Anyway, the story goes like this.
There was once a unicorn that lived in a forest. The other animals praised her beauty but the unicorn was lonely for there was no other like her. The butterfly told her that once, a long time ago, there were others like her but they were driven away and imprisoned by a great red bull who wanted all the unicorns for himself. It was rumored that the red bull was still living somewhere.
Despite the dangers, the unicorn went on a journey in search of the other unicorns.
On her way, she came upon an old man who was in trouble. The unicorn helped him and the old man turned out to be a magician. In return for the unicorn’s kindness, the magician turned her into a young woman for her own protection. For there are those who are after unique creatures such as her.
The unicorn, now a young woman, and the magician came upon the castle where they worked as part of its court. There, she met a prince. The prince was an acclaimed hero and beloved of the people. But he was unhappy.
For he desires what true heroism means and knows not what it is.
The prince and the unicorn became friends. So he introduced her to his father, the ruler. The ruler however sensed something different and enticing with the young woman. The young woman sensed danger. The unicorn found out later that the ruler was the red bull who imprisoned the other unicorns. The ruler and the prince in turn, found out what she really was.
It was then that the prince realized what his father is exactly like. So he wished to help the unicorn and aided her in her flight. The ruler sensed the escape however, and went after them. The prince defended the unicorn. But the ruler was a powerful sorcerer and as the red bull, he was formidable; the prince, though an experienced warrior, is merely a human.
The battle ended up on the beach where the unicorn pleaded for the prince to save himself. It was her that the red bull was after and the prince need not endanger himself for her. There was nothing else that they could do. They were no match for the red bull.
The prince however was determined to save her. And so he fought and fought the red bull with all his might.
The ending of the story? The prince died. And I cried a lot.
The unicorn cried a lot too.
Before he took his last breath, he told the unicorn, “I have slain dragons, and rescued damsels, and I was loved for those but I was unsatisfied for I knew not what heroism means. Now, I do. True heroism means fighting for what is right even if the chance for victory is hopeless.”
But because of his efforts, the unicorn was able to free her sisters and was able to come back home to her forest.
Now let me ask you, how many times have you given up on a dream or a belief or a task because it appeared too daunting or difficult?
(Note: I recently looked it up again and to my relief and joy, I finally found it! Which explains the pictures. :) The title is The Last Unicorn and the movie was based on a novel of the same title written by Peter Beagle. Some details may differ from the actual story but I'm keeping this post as it is for this is how I remembered the story. My impression of The Last Unicorn helped shape a big part of who I am.)
The prince was revived by the magician if I remembered correctly.. The last scene between them was a "goodbye" scene with the sunset as the backdrop...
ReplyDeleteI also loved that story. It was one of my favorites. I remember there was a time I was desperately searching for it in the video stores.. but alas, no such luck.. the stores have no copy of this movie. If by any chance you come across a copy do message me. I would love to watch it again.. :)
To be honest, that last scene confused me a little when I was a kid. I kept waiting for the prince to wake up but I guess I was too distraught then to have only remembered his death, lol. (as I mentioned in the post, that scene shaped me a lot XD).
ReplyDeleteMAJOR SPOILER ALERT)
When I looked it up, I found that he was indeed revived but not by the magician but by the unicorns that were freed. The magician told him something along the lines of "You may never be with her again but you have gained much by winning the love of a unicorn." The magician also apologized to the unicorn for because of her transformation, her purity was tainted with regret. But the unicorn answered that she was glad to have known love.
I would love to watch it again too and yes it really is difficult to search for this movie on video stores. Amazon has it, I think. But if ever I chance upon it somewhere, I'd be glad to tell you about it ^^. Thanks for the comment.