The Grisly Cartoon Movie Ending That Stays With Viewers
Out of all the mature cartoon movies I have ever viewed, no other has stuck with me as much as the terror-laced ending of a explicitly bloody as well as deeply subversive film from 2022 The Unicorn Wars.
In 2015’s, the Spain-based writer-director developed a grim, somber and frequently brutal universe that included some tiny , forlorn glimmers of hope.
Although The Unicorn Wars appears as it originated from a drive to push animation even more, the director stated that it was actually an effort to convey a global, cross-cultural message concerning “the common origin of each battle.”
That idea is expressed by means of a band of colorful pastel bears , openly modeled after a famous series of lovable figures.
Being raised in a community focused on warmongering and the war machine, a lot of the bears are obsessed with slaughtering the mythical beasts, due to a holy book that claims the bears they previously were rulers of the forest, before the horned beings drove them out.
Some have not completely accepted the propaganda, and would rather experiment with drugs and mate in the woods.
In contrast to their cuddly equivalents, these colorful critters have visible sexual organs , obvious urges.
For one particularly cruel, cynical bear, the bear named Bluey, the battle against the unicorns transforms into a path to power — and specifically to authority over his softer, kinder brother the bear Tubby.
This bear is a bully , an apparent antisocial figure , and while terror takes over his squad and kills his teammates sequentially, he grabs increasingly influence personally, in increasingly violent, harmful methods.
Meanwhile, the unicorns are suffering their own terror, as a growing, destructive monster in their habitat.
“Initially, it appears as a humorous movie,” the director stated. “Yet it evolves into a more intense and melancholic movie. And in the finale, it becomes a terrifying movie.”
Unicorn Wars commences resembling one of the more playful features from an iconic filmmaker, which find a mischievous joy in letting cartoon characters curse, fire weapons, or engage sexually.
Subsequently it turns into closer to a more grim movie from the same creator, featuring progressively explicit brutality , a noticeable link to the actual suffering of war.
By the end, it becomes a complete Grand Guignol carnage.
The fear that turns this a perfect Halloween movie begins a lot earlier than that description suggests.
Unicorn Wars is suited for the hardcore fans of gore, for fans of graphic films who want to view something they’ve never seen on-screen before, and can endure a story that offers unflinching brutality.
See it in a dimly lit space without any distractions, and the conclusion will crawl deep within you and take up residence there.
Availability: Available for streaming or buying on multiple digital platforms.
