Based on a book of the same name by Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn has remained one of the most beloved animated fantasy cult classics of the 1980s. Created by Rankin-Bass, most well known for their stop-motion Christmas specials from the 1960s, the film went on to gross a modest comeback financially and received positive reviews. It wouldn't be until it was released on home video, however, when it grew relatively popular, at least in terms of people watching it as children back in the day. As for what I think of it, I'll admit that there are many admirable qualities to it, but it's not something I ever care to watch again.

The story of a unicorn searching for the rest of her species with the help of an amateur magician sounds promising enough, and to the film's credit, it does take some interesting plot directions from time to time. Without giving away anything, let's just say that the spells that come from this amateur magician, Schmendrick, should happen more often in fantasy films. However, what bogs the story down is how lackluster the characters are, as most of them only stay interesting for so long and don't grow much outside of their basic archs. The unicorn herself does go through the most development in the second half of the feature, but until then we have to sit through padded out action scenes, boring character interactions, and even additional archs that aren't even memorable in the first place.

Considering that the film was animated in Japan, the animation and production design present the film with an anime aesthetic, with luscious colors, gorgeous backgrounds, and well detailed designs. Unfortunately, due to the low budget, the character animation is rather stilted and the bland facial expressions don't really help elevate the wonderful vocal performances from the likes of Mia Farrow, Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, etc. When you can't even visually display one of the biggest fundamentals of animation on screen, there's a big problem. That being said, the special effects are very well done, and along with some imaginative usages for potions and spells, the film really embraces how magic works on a visual level as much as an ideology.

To sum it all up, The Last Unicorn is a serviceable effort for an animated fantasy film from the days of The Dark Crystal and The Secret of Nimh. While the plot can get sidetracked sometimes, the characters are two dimensional at best, and the animation is hit or miss in terms of quality, it does feature some interesting philosophies on how magic works, the voice-cast is fantastic, and it at least knows how to tell its story. If you grew up with this film and you'd like to re watch it or you're into the cult classic family-friendly fantasy films during the Reagan era, by all means give it a watch. As for me, I had some fun with it, but it didn't keep me invested enough to want to view it again anytime soon, although I adore the opening musical number by Jimmy Webb.

The first time I saw this movie was when I was very young. So young, in fact, that the only things I can remember about this movie are subtle images; I couldn't even remember if I liked it or not. Now, more than twelve years later and after reading the book, I can honestly say that this is a truly great film.

I have seen very few films that have actually brought me close to tears, and most of those movies are ones I didn't like. The Last Unicorn is an especially good film not just because it stays true to the book, which animated films are rarely good at, but also because it breaks away from the Disney formula for telling the story. All the characters in this film are sympathetic in one way or another, including the villains King Haggard and Mommy Fortuna. Many people would ask why a villain would need to be sympathetic? The simple answer is they don't. The villains are sympathetic though because they are human. The unicorn herself doesn't truly become sympathetic until she is transformed.

I say this film is in the spirit of the great filmmaker and master animator Hayao Miyazaki, a Japanese director, because even though this film is a fantasy, it is not a fairy tale. Miyazaki has become famous for making animated films that are enjoyable for children, but are also sophisticated and deep enough for adults. What makes this movie great is its story.

One of the things that makes this movie so special for me is because it has become one of my favorite love stories. More specifically, it is a story about hopeless love. There are only four love stories, this one included, that I regard as my favorites. One them being Princess Mononoke, one of the many great films by Miyazaki. It is also a unique love story because it is about true eternal love. How is it eternal? I will not say because I don't want to spoil the movie.

My only real complaint about this movie is that the animation isn't very fluid, but I am willing to let that slide because the film was obviously low budget. I only hope that the live-action version will be as good and hopefully even better than the animated version, because even though this movie was well paced there were certain things from the book I hope they mention in the new version that they didn't have time to put into the animated version. I also hope the live-action version is as truthful to the book as this movie was, and leans more to the adult side of the story so more emotion and character development can come out of it.

You're never to old to believe in the impossible.