- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 25th Anniversary Audio, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Original Theatrical Audio Track
- Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish
- Rating: G
- Region: A (Region-Locked)
- Discs: 2 (1 x Blu-ray + 1 x DVD)
- Studio: Lionsgate
- Blu-ray Release Date: February 22, 2011
- List Price: $19.99
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Purchase The Last Unicorn on Blu-ray+DVD Combo Pack at CD Universe
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Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:4/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Published in 1968, Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn has been one of the most beloved books of fantasy for decades. In 1979, production began on the animated adaptation of Beagle’s novel, but the production wasn’t so smooth. Nearly every studio with an animation division turned down the film until finally, Rankin/Bass Productions, the same studio responsible for holiday classics like Rudolph’s Shiny New Year (1976) and Jack Frost (1979) picked up the rights.
Featuring a star-studded cast of voices including Alan Arkin, Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury, and Jeff Bridges, the story is a fantastical journey about a unicorn (Farrow) who thinks she may be the last of her kind in the world that braves the world outside her forest to find others of her kind. Gaining a traveling companion in a young, hapless wizard named Schmendrick (Arkin) who has trouble controlling his powers, the unicorn finds that the outside world is filled with danger like evil witches and a dangerous red bull that attacks all unicorns.
The animation is colorful and very evocative of a fantasy land where anything is possible. Certainly, with all the heavyweight actors, one would expect great voice acting, but The Last Unicorn is somewhat disappointing. The story lacks the emotional depth of some of the Disney classics, and the voice acting isn’t always believable, lacking chemistry and a little miscast for some of the characters. With that being said, The Last Unicorn is still pleasant family fun, but it may be a letdown for those most familiar with the book.
Video Quality
[Rating:3/5]
When it comes to animated releases on Blu-ray, no one has set a higher standard than Disney, and I include their Pixar division in that statement as well. Thus, when catalogue releases of hand-drawn animated titles hit Blu-ray, I can’t help but compare them to the splendid Disney Diamond Editions, like the recent Beauty and the Beast or Snow White. The Last Unicorn’s AVC/MPEG-4 1080p encodement does not stack up well against Disney’s. The image has a lot of noise, heavy amounts of grain and source damage, and is rather soft overall with poorly defined line art. Dark areas vary in their depth from inky to washed out, but overall color information is good, if a little inconsistent. In essence, The Last Unicorn shows all the signs of an aged animated production and it seems as if very little effort went into the restoration. On the positive side, it does look rather film-like and there are no noticeable processing or compression artifacts to hinder the image any further.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Lionsgate offers two lossless audio mixes for The Last Unicorn. One is a 25th Anniversary Edition DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix and the other the Original Theatrical Audio DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. I was hard-pressed to hear any audible difference between the two. If I had to go out on a limb, I’d say that maybe the 25th Anniversary Edition mix had slightly more ambience and instrumental separation in the songs by America, but other than that, they are both fairly dynamic and offer a wide soundstage with copious amounts of ambient effects in the rear channels. There is very little discrete information outside of the front three speakers, but there was at least one moment with foley effects panned quickly in a circular pattern around the room. I checked this on both mixes and it sounded exactly the same.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:4/5]
There are a strong set of supplements on The Last Unicorn, most dealing with author Peter S. Beagle, but there is a good making of featurette that features the writer and some stars of the film in addition to a rather interesting audio commentary track.
The supplements provided with this release are:
- Audio Commentary with Writer Peter S. Beagle and Publisher Connor Cochran
- Immortal Characters (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 0:12.51) – A quick, but good making of featurette.
- 2010 The Last Unicorn Art Contest Gallery (1080p/24)
- Peter S. Beagle and His Work – An audio biography about author Peter S. Beagle and his works.
- The Tail of The Last Unicorn (1.78:1; 480i/60; 0:08.33) – Peter S. Beagle talks about his inspiration for the story and the film.
- Schmendrick’s Magical Gallery (1080p/24)
- Original Trailer (1.33:1; 480i/60)
- DVD
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:4/5]
A classic story, big-name actors doing the voicing, and pretty animation make The Last Unicorn a decent time passer for the whole family, but its somewhat thin emotional depth and this middling high-definition transfer make it only worth a rental.
Additional Screen Captures:
[amazon-product align=”right”]B004FHCHDC[/amazon-product]
Purchase The Last Unicorn on Blu-ray+DVD Combo Pack at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:4/5]