Following a brutal war, former soldier Van toils in a mine controlled by the ruling empire. One day, his solitary existence is upended when a pack of wild dogs carrying a deadly and incurable disease attack, leaving only Van and a young girl named Yuna as survivors. Finally free, the pair seek out a simple existence in the countryside but are pursued by nefarious forces. Intent on protecting Yuna at all costs, Van must uncover the true cause of the plague ravaging the kingdom—and its possible cure.
The Deer King is a sweeping fantasy epic that marks the directing debut of Masashi Ando, whose work on such landmark films as Spirited Away, Paprika, and Your Name. helped shape the world of modern animation.
For in-depth thoughts on The Deer King, please see my colleague Larry Fried’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
The Deer King comes to Blu-Ray from Shout! Factory with a stunning 1080p transfer in its original 1.78:1 aspect ratio. There is something about traditionally hand drawn animated films which feels a bit magical. Every frame is packed with so much detail and character which allows for a richer experience. There is no mistaking the fact that the talent involved here has been immersed in the artform for quite some time. These artists add countless subtle touches to each environment that make the world more fully realized. The character designs are seamless as they blend with the established world. The transfer handles every swift movement and environment change with impeccable stability including no jagged lines or color bleeding. The colors are nicely saturated with vibrant hues of nature making a grand impression. Black levels are deep with no major instances of compression artifacts or digital anomalies. This is as lovely as you would hope for from modern animation in high definition.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless track presented here in its original Japanese, along with an English language dub. The film is presented with optional English, English SDH and Spanish subtitles. The sonic detail in the surround channels is rich as the sound of the environment creates a fully three-dimensional world. Get ready for some fun with creative panning effects in the rear channels that add some energy to the story. The track engages the low end with force on occasion, but it mostly provides some texture to the world. The wonderful score delivers more personality to the story as it immerses the audience through the surround sound presentation. Dialogue comes through without fault while avoiding being overshadowed by competing elements. Shout! Factory came to play with this one.
Special Features
- Bringing The English Dub To Life: A 14-minute featurette with the cast and creative team behind the English dub of the film in which they discuss the themes and lore of the narrative, the character designs, the qualities that the performers brought to the characters, the elements that resonated with them and more.
- Interview with Director Masashi Ando: An 18-minute interview with the director in which he discusses the special qualities that animation can bring to a story, the elements from his past he brought to this production, his influences on this project, the challenges he faced, the character designs, his favorite character to animate and more.
- Introduction From Masashi Ando: A two-minute introduction from the director in which he discusses his ideas behind the film, what he hopes the audience takes away from the story and more.
- Design Gallery: An option to skip through various character designs including some rough sketch drawings.
- Trailers: This disc includes five minutes of trailers.
Final Thoughts
The Deer King feels like it has all of the pieces to construct a truly transcendent piece of filmmaking. While individual elements may be top tier, the narrative gets a bit muddy during the execution. There is no denying that the animation is quite breathtaking and the visual style draws you in consistently. The issues arise when you actually try to wade through the plot, which is bogged down by thick exposition dumps that attempt to make sense of the overstuffed plot. You latch on to the more character-driven moments when they appear, but they are often sacrificed for greater emphasis on the plot. The film manages to impress on more than one front, but there is a better version of this story buried in this conception. Shout! Factory has released a Blu-Ray with a stunning A/V presentation and a good assortment of special features. If you are an anime fan, you will find aspects to really like, but casual fans should go for more established creatives before diving into this.
The Deer King is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray + DVD Combo Pack.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Shout! Factory and GKIDS have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.