The Last Unicorn │ Haggard's emptiness and suspicion of Lady Amalthea [Castle]

[@nightstalker5282]

In Celtic myth unicorns originated from sea foam. "Where the sea met the land, a mare is born, white, and made of sea foam." Hence why the king keeps them in the ocean. He just put them back where they originated but in his backyard so all he has to do is just look outside and there they are. It's how people have swans or peacocks as a status of wealth but here it's a symbol of immortality and youth.

[@thesilverunicorn9384]

can you tell me what source thats from?

[@WillScarlet16]

"Mare? MARE?! I, a HORSE?!"

[@AceH-tp9zx]

I always wondered why he put them in the sea. That actually makes a lot of sense

[@Icantfeelyousugah]

So could that possibly mean unicorns are related to aphrodite, since she also was born of sea foam and redeemed the most beautiful thing in the eyes of all.

[@Godzillakingofkaiju1]

Fun fact: Christopher Lee made sure this dialogue was kept in the movie, going so far as to highlight all the lines he wanted to use and keep word-for-word.

[@2nd2LastUnicorn]

Wow 😮 that is a fun fact. What was the story behind that? It's cool he was that invested in the role

[@CrimeComunismFagotry]

When you see him doing the German translation which he did (for free) it's this scene kzbin.info/www/bejne/nmbNqIljjN53htE

[@Godzillakingofkaiju1]

@@2nd2LastUnicorn Simple, he was a fan of the book, and he wanted to do his part justice.

[@2nd2LastUnicorn]

@@Godzillakingofkaiju1 Very cool. I was reading that he was also a musician- too bad we didn't get a King Haggard song.

[@delphidivinity2]

A thing I never noticed when I was younger is that at this point in the movie, the pink star mark on Amalthea's forehead has disappeared. Aside from her eyes growing empty, one of the other last remnants of her unicorn self and immortality has faded away. A nice subtle detail that's hard to catch on the first few watches.

[@2nd2LastUnicorn]

Yes, it took me a few years to notice that too! And her skin gradually changes from the pure white she had as a unicorn to a more peachy tone.

[@joncarroll2040]

The irony is that its clear not even the Unicorns make Haggard happy.

[@rampagephoenix1735]

So then i wonder, from some clinically psychological reason, how would a mental health professional today be able to explain whats actually wrong with King Haggard and what would be the best way to treat him??

[@TheDinoEntertainment]

Thats not true. He is happy when he sees them, but this happiness only occours when he sees them.

[@ved2360]

I interpreted Haggard as a metaphor for the author as a fantasy novelist. Who, like Haggard, wants to capture the magic of myth and legend for himself because they're the closest the thing to happy he ever is able to be. But depressingly, it also means that he sometimes feels his own life is bleak on some level. The other antagonists of the movie live in dreams of Robin Hood or having caged a monster. Their own lives may be empty, but wish there were some magic to validate them. I don't see much analysis online of Haggard as a villain, which is a shame. Because I relate to him. He's not evil in the traditionally movie villain way. He's clinically depressed and is constitutionally incapable of feeling pleasure. He's tried everything and pretty much given up on life. And I think we feel that existential emptiness sometime or other in our life. He takes no pleasure in the harm that he does. He isn't interested in conquest or domination for its own sake. He might not even be bothered to care if the main characters simply left his castle.

[@2nd2LastUnicorn]

I never thought of that, that's such a cool perspective. I'm going to have to think about that more deeply. The connection you made between the caged animals and the unicorns being captured blows my mind and shines a new light on that concept for me. ✌️ 🦄 Haggard has always been one of my favourite "villains" as well. I get the same feeling that he's not after power or conquest and is trying to have a simple life.

[@marijkevandenoord2311]

in the book it is implied that haggard was also a unicorn once. but after he was turned and could not be turned back. in time he forgot mostly, he is still sort off immortal. look at him, his beard is one off a unicorn.

[@2nd2LastUnicorn]

@@marijkevandenoord2311 I think that went way over my head, I assumed the beard was just the art style... Now reinterpreting everything. Was there anything in particular in the book you found that explicitly implied this, or is it your interpretation? Either way, love it.

[@marijkevandenoord2311]

@@2nd2LastUnicorn in the book, it is mentioned that the man who thaught smendrick once turned a unicorn into a human man to help him escape being hunted. The picture looks like young haggard. afterwords it is mentioned that that unicorn fell in love and got married. that magican worked for haggard later if he appears in the story by getting mentioned by S. S further mentioned he extended his life to give him (s) time to learn and that s is older then he looks. That last part is mentioned in the books too. Haggard is mentioned as very old since S is old, with an unnatural long life off his own. plus look at his castle. nothing grows there, ever. he became a reverced unicorn. plants stay alive near one (always spring) vs nothing grows. it's a warning. If amalthea forgets who she is.... in time she becomes haggard. she can not marry liir.

[@marijkevandenoord2311]

@@2nd2LastUnicorn the graphic novel is very good, and shows pictures off the male unicorn after he turned human. also rewatch the movie. in the background, via a painting haggard has a horn at some point. Like amalthea he forgot himself, but the small part off him that remembers on the edge off his mind... wants the unicorns. his past is why he recognises amalthea as a unicorn with no problem, then doubt only because his memory is a mess.

[@gamer1X12]

theres so much beauty in the obscure things. so many masterpieces of art have been lost/forgotten to time, like this movie whom 99% of people have probably never heard of. this scene shook me as a kid and it still kinda does, even in my 20s. Haggrids lust for power and emotional satisfaction, the gleam in his eyes when he threatens to kill/entrap Amalthea... its all haunting.

[@flowrepins6663]

What kind of gamer are you? Movies suck nowadays. Thats why i only watch old movies just seen this masterpiece now and im 33. I would do retro gaming also but i like to play fighting games online competitive

[@gamer1X12]

@@flowrepins6663 Edit: on the retro note you can insert an endless list of semi-obscure 90s and 2000s (and some early 2010s) RPGS and shooters. My main favorites were Ape Escape 2, Sly Cooper series, Demon Stone, and Jak n Dexter. I like how older games have a certain focus and deliberation to their structure--- the stories and gameplay, albeit simple and short, are straight to the point and hold no punches. Unlike now where many devs release incomplete or glitchy products, and the game is tangibly half-baked and mediocre only to predictably be hit with a list of dlcs and "expansion packs". Old games are complete and whole in their experience and (ironically) lack bugs or glitches in my personal experience. i LOVE retro games. Ive played a vast collection of Pokemon romhacks and GameBoy emulations that ive played to death. Ive also used emulators to play through most of the early Final Fantasy games and I have FFX all the way through 15--Ive basically played most of the entire franchise. I grew up on old Nintendo, Mario Party, and Star Fox games. I'm a major RPG fan and have played most of the big name RPGs you can think of over the last decade. Recently had a pretty hardcore Baldur's Gate 3 phase, multiple playthroughs and 700 hours. Skyrim and Dragon Age Inquisition were my teenage years lol. It's pretty obscure now, but it made waves when it came out in 2012-2013. A little game simply called "Journey". There is no dialogue, no quests or mission objectives, and no combat. It is simply the player on a wordless march towards their destination, a great mountain visible far off in the distance. The story is absolutely beautiful and there is a very heartwarming twist at the end when you realize the helpful bots were actually other people; the whole game runs on a hidden multiplayer function only revealed after the main story is completed. It is a masterclass in storytelling and the soundtrack is beautiful too. An all time favorite I'll never forget. I like shooters and action too though. I been playing Paladins since release and am a cracked Ying main. Back in my ranked days I was one of the best Ying players in NA and only ever ran damage builds (Ying is a healer btw!) I would get top heals and damage every match lol 🤣. I also love Smite and played Bastet way before it was cool, before she got buffed, back when she was hot garbage I was popping off with her. Been playing both Smite and Paladins for like 5 years. I was a pretty damn good Moira in Overwatch too but I stopped playing because the community is insufferable and I simply didn't like the game and the directions it was going after OW2. I could go on and on but we'd be here a long ass time. You get the idea lol! Shout-out to Saints Row and Civ 6, those used to be my shit! I have like 8,000 civ 6 hours, it kept me sane during quarantine.

[@Nephalem2002]

….Jesus Christ this movie was ahead of its time, same with the book. It’s freaking insane how good this is.

[@CrimeComunismFagotry]

If you've been on 4chan recently you'll know that the My Little Pony board just voted the movie version of King Haggard 'Mr /mlp' for the year 2022 because they so closely identify with his character. 'They want all the mares to themselves in a fandom that no longer provides them the happiness that it once did..'

[@averycheesypotato]

@@CrimeComunismFagotry Ugh, that’s kind of messed up but at least they’re honest with themselves…

[@CrimeComunismFagotry]

@@averycheesypotato Your estimation of them and their choice might be more favorable if you were aware that the runner up was a hastily conceived self-insert character whose only distinction is that he rapes mares. In this instance, clearly the better man/pony won.

[@iprobablyforgotsomething]

Interesting that Lir looked at the newly-humanized Amalthea and was still in fact looking at a Unicorn, but still never developed eyes that looked like they 'saw Unicorns' because he didn't believe, whereas Mabruk knew what she was almost immediately. And then Amalthea lost her powers and her sense of self and even some of her memory, and her own eyes (after looking at her old reflection, no less, in her love duet with Lir, where she claimed humanity as her true self) became those of someone who'd never seen Unicorns either.

[@thehellrunner4117]

But later, in the book Lir to see Unicorns, as he see her once again in his dream. A silent goodbye.

[@onekthmatt]

I love how this scene paints Haggard. His motivation is greed, and the root of his greed is simple, but rather than a petty or one-dimensional simplicity, it's one that's so childlike and in a sense kind of pure, that it's actually very humanizing.

[@curtisbolen2076]

By this time, the Lady had fallen in love with Prince Lear, so she was losing her Unicorn power.

[@CurriedBat]

I still wish Beagle would let me release Red Bull: Origins. Haggard's backstory is sad... but the Bull's is crushing like the white waves of a churning sea.

[@overthinker5877]

What’s the red bulls backstory?

[@CurriedBat]

​@@overthinker5877 A warlord sorcerer kills their father the king and then tricks Haggard into betraying his older brother, out of jealousy for his wife (parents of Lyr). Haggard suggests a duel over who should rule the kingdom, but Haggard uses magic gifted to him by the sorcerer, and his brother's soul is corrupted and turned into the red bull. Earlier when they were young princes, Haggard was saved by a unicorn while they were hunting a griffin. The first thing the red bull kills when he transforms is a captured unicorn that the sorcerer has ready, it then proceeds to kill the invading forces.

[@CrimeComunismFagotry]

I like to think that Mark Twain's 'Mysterious Stranger' himself gave King Haggard the Red Bull to make him forever 'happy'

[@HenhousetheRed]

Haggard is voiced by Christopher Lee.

[@verstrahlt1907]

yes, and also in German.

[@teo4704]

You’re still liking comments even 10 years after! Dedication!👏

[@2nd2LastUnicorn]

💪🦄 Thank you!

[@So-Be-It_890]

"Your secrets hide themselves as do my own."

[@TonyShumway-ke7ik]

The Last Unicorn its a good movie.

[@seekingabsolution1907]

Amusing in reflection that the term unicorn was probably originally coined to refer to the rhinoceros. Very amusing. Hardly the picture of grace and transcendent beauty.

[@rodrigocoockiemonster4460]

Haggard was a Unicorn once too...

[@Eggs_hatching]

so the unicorns are drowned right? they dead? I feel like he's being wishy washy abt it but dude wanted a unicorn zoo and said: what's the best habitat for a hooved land mammal? the ocean!

[@efaristi9737]

Well, he wasn't going to keep them in a cave. Imagine the smell XD

[@philipgood5041]

They show up later, I guess they're magic

[@nightstalker5282]

In Celtic myth unicorns came from seafoam "where the sea met the land, a mare was born, white, and made from sea foam."

[@Johnlindsey289]

What if you put twilight sparkle and rarity in the sea?

[@efaristi9737]

@@Johnlindsey289 Most likely, they'll drown XD

[@haraya_manawari]

Haggard, the uber brony

[@VexTechMage]

Such a creepy king

[@Asher_Tye]

Judge Claude Frollo: Wow, creepy dude

[@kiribakugou6179]

The guy looks like the doctor from the animates beauty and the beast....

[@2nd2LastUnicorn]

Haha

[@gamera5160]

I really like this movie, but I'm so bored when Amalthea is a human. I get it. The movie's about magic fading away and getting old and searching for meaning and struggling with mortality, but in my tiny child brain, I couldn't help but simply think "I want my damn unicorn back! Where's my unicorn!?"

[@2nd2LastUnicorn]

I felt this too. I missed her as a unicorn and seeing the world through that lens

[@Lugia007PLn]

but she as a human is as beautiful as like a unicorn

[@gamera5160]

@@Lugia007PLn But she's boring and so is Lir... especially when she starts losing her memories.

[@efaristi9737]

@@Lugia007PLn Being beautiful as a human isn't what make her special, there's plenty of beautiful humans. What make her special is the fact she's a unicorn searching for her kin and having a different perception of the world.

[@Extra_050]

I was that way with Beauty and the Beast. My reaction near the end was, "Why does he have to become a prince with servants again? I preferred him as a beast with walking, talking clocks and candelabras!"

[@Johnlindsey289]

Who’s a more tragic villain? Him or Mr Freeze on Batman tas?

[@CherylBeatrice-j4x]

😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢❤😢😢😢😢

[@curtisbolen2076]

Nicorns are immortal, therefore you cannot drown them.

[@curtisbolen2076]

Unicorns.

[@2nd2LastUnicorn]

idk the concept of "Nicorns" intrigues me

[@furrydbz]

I was like Lady Amalthea, denying part of who I am, and feeling like a stranger in my own body. But I'm also like King Haggard, frustrated and really trying to be patient about it. I'll hurl me down before I deny myself again. Fiction didn't make me transgender by the way. I only have a new appreciation for it now than in my childhood.

[@efaristi9737]

Amalthea situation isn't really comparable, she liked her old self, her old body, all of it. She didn't liked her human body until she started to forget who and what she really was and became more human every day. It's still a identity crisis but not the same kind.

[@furrydbz]

I'm saying the way mine and Amalthea's bodies changed without our control makes us similar. I don't like becoming a woman and neither does she. BUT for her case it's not a gender thing, she's literally forced to be a different species.

[@efaristi9737]

@@furrydbz Ah, point taken

[@renevil2105]

Dude she was change with magic and body of origin is a unicorn. Unlike her you were brainwash to believe you were in the wrong body for profits for big pharmacy. Wanting to cut off your body parts is a sign of mental illness.

[@ginaangelina4933]

This scene is traumatizing ...when you are transgender you try so hard to stay Alive and be your true authentic self. Even as beautiful as we are there are men who would rather have us perish. I cry in fear when i see this scene “Do you still deny yourself? Do you still dare to be human?” Is some of the scariest words a trans person could ever here especially from those you trust. This movie is AHEAD OF ITS TIME!

[@cs-zr9xy]

I can see how someone could relate! In the end though she really is a unicorn disguised as a human so it might be problematic to critically analyze her in that way, as trans people aren't disguised, they really are who they feel they are

[@jakesmiley4745]

Seek help; you aren't well.

[@vaednarisverse6133]

@@jakesmiley4745 yup

[@efaristi9737]

Not really comparable. Amalthea liked being a unicorn and once she started losing her memory and her sense of self as a unicorn, she liked being a human. Her identity crisis is not the same, she wasn't a unicorn wishing to be human or a human wishing to be a unicorn.

[@ilovedogs2642]

Absolutely nothing alike. This wasn't a gender swap, she went from unicorn to person. No one is saying trans people aren't human, you can't biologically change your gender

[@KuchiKopi179]

Drowned/ killed all the unicorns.

[@thehistoryandbooknerd8979]

No, they’re alive and fine; they were turned into sea foam and leave the ocean at the end

[@alexdavies4373]

I swear to god this dudes cadence is so weird he might as well be speaking another language I can't understand a thing he's saying

[@2nd2LastUnicorn]

🤣