GKIDS Aquires North American Rights To 'Unicorn Wars'

Sometimes a film or series doesn't have to do very much to get us interested. In some cases the trailer or synopsis gets us excited, other times it's just the title. One definite example of the latter is the marvellously monikered Unicorn Wars. Who could resist?

Unicorn Wars is Spanish filmmaker Alberto Vázquez's follow up to his 2015 feature Birdboy: The Forgotten Children. The film screened in competition at the 2022 Annecy International Animation Festival and has also been selected for the upcoming BFI London Film Festival. Ahead of the film's US premiere at Fantastic Fest, GKIDS Films have announced that they have acquired the North American rights.

GKIDS will release the film theatrically in early 2023. This marks their second collaboration with Vasquez following Birdboy (known in its home country as Psiconautas).

"There is nobody on Earth who could make a film like Unicorn Wars except Alberto Vázquez,” GKIDS’ President David Jesteadt said. "We are proud to partner again with this exceptional filmmaker on his richly layered and darkly funny new film about cute characters doing horrific things. It continues to haunt me."

SYNOPSIS

It’s “Bambi meets Apocalypse Now” in this provocative and strangely beautiful horror comedy from acclaimed filmmaker and illustrator Alberto Vazquez (Birdboy: The Forgotten Children), who uses its outrageous candy-colored premise to explore religious zealotry, the tortured legacies of military fascism, and the depths of the soul.

For ages, teddy bears have been locked in an ancestral war against their sworn enemy, the unicorns, with the promise that victory will complete the prophecy and usher in a new era. Aggressive, confident teddy bear Bluet and his sensitive, withdrawn brother Tubby could not be more different. As the rigors and humiliation of teddy bear bootcamp turn to the psychedelic horrors of a combat tour in the Magic Forest, their complicated history and increasingly strained relationship will come to determine the fate of the entire war. 

GKIDS label the film a horror comedy and describe it as a "genre bending animated feature for adults". Unicorn Wars has been on our radar for quite some time (mainly thanks to that incredible title) and we can't wait for the chance to finally see it for ourselves next year.