Classic 80s Animated Movie Getting A Live-Action Reboot
A beloved cartoon movie is coming to live-action!
This article is more than 2 years old
The beloved animated film, based on an even more beloved novel, The Last Unicorn is the latest project to be getting the remake treatment. The Last Unicorn began its life as a hit novel written by Peter S. Beagle in 1968. It was almost immediately scooped up by the fantasy novel crowd and remains one of the most popular installments in the genre to this day. While it was almost immediately courted by various studios for an animated film version, it didn’t happen until 1982 when Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow, Alan Arkin and the late Christopher Lee were tapped to provide the voices.
The film was a hit and is considered seminal among many fantasy-loving Gen X people, who may also remember it for inspiring a few nightmares. Now, an entirely new generation will be enchanted by the story of The Last Unicorn as the author revealed that a new live-action movie and stage play are in the works. According to a post on the FAQ section of his website, Beagle revealed that musician Fergie is currently working on the music for both projects. However, he stopped short of offering too much in the way of details such as a release date, cast or literally anything that fans of the idea can set their watch by.
For those unfamiliar, The Last Unicorn tells the story of a female unicorn who learns that she is, as the title suggests, the last of her kind. The reason for that is because some malevolent force known as the Red Bull has been scouring the world driving the rest of the unicorns to the very edges of the map. The female unicorn embarks on a journey of self-discovery and adventure as she tries to figure out what happened to the others like her as well as what her place is in the world and whether or not she has a responsibility to actually live as the last unicorn.
As SlashFilm notes, the question now becomes what a live-action adaptation of the wildly fantastical animated movie would even look like? While there are some human characters and [Spoiler Alert] the last unicorn does spend a decent chunk of the story in human form, it would be a bummer to not have a unicorn be the chief protagonist of the movie. Then again, it would be a bit odd to not center the “live-action” story around a human being. One’s mind obviously jumps to projects like the “live-action” Lion King remake, in which a bunch of photorealistic CGI characters took center stage. However, fans of The Last Unicorn should ask themselves what fans of The Lion King should’ve asked themselves at the time — is that really what you consider “live-action”?
While CGI can do a lot on the silver screen, one has to wonder what it will look like as a live stage show and how it will achieve some of the visuals and impressive scenery that made the 1982 project so beloved. However, CBR notes that it’s a task that’s been done before. Sadly, it seems fans will just have to wait to see what’s in store for the future of The Last Unicorn.
