As all of the dedicated readers of our classified section should know, "The Last Unicorn" is a great movie. A sports production editor quoted me as saying so in Monday's paper because he thought my statement was ridiculous.
The rest of the office agreed. They laughed as I tried to explain the movie and laughed some more at my feeble insistence of how awesome it is. They protested when I pulled up the opening song on YouTube. The told me not to give them any more ammunition to make fun of me about.
So obviously I had to write a column.
"The Last Unicorn" is an animated movie that was released in 1982. It comes from the same animation team that made the recent critically-acclaimed movie "Ponyo."
Its plot summary reads:
"A brave unicorn and a magician fight an evil king who is obsessed with attempting to capture the world's unicorns."
Who wouldn't be curious after reading that? Plus, the magician is voiced by Alan Arkin, who 27 years later, is still awesome.
The movie is a classic tale of good versus evil. It introduces the moral conflict of choosing what is right over what is easy or safe. It shows children what it means to be self-sacrificing, and what you can accomplish if you believe.
Its wacky characters include an evil king, a charming prince, a scary circus ringmaster and the idealistic magician. Kids will love it for the characters, the music and the fantasy while adults can delve deeper into its meaning.
"The Last Unicorn" is great. What's important about this, though, is that I made that judgment after seeing the movie many times. It made an impact on me as a child and my sister even owns it on DVD.
So, I should not be made fun of by people who had never even heard of the movie just because it's got a silly title. That's the same as someone who has never read a Harry Potter book condemning me as a heathen for still wanting my Hogwarts letter.
Want some justified reasons to make fun of me? I love Bob Evans. I love Christian rock music, Scrabble and craft shows. Grasshoppers scare the bejeezus out of me. I'm from Cleveland. I'm a woman.
Take your pick of any of those reasons, which you have had experience with and understand. I don't mind taking jeers about any of those items, because they make me who I am (middle aged, apparently).
Just don't judge a wonderful movie because of its unicorn.
