| The Last Unicorn | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Jules Bass Arthur Rankin, Jr. |
| Produced by | Jules Bass Arthur Rankin, Jr. Martin Starger |
| Written by | Peter S. Beagle |
| Based on | The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle |
| Starring | Alan Arkin Angela Lansbury Tammy Grimes Mia Farrow Jeff Bridges Christopher Lee |
| Music by | Jimmy Webb |
| Editing by | Arthur Rankin, Jr. |
| Studio | Rankin/Bass Topcraft |
| Distributed by | Jensen Farley Pictures ITC Entertainment DVD Artisan Entertainment (2004) Lionsgate (2007) |
| Release date(s) | November 19, 1982 |
| Running time | 92 min. |
| Country | United States Japan |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $6,455,330 (Domestic gross)[1] |
The Last Unicorn is a 1982 animated fantasy film produced by Rankin/Bass for ITC Entertainment and animated by Topcraft. The film is based on the novel of the same name written by Peter S. Beagle, who also wrote the film's screenplay. The Last Unicorn is about a unicorn who, upon learning that she is the last unicorn in the world, goes on a quest to find out what has happened to the others of her kind.
The film features the voices of Mia Farrow, Alan Arkin, Tammy Grimes, Angela Lansbury, Jeff Bridges, and Christopher Lee. The musical score and the songs were composed and arranged by Jimmy Webb, and performed by the group America with additional vocals provided by Lucy Mitchell. The film earned $2,250,000 on its opening weekend and grossed $6,455,330 domestically.[1]
Contents |
In an enchanted forest, a unicorn (voiced by Mia Farrow) learns that she is the last of her kind and decides to embark on a quest to learn what has become of the other unicorns. The Unicorn discovers from the addled dialogue of a butterfly (Robert Klein) that a demonic animal called the Red Bull has herded all of her kind to the ends of the earth. Venturing into unfamiliar territory beyond the safety of her forest home, she begins a journey to find them and bring them back. Along the way she is captured for a time by the witch Mommy Fortuna (voiced by Angela Lansbury), and is put on display in the cages of the witch's Midnight Carnival. The unicorn later makes friends with Schmendrick (voiced by Alan Arkin), an incompetent magician under the services of Mommy Fortuna. While most of the attractions there are simply normal animals with a spell of illusion placed on them (like a Manticore being a toothless lion and a Satyr being a crippled chimpanzee), Fortuna has managed to capture the immortal harpy Celaeno (voiced by Keenan Wynn) as well. The Unicorn eventually escapes and in the process, frees Celaeno, who kills Fortuna and her henchman Ruhk (voiced by Brother Theodore). The two of them later gain a second traveling companion, Molly Grue (voiced by Tammy Grimes), the care-worn lover of bandit leader Captain Cully (voiced by Keenan Wynn) of Greenwood Forest.
When the Unicorn nears the seaside castle of King Haggard, supposed keeper of the Red Bull, she comes face to face with the Bull (which turns out to be a monstrous fire elemental) and runs, afraid. At the last moment before her final surrender and capture, Schmendrick's unpredictable magic transforms her into a mortal woman. In this human guise, the Red Bull is uninterested in her and departs. The change has disastrous consequences on the Unicorn who suffers tremendous shock at the sudden feeling of mortality in her human body.
Schmendrick, Molly Grue, and the Unicorn (now in human form) proceed to Haggard's castle and seek entry. King Haggard (voiced by Christopher Lee) is at first unwelcoming, and Schmendrick introduces the Unicorn only as his niece Lady Amalthea. Schmendrick requests that the three of them stay there as members of Haggard's court, only to be told that all of the royal complement has long since been dispatched: the only remaining occupants in the castle are Haggard, his adopted son Prince Lír (voiced by Jeff Bridges), and four ancient men-at-arms. Haggard consents to lodging the trio, replacing his more competent on-call wizard with Schmendrick, and setting Molly Grue to work in his scullery. After a while, Amalthea begins to forget her identity and her reasons for coming to the castle, and eventually falls in love with Prince Lír. Caught in a complex web of newfound emotions, she struggles with thoughts of abandoning her quest for the sake of mortal love. Haggard confronts Amalthea in private conversation, hinting at the location of the unicorns, yet from the waning magic in her eyes, he has doubts regarding his previous suspicions that she is more than she seems. Molly ends up learning some clues on the location of the Red Bull's lair from a talking cat (voiced by Don Messick).
Going through a secret passage in a broken clock in the castle basement, Schmendrick reveals Amalthea's true identity to Lír after a talking skull (voiced by René Auberjonois) identifies Amalthea's true form. Lír, however, isn't surprised at all and says that he loves whom he loves. This makes Amalthea want to abandon the quest and marry Lír, but Lír believes that the quest cannot be abandoned. The Red Bull soon appears, but is no longer deceived by Amalthea's false human form and chases after her. In an attempt to assist her escape, Schmendrick turns Amalthea back into the Unicorn, but she is unwilling to leave Lír's side. The Bull drives her toward the ocean, just as he earlier drove all the other unicorns, but she manages to run away and the bull gives chase. Lír gets between them and blocks the bull's path, but the bull doesn't stop and Lír is killed. Out of grief, the Unicorn aggressively turns on the Bull and forces him into the sea. Carried on the white surf of incoming tides, the other unicorns emerge en masse from the water, causing Haggard's castle to collapse into the sea as they rush past, with Haggard falling to his death from the crumbling castle parapet. On the beach, the Unicorn magically revives Lír before she departs for her forest. Schmendrick assures Lír, now the king, that he has gained much by winning the love of a unicorn, even if he is now alone. The Unicorn briefly returns to say goodbye to Schmendrick, who laments that he has done her wrong by burdening her with regret and the taint of mortality. She disagrees and thanks him nonetheless for having helped to restore unicorns to the world, and though she is the only unicorn to feel regret, she is also the only unicorn to know love. The ending credits begin thereafter as Schmendrick and Molly watch the Unicorn depart for home.
Peter S. Beagle stated that there had been interest in creating a film based on the book "early on". Those who expressed interest included Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez, though Beagle had been convinced by one of their partners' wives that they were "not good enough", and former 20th Century Fox animator Les Goldman. At the time, Beagle believed that "animated was the only way to go" with regard to the film, and had never thought of making it into a live-action film. Rankin/Bass had been the last studio that the film's associate producer, Michael Chase Walker, approached, and Beagle was "horrified" when he was informed that they had made a deal with Walker. Beagle stated that he has "…come to feel that the film is actually a good deal more than I had originally credited", and went on to say "There is some lovely design work – the Japanese artists who did the concepts and coloring were very good. And the voice actors do a superb job in bringing my characters to life…"[2]
While Rankin/Bass provided the film's dialogue and story based on Beagle's work, the animation was done by the studio Topcraft. The studio was later hired by Hayao Miyazaki to work on Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and their core members eventually went on to form Studio Ghibli.[5] According to Beagle, the final film ended up being "remarkably close" to his original script, although one scene at the end involving an encounter with a princess was "animated but eventually cut."[2]
The film's music was composed and arranged by Jimmy Webb, with songs performed by the group America. The title track plays while the scenes from the Unicorn Tapestries form a backdrop for the opening credits, and has been covered by Kenny Loggins on his Return to Pooh Corner album. The film's soundtrack that included the musical score as well as the songs was released in Germany by Virgin Records in 1982, but it has not been released in the United States. The German release of the soundtrack includes, not Mia Farrow's vocals, but those of Katie Irving. These vocals were intended to be featured in the theatrical and home video versions of the film.[6]
The Last Unicorn premiered on 648 theaters in the United States on November 19, 1982,[1] and earned $2,250,000 on its opening weekend.[1]
The first U.S. DVD, released by Lionsgate in April 2004, was made from poor-quality masters and the video and audio both suffer.[7] Upon the release of this DVD, Conlan Press lobbied Lionsgate to "to do something about it." Lionsgate licensed the German video masters and audio mix, and came up with a "25th Anniversary Edition" DVD which was released in North America on February 6, 2007.[7][8] It has audio and visual quality superior to the original U.S. release, and is in 16:9 widescreen format, but has several swear words edited out, and as a result of being taken from PAL masters, plays 4% faster than the original film, resulting in a slightly higher audio pitch than normal. The new DVD edition includes a featurette with an interview with the author, as well as a set-top game, image gallery, and the original theatrical trailer.[8][9] Conlan Press is offering the 25th Anniversary Edition DVD for sale. Due to ongoing contractual disputes, none of the proceeds of DVD purchases through other sources will reach Peter S. Beagle. However, because of the special agreement Conlan Press made with Lionsgate Entertainment, more than half of the payment for copies purchased through Conlan Press will go to Beagle. In addition to the standard version of the DVD, Conlan Press offers the option of purchasing individually personalized autographed copies.[8] As of October 2011, over 2,500,000 copies of the DVD have been sold.[10]
In a New York Times review, Janet Maslin calls it an "unusual children's film" and says that "no one of any age will be immune to the sentiment of the film's final moments, which really are unexpectedly touching and memorable".[11] Beagle himself called the film "magnificent" in comparison to the animated Lord of the Rings film, which he also wrote the screenplay for.[12] The film currently retains a 58% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes,[13] with an 82% viewer approval rating.
A 1982 Variety reviewer praised the script and voice acting, but was not impressed by the film's animation.[14] "However vapid the unicorn may appear to the eye. Mia Farrow's voice brings an almost moving plaintive quality to the character."[14] The review also praised the vocal talents of Arken, Lee, and Frees.[14]
Since 1999 this film has been controlled by a British company, Granada Media International (a subsidiary of ITV plc). From 2003 through 2011 Beagle was involved in a financial dispute with Granada over nonpayment of contractually due profit and merchandising shares. On July 29, 2011, Beagle announced at his Otakon appearance that he and ITV had reached an agreement that was beneficial to all parties, and should please fans of The Last Unicorn because it will make new merchandise and business development possible. On October 14, 2011, at his New York Comic Con appearance, he announced the first results of the deal, including limited edition art prints of original concept paintings from the film, an 80-city digital screening tour with Peter doing audience Q&A, and a complete renovation of the original film for worldwide release in movie theaters as a 30th Anniversary event.