At the cinema on December 28, the new animated feature film by Alberto Vazquez tells us about war, the environment and religion through the fate of cubs as cute as they are bloodthirsty.
Don’t be fooled by these adorable little multicolored teddy bears. Behind these angelic faces hide ruthless warriors. So refuse this cinema outing to your child or little cousin: the work is not recommended for children under 12 years old. In reality, Unicorn Wars is a nice mix of war movie parodyofApocalypse Now and of Baby. Written and drawn by Alberto Vazquez (Birdboy, Decorado, Psychonauts), the Franco-Spanish feature film required six years of work and 250 animation professionals. Ecology, power, religion, wars, psychology… Despite the pop and colorful images, the author offers us deep reflections on essential subjects.
“A good unicorn is a dead unicorn”
It all starts in a military camp with adorable bear cubs. Big cuddly snake, Corporal pompom, Captain snout… Welcome to the world of Care Bears, where soldiers throw heart-shaped arrows and motivate each other by telling each other “Big Love Heart on You”. The scenes are dripping with tenderness and silliness, but a first detail makes us fall out of our marshmallow cloud. “A good unicorn and a dead unicorn”, hammer the characters. We then learn with amazement that the cubs and the legendary creatures have always been at war, and that the final battle is approaching.
The inexperienced teddy bear unit then leaves the camp to attack the Magic Forest unicorns. The film is particularly interested in the fate of two brothers, Célestin and Dodu, who are recruited into this team. The first is bloodthirsty. Bewitched by the Great Sacred Book, he is convinced that that of the horned creatures will give him perfect and eternal beauty.
The second does not like war and prefers hugs and blueberries. Sensitive souls refrain : violence is everywhere in Unicorn Wars, and colorful images often drown in bloodshed. The discrepancy between the childish drawings and the brutality of the killings is effective and shocking. It’s trashy and disturbing.
Over the minutes, the naivety of the beginning is replaced by madness and hatred. The film, anti-military and ecological, makes it possible to show the cruelty of man towards others and especially towards nature. It questions us on existential subjects and challenges us. It makes us reflect on the games of power, of domination, on the way in which groups stand up against each other, on the responsibility of religion in wars, on the creation of false heroes and the way in which the people are manipulated by fear. We laugh, we cry (really), we worry… Unicorn Wars is a nugget of animation that sticks in our minds for a long time, and that we advise you to go see, from December 28th at the cinema.
Unicorn Wars is a new Happy Tree Friends, committed to ecology