IronWatcher’s review published on Letterboxd:
Watched on Blu-Ray
"Man's Road", "Now That I'm a Woman" (sung by Mia Farrow) and, of course, the delightfully corny title song "The Last Unicorn" by America - the 1982 adventure of the last unicorn in search of its fellow conspecifics has become an evergreen of animated cinema, not least because of the hits. Conversely, eleven years after their biggest hit "A Horse with No Name", this provided the US folk rockers with a comeback they probably didn't think possible themselves.
Is the mythical creature with the title really the last of its kind? The animal does not want to believe it himself and therefore one day sets off in search of his fellow species that disappeared some time ago. A butterfly had reported that a terrible red bull had hunted the other unicorns. Most people cannot see the horn and therefore think the unicorn is an ordinary horse. On its trip, it falls into the clutches of the witch Mommy Fortuna, who keeps it in a cage for her travelling show of curious creatures. The talentless wizard Schmendrick frees it. When soon afterwards the red bull actually appears and chases the unicorn, Schmendrick tries a spell, which this time even succeeds: the unicorn turns into a young human woman.
Are pure animated films still produced for the cinema today? In times of computer animation adventures from Pixar and DreamWorks, hardly. Unfortunately, the perfect animation technology of modern animated films also leads to classics like "The Last Unicorn" seeming a bit old-fashioned today. Dramaturgy and action are also a bit dusty by today's standards. This is regrettable, because if you let yourself in for it, the film definitely unfolds its charm.
Just watch "The Last Unicorn" with your children, their unspoilt eyes still appreciate a beautiful fairy tale. As an adult, you can overlook the somewhat bland kitsch. The plea for the triumph of fantasy also shows surprisingly little black-and-white painting in its moral and offers symbolic power and poetry.
It is no coincidence that some of the film's motifs are reminiscent of Japanese anime: the animations were created at the Topcraft studio, whose greatest success, "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind", led to the founding of the Ghibli studio.
Mia Farrow as the unicorn, Alan Arkin as Schmendrick, Jeff Bridges as the heroic Prince Lir and - drum roll - Christopher Lee as the evil King Haggard leave nothing to be desired. Lee, by the way, also voices Haggard in the German dubbing.
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