Originally published in 1968, author Peter S. Beagle’s adventure fantasy The Last Unicorn would be tapped by The Hobbit (1977) co-directors Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr. for adaptation. Their theatrical release of the same name, The Last Unicorn (1982), would become beloved by many, especially in their adolescents. In 2015, Shout! Studios released The Last Unicorn on Blu-ray in a version dubbed “The Enchanted Edition,” including several bonus features affording fans a closer look at the feature. Now, for the first-time, Shout! Studios offers fans a brand-new video experience as The Last Unicorn is remastered in 4K UHD with Dolby Vision, giving the cherished tale a new look and emotional feel that fans will undoubtedly enjoy. Not only that, you can snag the film in either steelbook or standard editions, each one including a brand-new profile of Beagle and several previously released features. But like all fairytales have their darker sides, make sure to know what you’re getting into before jumping on this latest edition.
In another world, in another time, a lone unicorn (voiced by Mia Farrow) learns that she may be the last. Burdened with this news, she leaves her forest in search of where the rest of her kind may be, beginning a journey that will unknowingly impact the future of the land. Aided by a hapless magician (voiced by Alan Arkin) and an outlaw’s wife (voiced by Tammy Grimes), the threesome journey across lands both rich and barren to the castle of King Haggard (voiced by Christopher Lee), the man who holds the truth of what happened to all the unicorns.
Each person’s experience will define how they respond to something, which is a fancy way of saying that The Last Unicorn seems to have a large audience that saw the film as children and continue to hold tightly to that affection. At least, that’s what the response on social media was when posting about watching the film for the first time. With that in mind, let’s tackle the home release itself to help set expectations on this new 4K UHD remaster.
In terms of a remaster, there’s a massive visible difference between the 4K UHD disc and the Blu-ray, likely due to both the increased data and the inclusion of Dolby Vision. This translates to a film that’s at once darker than the 1080p Blu-ray, yet more detailed in its presentation and sharper. For instance, when Haggard’s son, Prince Lír (voiced by Jeff Bridges), sets out to earn affection of the Unicorn (at this point in the story turned into a human named Amalthea) by slaying mythical beasts, the presentation of the battle with the dragon couldn’t be more different from one presentation to the other. On the 4K UHD disc, though the battle takes place in an open space, the lighting is more dark, suggestive of the danger that Lír is in and the dragon is, themself, a deeper green. On the Blu-ray, the scene is lightened, with the rocks and the dragon nearly matching in their shade of lighter green, the entire sequence lacking menace. Similarly, in the sequence when Schmendrick accidentally brings to life the tree he’s tied to, on the 4K UHD disc, that present shroud is there, adding some menace to the purple shade coursing through the bark as it writhes and wriggles on Schmendrick. On the Blu-ray, it’s far lighter, allowing the scene to give off a more silly energy. In terms of detail, one need only look at the presentation of Amalthea, specifically her hair — the red lines which create the sense of individual locks are more vibrant and detailed on the 4K UHD disc than on the Blu-ray. The Blu-ray also contains more obvious noise in the background where this seems filtered through more on the 4K UHD disc. This last bit is fascinating as both included discs are a 4K transfer of the 35 mm interpositive, implying that the major differences between the two version would be (a) space for the film on the disc (more data available, the less compression of audio/video) and (b) the use of Dolby Vision on the 4K UHD disc which allows for a greater range of color.
The 4K UHD edition comes in two major flavors: steelbook or standard. The steelbook incorporates the new cover art with the unicorn depicted on the front under the title, rearing up on her hind legs, with the back featuring Haggard, his castle, the red bull, and a stampede of unicorns. On the inside, the left side features a close-up of the red bull, while the right contains a slot for both discs with a close-up of the unicorn underneath. The standard edition appears to include a cover more in the style of the animation artwork, which is wholly different from The Enchanted Edition.
THE LAST UNICORN 4K steelbook. Photo courtesy of Shout! Studios.
Do note that if you purchase the 4K UHD edition from Shout! Studios directly, you can get a double-sided poster that includes the artwork of the front design for both editions when you purchase the standard version. In order to get the steelbook, you must head to Walmart.
THE LAST UNICORN 4K UHD edition with reversible poster. Photo courtesy of Shout! Studios.
In terms of bonus features, this release is a bit one step forward/one step back. If you owned The Enchanted Edition, the 4K UHD is missing the “Highlights from The Last Unicorn Worldwide Screening Tour with Peter S. Beagle” and audio commentary track, but does include a sit-down conversation with Beagle titled “Profile of writer Peter S. Beagle.” Here, with an unknown/unseen interviewer, Beagle talks about his youth, what got him into writing, the influence of some misbegotten romances, and much more that lead to the career he cultivated, in a nearly-15-minute conversation. Returning special features do include the True Magic (redux): The Story of “The Last Unicorn” documentary, a Q&A with Beagle, animated storyboards, and the theatrical trailer. If possessing the most information on a favorite film matters to you, the addition of one new feature and the loss of two may play a significant factor in your purchasing choice, so make sure to mull them over fully before deciding whether to upgrade.
When one considers that this is a follow-up to the animated Hobbit and comes from the directors of such holiday specials as Frosty the Snowman (1969) and The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974), one can understand why a melodic fairytale centering a unicorn may capture the hearts of audiences. It has a certain magic to it that speaks to young audiences in particular, while never shedding its mature perspective (a promiscuous tree, a triple-nippled harpy, a skeleton longing for the taste of wine, Lír’s persistent wooing of the slowly-amnesiac-turning Amalthea). But it’s also very much of its time. It uses the songs from America to fill in narrative gaps (much in the same way 1986’s The Transformers: The Movie does with songs from other artists), seeks to short-cut the book’s narrative into a 90-minute adventure thereby creating several plot holes, and generally doesn’t entice current audiences who lack the connection formed upon initial release. If the film had been 20-30 minutes longer and included some of the plot from the novel, the urgency that the film’s narrative seeks to include might be maintained, whereas all of it goes out the window as soon as the trio reach Haggard’s castle and the amnesia portion of the story kicks in. Not to mention that the film tries to utilize the imagination of the audience to fill in moments without having earned access — quite a frustrating experience for an otherwise attractive film to come off as quite dull. Keep in mind that this reviewer didn’t grow up with Bass and Rankin’s work, no matter how hard my local broadcast channels in December tried.
But a film that’s over 40 years old getting a 4K UHD remaster doesn’t require my opinion on it to be worth snagging. From that perspective, one needs to look at the remaster itself (impressive) and the bonus features (a mixed-bag, if you owned the prior Blu-ray) to decide if this edition is worth your attention. Based on the very excited response on social media, if you’re a massive fan of The Last Unicorn with a deep connection to your childhood, you’re going to pick this up and enjoy it. If you’re not, this is something you may want to wait on.
The Last Unicorn Special Features:
4K UHD
- *NEW* 4K Transfer of the 35mm interpositive
- *NEW* includes Dolby Vision
- Audio Commentary
Blu-ray
- *NEW* 4K Transfer of the 35mm interpositive
- *NEW* includes Dolby Vision
- *NEW* Profile of writer Peter S. Beagle (14:46)
- True Magic (redux): The Story of “The Last Unicorn” documentary
- Q&A with writer Peter S. Beagle
- Animated storyboards
- Original theatrical trailer
Available on 4K UHD Blu-ray Combo Steelbook and 4K UHD Blu-ray Combo August 20th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Shout! Studios The Last Unicorn webpage.
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Categories: Home Release, Recommendation
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