Voyage of the Unicorn

A couple of years ago, I got a book from my parents call "Voyage of the Basset", which I fell in love with completely (as I'm a huge fan of mythology). Then, last summer, I came across this movie on my TiVO listing and decided to record it, recognizing it immediately as being based off one of my all-time favorite books. However, I was soon disappointed.

The original story takes place back in the 19th century, when a professor is fired for teaching mythology and preaching the use of imagination. Then, he and his two daughters board the Basset, which is run by multiple dwarfs (in the movie, there are only two). Many elements are still the same (including the minotaur and Medusa joining the voyage, though the sphinx joins early on as well, and

so does a manticore). Also, the plotline with Oberon and Titania is really bizarre and has nothing to do with the original story.

Overall, the movie isn't half bad, but if you're expecting it to be just like the story, it's really a waste of time and rather annoying.

Voyage of the Unicorn is a mini-series which premiered on Odyssey Channel 3/2/01 & 3/3/01. It involved a lot of the same producing staff as another great mini-series 10th Kingdom. The plot development is fast but easy to understand. The scenery is beautiful. The general plot is a mythology professor (Beau Bridges) and his 2 daughters get whisked away into a fantasyland where they discover they must save the fairyland from the dreaded and terribly evil trolls. They have a great adventure and meet loads of interesting characters on the way to saving the fairyland. The film is a great story for all ages. If you liked 10th Kingdom, you'll like this story too

I recently saw this when it premiered on Odyssey for two nights, and I have also been anxious to see it when I heard about it back in April of 2000.

Voyage of the Unicorn is originally based on the novel "Voyage of the Basset" by James C. Christensen and tells the story of Professor Alan Aisling (Beau Bridges) and his two daughters Cassie (Chantal Conlin) and Miranda (Heather McEwen), trying to overcome the death of their mother. They soon embark a mystical journey on the majestic ship called the Unicorn, assisted by two dwarfs (pardon me, one is an elf named Sebastian, played by extremely cute Kristian Ayre - I am a huge fan of his!!) with one named Malachi. They encounter different creatures such as the Minotaur and Medusa, and all trying to save the King and Queen of the Faeries from the evil troll Skotos.

This is a delight to watch full of adventure, fantasy, romance, and lots of family enjoyment. I really liked it and it will certainly bring a new meaning out the saying "Seeing is believing." And Sebastian is adorable too... as he always is.

I don't like films that are overly preachy. A lot of religious films tend to preach to the point of being redundant. Thankfully this is not one. Voyage of the Unicorn had me caught up in the adventure, so much, that I did not realize it was trying to convey a message about having faith. It was there from the beginning but not to the point of knocking my head with it.

The Aisling family has to escape trolls by traveling to another universe. The lose of the Aisling matriarch is still very upsetting to them. This adventure serves as an awakening to a new start. The family grows stronger through having faith.

This could be a completely misguided assessment. It just seems like this is what was done. This movie isn't perfect, with several odd moments, but it will suffice for a presumably low budget fantasy film. As a bonus the music score and selections are nice fit for this film.

Some good eye candies are ruined in this movie by the most outrageous comments I've heard in a children's movie. "When it comes to magic, don't ask too many questions" came out of one child's mouth. The writer's obviously no fan of William Drummond ("He that will not reason is a bigot; he that cannot reason is a fool; he that dares not reason is a slave"). Or how about some Socrates ("There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance").

"Faith precedes miracles" is another gem from the child. But when faith doesn't work, it's fate, or God's will, or a test, or, uh, mysterious ways.

The film also sets up from the start a false dichotomy about reality and magic. That, of course, implies a god of the gaps, and in any case, as Friedrich Nietzsche pointed out, "a casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything."

The funniest thing, though, is that the dad let slip that "snakes are common in mythology." Then the child devalues the library.

Then the dad attempts magic and the daughter an Indian dance. The story ends with the girl saying, "By believing one sees." That's all the evidence anyone has of faith: they must first delude themselves.