7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A lone unicorn seeks out others like herself through a mystical land of talking cats and spellbinding magicians. In her search for other unicorns, the last unicorn encounters a cast of delightful characters as well as dangers she never imagined. Throughout the fantastic adventure, she learns of friendship, love and most importantly her true self.
Starring: Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow, Tammy Grimes, Robert KleinFamily | 100% |
Animation | 90% |
Fantasy | 71% |
Adventure | 41% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English, English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
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 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.
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 features a nice array of supplements:
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.
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1982
1982
1982
1982
30th Anniversary Edition
1992
The Signature Collection
1940
Diamond Edition
1953
Limited Edition Collector's Set
1982
2011
2010
1985
2020
Peter Pan 2
2002
2019
2003
2012
2019
1982
2009
1989
50th Anniversary Edition
1963
Ultimate Collector's Edition
2009
2014
1991