“The Last Unicorn” is the combination of beautiful animation and a breathtaking story on film.In the movie, a unicorn, sheltered in her forest for years, finally learns to feel human love and regret in her quest to save the rest of her kind.

“The Last Unicorn,” an animated fantasy film released in 1982, tells the tale of a unicorn, the last of her kind, and her quest to find the rest of her species. The story never becomes dull and I found myself entertained through its entirety. The movie is mature enough in its premise to entertain older audiences, but colorful and eye-catching to support the enjoyment of young children as well. All of the characters involved are interesting, each with their own set of flaws.

 The story begins with the unicorn in her forest, blissfully unaware that she is the last of her kind. She brings peace and prosperity to the animals and plants around her. She eventually finds out that she is the last unicorn and it spurs her into action, where she encounters tribulations and challenges of which she never knew were possible. She meets her main friends: Schmendrick (a loveable and quirky magician) and Molly (a kind-hearted woman who always dreamt of seeing a unicorn). The three encounter smaller foes along the way before they meet their main adversary: King Haggard who, quite frankly, lives up to his name. 

The unicorn, voiced by Mia Farrow, speaks in a feminine and whimsical way to perfectly embody a unicorn. Schmendrick, voiced by Alan Arkin, delivers an awkward yet lovable tone. Overall, the voice acting of each voice actor embodies the characters exceptionally.

With a storyline quite predictable, sporting a typical outline with a main goal, friends along the way and a main adversary toward the end, the ending doesn’t take away from the effectiveness of the story and the entertaining journey the unicorn and her friends went through. 

The animation was created  by a Japanese studio called Topcraft. It works absolutely beautifully with its style, whimsical along with backgrounds that are extremely detailed. The colors are muted and comforting, while the unicorn is pure white to highlight her presence. I found that the animation was one of my favorite parts of the movie because it was high-quality and smooth, especially for the time period. 

The original soundtrack written and scored by Jimmy Webb and performed by the popular British-American rock band, America produced a fairy-tale feeling for viewers.

Overall, I give this movie 5/5 stars because of the interesting story, beautiful artwork and exceptional quality. I highly recommend this movie to those who love fantasy stories or need a good movie on their watch list.