Unico

Name: Unico
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Released: 1981-03-14T00:00:00+00:00
Rating: 7.16

The Fantastic Adventures Of Unico

ユニコ

7.16(3,139)

Rank#3892

#8150

Movie1 ep.Finished Airing1 hr 30 min

Unico the Unicorn has the amazing power to make anyone he meets happy. Whether it's because of his personality or the powers of his horn, no one knows. However, the gods become jealous of Unico, thinking that only gods should be able to decide or let people be happy or not. Unico is banished to the Hill of Oblivion, and the West Wind is ordered to take him there. She can't stand giving this fate to an innocent like Unico, so Unico's adventures begin, as the West Wind takes him from one place and time to the next, in a neverending journey to escape the wrath of the gods. In this adventure, Unico meets Beezel a devil child and then Katy (Chao), a cat who wants to be a witch! Can he become friends with them? (Source: AniDB)

Synopsis

Characters

Main

Supporting

Recommendations

Reviews(4)

thenamenerd

April 27, 2016

Recommended

This review contains minor spoilers! I decided to watch this movie on a whim, expecting nothing of it, and I was pleasantly surprised, particularly by the first 30 minutes of the film. After the absolutely adorable opening song, Unico is sent away to a wasteland. The lonely, cold atmosphere really got to me, and seeing Unico, the beacon of happiness and hope, pull through and turn the selfish, temperamental devil Akuma into a charmingly awkward friend was really inspirational. Sadly, the rest of the movie is much more average and not well-constructed. The second character Unico meets on his journeys is Chao the cat, a farless charming friend than Akuma. She stays a boring ditz the whole movie, not really learning much from Unico. The villain, while totally fearsome and creepy (mostly due to excellent visual design), really detracts from what the film could have been. He has no depth and is defeated without any emotional fanfare. While his battle with Unico might be visually grandiose, there is nothing of substance here. I really did enjoy the bittersweet ending, though. Unico’s curse, bringing happiness to all, but never being able to stay with his friends, is tragic but meaningful to me. The plot and pacing are really unfocused for most of the film, leading to plenty of interesting themes…that are completely underutilized. Still, I really admire how atmospheric and interesting the visuals are in Unico. The sheer scale of important figures like the West Wind, the Night Wind and the villain is immediately apparent with their distinct designs that look great animated. Unico is literally the most adorable character on the planet. The whole package oozes creativity. I should also mention that while this is technically a children’s film, I wouldn’t recommend it for really young ones. There’s plenty of violence and dark atmosphere, a very imposing big bad, not to mention subtle rapey undertones. Unico has a lot of problems, but its heart and creativity push it into the 7/10 territory for me. On a bad day, maybe 6/10. I recommend it to anyone who’s a sucker for this power of friendship type of stuff and wants to see some fun art and animation. There are much worse things you can spend your time on.

Mollie2060

January 21, 2019

Recommended

This is cute movie to watch with the kids (if you have some) or with a friend. The story is quite simple, which is not bad considering this is a kid's movies. The music is very cute and the art is nicely done. The fight scene towards the end of the movie was crazy and vibrant in color. The fight scene remind me of the dragon fight in sleeping beauty. I would of liked to see Unico meet more people. but the two he did meet were both good. I liked the cat and her naïve. It drove the plot forward and caused good characterdevelopment and was taught a good lesson about kindness. The demon Unico meets learns about friendship and how to be a good friend. Kid movies should have morals like these in them. The west and winter winds are good plot devices, which can be use to continue the story indefinitely. Remember that this movie as a sequel.

YuriShirogane

January 24, 2024

Recommended

I really wanted to see this film since months and is pretty good if you like old anime movies or you like the works of Osamu Tezuka. It is quite enjoyable even if it is a children's movie, Unico's story is simple but okay and I like the sad touch they give in the movie, apart from the fact that I love how cute his design is. The other characters in the movie are adorable and interesting, each with their own role so far in the story and as for the villain I don't have much to say because he appears suddenly but it's fineI guess although the end of the movie was the same what I liked the most, good ending for this movie. The artwork is precious and the songs fit well with the atmosphere of the movie. The truth is I hope Sanrio will remember Unico and release something new about him because he has a lot potential for more movies o even a anime series.

Chuy_diazz

January 1, 2025

Recommended

A journey through MadHouse chapter 7: a film that without the Madhouse seal I would never have seen. Without this journey I doubt very much that I would have been encouraged to see things from the 80s and much less children's films from this time. Unico is one of those films that tell you that it is better to talk after having given the film a chance. It is a family film that even leaves a couple of morals along the way. The fact that Unico's power is to grant happiness, already makes it enjoyable for children and adults because of the characters it will explore.Happiness is something that can only be granted when it is not available. Seeing the scenarios, reasons or situations that can make a person unhappy helps the little ones to assimilate why someone can be sad, angry or irritated. It is an old film, you do not have to wait for the film to do all the work of teaching the children, that work corresponds to the adult who accompanies it. This movie is designed to be watched as a family, so that when a child has a question, the movie can be paused and the adult in charge can try to explain what just happened on screen. Unico seems to be an adventure planned to have more than one installment. The fact that Unico's adventures are divided by islands makes the stories more enjoyable by being self-contained. The unicorn arrives on an island, meets an entity with a wish, Unico fulfills it and then the consequences of the wish develop, both good and bad. The main plot is not as good as the secondary ones. The premise tells us that the gods want to get rid of Unico because only they should be able to spread happiness. What this creates is just a justification for the unicorn to be moving from the island every time the gods discover where he is. The most interesting characters are those who ask Unico for a wish. When the wish is fulfilled we see the whole development of it to finally find out if that is what was really needed to be happy. In some cases it may be, but in others there is a chance that this feeling has not been found. Unico is a family movie and being family friendly does not mean that it is something that you can put on for a child while you do other things. It is a movie that is designed to spark the curiosity of children while adults try to direct their curiosity while explaining what is happening on screen. If you ask me that sounds like a very good family weekend.