In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the 1982 fantasy film The Last Unicorn, Los Angeles’s Corey Helford Gallery has just opened a group show of artworks inspired by the animation cult classic.
Organized by the gallery with L.A. creative consulting firm Sweet Streets, it pairs the work of over 70 artists with never-before-seen original film production art. The presentation includes hundreds of frames that have been restored for the occasion, offering fans a glimpse into the making of the movie. It’s the first time the original art from the film has gone on public display.
The movie is an adaptation of author and screenwriter Peter S. Beagle’s beloved novel The Last Unicorn, published in 1968. Produced by Rankin/Bass and animated by Topcraft studios, it follows Amalthea, who goes in search of her fellow unicorns after learning they have been driven into the sea. Her moving quest sees her take human form, where she experiences human emotions like love and pain for the first time.
“It’s been 40 years since the movie came out and the unicorn’s journey still to this day captures the hearts and minds of fans all over the world,” the show’s curator Caro Buermann, founder of Sweet Streets, said in a statement. “It’s a story that’s still very relevant for me and resonates with so many people because the world in which the unicorn inhabits isn’t this pure, innocent fantasy… her world is very much a messy one, like our own.”
Amy Sol, Under the Lilac Wood. Courtesy of Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles.
The show,sponsored by ASIFA-Hollywood, a non-profit international animated film society is part of a two-year celebration of the movie.
The festivities kicked off in July with a special screening of the film at L.A.’s Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and the debut of a capsule collection of Last Unicorn-inspired fashion, accessories, and posters from Street Streets and artist and designer ONCH. Merchandise is on sale at a pop-up shop at the gallery.
See more artwork from the exhibition below.
Original animation from The Last Unicorn (1982), ITC Films Inc. ©Sweet Streets, LLC SweetStreetsLA.com.
Original animation from The Last Unicorn (1982), ITC Films Inc. ©Sweet Streets, LLC SweetStreetsLA.com.
Original animation from The Last Unicorn (1982), ITC Films Inc. ©Sweet Streets, LLC SweetStreetsLA.com.
Original animation from The Last Unicorn (1982), ITC Films Inc. ©Sweet Streets, LLC SweetStreetsLA.com.
Original animation from The Last Unicorn (1982), ITC Films Inc. ©Sweet Streets, LLC SweetStreetsLA.com.
Original animation from The Last Unicorn (1982), ITC Films Inc. ©Sweet Streets, LLC SweetStreetsLA.com.
Original animation from The Last Unicorn (1982), ITC Films Inc. ©Sweet Streets, LLC SweetStreetsLA.com.
Original animation from The Last Unicorn (1982), ITC Films Inc. ©Sweet Streets, LLC SweetStreetsLA.com.
Original animation from The Last Unicorn (1982), ITC Films Inc. ©Sweet Streets, LLC SweetStreetsLA.com.
Original animation from The Last Unicorn (1982), ITC Films Inc. ©Sweet Streets, LLC SweetStreetsLA.com.
Original animation from The Last Unicorn (1982), ITC Films Inc. ©Sweet Streets, LLC SweetStreetsLA.com.
Jason Mowry, Becoming Tears and Hunger. Courtesy of Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles.
Esao Andrews, Chariot. Courtesy of Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles.
Eric Fortune, The Last Unicorn. Courtesy of Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles.
Simone Legno of Tokidoki, My Little Hero. Courtesy of Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles.
Richard Ahnert, Scars & Splinters (Pirate Kitty). Courtesy of Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles.
Yoshimasa Tsuchiya, Unicorn A 1-30 (The Last Unicorn). Courtesy of Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles.
Hikari Shimoda, Unicorn Solitude. Courtesy of Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles.
Gary Baseman, Beverly Park & the Pony Rides. Courtesy of Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles.
Junko Wong, Blythe. Courtesy of Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles.
Junko Wong, Blythe. Courtesy of Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles.
aica, Forever Spring. Courtesy of Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles.
“The Last Unicorn: 40th Anniversary” is on view at Corey Helford Gallery, 571 S Anderson Street, Los Angeles, California, until January 21, 2023.
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