That Gory Cartoon Movie Ending That Stays With Fans
Among all the mature cartoon movies I’ve personally watched, no other has stuck with me quite like the terror-laced ending of the explicitly bloody and deeply subversive film from 2022 Unicorn Wars.
In 2015’s, this Spanish writer-director developed a dark, somber and frequently brutal universe with a few small , desolate hints of optimism.
Although Unicorn Wars appears as it stemmed from a desire to advance animation further, the director explained that it was rather an effort to convey a global, multicultural message about “the shared root of each battle.”
That idea is conveyed via a band of brightly hued teddy bears , clearly inspired by a well-known line of lovable characters.
Growing up in a community centered on aggression and the defense industry, many of the bears are obsessed with slaughtering unicorns, due to a sacred text that tells the bears they were once rulers of the woodland, until the horned beings forced them out.
Others have not completely accepted the indoctrination, , choose to try out drugs or fornicate in the woods.
In contrast to their cuddly counterparts, these bright beings show genitals and clear libidos.
For a particular particularly cruel, skeptical animal, the character Bluey, the conflict against the unicorns transforms into a path to power — and especially to authority above his more tender, kinder brother the bear Tubby.
This bear is a bully , a seeming psychopath , and when horror takes over his group and claims his fellow soldiers one by one, he takes increasingly influence personally, through ever more bloody, destructive ways.
Simultaneously, the horned creatures are experiencing their own horror, as a growing, deadly beast in their forest.
“At the beginning, it seems like a comedy,” the filmmaker stated. “But then it becomes a more serious and sorrowful film. And by the end, it transforms into a scary feature.”
The Unicorn Wars begins feeling a bit like among the quirky films from a renowned filmmaker, that uncover a mischievous joy in permitting cartoon characters swear, shoot each other, or engage sexually.
Afterward it evolves into closer to a more grim film from that director, including ever more graphic violence and a noticeable link to genuine suffering of war.
Ultimately, it is a full-on Grand Guignol massacre.
The fear which makes this an ideal spooky-season viewing kicks in much sooner than one might expect.
Unicorn Wars is one for the hardcore fans of gore, for lovers of extreme cinema who want to view something they have not viewed until now, and who can handle a narrative that pulls unflinching brutality.
Watch it in a dark room free from interruptions, and that ending will dig under your skin and take up residence there.
Availability: Accessible via streaming or buying on several streaming sites.
