Unlike the last unicorn in the eponymous 1982 animated film by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr., this week’s last-of-her-kind fantasy creature knows what happened to the rest of her kind, setting the new Disney Animation feature RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON off on a quest narrative that takes a much different shape than THE LAST UNICORN. We’re joined once again this week by John Maher to discuss RAYA’s shiny, roller-coaster-like thrills, and then compare the two films’ respective journeys, the mythical beasts at their centers, and the paired dynamic of parent villains and children who switch sides. Plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE LAST UNICORN, RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show:

Genevieve: Moribi Murano’s UNICO IN THE ISLAND OF MAGIC
John: Isao Takahata’s THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA
Tasha: “The unsung genius of Studio Ghibli’s risk-taking realist, Isao Takahata (by John Maher, polygon.com), and Gore Verbinski’s THE RING
Keith: Rob Savage’s HOST

Outro music: Jhené Aiko, “Lead the Way”
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