This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. My children also thought so. There is a scene were a magician turns a tree into a woman's form and her giant boobs are smothering him-- my 5 year old son and 9 year old daughter thought it was really weird as did I. Then a harpy-- a vicious hawk-like bird with two sets of dangling human-looking boobs is seen killing and presumably eating an old witch. A prince falls in love with a woman (a unicorn) and for the life of us we cannot figure out why except that she is beautiful-- she is sad and mopey and complains the whole time. I have read other sites and this movie has a cult following and is admitted by these people that it is not a film for kids and should not be marketed as such. There is also a very scary giant menacing bull that gave my kids nightmares. We watched it because a trusted friend with kids the same age said her kids loved it, but then she admitted that she had never watched it with them. I found nothing redeeming about this movie at all.
I first watched this movie with my own kids, back in the 80s. One of my children--the youngest--did have some issues with it. He always was very sensitive to visual stimulus. There are several truly good messages embedded in it: helping others, believing in others and yourself, fighting for what's right. I also love the animation. It is not Walt Disney. It is beautiful in my opinion, even if it seems dated to some. I introduced my grandson to it last winter just after his 3rd birthday but I stayed with him and watched his reaction, prepared to turn it off if need be. He was quite taken with it and at the end, he shouted "She's fighting back" joyfully as the unicorn turns to face the red bull. He asked to see it again and again for about a month. This movie is not a simple story and takes aim at some pretty deep issues: death, love, regret, identity, facing fear. I think it will be revisited from time to time--I own the DVD, so we can do that, but only if he asks for it. I recommend this film so long as you stay in the room while the child is watching and pay attention to their reactions, be ready to talk about it if the child needs or wants to.
OH MY GOD i loved this movie. I know this movie is for children but i am 43 years old and I STILL love this movie. The epic struggle between the unicorn and his enemies is entertaining and inspiring. It teaches everyone how to never give up and that those pure in heart will succeed over evil. This movie is perfect for everyone no matter what age!
I don't know why CSM labels this "dated." Probably because of the animation style. I loved it as a child, and the children who have watched my copy of it since I became an adult have absolutely loved it as well, particularly the girls. It does have some very scary scenes, and adult language at times; the author of the book, which is geared toward young adults, wrote the screenplay. 7 or 8 minimum age depending on your child's sensitivity to scary scenes.
Okay, CS, do you even PAY ATTENTION half the time?
Dude, the prince in this movie states the very message this film is getting across near the end. Honestly, you people just don't realize how well-written this movie is, but I guess that's alright. Nor do the vast majority of critics out there. Yes, it gets confusing at times, and perhaps it's a little overwritten, but it's still a beautiful film and one of my personal favorite fantasy movies.
My four year old daughter has this obsession with unicorns so I see this movie at Hastings. Whoever thought this movie should be rated G is crazy! I've read reviews from people who love the book. I never read it but this movie is just plain dumb. It makes no sense at all.
The Last Unicorn is a magical story full of positive imagery with a message of peace, understanding, and positive change and growth. It's not only about heroes, wizardry, winning battles, and fighting monsters; it is a tale about growing up and the discovery of your special place in the world: an original fairy tale of transformation and the realization of our dreams.
Hate it! The only people who loved this movie are the liberal moms. This is not a kids movie, it is weird, meloncholy and a little pornographic. The director must have been taking a hallucinagenic when he made it. There is nothing marked in the Commonsense review about sensuality or nudity. There is a tree that is turned into a women with two giant breast that one of the characters happens to have his face between. Not to mention when the unicorn turns into a girl she is half naked. My 11 year old was like mom this movie is weird and turned it off...not to mention it takes forever to get a story line. So, not worth your time. Commonsense needs to revise their data on this movie.
This review misses some huge issues... 1 the vulture has huge swinging breasts with visible nipples... seconds later it kills a man. A couple minutes later the wizard turns the tree he's tied to into a woman and his face is pressed in between her breasts with some extremely suggestive banter.
It was actually a group of 5 year olds who introduced me to this movie. On one of the rest time CDs i had in my VPK class had the theme from this movie on it. A group of girls go excited about it and told they loved this movie. Well I acquired the movie and watched it. We spent many long afternoon watching this movie in class it was actually the only movie that they would sit down and watch for any length of time while the younger children napped. So it is really about the child I didn't find anything in that movie that was too intense. I especially like the quote "We are not always what we seem and hardly ever what we dream."