The Last Unicorn

I have a fondness for unicorns.  You may not have noticed.  ;)

This is probably due largely to the fact that, when I was five years old, my grandpa took me to a video store to rent a movie.  The movie I chose was The Last Unicorn, and this began several years of renting the same VHS every week (literally, the conversation every week was "Are you sure you don't want to see something else?" "No. Last Unicorn.")

If you've never read the book or seen the movie, I strongly suggest you go do both right now.  I'll wait.  This is one of the rare cases where the movie based on the book is almost as good as the book (probably because Mr. Beagle wrote the screenplay as well).

This past Saturday, I was able to attend a special screening of the film in theatres, as Peter S. Beagle, the author of the book, is taking it on a tour.  It was a genuine pleasure to meet him and his team, to hear him speak about the book and the unicorn, and to hear him answer the questions of children and adults with an equal eloquence and care.  I also can't thank the tour enough for coming to Canada.

It sounds cliché, but watching the movie as an adult was as magical as watching it as a five year old.  It was a different experience, of course.  I picked up on different themes and was emotionally moved by different parts of the film, but a part of me yesterday was still five years old, with the unshakable belief that somewhere still, "the unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone."

Elf