Upon hearing that she may be the very last of her kind on Earth, a Unicorn (Mia Farrow) goes in search of others like her. Her quest won’t be easy, as it leads her straight to the evil King Haggard (Christopher Lee) and his infamous Red Bull! And the journey is made even more complicated when, to protect her from the envious wrath of Haggard, a spell is cast to turn the Unicorn into the Lady Amalthea, a beautiful, young human woman. But with this new body comes new thoughts and feelings, such as love for Haggard’s son, Prince Lir (Jeff Bridges). Will Amalthea get lost inside this new body? Will she meet the fate of the other Unicorns? Or will she be able to defeat Haggard and his Red Bull with the aid of her friends, Schmendrick the bumbling magician (Alan Arkin) and Molly Grue (Tammy Grimes)?
From Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass (The Hobbit), comes a magical adventure with an all-star cast, including Mia Farrow, Jeff Bridges, Christopher Lee, Alan Arkin, Tammy Grimes, Angela Lansbury, René Auberjonois and Robert Klein, and unforgettable songs from the rock band, America!
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Video Quality
The Last Unicorn debuts on 4K UHD Blu-Ray courtesy of Shout! Studios with a dazzling and vibrant 2160p transfer in Dolby Vision from a 4K scan of the 35mm Interpositive. The film was first released on Blu-Ray by Lionsgate in 2011 before being released on Blu-Ray with a new 2K scan in 2015 by Shout! Studios. Despite the updated scan in 2015, many fans preferred the Lionsgate release due to claims of excessive DNR implemented on the updated release. We do not have any previous release to compare this 4K UHD release to, but we can say this 4K scan does appear to have a decent amount of natural film grain to give this film life. There appears to be some DNR used in the optical credits, but opticals are often troublesome when dealing with older films. I would be surprised if this did not improve on all previous releases of the film.
The film does not exhibit the seamless qualities that we have come to associate with modern animated films, but the beautiful hand-drawn animation gives the film a unique energy often lacking these days. This new 4K scan delivers exceptional textures and details in the stunning base source material. This disc flourishes in terms of line stability, especially in character outlines, as well as in minor details within the frame. This presentation retains a good layer of natural film grain of the material with everything appearing with organic suffusion and no instances of clumpy or unnatural grain. As is to be expected, original cel dust remains but instances of unwanted debris and damage are all but eradicated.
Where this disc truly thrives is in the implementation of Dolby Vision for expanded color output. The hues present in this transfer are practically shining through the screen with the different shades permeating the frame. Each color is presented with the utmost nuance so that everything appears a touch more authentic. This also goes toward increasing the depth of field by a nice margin. Black levels are excellent with no hint of compression artifacts or digital anomalies of the sort. The improvements in the dark spaces are especially pleasing given the fact that much of the film takes place in deep, dark woods. The highlights are handled with impeccable stability in a way that never fails to impress. There does not appear much in the way of aliasing or other troublesome digital developments, Overall this is a transfer free of major encode issues. This is a fetching 4K UHD Blu-Ray presentation that treats the film with respect.
Audio Quality
This release boasts both an immersive DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that opens things up quite effectively, as well as a DTS-HD 2.0 MA stereo track that maintains the original soundscape famously. Each track is presented uncut with dialogue coming through clearly without getting overshadowed by any competing sound effects or score. Environmental effects are particularly immersive and convey a real sense of depth to the forest and seaside locations. The surround track engages the rear channels with panning effects and environmental sounds that convey a fully fleshed-out world.
There is a welcome amount of activity in the low end when it comes to some of the confrontations and various kinetic moments. The music in the film is iconic and a key part of settling you into this story. Some may find the tunes of America to be dated, but these songs really stick in your head and keep the emotions churning as our main unicorn explores the world. Shout! Studios has delivered a wonderful audio presentation that brings this adventure to life quite nicely. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.
Special Features
Shout! Studios has provided The Last Unicorn with an optional sleek new SteelBook available exclusively at Wal-Mart that is truly lovely in person. The front artwork is a nicely animated depiction of the Unicorn on a rock in front of the moon, and the rear features King Haggard and the red bull towering above a herd of unicorns. The interior sports a depiction of the unicorn on one side and the red bull on the other. Video of the SteelBook can be found above.
- Profile of Writer Peter S. Beagle: A 15-minute piece with the writer in which he discusses his love of stories since childhood, the journey to creating his first novel, stumbling into screenwriting, what made him write a story about a unicorn, and more.
- True Magic (Redux) – The Story of The Last Unicorn: A 28-minute piece in which the cast and creative team deliver amazing information about the development of the story, the influence of Rankin and Bass, capturing the vocal performances, the music, initial reactions to the test screenings, and more. This is a great supplement, but it appears to be edited down from the previous 44-minute version on the previous Blu-Ray.
- Q&A with Peter S. Beagle: A nine-minute featurette in which Beagle answers questions such as when he developed the idea for the story, his favorite characters to write, his feelings about the adaptation, and more.
- Animated Storyboards: A seven-minute selection of footage from the film in storyboard form is provided here.
- Original Theatrical Trailer: The three-minute trailer is provided here.
Final Thoughts
The Last Unicorn is a charming and wonderfully weird effort from Rankin and Bass. This is a family feature, but it is an old-school family feature which means that it might rightfully instill some nightmares in the younger audience members. The music feels out of place at first, but it comes to be a soothing part of the experience that guides you through this perilous journey. The voice performances and great and the animation is simply gorgeous. Even if you did not grow up with this one, this is a gem of animation from decades past. Shout! Studios has released a brand new 4K UHD Blu-Ray release that features the film with a stunning A/V presentation and a nice array of special features all in beautiful SteelBook packaging. If you are a fan, this is an easy purchase for your collection. Highly Recommended
The Last Unicorn will be available to own on 4K UHD Blu-Ray in both a standard and Wal-Mart Exclusive SteelBook Edition on August 20, 2024.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Shout! Studios has supplied a copy of this set 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.
