That Gruesome Cartoon Film Ending That Stays With Viewers
Among every mature cartoon movies I’ve ever viewed, nothing has stuck with me quite like the dread-soaked finale of a viscerally violent as well as deeply subversive 2022 movie The Unicorn Wars.
In 2015’s, the Spain-based writer-director created a grim, bleak , often savage world that included a few small , forlorn hints of hope.
Although Unicorn Wars seems like it stemmed from an impulse to advance animation further, the director stated that it was actually an attempt to convey a universal, multicultural message regarding “the common origin of every conflict.”
That idea is communicated via a band of brightly hued teddy bears , obviously based on a well-known series of cuddly figures.
Growing up in a society built around militarism and the defense industry, a lot of the bears are consumed by exterminating unicorns, because of a sacred text which states the bears they used to be masters of the woodland, before the unicorns forced them out.
Others did not entirely accepted the propaganda, , choose to try out narcotics and engage sexually in the forest.
Unlike their friendly counterparts, these vivid animals show sexual organs and clear libidos.
For a certain particularly cruel, skeptical animal, Bluey, the conflict against unicorns turns into a route to control — and particularly to supremacy above his softer, nicer brother the bear Tubby.
This bear behaves aggressively , an apparent psychopath , and as terror overcomes his group and takes his fellow soldiers sequentially, he takes increasingly power personally, in increasingly violent, damaging approaches.
Meanwhile, the horned creatures are suffering their own nightmare, through a spreading, destructive monster in their habitat.
“At the beginning, it seems like a comedy,” the filmmaker said. “However it turns into a more serious and sad film. And in the finale, it transforms into a horror film.”
The Unicorn Wars begins resembling one of the more playful movies by an iconic filmmaker, that uncover a mischievous joy in permitting cartoon characters curse, fire weapons, or engage sexually.
Afterward it becomes closer to a more grim film by that same artist, including ever more explicit brutality , a palpable connection to the real tragedy of conflict.
Ultimately, it is a complete Grand Guignol massacre.
The horror that turns the film a Halloween-friendly movie begins a lot earlier than one might expect.
The Unicorn Wars is ideal for the most dedicated fans of gore, for lovers of intense movies who wish to watch something they’ve never seen on-screen before, and are able to withstand a narrative that pulls absolutely no punches.
See it in a dark room free from interruptions, and that ending will burrow under your skin and stay with you.
Where to watch: Accessible via digital rental or sale on several online services.
