That Gruesome Cartoon Film Conclusion That Stays With Viewers
Out of all the mature cartoon movies I have personally watched, nothing has lingered in my mind quite like the terror-laced conclusion of the graphically gory and highly provocative film from 2022 The Unicorn Wars.
In 2015’s, this Spain-based writer-director created a grim, melancholy , frequently brutal world that included several minor , desolate hints of optimism.
While Unicorn Wars seems like it originated from a desire to push the medium even more, the director explained that it was actually an effort to convey a global, cross-cultural message concerning “the shared root of each battle.”
That message is communicated through a group of colorful pastel bears , clearly inspired by a well-known series of cuddly characters.
Growing up in a culture centered on aggression as well as the military-industrial complex, a lot of the bears are consumed by killing unicorns, due to a sacred text which states the bears they used to be kings of the forest, until the unicorns expelled them.
A few have not completely accepted the brainwashing, and choose to try out drugs and mate in the woods.
Unlike their cuddly equivalents, these bright beings display genitals , clear urges.
For a particular especially vicious, pessimistic creature, Bluey, the war with unicorns transforms into a path to power — and specifically to dominance above his more tender, nicer brother Tubby.
This bear is a bully , an obvious antisocial figure , and as terror dominates his unit and kills his fellow soldiers one by one, he grabs more and more influence for himself, in increasingly violent, harmful methods.
Simultaneously, the unicorns are experiencing their own nightmare, as a growing, destructive monster in their habitat.
“Initially, it seems like a comedy,” the filmmaker commented. “But then it evolves into a more dramatic and sorrowful movie. And in the finale, it becomes a scary feature.”
Unicorn Wars commences feeling a bit like among the quirky movies from a renowned animator, that uncover a mischievous joy in allowing cartoon characters curse, engage in violence, or engage sexually.
Afterward it turns into more akin to a bleaker movie from that creator, with increasingly visual gore , a palpable connection to genuine horror of battle.
In the finale, it becomes an outright Grand Guignol carnage.
The fear which makes the film an ideal spooky-season watch starts much sooner than that description suggests.
The Unicorn Wars is one for the devoted lovers of violence, for lovers of intense movies who want to view a film they have not watched previously, and can endure a narrative which delivers no restraint.
View it in a dark room free from interruptions, and the conclusion will burrow deep within you and stay with you.
Where to watch: Available for streaming or buying on various online services.
