The Grisly Cartoon Movie Ending That Haunts Audiences
Among every adult-oriented cartoon movies I’ve personally viewed, no other has stuck with me as much as the terror-laced finale of the viscerally violent and highly provocative 2022 movie The Unicorn Wars.
In 2015’s, the Spanish filmmaker developed a grim, bleak and frequently brutal world that included some tiny , desolate hints of hope.
Although Unicorn Wars seems like it stemmed from a drive to push animation even more, the director stated that it was actually an attempt to express a global, cross-cultural theme concerning “the shared root of all wars.”
This theme is communicated by means of a band of brightly hued teddy bears , clearly based on a well-known series of cuddly figures.
Being raised in a culture built around warmongering and the defense industry, numerous the bears are obsessed with exterminating unicorns, thanks to a holy book which states the bears they used to be rulers of the woodland, until the horned beings forced them out.
Some have not completely accepted the propaganda, , prefer to experiment with drugs or engage sexually outdoors.
In contrast to their friendly equivalents, these colorful critters have visible genitals and definite urges.
For a particular especially vicious, cynical bear, the character Bluey, the conflict against the unicorns transforms into a road to power — and especially to supremacy above his gentler, nicer brother Tubby.
Bluey acts as a tormentor and an obvious psychopath , and when fear overcomes his squad and kills his fellow soldiers one by one, he takes increasingly control on his own behalf, in increasingly violent, destructive ways.
Meanwhile, the horned creatures are experiencing their own nightmare, as a growing, destructive monster in their forest.
“At the beginning, it seems like a humorous movie,” the filmmaker said. “But then it becomes a more serious and sad movie. And ultimately, it’s a scary feature.”
Unicorn Wars begins feeling a bit like one of the most playful films from a renowned animator, that discover a wicked pleasure in allowing drawn beings swear, shoot each other, or sex each other up.
Then it turns into something more like a bleaker movie by that same creator, with increasingly graphic violence , a tangible link to genuine horror of conflict.
In the finale, it is a complete Grand Guignol massacre.
The horror which makes this a perfect Halloween movie begins well before than that description suggests.
Unicorn Wars is ideal for the devoted fans of gore, for fans of extreme cinema who wish to see a movie they haven’t ever viewed until now, and are able to withstand a story that offers no restraint.
See it in a dimly lit space without any distractions, and the conclusion will crawl under your skin and linger.
Where to watch: Offered for rental or purchase on various online services.
