Friday 9 September 2011

The Book Was Better (But The Movie Was Still Great): The Last Unicorn



As I said in my review of the book, I loved The Last Unicorn movie as a kid. I watched it repeatedly, and I remember thinking it was sooo pretty and had a wonderful story, though it was sad and kinda strange in places. Upon rewatching it as an adult, I discovered that not much has changed - it's still pretty, still wonderful, still sad and, yes, still a little strange.


Having read the book this time around, I was surprised by how faithful the movie adaptation was - though I guess I shouldn't have been, considering that author Peter S. Beagle also wrote the screenplay. Some things - such as Schmendrick's immortality, and the town of Hagsgate - were cut out, simplifying the plot slightly, but ultimately not damaging it. The only thing I did kinda miss was the Hagsgate prophecy and Lir's connection to the town, because I liked how it added another layer to his character. However, I can see that it might not have fit within time constraints, and it's not a major issue - the removal of this subplot still leaves a strong and lovely story.

As for the movie itself, while the animation doesn't flow the greatest in places (it's not exactly high-tech), the imagery is beautiful and a pleasure to watch. But it was the voices that really spoke to me (no pun intended) - Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury, Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, Christopher Lee... they brought the characters to life and greeted my ears like old friends. The only thing that made me cringe a little - and I remember that I didn't like it much as a kid, either - was the music. To me, it made the film seem more dated than it would otherwise. But with that being said, it's still a classic.

Rating:  4/5

6 comments:

  1. Ugh! The music. I still remember laughing hysterically at the, now that I'm a woman, song. Other than that, I always loved the movie.

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  2. @Jenny - Aw, I love that song, I think it is incredibly melancholy.

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  3. Looks like the same animators that did The Hobbit animation. I need to check it out!

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  4. LOVE this movie! The only thing I never liked was that butterfly. The skeleton under the castle seriously freaked me out when I was younger :P

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  5. The butterfly and skeleton always freaked me out too! They're nowhere near as creepy in the book, hehe.

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  6. I can't believe I've never heard of this one. I cann't wait to read / watch with my children!

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