? Who is the RED BULL?
Hippie-looking butterfly: "He GIVES YOU WINGS, man!"
🤣😂🤣
I actually really like the love story because its true to life somtimes when you fall in love and you forget who you are, who you wanted to become.
9:39 It's not an animation error, Shmendrick drank all the liquid in the bottle himself before handing it to the skeleton. The skeleton couldnt tell the difference anyway, and got "drunk" via the placebo effect.
Also, thanks for the review of this movie ☺ both the movie and the book were favorites of mine as a child, and its nice to look at it again from another's pov.
WHEN THE LAST EAGLE FLIES OVER THE LAST CRUMBLING MOUNTAIN
Litterally each time when the song starts and you hear that eagle scream I get goosebumps xD
AND THE LAST LION ROARS, AT THE LAST DUSTY FOUNTAIN
I've always felt America was an under-rated band.
@Bersa Brie THEY WILL STARE UNBELIEVING
*AT THE LAST UNICORN*
And you look to the north, and a pale moon is rising
It makes sense that Haggard would be the best character; he has the voice of Christopher Lee!
@SenselessPi I loved haggards voice so much when I was a kid. I didn't learn until much later that he was voiced by Christopher Lee. He really is a genious
He even wanted to play Haggard again in the live action film they were rumoured to be making a few years later.
@SenselessPi ...THAT WAS CHRISTOPHER LEE IN THE GERMAN DUB AS WELL?!?
I literally never noticed that all the times I saw that movie! O.O
@@tomroberts2299 Oh really? A shame they never did
I watched an interview with him and it was fun to see him so passionate about playing Haggard. He had notes in his book and everything lol
I love this movie to pieces, it's the ONLY ONE to represent unicorns as being NOT HORSES with a HORN, it's magnificent and the soundtrack! I enjoyed many hours of that beautiful music, especially the main song The Last Unicorn. The book explains many things that in the movie are missing or barely implied, so, if you liked the movie, you should read the book, too. All in all, I liked your review, I agree with some things you say, others not so much XD.
Lol
Veronica Rodriguez I love the traditional look as well with cloven hooves, beards and a lions tail 😍
I bought the soundtrack before iTunes was a big thing. Had to have the CD imported from Germany through FYE music store in the mall but so worth the wait. I still have it and listen to it this day. Mia Farrow's song was replaced with another singer, that is the only change. Big thanks to Andrew L Webber and America for making an amazing movie even better. Love every track!
Fun fact: The weird butterfly from the beginning is actually based on the author of the original Last Unicorn book the movie is adapted from.
I almost forgot the Boob Tree existed.
Why have you done the this to me
Boob tree is best tree
tarod3 "THERES NO IMMORTALITY, BUT A TREE'S LOVE" why does that line exist?
I would say it's a penis tree
I never forgot
What I want to know, is what kind of tree do I buy to have boob trees in my front yard?
Are said trees available at Lowes or Home Depot, at gardening stores, or do I need to special order the seeds online?
This is my favorite movie of all time and it’s sort of a tradition of mine to watch it whenever I’m feeling sad, had a horrible day, or am just upset!
As the once crazy horse girl in school, my parents bought this movie for me. It left me confused and horrified. That tree...it haunts me.
EDIT: I FORGOT THE BULL THAT THING WAS THE WORST
Vendaval same here
For me, the worst thing in the film was the romance and prince what's-his-name. I never really understood the point of the character and saw him as a guy with the personality of a wooden plank. Also, I was bummed-out when he slayed that dragon (I had somewhat of an obsession with dragons when I was a kid).
The point of the prince was lost on me as a kid. I just accepted 'oh hey there you go. rince whatshisname.' Funny thing is, that is purely intentional. 'This is the way things go' is the name of the game. Fairy tale logic at work because that's exactly what this is and.... dear sweet god that one scene with Molly.
As I grow older I know damned well what caused Molly to break down. As a child I was confused. Age brought context.
@@singletona082 I barely remembered any of the plot of the movie and only had images singed into my poor, innocent brain :))) looking back I can actually appreciate most of the art style but the story is just.... meh.
@@dannyrpg92oak I remember being so bored during that part because there were no unicorns during the whole romance period and that's what I thought I had signed up for 😂
Oh my god! You just unlocked my childhood memory! This used to be my favourite movie for such a looong time, Ive seen this a thousand times.
I'm pretty sure the butterfly is meant to be a caricature of the original author, which is why he's given that odd spotlight treatment