Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

The Last Unicorn Blu-ray Movie Review

The Voyage of Peter S. Beagle.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 14, 2011

Children’s literature is a notoriously fickle genre and lasting success in it is something of a miracle. We’ve become bit numbed to the rarity of real lasting (modern) success in books written (ostensibly, at least) for kids by dint of the overwhelming and seemingly infinite appeal of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter opuses. But before the magical world of Hogwart’s took over the publishing industry, selling millions of copies of a kids’ book was pretty much unheard of. Peter S. Beagle managed to do it decades ago, however, with his charming fantasy The Last Unicorn, a book which fairly quickly established itself as a modern classic. In an extremely unusual development, Beagle himself was hired to write the screenplay for an animated version of the book (Beagle had also scripted the original Ralph Bakshi animated version of The Lord of the Rings). Despite the books’ overwhelming acceptance and a built in audience for a film version, none of the major animated houses wanted to touch the project for some odd reason, and so the film ended up being produced by Rankin/Bass, the company best remembered for those stop motion television specials like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Certainly far from being the Cadillac of animators, Rankin/Bass in fact had a sort of dime store reputation and Beagle himself was reportedly distressed that his prized creation should receive a less than stellar production. Rankin/Bass actually farmed out much of the animation to a Japanese consortium (which later became the foundation for the iconic Studio Ghibli), and while The Last Unicorn’s rudimentary animation is probably its weakest link, there’s more than enough charm to make up for any shortcomings. Closely hewing to Beagle’s original novel, the film follows the questing journey of its title character (voiced by Mia Farrow), who sets out to discover if she is in fact the last of her kind.

The Unicorn befriends a looney Butterfly (Robert Klein) who sings snippets of popular songs (the licensing fees must have cost a fortune) and speaks in riddles, but who eventually warns the Unicorn of the dangers of a mythical Red Bull (no, not that kind), a ferocious beast who has evidently destroyed all other unicorns. The Unicorn then leaves the confines of her magical forest, where she is protected and is immortal, to find out if that is actually the truth, and she is at once at odds with the “real” world in which she finds herself. Almost immediately she’s taken captive by Mommy Fortuna (Angela Lansbury), a wicked witch who runs a carnival where she magically creates illusions that haggard old animals are actually mythical creatures. Having a real unicorn in her menagerie is a major coup, though Mommy Fortuna actually needs to craft a magical horn on the beast, as humans can’t recognize unicorns in their natural state and mistake them for your standard, old fashioned horse. Accompanying Mommy Fortuna is a bumbling sorcerer named Schmendrick (Alan Arkin), who is in fact able to recognize the Unicorn for what she is, and is exceedingly distressed that Mommy Fortuna has imprisoned such a noble, magical creature.

Schmendrick manages to free the Unicorn, along with the other poor beasts being held against their will, and he and the Unicorn then set out to track down the Red Bull, which is reportedly the personal pet of evil King Haggard (Christopher Lee). Along the way they meet the wife of a sort of Robin Hood character, Molly (Tammy Grimes, who in an interesting coincidence originated the role of The Unsinkable Molly Brown on Broadway), who comes along for the ride. As they approach Haggard’s kingdom, the trio actually comes into contact with the Red Bull and Schmendrick, not able to quite craft the spell he means to, manages to turn the Unicorn into a human female, whom he dubs Amalthea. Suddenly the Unicorn is beset with all sorts of human emotions like love and regret, and she also has her first intimations of mortality. In her human form, she begins to become romantically involved with Haggard’s adopted son, Lir (Jeff Bridges).

The Last Unicorn establishes an almost Campbellian mythic quest structure while resolutely refusing to bow to several conventions of typical kiddie fare, including the expected pat happy ending. This is a story which carries a really surprising amount of melancholy. Almost all of the major characters seem to be wounded in some way, and that sense of longing and fracture seems to flit about the edges of the main storyline, giving the film some really nice depth and emotional resonance. While it’s true that the animation is halting and often almost entry level, there are a couple of really nice looking sequences here, notably those featuring the Red Bull, which pop with a surprising ferocity that actually might frighten the youngest viewers.

The soundtrack here is one of the best selling points of The Last Unicorn. The voice work is all top rate, with Farrow bringing a gentleness and naïvete to her readings that is perfectly in keeping with her legendary creature. Arkin is a lot of fun as Schmendrick and Lansbury makes for a very convincing wicked witch. If Bridges is largely wasted in a sort of bland, pretty boy role, Grimes brings an amazing amount of intelligence and craft to her Molly. Also aiding the film’s impact is a nice score by iconic pop writer Jimmy Webb (MacArthur Park; By the Time I Get to Phoenix; Up, Up and Away), sung here by the group America.

Beagle is evidently ensconced in a major legal battle over profits he allegedly has coming to him from the film’s release and subsequent home video iterations. Unfortunately the film has not been treated well on home video, and this Blu-ray edition is actually the first decent release the film has received after a couple of botched SD-DVD releases. What has perhaps become apparent in the intervening years since The Last Unicorn first hit multiplexes is that present day CGI technology is perfectly suited to really capture the magical world Beagle created decades ago. Maybe some smart executive will realize if source material of much less worth than Beagle’s novel can be remade every few years, it’s time for a new, improved Last Unicorn.

The Last Unicorn Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Last Unicorn gambols onto Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p image in 1.85:1. Overall this is a nice looking transfer, if one takes into account the age of the film and the fact that it was handdrawn with some multi-plane techniques that by their very nature can tend to add dirt and grime. Unfortunately, the opening scenes of the film are the worst looking in terms of that very dirt and grime, but maintain a little patience, and things improve dramatically after just a couple of minutes. The print is generally damage free, though a couple of flecks and spots mar the image very briefly. Colors are nicely robust and very well saturated here, and the Red Bull sequences pop magnificently. While the animation itself is often nondescript and pretty basic, the image itself looks clear and sharp, with filmic grain and nice depth and texture. For the record this release restores the original Harpy scene which was blurred (ridiculously) on a previous DVD release.

The Last Unicorn Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Fans of any personal sentiment have something to celebrate with this new The Last Unicorn Blu-ray release. Both the original theatrical soundtrack (which contains a few Damn you's uttered by Molly), as well as the censored track released on DVD a few years ago, are presented here in glorious lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. This isn't an overly immersive soundtrack, so don't get your hopes up that you'll experience something along the lines of modern day animated extravaganzas, but in its own quieter way, the 5.1 tracks are perfectly realized, with excellent fidelity, no appreciable damage, and nice use of the surrounds in some effective sequences (notably the Red Bull segments and the final denouement featuring the ocean). The score is very well represented here, with nice fidelity and abundant lows and highs.

The Last Unicorn Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Last Unicorn features a nice array of supplements:

• Feature Commentary by Peter S. Beagle and his publisher Connor Cochran is nicely detailed and informative and should definitely be a treat for this film's legion of fans.
• Immortal Characters Featurette (SD; 12:51) discusses the symbolic meanings and backgrounds of the characters.
• 2010 The Last Unicorn Art Contest Gallery features some interesting images sent in by hundreds of fans from several countries worldwide for a contest.
• Peter S. Beagle and His Work is a text based extra with biographical information on the author.
• The Tail of The Last Unicorn (SD; 8:33). Tail? Did they mean Tale? One way or the other, this provides some interesting background on Beagle and his pet (ahem) project.
• Schmendrick's Magical Gallery is a really interesting interactive array of galleries, some with narration, that give more background on the film.
• Trailer Gallery

The Last Unicorn Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The animation may leave something to be desired, but The Last Unicorn is an uncommonly affecting film that should delight children while keeping their parents engaged as well. This new Blu-ray release finally gives the film its due, without needless censoring (though the Blu-ray goes the extra mile by providing a slightly Bowdlerized soundtrack for especially sensitive parents). Sweet, charming, and tinged with more than a hint of melancholy, The Last Unicorn comes Highly Recommended.