Simply A Masterpiece

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Have you ever met one of those uniquely charismatic and seemingly selfless people where whenever you were around them all you wanted was to get their attention and whenever you got it and spent time with that person you felt carefree and everything you did seemed to come much easier? And have you ever become friends with such a person and you were so close to each other that you thought you would be best friends forever but very soon your paths parted and you never saw that person again and whenever you think back to that time it's almost like the world had a different color and flavor during that short period and in some regards it changed your outlook on the world forever and you sadly wonder "who was that person anyway"? Uncio the "uniquehorn" is such a person. He first tries everything to befriend a grumpy loner who after meeting Unico starts to feel lonely and gradually realizes that he could need a friend until eventually he even opens up to the idea of being more welcoming to other people as well. Unico leaves and now befriends a girl whom he helps to come of age through their eye-opening friendship and when her life is threatened because the inexperienced young woman falls into the trap of a sexual predator Unico and his grumpy friend come to her rescue and through their united effort they succeed. Now Unico has to leave them both forever as he is carried away by the wind and it is a hard goodbye that nobody is happy about but what must be must be and he will not be forgotten.Superficially 'Unico' looks and plays like a cartoon for six-year-old girls; sweet, sappy, nonsensical and pretty dully animated but its exploration of the theme is thoughtful and even if it isn't particularly profound it's a theme I hadn't really seen explored before in a film and it was focused enough on it to keep me interested throughout in what otherwise would have been an unbearable kiddie movie. Also remarkably the characters are consistently believable despite their shrillness and their character arcs ring true. Eventually one learns much less about Unico than about his friends, and that is only right. Personally I could definitely identify with the elusive Unico character… Recommended to every six-year-old girl who is reading this.

Don't get me wrong, that's a good thing. I must have been about 4 or when I first saw this movie. I don't really remember all that much of it. Just bits in pieces here and there, but I was interested enough to watch it again. Of course it was a very different experience now that I'm grown. As an adult and a movie enthusiast I've become accustomed to looking at things like quality and composition; something that no one really looks for when they're 4. Back then I just enjoyed colorful animation.As an adult I have to rate this movie on certain things. I think that by today's standard, the quality of the animation is just OK. Although I noticed that even though it's almost 30 years old, some of it was actually quite ascetic. Personally, my favorite characters were the west and night winds. I really liked how they had been designed visually. However, there was a sort of ridiculousness in the style sometimes. Devils, unicorns, and talking animals aside, I thought it was kinda weird that the old woman had a nose the size of her entire head. There was also an odd quality to the voice acting that made it a bit clumsy.There really wasn't too much plot. The main character just kinda got moved around against his will and tried to improve things for people wherever he went. So as an adult, this movie was a bit difficult for me to sit through, but keeping in mind that it was geared towards little children (and apparently did a good job of entertaining them as most of the comments I've read have been about how they loved this film as a child) Id have to say that this is actually a successful movie. Though not really big on production value, I did end up giving it a higher score than I would have if I had not seen it when I was a little kid.

I love Unico. How much? Well, I loved it so much I snatched the VHS for $5 when our movie rental store went out of business. Not only that, I also have the 2nd movie somewhere on tape (even though it kinda creeps me out).NOTE: This Review is not only spoiler laden for the movie but the Manga as well...Unico is a dark fantasy and is actually NOT A CARTOON! It's an Anime, and there is, like, 4 movies. And these are based on the Manga by Osamu Tezuka; the manga of which I bought out of love for Unico.The movie start with Bezel (The little devil; forgot his Jap name, sorry). This first section holds the exact plot as the manga. I always love Bezel; though the second section of the movie has a kitten wanting to be a witch. The dark fantasy aspect is still there as Katie's aspiration to become a witch leads her to being seduced by the Baron of the woods, after she is turned human by Unico, and being lured to his castle. Of course, the handsome Baron turns out to be the bad guy and its up to our very on little unicorn, Unico, to save the day. Of course, in the movie, with a little help from his friend Bezel.The movie is NOTHING like the manga other that Katie/Chao/Cyao, Unico, the old woman, and the Baron. Actually, the movie drug it darker than the manga. The parallel is that he still seduces her and gets her drunk. Unico turns the animals of the woods into humans, like Katie, to rescue her from the Baron, who is a huntsman. With the help of the woods-folk, Unico and the animals of the woods save Chao and defeat the Baron. Of course, here, Chao gets a boyfriend, which is sweet....and as it goes, in both versions, Unico is fated to have to leave. To never be happy with his friends (thanks to Gods -->the Greek Gods, as the manga would have it, Venus, actually).Eitherway, the movie is great and one of my all time favorites, even over most of the Disney movies.It's too bad that this will probably never be released on DVD in the United States due to the legal ownership issues with anything of Osamu Tezuka works; as well as the Sanrio dealings where Hello Kitty is even shown in Katie's song about being a witch and the companies being departed from one another.So, I bid good luck to anyone who is able to find the old VHS. The manga collection can be found a few places though, and is recommended to anyone with the love of Unico in their hearts, even if it IS in Japanese only.

I saw this film when I was only a boy, yet to this day I remember it with wonder and excitement. Fantasy helps us recapture our youth, and I highly recommend that this tale be seen by anyone who has ever dreamed of doing so. It truly is a story for all ages to cherish.