Adult viewing of The Last Unicorn not as magical as expected

By Brent Constantin

Twenty-seven-year-old graduate student James Stevenson was disappointed on Mar. 4 when his screening of the 1982 animated feature The Last Unicorn failed to initiate the feelings of wonder and excitement he remembered as a child.

“This is horrible,” remarked Stevenson during one of the film’s many musical numbers performed by 1970s folk-rock group America.

Stevenson, who remembered being transfixed by the heavy emotional undertones and dark imagery of the Jeff Bridges and Angela Lansbury vehicle, was tempted to not even put the disk into his DVD player after looking at the cover.

“This is horrible,” Stevenson said, when he gazed at the cheap, gaudy artwork of a white unicorn standing in front of a sparkling rainbow, surrounded by a lush green fields.

A high point in the viewing reportedly came three minutes into the movie, when Stevenson, now on his computer, began to download The Never Ending Story.