The Last Unicorn (1982)
The Last Unicorn is a Rankin and Bass cartoon I used to watch all the time when I was a kid, but as I rewatched it now as a grown-up, I’m shocked that I’d been able to make it through. It’s scary! The animation looks very similar to The Flight of Dragons, and just as in that childhood favorite, there are very frightening mythical creatures that might frighten the little ones in the audience.
Mia Farrow voices the title character, and after she overhears a man saying she’s the last unicorn on Earth, she sets out to prove him wrong and find more of her kind. Along the way, she meets a singing butterfly, voiced by Robert Keith, who channels Robin Williams’s Genie character brilliantly; a magician, voiced by a tired-sounding Alan Arkin; a prince voiced by an equally tired-sounding Jeff Bridges; and an old hag, voiced by Tammy Grimes. Angela Lansbury, Christopher Lee, Rene Auberjonois, Keenan Wynn, and the legendary Paul Frees join the cast as well. There are a few songs, most of them sung in the background by America, but one of them is actually sung by Mia!
Admittedly, I am a Mia Farrow fan, but objectively she’s wonderful in this movie, and not only because the cartoon unicorn actually looks like her! She’s caring, frightened, determined, hopeful, and sweet. If you missed the opening credits and didn’t catch the year of release, you’d swear the lead was voiced by Gwyneth Paltrow—Mia sounds exactly like her! They both have an affected accent and a waver in their voice; halfway through The Lost Unicorn, I found myself lost in a fantasy of a 1990s remake of The Great Gatsby planned only in my head: Gwyneth Paltrow as Daisy, Brad Pitt as Gatsby, and Beau Bridges as Nick. But I digress.
Parts of the cartoon are sad, scary, sweet, funny, or strange. But if you like your cartoons with a tinge of weirdness, like Thumbelina, Quest for Camelot, The Secret of NIMH, or The Flight of Dragons, you’ll probably like this one. The all-star cast is definitely worth a watch, and even if you don’t completely fall in love with Mia, I guarantee you’ll find her extremely sweet.
More Mia Farrow movies here!
Mia Farrow voices the title character, and after she overhears a man saying she’s the last unicorn on Earth, she sets out to prove him wrong and find more of her kind. Along the way, she meets a singing butterfly, voiced by Robert Keith, who channels Robin Williams’s Genie character brilliantly; a magician, voiced by a tired-sounding Alan Arkin; a prince voiced by an equally tired-sounding Jeff Bridges; and an old hag, voiced by Tammy Grimes. Angela Lansbury, Christopher Lee, Rene Auberjonois, Keenan Wynn, and the legendary Paul Frees join the cast as well. There are a few songs, most of them sung in the background by America, but one of them is actually sung by Mia!
Admittedly, I am a Mia Farrow fan, but objectively she’s wonderful in this movie, and not only because the cartoon unicorn actually looks like her! She’s caring, frightened, determined, hopeful, and sweet. If you missed the opening credits and didn’t catch the year of release, you’d swear the lead was voiced by Gwyneth Paltrow—Mia sounds exactly like her! They both have an affected accent and a waver in their voice; halfway through The Lost Unicorn, I found myself lost in a fantasy of a 1990s remake of The Great Gatsby planned only in my head: Gwyneth Paltrow as Daisy, Brad Pitt as Gatsby, and Beau Bridges as Nick. But I digress.
Parts of the cartoon are sad, scary, sweet, funny, or strange. But if you like your cartoons with a tinge of weirdness, like Thumbelina, Quest for Camelot, The Secret of NIMH, or The Flight of Dragons, you’ll probably like this one. The all-star cast is definitely worth a watch, and even if you don’t completely fall in love with Mia, I guarantee you’ll find her extremely sweet.
More Mia Farrow movies here!