The Last Unicorn (film) - Plot

Plot

In an enchanted forest, a unicorn (voiced by Mia Farrow) learns that she is the last of her kind and decides to embark on a quest to learn what has become of the other unicorns. The Unicorn discovers from the addled dialogue of a butterfly (voiced by Robert Klein) that a demonic animal called the Red Bull has herded all of her kind to the ends of the earth. Venturing into unfamiliar territory beyond the safety of her forest home, she begins a journey to find them and bring them back.

Along the way, the Unicorn is captured for a time by the witch Mommy Fortuna (voiced by Angela Lansbury), and is put on display in the cages of the witch's Midnight Carnival. She makes friends with Schmendrick (voiced by Alan Arkin), an incompetent magician under the services of Mommy Fortuna. While most of the attractions there are simply normal animals with a spell of illusion placed on them (like a Manticore being a toothless lion, a Satyr being a crippled chimpanzee and the "Midgard Serpent" being a mere cobra), Fortuna has managed to capture the immortal harpy Celaeno (voiced by Keenan Wynn) as well. With the help of Schmendrick, the Unicorn eventually escapes, and in the process frees Celaeno, who kills Fortuna and her henchman Ruhk (voiced by Brother Theodore). The Unicorn and the wizard later gain a second traveling companion, Molly Grue (voiced by Tammy Grimes), the care-worn lover of bandit leader Captain Cully (voiced by Keenan Wynn) of Greenwood Forest.

When the Unicorn nears the seaside castle of King Haggard, supposed keeper of the Red Bull, she comes face to face with the animal, which turns out to be a monstrous fire elemental. At the last moment before her final surrender and capture, Schmendrick's unpredictable magic transforms her into a mortal young woman. In this human guise, the Red Bull is uninterested in her and departs. The change has disastrous consequences on the Unicorn, who suffers tremendous shock at the sudden feeling of mortality in her human body.

Schmendrick, Molly Grue, and the Unicorn (now in human form) proceed to Haggard's castle and seek entry. King Haggard (voiced by Christopher Lee) is at first unwelcoming, and Schmendrick introduces the Unicorn only as his niece, Lady Amalthea. Schmendrick requests that the three of them stay there as members of Haggard's court, only to be told that all of the royal complement has long since been dispatched; the only remaining occupants in the castle are Haggard, his adopted son Prince Lír (voiced by Jeff Bridges), and four ancient men-at-arms. Haggard consents to lodging the trio, replacing his more competent on-call wizard with Schmendrick, and setting Molly Grue to work in his scullery.

After a while, Amalthea begins to forget her identity and her reasons for coming to the castle, and eventually falls in love with Prince Lír. Caught in a complex web of newfound emotions, she struggles with thoughts of abandoning her quest for the sake of mortal love. Haggard confronts Amalthea in private conversation, hinting at the location of the unicorns, yet from the waning magic in her eyes, he has doubts regarding his previous suspicions that she is more than she seems. Molly, on the other hand, ends up learning some clues on the location of the Red Bull's lair from a talking cat (voiced by Don Messick).

Going through a secret passage hidden by a broken clock in the castle basement, Schmendrick reveals Amalthea's true identity to Lír after explaining what they are looking for. Lír, however, isn't moved at all and says that he loves her anyway. This makes Amalthea want to abandon the quest and marry Lír, but Lír dissuades her otherwise. The Red Bull soon appears, but is no longer deceived by Amalthea's false human form and chases after her. When Amalthea trips, she hurts herself and can't run any further. As Lír struggles to protect her, Schmendrick turns Amalthea back into the Unicorn, but she is unwilling to leave Lír's side. The Bull drives her toward the ocean, just as he earlier drove all the other unicorns, but she manages to run away and the bull gives chase. Lír, still in love with her, tries to defend her, but when he blocks the bull's path, the bull doesn't stop and Lír is killed. Enraged, the Unicorn aggressively turns on the Bull and forces him into the sea. Carried on the white surf of incoming tides, the other unicorns emerge en masse from the water, causing Haggard's castle to collapse into the sea as they rush past, with Haggard falling to his death from the crumbling castle parapet.

On the beach, the Unicorn magically revives Lír before she departs for her forest. Schmendrick assures Lír, now the king, that he has gained much by winning the love of a unicorn, even if he is now alone. The Unicorn briefly returns to say goodbye to Schmendrick, who laments that he has done her wrong by burdening her with regret and the taint of mortality. She disagrees and thanks him nonetheless for having helped to restore unicorns to the world, and though she is the only unicorn to feel regret, she is also the only unicorn to know love. The ending credits begin after Schmendrick and Molly watch the Unicorn depart for her home in the woods.