The Grisly Cartoon Film Ending That Stays With Audiences
Among all the mature animated films I have ever viewed, no other has remained with me as much as the fear-filled ending of a viscerally violent as well as deeply subversive 2022 movie Unicorn Wars.
In 2015’s, the Spanish filmmaker created a grim, bleak , frequently brutal universe with some tiny , forlorn hints of hope.
While Unicorn Wars seems like it stemmed from a desire to expand animation even more, the filmmaker clarified that it was actually an attempt to convey a universal, multicultural message regarding “the mutual source of every conflict.”
That message is communicated by means of a band of colorful pastel bears , obviously based on a well-known line of cuddly figures.
Growing up in a society built around militarism as well as the defense industry, many of these animals are obsessed with killing the mythical beasts, thanks to a holy book that claims the bears they used to be kings of the woodland, until the unicorns forced them out.
A few have not completely fallen for the propaganda, and choose to try out narcotics or engage sexually in the woods.
Unlike their gentle counterparts, these vivid animals show sexual organs , obvious urges.
For a certain especially vicious, skeptical animal, Bluey, the conflict with unicorns becomes a path to control — and particularly to supremacy above his softer, kinder brother the character Tubby.
Bluey behaves aggressively and a seeming sociopath , and while terror overcomes his unit and claims his fellow soldiers one by one, he grabs more and more influence personally, in increasingly gory, destructive ways.
Simultaneously, these mythical beings are suffering their own terror, in the form of an expanding, deadly beast in their forest.
“Initially, it appears as a comedy,” the filmmaker stated. “Yet it turns into a more serious and melancholic movie. And ultimately, it becomes a horror film.”
The Unicorn Wars begins resembling one of the most playful films by an iconic filmmaker, which find a wicked pleasure in letting animated figures curse, fire weapons, or have intimate relations.
Afterward it turns into closer to a darker work from that director, featuring progressively visual gore and a palpable connection to the actual tragedy of conflict.
Ultimately, it is a complete theatrical horror carnage.
The fear that makes the film a Halloween-friendly movie begins much sooner than that description suggests.
Unicorn Wars is suited for the hardcore gorehounds, for fans of intense movies who want to watch a movie they’ve never viewed until now, and can endure a narrative that offers unflinching brutality.
Watch it in a dimly lit space with no disturbances, and the conclusion will burrow under your skin and take up residence there.
Availability: Offered for streaming or buying on various streaming sites.
