In modern times, interest in the unicorn has been fueled by the novel, The Last Unicorn, written by Peter S. Beagle. (The novel was first published in 1968 and at last count, is available in 20 languages.) It was immortalized on the big screen in 1982, in the animated film of the same name, produced by Arthur Rankin Jr.
In one particular scene from the movie, I can vividly recall the hushed air of anticipation that collectively enveloped the audience. The scene was when the last remaining, free unicorn is presented with the mission to save others of its kind, who are being cruelly held captive by from the evil Red Bull.
Ultimately, all ends well. The triumph of good over evil that the graceful white unicorn manages to bring about serves as a parable for increasingly rare virtue.
In its mission, the magnificent creature had nothing to lose. Either it would face its terrifying fears and accept the immense responsibility at hand, or it too would be captured, thus stymieing and jeopardizing any chance for the other unicorns to be set free.
The unicorn’s love of freedom and her longing to free enslaved fellow unicorns is not without tribulations. Forced to surmount all kinds of hurdles and obstacles, but fueled by her noble and selfless pursuit to achieve the highest ideal, the unicorn’s supernormal powers emerge.
Uncompromising Resolve in the Midst of Countless Dangers
At times, things look quite hopeless for the Last Unicorn. Even though she has to change into a human form to be protected from the Red Bull, nearly causing her to lose a sense of her destiny, she still continues on her elected path.
Even though beset by all kinds of new human experiences and painful emotions, suffering, fear, and the especially daunting awareness of mortality—these obstacles cannot subvert the unicorn from her mission: to safely restore her endangered kind’s status. It thus comes as no surprise that at the end of the movie, the graceful creature succeeds in chasing the Red Bull into the ocean. With courage and unyielding strength of will, the unicorn leads her fellow unicorns to freedom.
