When the press release arrived for 4K UHD of The Last Unicorn: Limited Edition Steelbook, my wife got extremely excited. Turns out that this was one of her favorite movies when she was a kid. She pretty much had the videotape in the VCR all day long. Her parents weren’t exactly thrilled that animated film was always on the television when she was awake and around. One afternoon when she came back from school, the VHS tape wasn’t exactly where she left it. She looked all around the house desperate to watch the film one more time. Her mother declared that the tape just vanished. My wife was crushed. The Last Unicorn was gone. Now the animated classic is back in a Steelbook that’s guaranteed not to vanish while you’re away at school (as long as your mother isn’t allowed in your home).
Deep in a magical forest roams a unicorn (Rosemary’s Baby‘s Mia Farrow) all by herself. When she learns that she might be the last unicorn in the world, she ventures out to find out what happened to her kind. Where did they all go? A butterfly (Next Stop Wonderland‘s Robert Klein) informs her of a terrible red bull that chased all the Unicorns into a dark place. The unicorn’s own journey is dangerous. She gets captured by a carnival that has fake freaks. Madame Fortuna (Murder She Wrote‘s Angela Lansbury) redoes the unicorn’s horn to make it more “real.” She gets to escape with the help of a bumbling magician named Schmendrick (Little Miss Sunshine‘s Alan Arkin). They meet up and head to the castle of King Haggard (Taste The Blood of Dracula‘s Christopher Lee) where the red bull might live. Things get weird when in order to protect the unicorn from the red bull, Schmedrick transforms her into a beautiful woman. Can she find what happened to all other unicorns. Will she ever get to be a unicorn again? Plus there’s a romance with a prince (Jeff Bridges).
The Last Unicorn is a great film on all levels. The actors providing the voices are top notch folks. It’s a kid’s movie that has Christopher Lee. The songs and music were written by Jimmy Webb. The songwriter is best known for hits such as “Up, Up and Away”, “By the Time I Get to Phoenix”, “MacArthur Park” and “Wichita Lineman.” Singing the songs is the band America, best known for “Sister Golden Hair,” “I Need You” and “Horse With No Name.” It’s a smooth soundtrack. The movie was produced by Rankin/Bass, the guys known for their holiday specials. It looks nothing like their animated Frosty the Snowman. There’s a beauty to the animation that makes the unicorn glow instead of looking over cartoony. Why? Because the animation was done by Japan’s Topcraft studio. The major animators on this film eventually worked for Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli. Their techniques bring magic to the screen to elevate the magical nature of the film. The Last Unicorn rises above that glut of lame animated films that were cranked out in the ’80s. This is a movie that deserves the 4K UHD treatment. It’s easy to understand why my wife was addicted to the film when she was younger. The film still has an allure for a new audience as witnessed at how my daughter Josie became instantly a major fan of The Last Unicorn when Shout! Studios put out the Blu-ray back in the summer of 2009. Here’s the video from the previous review:
There is also a regular 4K UHD edition of The Last Unicorn available.
The video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The 4K UHD transfer brings out the magic and fantasy in each frame. This was devoted fans have been clamoring to see. This is much better than my wife’s vanished VHS tape. The audio is DTS-HD 5.1 mix and DTS-HD 2.0 audio. They both sound fine although I found myself leaning toward the 2.0 mix. The movie is subtitled in English.
Blu-ray has all the new transfers along with the bonus features.
Profile of Writer Peter S. Beagle (14:46) lets him talks about enjoying reading as a child. He gets into what inspired him to write. His first book was published when he was 21.
Q & A with Peter S. Beagle (8:28) has him talking with the audience after a screening of The Last Unicorn. He jokes about being there at 75. He started the book at 23. He was dealing with his second book being turned down by the publisher. He was sharing a cabin with a painter friend. He wanted to be as creative as the painting. He admitted that he hated Rankin-Bass productions and was braced for the worst. He was thrilled at what they did for The Last Unicorn. He talks about his favorite scene.
True Magic (Redux): the Story of The Last Unicorn (27:28) covers how this went from a book to a beloved classic. While still working on the novel, he had to rewrite the entire thing when he realized other characters should be on the pages. Associate Producer Michael Chase Walker discusses how he got the rights to The Last Unicorn to make the movie. He got tied in with Rankin-Bass because they were the last studio interested after The Lord of the Rings animated film had flopped (Beagle had written the script).
Animated Storyboards (7:22) is a few scenes as roughed out before being sent to the animators.
Original Trailer (2:47) does its best to let the audience know that this will be a special experience.
Shout! Factory presents The Last Unicorn: Limited Edition Steelbook. Directed by Arthur Rankin Jr & Jules Bass. Screenplay by Peter S. Beagle. Starring: Mia Farrow, Jeff Bridges, Christopher Lee, Paul Frees, Tammy Grimes, Robert Klein, Kennan Wynn and Angela Lansbury. Rated: G. Running Time: 92 minutes. Released: August 27, 2024.
