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About Schmendrick
In the deluxe edition of The Last Unicorn (published by Barnes & Noble for Roc), Peter Beagle narrates how he came up with the idea for Schmendrick:
"Long before I went back to The Last Unicorn, I used to tell bedtime stories to the children. For my older daughter I made up the adventures of Schmendrick, the world's worst magician. There were two meanings to his name. It was a parody of the comic strip character Mandrake the Magician, of course, but it was also a word from Yiddish. In that language a schmendrick is somebody out of his depth, the boy sent to do a man's job, someone who has expanded to the limits of his incapacity. ... I tended to get hung up in those days - on a word, a line, a paragraph - and I got stuck for nearly a month at the Midnight Carnival. I knew that the unicorn had to meet someone important, but I had no idea who it should be. For weeks. Then Schmendrick walked into the book and I did my usual 'moron, idiot, the answer was staring you right in the face all this time, of course!' I seemed to know Schmendrick well, with his mixture of compassion, frustration, and envy, and his desperate fear that he'd be condemned to be immortal by never reaching his real power."In the animated film version of The Last Unicorn, his voice is provided by Alan Arkin.
Differences in the Novel and the Film
One of the main differences between the book and film version of Schmendrick is that in the novel, it is emphasized that Schmendrick trained under a great magician named Nikos, who saw that Schmendrick had tremendous potential despite his incompetence. Believing that Schmendrick needed more than an average lifetime to harness his power, Nikos cast a spell on him that prevented him from aging until he manages to become a true magician. Nikos is never mentioned in the animated film, nor is it mentioned that Schmendrick is "immortal".
In the novel, Schmendrick is described as tall and thin, wearing a black robe. In the film, his clothing is composed of various shades of blue. His eyes are originally described as green, and this is retained in the film (although his eyes seem to be more of cyan than green). His nose is exaggeratedly large in the film, which might be a reference to the fact that "he had never been able to discipline his nose," which is shown when he was attempting to prevent Molly Grue from traveling with him and the Unicorn in the novel (he had been trying to act stern, but his nose was apparently betraying his "bewilderment").
Memorable Quotes: Novel
"It's a rare man who is taken for what he truly is, there is much misjudgment in the world."Upon failing to free the unicorn using magic: "You deserve the services of a great wizard, but I'm afraid you'll have to be glad of the aid of a second-rate pickpocket."
"Take me with you, for lucks, for laughs, for the unknown."
Upon being asked by Captain Cully how he came to their camp: "On my stomach and unintentionally, but in friendship nonetheless."
When a tree he had cast a spell upon started professing its love to him: "I'm engaged to a western larch. Since childhood. Marriage by contract, no choice in the matter. Hopeless. Our story is never to be."
Responding to Molly Grue's pleading to save the Unicorn from the Red Bull: "What can I do? What can I do, with my magic? Hat tricks, penny tricks, or the one where I scramble stones to make an omelet? Would that entertain the Red Bull, do you think, or shall I try the trick with the singing oranges? I'll try whatever you suggest, for I would certainly be happy to be of some practical use."
"Whatever can die is beautiful -- more beautiful than a unicorn, who lives forever, and who is the most beautiful creature in the world."
While yelling at the skull: "All right, all right for you, you pretentious kneecap! How would you like a punch in the eye?"
To King Lir when he was disappointed that he didn't get to see the unicorn (Amalthea) again: "As for you and your heart and the things you said and didn't say, she will remember them all when men are fairy tales in books written by rabbits."
Memorable Quotes: Film
When a tree he had cast a spell upon started professing its love to him: "Oh god, I'm engaged to a douglas fir."When he was attempting to prevent Molly Grue from joining him and the Unicorn: "Never! I, Schmendrick the Magician, forbid it! And be wary of wousing a wizard's wrath...rousing a rizard's ..rou - Be wary of making a-a magician angry! If I chose I could turn you into a frog!"
"There are no happy endings, because nothing ends."






