The Little Unicorn (Rifftrax)

Film Year:  2002

Genre:  Fantasy

Director:  Paul Matthews

Starring:  David Warner, George Hamilton, Brittney Bomann, Byron Taylor, Emma Samms, Mick Walter

Rifftrax Year:  2017

Riffers:  Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett

The Movie

A little girl's horse is dying as it gives birth to a foal and the girl wishes for a unicorn to come and save her.  While her horse still passes away, the foal turns out to be a unicorn, which she cares for as her new pet.  But when word reaches out that a real life unicorn exists, everyone across the world wants to see, steal, or profit from it.

The Little Unicorn is the first film on Rifftrax directed by Paul Matthews, and won't be the last.  He's had a strangely diverse direct to video career, which not only brought us other fantasy films such as Merlin:  The Return and Fairy King of Ar, but also the sci-fi horror film Deadly Instincts and the goofball action movie Berserker:  Hell's Warrior.  That's an interesting thing to discover after watching a low budget movie featuring a glowing horse with a horn glued to its head.

What about The Little Unicorn?  It's certainly...a direct to video children's fantasy.  That cannot be denied.  Is there anything much to say about it?  It's very...cheap.  I guess that's a thing to say.  The film tries to trick children into thinking it's magical with some minimal special effects practices, such as the earlier mentioned horse with a horn glued to its head, and a lackluster glowy effect for the "unicorn."  There's not a whole lot that the unicorn does except stand around and glow like that, which is supposed to be enchanting, I guess.  The climax features the creature flying, via just pasting it against the sky.  It's not like we can give the damn thing wings, we have to keep the budget down.

If I were a parent in 2002, I guess maybe this would be worth a shot to see if my kid will shut up and watch it for an hour.  I don't really see a kid being all that interested in it, unless they were five and really liked horses and sparkles.  It's dull and doesn't offer a lot for the child's attention span except those few base things.  There are probably some creative things they could have done to catch that attention if they really wanted to, but instead their movie is content with LOOK AT THE GLOWING PONY!

The Trax

Probably the best thing The Little Unicorn offers Rifftrax is its simplicity.  This is not a complicated movie to understand, so if one wants low demand viewing in their Rifftrax, The Little Unicorn might top that list.  At the same time, while The Little Unicorn is simple, it's not exactly diverse.  The film never evolves, and one wonders how many jokes they can make with such a one-note movie.

That's not to say it's not an unworthy 'Trax, just a mellow one.  There are some good chuckles in this offering, as the movie's innocence makes it an easy mark.  While they never go "adult" with the riff, they do skew a tad more mature, as their jokes usually look upon this childish story from the perspective of world-weary adults who are familiar with how the world really works as opposed to it's portrayal in the film.  The broad stereotypical portrayal of characters from various countries also come under fire, because while they're (barely) unoffensive, they are extremely animated and absurd.  This is an ample opportunity for Mike, Kevin, and Bill to insert themselves in those stereotypes and play with them until they're content.

The Little Unicorn is a silly movie with a silly commentary lain on top of it.  I can't quite recommend this as exceptional Rifftrax, as it seems like more of a "mood" piece than anything.  I feel like this is perfect for when I'm feeling that exact need for the Rifftrax experience offered here, as the laughs are pretty solid and the movie doesn't provide anguish, but I find my attention drifting if I feel as if I need something more from the movie itself in the riffing experience.  But overall, I'd claim this is a good effort.

Good