Nico the Unicorn is the name of a 1996 juvenile fiction book and its 1998 film adaptation. The book was written by Frank Sacks; he also wrote the screenplay for the film, which was directed by Graeme Campbell.
Book
The book was written by Frank Sacks and first published by Tom Doherty Associates in 1996 with the front cover art by David Gaadt. Sacks is a writer and film producer and Nico the Unicorn was his first novel intended for children.
Plot
After the accident which resulted in his leg being injured. Billy visits the Starlight Circus. There he meets and buys a pony who gives birth to a unicorn who he names Nico. Later the pony gets killed by a mountain lion and Billy has to do what he can with his secret to protect his new friend.
Characters
Billy - The Protagonist whose leg gets injured by a drunken driver. Nico - Billy's magical unicorn. The Pony - Nico's mother. Bruce - The bully who always calls Billy a gimp. Julie - Billy's mother. Carolyn - Billy's friend who lets slip about Nico to Bruce and his gang.
Film
The film was directed by Graeme Campbell based on a screenplay by Frank Sacks, who authored the book. Filming took place around Canada's Eastern Townships and Montreal. The Canadian production was released in 1998. It was originally set to be distributed by CineTel Films but the distribution rights were later sold to Moonstone Entertainment.
Cast
Anne Archer ... Julie Hastings
Michael Ontkean ... Tom Gentry
Kevin Zegers ... Billy Hastings
Pierre Chagnon ... Ben Willett
Elisha Cuthbert ... Carolyn Price
Plot
Billy and his mother moved from Boston to rural Vermont after a car accident which left Billy fatherless and with a gimpy leg. Billy has a hard time adjusting to life in Vermont and has trouble making friends. While shopping at the mall after school one day, Billy stumbles upon a ramshackle petting zoo, where the animals are kept in poor conditions. After seeing a small pony with a horn taped to its head and finding out that it is about to be sold for slaughter, Billy instead makes a deal with the zoo keeper and buys the pony. Once Billy takes the pony home, he cleans her up and cares for her. The pony appears to be pregnant and eventually foals, under the watchful eye of Billy and his friend Carolyn. The pony's foal grows a horn and turns out to be a unicorn, who grows at a tremendous rate. Billy names the colt Nico from the letters found in the word "unicorn".
One day, while Billy is at school, a hungry mountain lion comes to attack the pony and the foal in the stable. The pony sacrifices herself for the well-being of her colt, and she is killed by the mountain lion. Billy and his mother later bury the pony on their land. That night, magic descends upon the stable, and in the morning, Billy discovers that Nico has become full grown. Carolyn visits later in the day and tells Billy that he could charge people to see Nico and help his mother, Julie, earn money for her to go to school. Billy is annoyed at this and he and Carolyn argue making Carolyn storm off back into town, where she meets Bruce and Mark who make fun of Billy for saying he has a unicorn. Carolyn, defends Billy by telling them she has seen Nico, before quickly denying it when Bruce becomes too interested. The group doesn't believe Carolyn, but decides to pull a hoax instead for the paper, and plan to take a picture of Nico with a fake horn. They make an offer with the local news reporter Cecil who is looking for a big story, that if they provide proof of a unicorn, Cecil will pay them a hundred thousand dollars. Cecil agrees thinking they are making it up.