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** [[FanDisservice Rather disgustingly averted]] with the harpy, who three saggy breast have rather visible nipples.
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** [[FanDisservice Rather disgustingly averted]] with the harpy, who whose three saggy breast have rather visible nipples.
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* RunOrDie: Subverted. Running from the harpy would have ''gotten'' them killed.
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* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: There's a female tree with breasts that gives Schmendrick MarshmallowHell.
** Also for a more [[NightmareFuel scary]] example, the Harpy has more exposed and human like breasts
** Lir's comment that he'll still love Amalthea as a horse. Keep in mind that he's in a castle with no women, but there are horses. What exactly did he do during lonely nights?
** Molly Grue's "Where have you ''been''?" speech to the Unicorn will sail right over the heads of youngsters, but adults, especially those who know a thing or two about the lore of unicorns, will get what she is saying. Especially the line "How '''dare''' you come to me now, when I am ''this''?"
** Also for a more [[NightmareFuel scary]] example, the Harpy has more exposed and human like breasts
** Lir's comment that he'll still love Amalthea as a horse. Keep in mind that he's in a castle with no women, but there are horses. What exactly did he do during lonely nights?
** Molly Grue's "Where have you ''been''?" speech to the Unicorn will sail right over the heads of youngsters, but adults, especially those who know a thing or two about the lore of unicorns, will get what she is saying. Especially the line "How '''dare''' you come to me now, when I am ''this''?"
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* SpeaksInShoutOuts: The Buttefly speaks only in poetry and song.
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One Scene Wonder is YMMV. Transformation Trauma is for physically disturbing transformations, not mentally/emotionally traumatic. Uniqueness Value is the new trope name.
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* OneSceneWonder: Numerous characters/voice actors quickly come and go, but Rene Auberjonois stands out as The Skull.
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* TransformationTrauma: Turning the unicorn into a human practically lobotomizes her.
--> "I can feel this body ''dying'' all around me!"
--> "I can feel this body ''dying'' all around me!"
* UniquenessValue: The Last Unicorn is so very, very precious to all involved because she is the last of her kind. [[spoiler:After freeing all the other unicorns she remains unique because she's the only one to have ever experienced (and will remember) human emotion.]]
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* WhatMeasureIsANonUnique
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* YouCanTalk: Molly is only mildly surprised when the cat speaks, in more of a "why are you speaking ''now''" rather than "Oh my God! A talking cat!" This is probably due to the general MediumAwareness in the film.
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* CreatorBacklash: Beagle doesn't ''dislike'' the book. He's just puzzled as to why people love it, considering it one of his lesser works.
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* CreatorBacklash: Beagle doesn't ''dislike'' the book. He's just puzzled as to why people love it, considering it one of his lesser works.
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* AnythingButThat: Captain Cully's men reaction to his telling his bard to see a song about "Captain Cully and His Free Men".
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* AnythingButThat: Captain Cully's men reaction to his telling his bard to see sing a song about "Captain Cully and His Band of Free Men".
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* AnythingButThat: Captain Cully's men reaction to his telling his bard to see a song about "Captain Cully and His Free Men".
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* SmallNameBigEgo: Captain Cully. No, really - the man is a medieval Ted Baxter.
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* AttentionWhore: Captain Cully. He gets rather put out when "RobinHood" appears.
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Blue Eyes has been split into different tropes (Icy Blue Eyes, Innocent Blue Eyes, Creepy Blue Eyes, etc) as per this thread
because it\'s not just about having that eye colour, it\'s about what traits blue eyes supposed to symbolise and blue eyes is constantly being misused for \"X has blue eyes\", so anything that doesn\'t fit the split off tropes or Zero Content Examples will be removed. This goes for most of the Common Eye Colours tropes as well.
because it\'s not just about having that eye colour, it\'s about what traits blue eyes supposed to symbolise and blue eyes is constantly being misused for \"X has blue eyes\", so anything that doesn\'t fit the split off tropes or Zero Content Examples will be removed. This goes for most of the Common Eye Colours tropes as well.Deleted line(s) 34 (click to see context) :
* BlueEyes: Lír. Lady Amalthea has dark blue eyes that border on purple.
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* AntiVillain: King Haggard, as shown in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP3DhTq8mXg this scene]] where he explains ''why'' he [[spoiler:captured the unicorns. Not from greed, or power... but because they're the only thing that makes him ''happy'']].
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* AntiVillain: King Haggard, as shown in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP3DhTq8mXg com/watch?v=vcXCDpg60FU this scene]] where he explains ''why'' he [[spoiler:captured the unicorns. Not from greed, or power... but because they're the only thing that makes him ''happy'']].
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* HairTriggerTemper: Mabruk, King Haggard, Mommy Fortuna, and Rukh are all extremely quick to take offence, and enjoy bullying and intimidating others. The unicorn herself has a bit of a temper, especially when mistaken for a horse by a farmer and [[spoiler: turned into a human]].
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* HairTriggerTemper: Mabruk, King Haggard, Mommy Fortuna, and Rukh are all extremely quick to take offence, offense, and enjoy bullying and intimidating others. The unicorn herself has a bit of a temper, especially when mistaken for a horse by a farmer and [[spoiler: turned into a human]].
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** [[FanDisservice Rather disgustingly averted]] with the harpy, who three saggy breast have rather visible nipples.
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* HumanityIsInfectious: Amalthea eventually gains enough to the point where she "dies" when Schmendrick changes the unicorn back.
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* HumanityIsInfectious: Amalthea eventually gains enough to the point where she "dies" when Schmendrick changes the unicorn back.her back into a unicorn.
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* LossOfIdentity: After being transformed into a human, she gradually forgets who she was, to the point she doesn't know anymore who (and what) she is.
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* LossOfIdentity: After being transformed into a human, she the unicorn gradually forgets who she was, to the point she doesn't know anymore who (and what) she is.
* ScrewDestiny: Just before the final encounter with the Red Bull, Lady Amalthea [[spoiler:wants to back out, marry Lír, and live happily ever after--Lír is the one who insists that the story can't end that way.]]
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* ScrewDestiny: Just before the final encounter with the Red Bull, Lady Amalthea [[spoiler:wants to back out, marry Lír, and live happily ever after--Lír is the one who insists that the story can't end that way.]]
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* ScrewDestiny: Just before the final encounter with the Red Bull, Lady Amalthea [[spoiler:wants to back out, marry Lír, and live happily ever after--Lír is the one who insists that the story can't end that way.]]StockSoundEffects: The dragon Lír slays has Godzilla's roar.
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* TookALevelInBadass: Schmendrick, who goes from being a mere medium of magic to being able to command it at will.
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* InvisibleToNormals: Unicorns just look like white horses to people who don't believe in them.
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* RavensAndCrows: Mommy Fortuna's pet crow, which follows them after her death and eventually [[HappilyEverAfter ends up living in the unicorn's forest]].
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'''Tree''': Oh! Galls and fireblight! She shall not have you. We shall perish together!
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'''Tree''': Oh! Galls and fireblight! She shall not have you. you, that hussy! We shall will perish together!
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-->'''Schmendrick''': Oh God. I'm engaged to a Douglas Fir. ''''HELP!!! UNICORN, WHERE ARE YOU?!''''\\
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-->'''Schmendrick''': Oh God. I'm engaged to a Douglas Fir. ''''HELP!!! UNICORN, WHERE ARE YOU?!''''\\
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'''Tree''': Oh! Galls and fireblight! She shall not have you. We shall perish together!
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'''Tree''': Oh! Oh! Galls and fireblight! She shall not have you. We shall perish together!
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* UngreatfulBastard: The harpy, who immediately attacks the unicorn three times after she sets her free before turning her wrath on Mommy Fortuna and her assistant.
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* UngreatfulBastard: UngratefulBastard: The harpy, who immediately attacks the unicorn three times after she sets her free before turning her wrath on Mommy Fortuna and her assistant.
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-->'''Schmendrick''': Oh God. I'm engaged to a Douglas Fir.\\
'''Tree''': Galls and fireblight! She shall not have you. We shall perish together!
'''Tree''': Galls and fireblight! She shall not have you. We shall perish together!
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-->'''Schmendrick''': Oh God. I'm engaged to a Douglas Fir. ''''HELP!!! UNICORN, WHERE ARE YOU?!''''\\
'''Unicorn''': ...\\
'''Tree''': Oh! Galls and fireblight! She shall not have you. We shall perish together!
'''Unicorn''': ...\\
'''Tree''': Oh! Galls and fireblight! She shall not have you. We shall perish together!
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* UngreatfulBastard: The harpy, who immediately attacks the unicorn three times after she sets her free before turning her wrath on Mommy Fortuna and her assistant.
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* HairTriggerTemper: Mabruk, King Haggard, Mommy Fortuna, and Rukh are all extremely quick to take offence, and enjoy bullying and intimidating others.
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* HairTriggerTemper: Mabruk, King Haggard, Mommy Fortuna, and Rukh are all extremely quick to take offence, and enjoy bullying and intimidating others. The unicorn herself has a bit of a temper, especially when mistaken for a horse by a farmer and [[spoiler: turned into a human]].
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* BerserkButton: For the unicorn, [[spoiler:the death of Prince Lír by the Red Bull]].
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* BerserkButton: For the unicorn, [[spoiler:the death of Prince Lír by the Red Bull]]. She also detests being mistaken for a horse.
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** Haggard isn't sure at first, but he's spent enough time staring at unicorns that he quickly begins to suspect who Amalthea really is.
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Grammar
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* LossOfIdentity: After being transformed into an human, she gradually forgets who she was, to the point she doesn't know anymore who (and what) she is.
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* LossOfIdentity: After being transformed into an a human, she gradually forgets who she was, to the point she doesn't know anymore who (and what) she is.
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* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler: King Haggard]]
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An animated [[TheFilmOfTheBook Film Of The Book]], based on [[Literature/TheLastUnicorn the novel]] by PeterSBeagle, and animated by RankinBassProductions.
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An animated [[TheFilmOfTheBook Film Of The Book]], based on [[Literature/TheLastUnicorn the novel]] by PeterSBeagle, Creator/PeterSBeagle, and animated by RankinBassProductions.
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[[quoteright:237:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TheLastUnicorn.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:237:Of all unicorns, she is the only one who knows what regret is -- [[CursedWithAwesome and love]].]]
->'''Molly''': ''Then what is magic for? What use is wizardry if it cannot save a {{unicorn}}?''\\
'''Schmendrick''': ''That's what [[TheHero heroes]] are for.''
An animated [[TheFilmOfTheBook Film Of The Book]], based on [[Literature/TheLastUnicorn the novel]] by PeterSBeagle, and animated by RankinBassProductions.
In a certain lilac wood, the leaves and snow never fall. This eternal springtime is watched over, and caused by, its magical resident--a unicorn. Having never left her forest, the unicorn is surprised to overhear two hunters speaking about the disappearance of the unicorns. In fact, they believe her to be the very last.
Unwilling to accept this, the unicorn leaves the safety of her forest and sets out to find others of her kind, following the information given to her by a philosophical butterfly. Along the way, she learns through bitter experience of human cruelty, ignorance and greed. She is mistaken for a horse (much to her displeasure), captured and placed in a circus sideshow, and pursued by a demonic being--the Red Bull, which, according to local legend, is responsible for the disappearance of the other unicorns. She also meets allies who join her in her journey; the incompetent but sweet-natured wizard Schmendrick and Molly Grue, a middle-aged bandit woman with a purer heart than most virgins.
Their quest takes them to the barren lands of the embittered King Haggard, master of the Red Bull, and his naive foster son Prince Lír. It is here that the unicorn, superior and aloof to all mortals, is [[HumanityEnsues transformed into a mere human]], taking the name "Lady Amalthea", forced to see and suffer human weakness and emotion firsthand.
One of the overriding themes is the power of memory. The King remembers feeling happy once and tries to recapture it by kidnapping unicorns, the skull remembers wine, Amalthea is in danger of forgetting herself, Molly Grue remembers her lost youth, and the unicorn will forever remember being in love.
The film's script was written by Peter S. Beagle himself. In July 2011, he finally got paid.
----
!!This film provides examples of:
* AdaptationDistillation: The animated version is held in high regard as being faithful to the text, even though significant parts of the book, such as the poetry and songs, were left out.
* AnachronismStew: Intentionally, in the same vein as ''TheOnceAndFutureKing'', there are references to tacos, trains, magazines, [[ChildBallad Francis James Child's ballad collection]], etc. in a medieval-Renaissance-Arthurian-whatever age.
* {{Animesque}}: Although always intended for an English-speaking audience, the dirty work of animating the film adaptation was done by a Japanese studio called {{Topcraft}} (members of which became founders of StudioGhibli, incidentally). The anime influence on the movie is unmistakable.
* AntiMagic: Arguably the main power of the Unicorn, which it used several times during the story, in order to destroy magical locks, turn back an enchanted tree to normal, and prevent the use of magic against her.
* AntiVillain: King Haggard, as shown in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP3DhTq8mXg this scene]] where he explains ''why'' he [[spoiler:captured the unicorns. Not from greed, or power... but because they're the only thing that makes him ''happy'']].
* BarbieDollAnatomy: Amalthea, although the GodivaHair might contribute a bit.
* BecomingTheMask: The danger of the unicorn's human guise.
* BerserkButton: For the unicorn, [[spoiler:the death of Prince Lír by the Red Bull]].
* BetaCouple: [[spoiler:Schmendrick and Molly]].
** Alternately, [[spoiler:Lir and Amalthea]] could be seen as a BetaCouple to [[spoiler:Schmendrick and Molly]], as they get together sooner and easier, whereas the latter pair doesn't realize they're in love until the very end.
* BittersweetEnding: The unicorn saves her people, at the cost of the happy human life she could have known.
* BornAsAnAdult: Amalthea.
* BlueEyes: Lír. Lady Amalthea has dark blue eyes that border on purple.
* {{Bowdlerize}}: The 25th anniversary DVD edit out a few well-placed "damn"s, sometimes rather sloppily. Oddly, the bare-breasted Harpy is left completely alone.
* BrokenAngel: Played straight immediately after the transformation, then gradually deconstructed.
* ByTheEyesOfTheBlind:
-->'''Skull:''' Oh, no. No, you don't. Not ''that'' one. Unicorn! Unicorn! Haggard! Haggard! '''''UNICORN! UNICORN!''''' Haggard, where are you? There they go! Down to the Red Bull! The clock, Haggard! There they go! Unicorn! '''''UNICORN!'''''
* [[CallingTheOldManOut Calling The Unicorn Out]]: "Where have you ''been?!''"
* CatsAreMean: Well, not entirely, but the kitchen cat at Haggard's castle is a {{Trickster}}, and could give more help than he does.
-->'''Cat:''' No cat out of her first fur has ever given a straight answer to anyone. ''(removes the eye patch to wink at Molly with an '''undamaged, working eye'''.)''
* CelebrityEndorsement: Folk rock band America provides the soundtrack for the film.
* CloudCuckooLander: The butterfly sings songs, recites poetry, quotes a warning from a matchbox at one point, and ''occasionally'' says something useful. It's at least implied, if not stated outright, that verbatim parroting what he's heard others say before is actually the only way ''any butterfly'' can talk at all. He seems to ''understand'' what the unicorn is after well enough, though.
* CounterpointDuet: "Now That I'm a Woman"/"That's All I've Got to Say"--Amalthea's mixed feelings about being human and Lír's song about failed attempts to court her. Becomes a love duet at the end.
* [[CreativeClosingCredits Creative Opening Credits]]: The opening of the movie is drawn to resemble [[ShownTheirWork a series of medieval tapestries come to life]] (and a few images from the Book of Hours)--specifically, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunt_of_the_Unicorn the Unicorn Tapestries]].
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass[=/=]TookALevelInBadass:
** Schmendrick's magic only works on occasion, and when it does, something usually goes wrong with it. [[spoiler:But by the end of the book, he is able to return the unicorn to her true form.]]
** Lír starts off as a lazy schmuck, but eventually [[spoiler:fights the Red Bull, [[HeroicSacrifice lays down his life to save the unicorn,]] and becomes King.]]
* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: The butterfly has some good advice hidden in his string of nonsense songs.
* DaydreamBeliever: Molly and all of Captain Cully's crew believe there really is a RobinHood. Molly also believes there are unicorns. (She's right.)
* {{Deconstruction}}. ''And how''. All of the characters [[FunctionalGenreSavvy know they're in a fairy tale]], and the fairy tale itself mocks, parodies, subverts and plays straight FairyTale tropes. One of the most moving scenes comes from this exchange:
-->'''Schmendrick:''' Then let the quest end here. I don't think I could change her back even if you wished it. Marry the prince and live happily ever after.\\
'''Amalthea:''' Yes. That is my wish.\\
'''Lír:''' No. Lady, I am a hero, and heroes know that things must happen when it is time for them to happen. A quest may not simply be abandoned. Unicorns may go unrescued for a long time, but not forever. The happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story.\\
'''Molly Grue:''' ''(quietly to Schmendrick)'' But what if there isn't a happy ending at all?\\
'''Schmendrick:''' ''(quietly)'' There are no happy endings, because nothing ends.
* DemBones: The guardian of the passageway that leads to the Red Bull.
* DoesNotLikeShoes: Molly Grue goes barefoot.
* EmergencyTransformation: Schmendrick to the unicorn when she is in trouble. [[spoiler:He is eventually able to pull off an Emergency Re-Transformation.]]
* EmotionlessGirl: Lady Amalthea, initially.
* FamousLastWords:
** "The last! I '''knew''' you were the last!"
** Mommy Fortuna's "You couldn't have freed yourself alone! I held you!" Mommy Fortuna is clearly akin to those people who keep venomous snakes as pets.
* FeatheredFiend: The Harpy
* FisherKing: King Haggard's kingdom.
* FunctionalMagic: Wild magic, exclusively. Mostly because Schmendrick sucks majorly at wizarding, though.
* GenericCuteness: Averted. Nobody looks good except Lír and Amalthea. Still, Molly looks a lot younger than she ought to.
* GenreSavvy: Several characters, particularly Lír, who makes a much-quoted speech about the proper order of things during the climax of the story.
* GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath: The skull, during the "HAGGARD! HAGGARD!! '''UNICORN!'''" tirade.
* GoodIsNotNice: Unicorns may be [[IncorruptiblePurePureness incorruptible]], but they're also ''wild.''
* HarpingOnAboutHarpies
* HairTriggerTemper: Mabruk, King Haggard, Mommy Fortuna, and Rukh are all extremely quick to take offence, and enjoy bullying and intimidating others.
* HannibalLecture. King Haggard.
-->'''Haggard:''' "I ''know'' you! I almost knew you as soon as I saw you on the road coming to my door. Since then, there is no movement of yours that has not betrayed you! A pace, a glance, a turn of the head, the flash of your throat as you breathe... even your way of standing perfectly still--they were all my spies!"
* {{Herald}}
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:That would be Lír.]] [[BackFromTheDead He gets better.]]
* TheHerosJourney
* HumanityEnsues: The unicorn is transformed by Schmendrick into a human woman, against her will.
* HumanityIsInfectious: Amalthea eventually gains enough to the point where she "dies" when Schmendrick changes the unicorn back.
* IAmBecomingSong: [[TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody 'Now That I'm]] [[HumanityEnsues a Woman.']]
* [[IJustWantToBeNormal I Just Want To Stay Normal]]: Amalthea begs Schmendrick not to change her back into a unicorn.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Unicorns, Molly, and Lír.
* ItMustBeMine: Haggard and "his" unicorns.
-->'''Haggard:''' They are MINE! They belong to ME! The Red Bull gathered them one-by-one, and I bade him 'drive each one into the sea!' I like to watch them. They fill me with joy. The first time I felt it, I thought I was going to die. I said to the Red Bull, 'I must have them! I must have ''all'' of them, ''all there are''! For nothing makes me happy... but their shining, and their grace.' So, the Red Bull caught them. Each time I see the unicorns--MY unicorns--it is like that morning in the woods, and I feel young, in ''spite'' of myself.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Haggard's biggest vice--and danger--is his selfishness and obsessiveness.
* JumpedAtTheCall: Both Schmendrick and Molly are willing to travel with the unicorn within hours of meeting her.
* JustLikeRobinHood: Captain Cully and his outlaw gang certainly aspire to be, but instead are quite the opposite. They rob the poor because they can't fight back, and pay off the rich to turn a blind eye.
* KarmicDeath: Mommy Fortuna and [[spoiler:King Haggard]].
* KnightInShiningArmor: Lír.
* LastOfHerKind: [[spoiler:But not exactly. It turns out that there ''are'' more unicorns--but they have all been imprisoned in the sea by King Haggard, with the help of the Red Bull.]]
* LossOfIdentity: After being transformed into an human, she gradually forgets who she was, to the point she doesn't know anymore who (and what) she is.
* LoveMartyr: ''Oh, Lír.''
* MagikarpPower: Schmendrick's magic. Similarly, see also CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass.
* MarshmallowHell: When Schmendrick accidentally converts the tree he's tied to into a living entity, he finds himself in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCvEL41kIQg this.]]
-->'''Schmendrick''': Oh God. I'm engaged to a Douglas Fir.\\
'''Tree''': Galls and fireblight! She shall not have you. We shall perish together!
* MayflyDecemberRomance: Prince Lír and the unicorn as Lady Amalthea.
* MeaningfulName:
** The unicorn's alias, "Amalthea," is a reference to the nanny goat who nursed Zeus. The original Amalthea had lost a horn, which became the Cornucopia, effectively making her a unicorn.
** "Haggard" pretty much speaks for itself.
** "Schmendrick" is a Yiddish word meaning someone who is foolish, clueless, or hopelessly out of his depth: a boy sent to do a man's job.
** The Harpy is called "Celaeno" because she is the dark and twisted yang to the Unicorn's light and pure yin.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The unicorn's frightening personality change following her transformation.
* MotiveRant: King Haggard has one when he wistfully tells Lady Amalthea why he holds all the unicorns prisoner in the sea.
* {{Multiboobage}}: The Harpy has not two, but three breasts.
* NakedOnArrival: Due to an aversion of MagicPants, this is the unicorn's human form at first sight. Copious amounts of GodivaHair were used, naturally.
* NoNameGiven: The unicorn. "Amalthea" is just an alias used when in human form.
* OneSceneWonder: Numerous characters/voice actors quickly come and go, but Rene Auberjonois stands out as The Skull.
* ThePowerOfLove: Turns Lír from a lazy coward into a GenreSavvy hero.
* PrincessClassic: Amalthea, especially as her humanity becomes more evident, acts like this, and nearly became an actual princess.
* PunnyName: As well as being a Yiddish word (see above), "Schmendrick the Magician" is also a pun on "MandrakeTheMagician."
* QuestForTheRest
* RapunzelHair: Lady Amalthea.
* TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation
* RedEyesTakeWarning: The Skull displays such eyes when he recognizes the eponymous character for what she truly is. See also GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath.
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: The unicorn herself and all her forest companions.
* RobinHood: Summoned by Schmendrick's magic to show his power to Captain Cully, a "real life" RobinHood in the story.
* SexualKarma: The talking tree and [[MarshmallowHell her "attributes".]]
* ScrewDestiny: Just before the final encounter with the Red Bull, Lady Amalthea [[spoiler:wants to back out, marry Lír, and live happily ever after--Lír is the one who insists that the story can't end that way.]]
* StatusBuff: Done in one instance by the unicorn to Schmendrick, when he successfully summons an illusion of RobinHood and his allies.
* SweetieGraffiti: When it opens up to Captain Cully's campfire, you can see a tree with the words CC + MG carved inside a heart.
* TalkLikeAPirate: The cat, who also sports an eyepatch and pegleg.
* [[spoiler:ThereIsAnother]]: [[spoiler:Schmendrick and Lady Amalthea discover that there are other unicorns, but they are all captives of King Haggard. The story then becomes about trying to rescue them.]]
* [[ThroughAFaceFullOfFur Through A Face Without Flesh]]: The Skull turns rosy-cheeked as it empties a bottle of "wine."
* TransformationTrauma: Turning the unicorn into a human practically lobotomizes her.
--> "I can feel this body ''dying'' all around me!"
* {{Unicorn}}: One of the most famous.
* UnusualEuphemism: A few.
-->'''Molly Grue:''' Slit his wizard!
** The book explains that she meant either "gizzard" or "weasand" (an archaic term for the throat), and amalgamated the two.
* WhatMeasureIsANonUnique
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse Rather, what happened to the cat? [[spoiler:the whole castle does collapse at the end.]]
** If you look very closely in Schmendrick and Molly's final scene (when she's about to get on the horse after saying she will go with him), the cat is on the back of her horse.
** Four men-at-arms are mentioned (very minor characters in the book), but they never make an appearance.
* WildWilderness
* WhiteHairedPrettyGirl: Amalthea
* WhoWantsToLiveForever:
** A major theme in the story is that immortal beings cannot appreciate mortality.
** Mommy Fortuna had a twisted view of immortality in regards to the Harpy:
--->'''Fortuna:''' Oh, she'll kill me one day or another. But she will remember forever that I caught her; that I held her prisoner. So there's ''my'' immortality, eh?
** Also Schmendrick comments at the end that Lir will achieve immortality through the unicorn's memory of loving him.
* TheWisePrince: Lír grows into this.
* WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: Not explicitly stated, but when the most beautiful creature in the world [[HumanityEnsues becomes human]], this seems to be the result. It's worth noting however, that as [[TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody she becomes more human]] she stays beautiful, but the mystical quality of her beauty fades away.
* YouCanSeeMe: Mommy Fortuna, Schmendrick, Molly, and (terrifyingly) the Red Bull all know the unicorn when they see her. Most ordinary people mistake the unicorn for a white horse, and Mommy Fortuna has to put a fake horn on the unicorn to exhibit her to the public. The cat is also able to see her, because:
-->"No cat out of its first fur can ever be deceived by appearances. [[TakeThat Unlike humans, who enjoy them]]."
----
[[caption-width-right:237:Of all unicorns, she is the only one who knows what regret is -- [[CursedWithAwesome and love]].]]
->'''Molly''': ''Then what is magic for? What use is wizardry if it cannot save a {{unicorn}}?''\\
'''Schmendrick''': ''That's what [[TheHero heroes]] are for.''
An animated [[TheFilmOfTheBook Film Of The Book]], based on [[Literature/TheLastUnicorn the novel]] by PeterSBeagle, and animated by RankinBassProductions.
In a certain lilac wood, the leaves and snow never fall. This eternal springtime is watched over, and caused by, its magical resident--a unicorn. Having never left her forest, the unicorn is surprised to overhear two hunters speaking about the disappearance of the unicorns. In fact, they believe her to be the very last.
Unwilling to accept this, the unicorn leaves the safety of her forest and sets out to find others of her kind, following the information given to her by a philosophical butterfly. Along the way, she learns through bitter experience of human cruelty, ignorance and greed. She is mistaken for a horse (much to her displeasure), captured and placed in a circus sideshow, and pursued by a demonic being--the Red Bull, which, according to local legend, is responsible for the disappearance of the other unicorns. She also meets allies who join her in her journey; the incompetent but sweet-natured wizard Schmendrick and Molly Grue, a middle-aged bandit woman with a purer heart than most virgins.
Their quest takes them to the barren lands of the embittered King Haggard, master of the Red Bull, and his naive foster son Prince Lír. It is here that the unicorn, superior and aloof to all mortals, is [[HumanityEnsues transformed into a mere human]], taking the name "Lady Amalthea", forced to see and suffer human weakness and emotion firsthand.
One of the overriding themes is the power of memory. The King remembers feeling happy once and tries to recapture it by kidnapping unicorns, the skull remembers wine, Amalthea is in danger of forgetting herself, Molly Grue remembers her lost youth, and the unicorn will forever remember being in love.
The film's script was written by Peter S. Beagle himself. In July 2011, he finally got paid.
----
!!This film provides examples of:
* AdaptationDistillation: The animated version is held in high regard as being faithful to the text, even though significant parts of the book, such as the poetry and songs, were left out.
* AnachronismStew: Intentionally, in the same vein as ''TheOnceAndFutureKing'', there are references to tacos, trains, magazines, [[ChildBallad Francis James Child's ballad collection]], etc. in a medieval-Renaissance-Arthurian-whatever age.
* {{Animesque}}: Although always intended for an English-speaking audience, the dirty work of animating the film adaptation was done by a Japanese studio called {{Topcraft}} (members of which became founders of StudioGhibli, incidentally). The anime influence on the movie is unmistakable.
* AntiMagic: Arguably the main power of the Unicorn, which it used several times during the story, in order to destroy magical locks, turn back an enchanted tree to normal, and prevent the use of magic against her.
* AntiVillain: King Haggard, as shown in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP3DhTq8mXg this scene]] where he explains ''why'' he [[spoiler:captured the unicorns. Not from greed, or power... but because they're the only thing that makes him ''happy'']].
* BarbieDollAnatomy: Amalthea, although the GodivaHair might contribute a bit.
* BecomingTheMask: The danger of the unicorn's human guise.
* BerserkButton: For the unicorn, [[spoiler:the death of Prince Lír by the Red Bull]].
* BetaCouple: [[spoiler:Schmendrick and Molly]].
** Alternately, [[spoiler:Lir and Amalthea]] could be seen as a BetaCouple to [[spoiler:Schmendrick and Molly]], as they get together sooner and easier, whereas the latter pair doesn't realize they're in love until the very end.
* BittersweetEnding: The unicorn saves her people, at the cost of the happy human life she could have known.
* BornAsAnAdult: Amalthea.
* BlueEyes: Lír. Lady Amalthea has dark blue eyes that border on purple.
* {{Bowdlerize}}: The 25th anniversary DVD edit out a few well-placed "damn"s, sometimes rather sloppily. Oddly, the bare-breasted Harpy is left completely alone.
* BrokenAngel: Played straight immediately after the transformation, then gradually deconstructed.
* ByTheEyesOfTheBlind:
-->'''Skull:''' Oh, no. No, you don't. Not ''that'' one. Unicorn! Unicorn! Haggard! Haggard! '''''UNICORN! UNICORN!''''' Haggard, where are you? There they go! Down to the Red Bull! The clock, Haggard! There they go! Unicorn! '''''UNICORN!'''''
* [[CallingTheOldManOut Calling The Unicorn Out]]: "Where have you ''been?!''"
* CatsAreMean: Well, not entirely, but the kitchen cat at Haggard's castle is a {{Trickster}}, and could give more help than he does.
-->'''Cat:''' No cat out of her first fur has ever given a straight answer to anyone. ''(removes the eye patch to wink at Molly with an '''undamaged, working eye'''.)''
* CelebrityEndorsement: Folk rock band America provides the soundtrack for the film.
* CloudCuckooLander: The butterfly sings songs, recites poetry, quotes a warning from a matchbox at one point, and ''occasionally'' says something useful. It's at least implied, if not stated outright, that verbatim parroting what he's heard others say before is actually the only way ''any butterfly'' can talk at all. He seems to ''understand'' what the unicorn is after well enough, though.
* CounterpointDuet: "Now That I'm a Woman"/"That's All I've Got to Say"--Amalthea's mixed feelings about being human and Lír's song about failed attempts to court her. Becomes a love duet at the end.
* [[CreativeClosingCredits Creative Opening Credits]]: The opening of the movie is drawn to resemble [[ShownTheirWork a series of medieval tapestries come to life]] (and a few images from the Book of Hours)--specifically, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunt_of_the_Unicorn the Unicorn Tapestries]].
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass[=/=]TookALevelInBadass:
** Schmendrick's magic only works on occasion, and when it does, something usually goes wrong with it. [[spoiler:But by the end of the book, he is able to return the unicorn to her true form.]]
** Lír starts off as a lazy schmuck, but eventually [[spoiler:fights the Red Bull, [[HeroicSacrifice lays down his life to save the unicorn,]] and becomes King.]]
* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: The butterfly has some good advice hidden in his string of nonsense songs.
* DaydreamBeliever: Molly and all of Captain Cully's crew believe there really is a RobinHood. Molly also believes there are unicorns. (She's right.)
* {{Deconstruction}}. ''And how''. All of the characters [[FunctionalGenreSavvy know they're in a fairy tale]], and the fairy tale itself mocks, parodies, subverts and plays straight FairyTale tropes. One of the most moving scenes comes from this exchange:
-->'''Schmendrick:''' Then let the quest end here. I don't think I could change her back even if you wished it. Marry the prince and live happily ever after.\\
'''Amalthea:''' Yes. That is my wish.\\
'''Lír:''' No. Lady, I am a hero, and heroes know that things must happen when it is time for them to happen. A quest may not simply be abandoned. Unicorns may go unrescued for a long time, but not forever. The happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story.\\
'''Molly Grue:''' ''(quietly to Schmendrick)'' But what if there isn't a happy ending at all?\\
'''Schmendrick:''' ''(quietly)'' There are no happy endings, because nothing ends.
* DemBones: The guardian of the passageway that leads to the Red Bull.
* DoesNotLikeShoes: Molly Grue goes barefoot.
* EmergencyTransformation: Schmendrick to the unicorn when she is in trouble. [[spoiler:He is eventually able to pull off an Emergency Re-Transformation.]]
* EmotionlessGirl: Lady Amalthea, initially.
* FamousLastWords:
** "The last! I '''knew''' you were the last!"
** Mommy Fortuna's "You couldn't have freed yourself alone! I held you!" Mommy Fortuna is clearly akin to those people who keep venomous snakes as pets.
* FeatheredFiend: The Harpy
* FisherKing: King Haggard's kingdom.
* FunctionalMagic: Wild magic, exclusively. Mostly because Schmendrick sucks majorly at wizarding, though.
* GenericCuteness: Averted. Nobody looks good except Lír and Amalthea. Still, Molly looks a lot younger than she ought to.
* GenreSavvy: Several characters, particularly Lír, who makes a much-quoted speech about the proper order of things during the climax of the story.
* GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath: The skull, during the "HAGGARD! HAGGARD!! '''UNICORN!'''" tirade.
* GoodIsNotNice: Unicorns may be [[IncorruptiblePurePureness incorruptible]], but they're also ''wild.''
* HarpingOnAboutHarpies
* HairTriggerTemper: Mabruk, King Haggard, Mommy Fortuna, and Rukh are all extremely quick to take offence, and enjoy bullying and intimidating others.
* HannibalLecture. King Haggard.
-->'''Haggard:''' "I ''know'' you! I almost knew you as soon as I saw you on the road coming to my door. Since then, there is no movement of yours that has not betrayed you! A pace, a glance, a turn of the head, the flash of your throat as you breathe... even your way of standing perfectly still--they were all my spies!"
* {{Herald}}
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:That would be Lír.]] [[BackFromTheDead He gets better.]]
* TheHerosJourney
* HumanityEnsues: The unicorn is transformed by Schmendrick into a human woman, against her will.
* HumanityIsInfectious: Amalthea eventually gains enough to the point where she "dies" when Schmendrick changes the unicorn back.
* IAmBecomingSong: [[TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody 'Now That I'm]] [[HumanityEnsues a Woman.']]
* [[IJustWantToBeNormal I Just Want To Stay Normal]]: Amalthea begs Schmendrick not to change her back into a unicorn.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Unicorns, Molly, and Lír.
* ItMustBeMine: Haggard and "his" unicorns.
-->'''Haggard:''' They are MINE! They belong to ME! The Red Bull gathered them one-by-one, and I bade him 'drive each one into the sea!' I like to watch them. They fill me with joy. The first time I felt it, I thought I was going to die. I said to the Red Bull, 'I must have them! I must have ''all'' of them, ''all there are''! For nothing makes me happy... but their shining, and their grace.' So, the Red Bull caught them. Each time I see the unicorns--MY unicorns--it is like that morning in the woods, and I feel young, in ''spite'' of myself.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Haggard's biggest vice--and danger--is his selfishness and obsessiveness.
* JumpedAtTheCall: Both Schmendrick and Molly are willing to travel with the unicorn within hours of meeting her.
* JustLikeRobinHood: Captain Cully and his outlaw gang certainly aspire to be, but instead are quite the opposite. They rob the poor because they can't fight back, and pay off the rich to turn a blind eye.
* KarmicDeath: Mommy Fortuna and [[spoiler:King Haggard]].
* KnightInShiningArmor: Lír.
* LastOfHerKind: [[spoiler:But not exactly. It turns out that there ''are'' more unicorns--but they have all been imprisoned in the sea by King Haggard, with the help of the Red Bull.]]
* LossOfIdentity: After being transformed into an human, she gradually forgets who she was, to the point she doesn't know anymore who (and what) she is.
* LoveMartyr: ''Oh, Lír.''
* MagikarpPower: Schmendrick's magic. Similarly, see also CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass.
* MarshmallowHell: When Schmendrick accidentally converts the tree he's tied to into a living entity, he finds himself in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCvEL41kIQg this.]]
-->'''Schmendrick''': Oh God. I'm engaged to a Douglas Fir.\\
'''Tree''': Galls and fireblight! She shall not have you. We shall perish together!
* MayflyDecemberRomance: Prince Lír and the unicorn as Lady Amalthea.
* MeaningfulName:
** The unicorn's alias, "Amalthea," is a reference to the nanny goat who nursed Zeus. The original Amalthea had lost a horn, which became the Cornucopia, effectively making her a unicorn.
** "Haggard" pretty much speaks for itself.
** "Schmendrick" is a Yiddish word meaning someone who is foolish, clueless, or hopelessly out of his depth: a boy sent to do a man's job.
** The Harpy is called "Celaeno" because she is the dark and twisted yang to the Unicorn's light and pure yin.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The unicorn's frightening personality change following her transformation.
* MotiveRant: King Haggard has one when he wistfully tells Lady Amalthea why he holds all the unicorns prisoner in the sea.
* {{Multiboobage}}: The Harpy has not two, but three breasts.
* NakedOnArrival: Due to an aversion of MagicPants, this is the unicorn's human form at first sight. Copious amounts of GodivaHair were used, naturally.
* NoNameGiven: The unicorn. "Amalthea" is just an alias used when in human form.
* OneSceneWonder: Numerous characters/voice actors quickly come and go, but Rene Auberjonois stands out as The Skull.
* ThePowerOfLove: Turns Lír from a lazy coward into a GenreSavvy hero.
* PrincessClassic: Amalthea, especially as her humanity becomes more evident, acts like this, and nearly became an actual princess.
* PunnyName: As well as being a Yiddish word (see above), "Schmendrick the Magician" is also a pun on "MandrakeTheMagician."
* QuestForTheRest
* RapunzelHair: Lady Amalthea.
* TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation
* RedEyesTakeWarning: The Skull displays such eyes when he recognizes the eponymous character for what she truly is. See also GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath.
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: The unicorn herself and all her forest companions.
* RobinHood: Summoned by Schmendrick's magic to show his power to Captain Cully, a "real life" RobinHood in the story.
* SexualKarma: The talking tree and [[MarshmallowHell her "attributes".]]
* ScrewDestiny: Just before the final encounter with the Red Bull, Lady Amalthea [[spoiler:wants to back out, marry Lír, and live happily ever after--Lír is the one who insists that the story can't end that way.]]
* StatusBuff: Done in one instance by the unicorn to Schmendrick, when he successfully summons an illusion of RobinHood and his allies.
* SweetieGraffiti: When it opens up to Captain Cully's campfire, you can see a tree with the words CC + MG carved inside a heart.
* TalkLikeAPirate: The cat, who also sports an eyepatch and pegleg.
* [[spoiler:ThereIsAnother]]: [[spoiler:Schmendrick and Lady Amalthea discover that there are other unicorns, but they are all captives of King Haggard. The story then becomes about trying to rescue them.]]
* [[ThroughAFaceFullOfFur Through A Face Without Flesh]]: The Skull turns rosy-cheeked as it empties a bottle of "wine."
* TransformationTrauma: Turning the unicorn into a human practically lobotomizes her.
--> "I can feel this body ''dying'' all around me!"
* {{Unicorn}}: One of the most famous.
* UnusualEuphemism: A few.
-->'''Molly Grue:''' Slit his wizard!
** The book explains that she meant either "gizzard" or "weasand" (an archaic term for the throat), and amalgamated the two.
* WhatMeasureIsANonUnique
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse Rather, what happened to the cat? [[spoiler:the whole castle does collapse at the end.]]
** If you look very closely in Schmendrick and Molly's final scene (when she's about to get on the horse after saying she will go with him), the cat is on the back of her horse.
** Four men-at-arms are mentioned (very minor characters in the book), but they never make an appearance.
* WildWilderness
* WhiteHairedPrettyGirl: Amalthea
* WhoWantsToLiveForever:
** A major theme in the story is that immortal beings cannot appreciate mortality.
** Mommy Fortuna had a twisted view of immortality in regards to the Harpy:
--->'''Fortuna:''' Oh, she'll kill me one day or another. But she will remember forever that I caught her; that I held her prisoner. So there's ''my'' immortality, eh?
** Also Schmendrick comments at the end that Lir will achieve immortality through the unicorn's memory of loving him.
* TheWisePrince: Lír grows into this.
* WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: Not explicitly stated, but when the most beautiful creature in the world [[HumanityEnsues becomes human]], this seems to be the result. It's worth noting however, that as [[TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody she becomes more human]] she stays beautiful, but the mystical quality of her beauty fades away.
* YouCanSeeMe: Mommy Fortuna, Schmendrick, Molly, and (terrifyingly) the Red Bull all know the unicorn when they see her. Most ordinary people mistake the unicorn for a white horse, and Mommy Fortuna has to put a fake horn on the unicorn to exhibit her to the public. The cat is also able to see her, because:
-->"No cat out of its first fur can ever be deceived by appearances. [[TakeThat Unlike humans, who enjoy them]]."
----
