That Gory Cartoon Film Ending That Haunts Audiences
Among every adult-oriented cartoon movies I have ever watched, nothing has remained with me as much as the dread-soaked conclusion of the graphically gory as well as overwhelingly transgressive film from 2022 The Unicorn Wars.
In 2015’s, the Spain-based writer-director crafted a grim, bleak and frequently brutal universe with a few small , forlorn twinges of optimism.
While The Unicorn Wars appears as it came from a desire to expand the medium further, the director explained that it was actually a try to convey a global, cross-cultural message about “the common origin of each battle.”
That idea is conveyed through a band of colorful pastel bears , obviously modeled after a famous series of lovable characters.
Being raised in a culture built around aggression and the defense industry, many of these animals are consumed by slaughtering the mythical beasts, due to a holy book that tells them they previously were rulers of the forest, before the unicorns forced them out.
A few haven’t fully fallen for the indoctrination, and prefer to experiment with drugs and fornicate in the forest.
Unlike their cuddly counterparts, these bright beings have visible genitals , clear libidos.
For a particular especially vicious, skeptical animal, the character Bluey, the conflict against the unicorns transforms into a path to power — and especially to supremacy over his softer, nicer brother the character Tubby.
This bear acts as a tormentor and an apparent psychopath , and while horror dominates his unit and takes his fellow soldiers individually, he takes increasingly power personally, via progressively gory, harmful methods.
Meanwhile, these mythical beings are suffering their own terror, as a growing, harmful creature in their woods.
“In the early stages, it seems like a comedy,” the director said. “But then it turns into a more intense and melancholic movie. And by the end, it’s a terrifying movie.”
Unicorn Wars starts out similar to among the playful movies by an iconic animator, which find a naughty glee in letting cartoon characters swear, shoot each other, or have intimate relations.
Then it evolves into more akin to a bleaker film by that same artist, with increasingly explicit brutality , a palpable relation to genuine tragedy of battle.
By the end, it becomes an outright Grand Guignol massacre.
The fear that makes the film a perfect Halloween watch kicks in well before than one might expect.
Unicorn Wars is one for the devoted lovers of violence, for fans of extreme cinema who wish to see a film they have not watched previously, and are able to withstand a narrative that offers absolutely no punches.
Watch it in a dark room without any distractions, and the finale will burrow under your skin and linger.
Where to watch: Available for streaming or buying on various online services.
