The Last Unicorn

After the Return of the King, Rankin Bass would move on to a different star for Middle Earth. They went with human looking characters with The Hobbits, so let’s go with something like Pegasus, Centaurs, Bo Jack, or one to aim for as an endangered species with The Last Unicorn.

A singing butterfly (voiced by Robert Klein) revealed the Last Unicorn (voiced by Mia Farrow) that all the other unicorns went missing because of King Haggard’s Red Bull. (The ox that doesn’t give you wings)

She gets kidnapped by a group of carney led by Mommy Fortuna (voiced by Angela Lansbury), a henchman named Ruhk (voiced by Gollum’s actor, Theodore), and a magician named Schmendrick (voiced by Alan Arkin). Fortuna has made a show with all the mythical creatures; they’re real weakening animals disguise as a toothless lion into a manticore, a snake as a dragon, and a boy as a rabbit. One of mythical creature is real which are a Harpy; a half bird and half woman at least with the only nipples shown in Rankin Bass.

They eventually escaped from Mommy Fortuna, but Schmendrick got captured by outlaws led by Captain Cully (He’s voiced by a guy named Keenan Wynn. Yes, he’s the son of Ed Wynn, and voiced Winter Warlock in Santa Claus Comin’ To Town.) They escaped thanks to the Unicorn by casting illusions of Robin Hood. (It’s Fitting they fell for the last episode of Festival of Family Classic.)

One of the outlaws, Molly Grue (voiced by Tammy Grimes) eventually escaped from the Robin Hood illusions to meet up with Schmendrick and the Unicorn that she’s able to see because she believes they exist for years as a middle aged woman. She helps lead them to King Haggard’s castle, as they eventually arrived there. The Balrog- I mean The Red Bull has arrived to attack the Unicorn, but Schemendrick has cast a spell to make the Unicorn into Human in order to save her from the Red Bull.

          They entered the castle of King Haggard to reveal it’s inhabited by the Red Bull, King Haggardand his master magician, Mabruk (voiced by Paul Frees), and his Prince Lir (voiced by Jeff Bridges)

“I’m the Dude!”

-Jeff Bridges in Big Labowski

How long can the Unicorn keep the charades from King Haggard than he can hide his devil horns?

The unicorn’s design in original and human version is simply beautiful. Mia Farrow does a good performance of depress and stuck up, yet cynical. Despite those brief personality traits is seen more as a unicorn than human. When she’s human, she’s mostly sad throughout the second half. That’s the downside of the film is the Unicorn became a depressed human in a castle we spent slowly can get really boring. It has the reverse Brother Bear effect, ironically in the middle of the film.

The atmosphere has a Lord of the Ring feel; in fact, Christopher Lee is the voice of King Haggard, and this is before he became Sauramon. Though he does look like an older Denathor from Return of the King. Prince Lir…he’s not young Jeff Bridges at his best, he can try to do his best, but Lir is dull love interest. Though it was Jeff is how they got Jimmy Webb for the music, whose music you hear later in Ferngully. Half the time it fits the film and the other don’t work with it as much as Phil Collin in Tarzan.

I would be barely surprised if this film is what inspires My Little Ponies two years later. Tammy Grimes would later play Catrina in the second episode or fourth if the first two episodes. Though I think The Last Unicorn may got some influence more for G4 My Little Ponies: Friendship Is Magic. That’s right; I’m a brony, and more on G4 and first two episode of G1!

There are some brief characters that can add some silliness that save or hurt the film. The butterfly can get annoying of singing pop culture music that wouldn’t exist in the Middle Ages. Mabrek just came and went away, there’s a guarding skeleton (voiced by Rene Auberjonois) that gets a chuckle, a big breasted tree (I’m not making this up. She’s voiced by Eowyn’s actress Nellie Bellflower of Return of the King) and Don Messick as a three-legged cat. Molly Grue and Schmendrick are likable enough to carry the film with or without the Unicorn.

I’m kinda glad I did watch the first and third act of the film. The middle can be skipped. I’m not entirely recommending this to kids under 12 with some brief nudity of harpy nipples and Unicorn’s human cheeks. You’ll get some magic here, but much like Schmendrick’s, minimum is all you’re getting. Take it for what it’s worth.