History Fridge / TheLastUnicorn

** Presumably for the same reason that highwaymen in a MedievalEuropeanFantasy setting know what a taco is at all. RuleOfFunny.

** For the same reason that highwaymen in a MedievalEuropeanFantasy setting know what a taco is at all. RuleOfFunny.

* If Captain Cully and his men were reduced to eating watered-down rat soup, how were they able to offer Schmendrick a taco?

** Also, who knows how this world truly works. Dodos live in the Unicorn's very European-like forest despite real world history citing the birds as only living in small islands near Australia. Very common animals like dogs and spiders are a part of Mommy's menagerie as well. Perhaps in this world, it's more common to see lions and apes than in ours.

* The Red Bull's defeat is more than just being scared of the Unicorn. It obeys a being without fear, and she no longer has any in that moment. Thus it now obeys ''her'', and her order is to go away and never return.

* Much ado is made about turning Amalthea back into a unicorn which would make her incapable of loving Lir and being together with him since she would outlive but why does the option of turning her back into a human never come up. Turning Amalthea back into a unicorn when the characters couldn’t be sure they could find the rest of the unicorns was understandable since they’d be no more unicorns in the world otherwise. But after the rest of the unicorns are rescued and Amalthea has been turned back into a unicorn, why doesn’t Schmendrick try to turn her back into a human since Amalthea wanted to remain a human and only turned back to defeat the Red Bull and with unicorns back in the world it’s not like one less unicorn would be noticed. Perhaps it could’ve been impossible or not but the point is, Schmendrick didn’t even try.

** The book seems to suggest that magic works on its own and only comes at times rather than Schmendrick having full control of it. Besides, the more time she passed as a human, it was suggested that she would forget her true identity completely. Even with all the unicorns back into the world, it would still be sad for her to forget herself.

** It's entirely possible Schmendrick ''couldn't'' turn her into a human again. He seems to think the magic has a long term plan in mind. "Magic, do as you will" turned the unicorn into a human because it was the only way to protect her from the Red Bull and get her safely to King Haggard - discovering what happened to the others in the process. But she had to become a unicorn again to stop the Red Bull, and she only did that because of her love for Lir and outrage over his death. So the magic only allowed her to become human because it would give her the tools to stop the bull. As a unicorn she also has responsibilities to her forest etc so that's her natural state.
** It's not well developed, but the story has this theme of magic cannot change things into something they truly aren't, so no matter how many spells and enchantments one can make, the true essence of the person doesn't change. Schmendrick cannot be a true magician when his magic tricks are still rudimentary, Amalthea can't be a human when she has her memories of being a unicorn and remembering her forest, and the animals of Mommy Fortuna's carnival aren't dragons or manticores or satyrs, no matter how many spells she puts on them. It's a case of believing an illusion versus confronting the real deal. In a way even Amalthea and Lir's romance is built on an illusion, since he projects onto her his thoughts of the perfect woman and she loves him when she's forgetting her true identity. In the movie their romance is portrayed more ideal, but in the book there's a hidden dark side of Lir that you can pick up based on hints here and there.

** Another point to take into consideration is that her human form was purely incidental. The trio was running from the Red Bull and Schmendrick was in panic trying to find a shape that wouldn't catch the Bull's attention anymore (the creature is blind in the book and can only find unicorns by their scent). The magic chose the form, not him; for Schmendrick it would've been the same if he had turned her into a platypus or a rhino.
* Why was it necessary for Mommy Fortuna to disguise the lion, ape, and other unspecified zoo animals as creatures of fantasy? Sure, she needed to give the Unicorn a fake horn so people wouldn't dismiss her as a horse - they see horses every day - but animals from the wilds of Africa or Asia would surely seem just as exotic to her customers as satyrs or manticores ... indeed, perhaps ''more'' so, as the audience members probably assume that dragons and their ilk actually live in neighboring parts of Britain. (Which, unless Lir took an off-camera sea voyage to become a hero by slaying one, they ''do''.)
** That makes it easier for Fortuna's powers to work in the first place, as people have to ''believe'' what they're seeing for her spells to work, but also remember not everyone can see magical creatures as magical creatures. Just because people ''know'' dragons exist, doesn't meant they can just go see one. That's not how it works. Thus why people couldn't actually see the Harpy or the Unicorn as they were if she wasn't casting an illusion on them of what they truly are. Also, another factor is Fortuna seems to take pride in her illusions and the fact the people can only tell the difference between the mundane and the supernatural if ''she'' wills it.
** Also, who knows how this world truly works. Dodos live in the Unicorn's very European-like forest despite real world history citing the birds as only living in small islands near Australia. Very common animals like dogs and spiders are a part of Mommy's menagerie as well. Perhaps in this world it's more common to see lions and apes than in ours.

** Also, who knows how this world truly works. Dodos live in the Unicorn's very European-like forest despite real world history citing the birds as only living in small islands near Australia. Very common animals like dogs and spiders are a part of Mommy's menagerie as well. Perhaps in this world it's more common to see lions and apes than in ours.

*** ** In particular, there's a dark moment toward the end where Schmendrick suggests that even without Almathea, Lir can find some fulfillment in being the sort of hero he became for her sake, doing good in her name. Lir snaps back, "But that's not what I want!" resulting in a stern look from Schmendrick and a unspoken MyGodWhatHaveIDone realization from Lir that [[IAmNotMyFather that's exactly the sort of thing his father would have said.]]

* Prince Lir and the Lady Amalthea's romance. At first it seems sweet and rather tragic considering the fact that once she's turned back into a unicorn, they can't love each other anymore. But looking at it from another perspective, the romance seems rather perverse: a man falls in love with a woman on first sight and pushes himself onto her, despite her clearly demonstrating a lack of interest on him from the start. He keeps pushing and pushing, until one day when she's struggling to remember her past and the prince volunteers to make her forget what is keeping her struggling. Then, later, as the more she forgets of her true identity, he starts rewriting her past for her, and she mutely agrees since her mind is vanishing little by little. Then, once she has forgotten all about her true self and has turned into a demure princess doll, is when she starts loving Lír. It's rather creepy that after her transformation is complete, her only lines are all reference to loving Lír and little else. "Her life started and ended with Prince Lír." In real life, this attitude would raise a lot of alarm bells.

** That makes it easier for Fortuna's powers to work in the first place, as people have to ''believe'' what they're seeing for her spells to work, but also remember not everyone can see magical creatures as magical creatures. Just because people ''know'' dragons exist, doesn't meant they can just go see one. That's not how it works. Thus why people couldn't actually see the Harpy or the Unicorn as they were if she wasn't casting an illusion on them of what they truly are. Also, another factor is Fortuna seems to take pride in her illusions and the fact the people can only tell the difference between the mundane and the supernatural if ''she'' wills it.

* Why was it necessary for Mommy Fortuna to disguise the lion, ape, and other unspecified zoo animals as creatures of fantasy? Sure, she needed to give the Unicorn a fake horn so people wouldn't dismiss her as a horse - they see horses every day - but animals from the wilds of Africa or Asia would surely seem just as exotic to her customers as satyrs or manticores ... indeed, perhaps ''more'' so, as the audience members probably assume that dragons and their ilk actually live in neighboring parts of Britain. (Which, unless Lir took an off-camera sea voyage to become a hero by slaying one, they ''do''.)

* Why was it necessary for Mommy Fortuna to disguise the lion, ape, and other unspecified zoo animals as creatures of fantasy? Sure, she needed to give the Unicorn a fake horn so people wouldn't dismiss her as a horse - they see horses every day - but animals from the wilds of Africa or Asia would surely seem just as exotic to her customers as satyrs or manticores ... indeed, perhaps ''more'' so, as the more gullible audience members probably assume that dragons and so forth actually live in neighboring parts of Britain. (Which, in a world of unicorns, harpies and Red Bulls, they ''might''.)

* Why was it necessary for Mommy Fortuna to disguise the lion, ape, and other unspecified mundane animals as creatures of fantasy? Sure, she needed to give the Unicorn a fake horn so people wouldn't dismiss her as a horse - they see horses every day - but animals from the wilds of Africa would surely seem just as exotic to her customers as satyrs or manticores ... indeed, perhaps ''more'' so, as the more gullible audience members probably assume that dragons and so forth actually live in neighboring parts of Britain. (Which, in a world of unicorns, harpies and Red Bulls, they ''might''.)

* Why was it necessary for Mommy Fortuna to disguise the lion, ape, and other unspecified mundane animals as creatures of fantasy? Sure, giving the Unicorn a fake horn so people wouldn't dismiss her as a horse - they've seen horses every day - but animals from the wilds of Africa would seem just as exotic as satyrs or manticores ... indeed, perhaps ''more'' so, as the more gullible audience members probably assume that dragons and so forth actually live in neighboring parts of Britain. (Which, in a world of unicorns, harpies and Red Bulls, they ''might''.)

* Why was it necessary for Mommy Fortuna to disguise the lion, ape, and other unspecified mundane animals as creatures of fantasy? Sure, giving the Unicorn a fake horn so people wouldn't dismiss her as a horse - they've seen horses every day - but animals from the wilds of Africa would seem just as exotic as satyrs or manticores ... indeed, perhaps ''more'' so, as the more gullible audience members probably assume that dragons actually live in other parts of Britain. Which, in a world of unicorns, harpies and Red Bulls, they actually ''might''.

* Why was it necessary for Mommy Fortuna to disguise the lion, ape, and other unspecified mundane animals as creatures of fantasy? Sure, giving the Unicorn a fake horn so people wouldn't dismiss her as a horse - they've seen horses every day - but animals from the wilds of Africa would seem just as exotic as satyrs or manticores ... indeed, perhaps ''more'' so, as the more gullible audience members probably assume that dragons actually live in other parts of Britain.