The Last Unicorn

"The Last Unicorn" (1982) DVD arrived quickly & in great condition. The DVD movie is an animated fantasy film from Rankin/Bass Productions, based on Peter S. Beagle's novel, about a unicorn who learns she may be the last of her kind and embarks on a quest to find the others, aided by a bumbling magician (Schmendrick) and a woman (Molly Grue) who dreams of seeing one. The journey leads her to the villainous King Haggard and his Red Bull, forcing her to become human (Lady Amalthea) and confront love and mortality. The film is known for its dark, melancholic tone, stunning animation, and memorable songs by America, featuring a voice cast including Mia Farrow, Jeff Bridges, Alan Arkin, and Christopher Lee. Highly Recommended!

I bought this a couple of months ago and finally watched it today. I dreaded the possibility it was censored, but unlike the DVD I bought a couple of decades ago at Borders bookstore, this is not the censored version. It leaves that important Molly scene intact. The quality of the images and sound are as good as it can get for an 80s movie. I feel like I was able to appreciate the details of the background more on this copy than on my previous DVD, and we're not going to talk about my VHS (which was already used when my parents acquired it when I was a wee child) and how fuzzy that became after my obsessive rewatches during my youth. Still a favorite childhood movie, and I'm glad I have a copy that lets me relive the full movie without any censoring. Very pleased, and worth the third - and hopefully final - purchase.

She loved it

This is an absolutely beautiful movie. One of my absolute favorites. So I am happy to have it

This movie basically entails the last of the known unicorns in the world, and a quest on which she embarks to discover what happened to the others of her kind. She meets a bunch of interesting characters along the way who follow her and support her on her journey. Okay, so... the above gives you the basic premise. I don't want to spoil the movie for you, so I won't include any specifics from here on out. I will say that the animation quality is more than sufficient, the songs are pretty good, and with the exception of ONE voice-actor's singing voice, the voice acting is pretty good. But that's not why I've rated this movie five stars. I might say I've rated this movie five stars because it is a dark, serious cartoon with some very deep messages driving it. One might conclude I've given it five stars because the character-development is phenomenal -- because even an eternal being like our main protagonist (the unicorn) finds herself swayed by the events that she encountered on her journey. The real reason I give it five stars is because this movie hit the nail on the head for me in one specific, very moving scene. Our protagonist meets her first travel companion fairly early in the film, but it's the point where the second traveling companion finally sees the unicorn for the first time that moved me so. With my fantasy-oriented imagination, it was very easy for me to relate to that character's feelings across age and gender differences. You'll know the scene and the character when it happens. Every second of it is beautiful, and even if you HATE the rest of the movie you should watch it at least once for that one scene.

this is my first time seeing it. I know an animated classic when I see one. Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, The Rescuers Down Under, Little Nemo in Slumberland, Aladdin, The Secret of NIMH, The Land Before Time, The Lion Ming. All I saw as a kid. Then there are the ones I discovered later in life, such as Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Shrek, Tangled, Frozen, Princess Mononoke, Grave of the Fireflies, Nausicaa of The Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky, The Lord of the Rings, even something as new as Weathing With You, Belle, the 4 Evangelion rebuild films and the 2 originals, or more ambitious animated films like Loving Vincent. By the time the movie was over and the music was playing, I swelled up and I was in tears. That never happens. If you’re in your 40’s like me, you feel old, this movie is for you. Please, don’t just stream it, own it like I do. It’s worth the price. You won’t regret it.

This was a film I watched once on Prime and was surprised to learn it was from Rankin/Bass! They were responsible for the classic televised Christmas specials like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Com’n to Town, The Little Drummer Boy etc. Aside from that, the animation is very close in feel to Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. The plot in itself is interesting. The Unicorn is trying to find more of her own kind. While at the same time, she is curious in knowing of the mystical creature Red Bull. Soon, she is on an episodic adventure meeting a few human characters until discovering a small kingdom that might have the answers she seeks. Another high point in this film is that there is a lot of prominent voice actors. My favorite being Christopher Lee, followed by Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury and many more. The only gripe I have about this film is that there are songs that detract the pacing of the plot and can be forgettable. Overall, I would consider giving this a watch. Not to say a classic but a curiosity for those interested in finding more Rankin/Bass movies. Even for a casual I would still consider this a watch. Rent it if you have to on Prime if interested.

Haven’t watched this movies since I was in elementary school back when they had rental stores; watching it in blu ray and 4KHD is an enchanting experience; A+++++

La edición steelbook de The Last Unicorn es una verdadera joya para los fans del cine animado clásico. El diseño del steelbook es precioso y muy elegante, perfecto para coleccionistas y para quienes crecimos con esta película. La calidad de imagen en Blu-ray es muy buena y permite redescubrir la animación con mucho más detalle que en formatos antiguos. En lo personal, esta película me llena de nostalgia porque la tenía en VHS cuando era niño, así que volver a verla en alta definición es una experiencia muy especial. La única cosa que realmente extraño es el doblaje original en español latino, que esta edición no incluye (no tiene ni doblaje, ni subtítulos en español, solo subtítulos en inglés). De haberlo tenido, esta edición habría sido absolutamente perfecta. Aun así, es un lanzamiento muy recomendable para los fans de esta historia tan querida. Si no tienes problemas en verla en inglés la recomiendo ampliamente.

Finde die 3D Version des Films ganz ok. Ich bewerte hier die 3D Version des Films. Es gibt keine relevanten Pop-Outs, jedoch wird dem Film durch 3D eine deutliche Tiefe verliehen. Für einen derart alten Zeichentrickfilm finde ich, daß die Bildqualität recht gut ist. Der Film zeigt definitiv kein durchgehend sauberes Bild, jedoch finde ich dies sogar gut, weil es zeigt, daß der Film handgemacht ist und eben nicht aus dem Computer stammt. Mann sollte nicht mit sehr großen Erwartungen in Bezug auf das 3D Bild an den Film rangehen oder ihn gar mit aktuellen Produktionen vergleichen, sondern einfach das zusätzliche Quäntchen an Tiefe genießen ... Für mich hat der 3D Effekt den Film dezent in seinem sowieso schon starken Ausdruck untermalt. Der Ton ist ebenfalls recht gut geworden. Die tolle Musik kommt aus allen Lautsprechern und ab uns zu kommen auch die ein oder anderen Effekte von hinten. Kein Rauschen keim dumpfer oder dünner Ton ... einfach nur gut. Den Flatschen kann man vom Schuber abziehen, die Hülle hat ein Wendecover und sogar ein kleines Booklet ... vorbildlich! Der Magnet ist eine nette Zugabe, jedoch etwas unglücklich mit zwei Klebepunkten auf dem Schuber angebracht. Beim Abziehen muß man aufpassen, daß man den Schuber nicht beschädigt ... am besten gehen die Klebereste mit Hochprozentigem ab :o) Über den Film selbst werde ich nicht schreiben, sollte jeder kennen und wer ihn noch nicht kennt ... selber Schuld!

Jag är glad att ha den vackra animated film

I won't give away my age but when I spotted this on DVD it was an instant must have purchase as this had been one of my favourite films growing up. My Nan still has this film on video from when she bought it for me many years ago but as video players are pretty much obsolete nowadays and neither myself nor any friends and family own one, the video has sat unloved (but not fogotten!) on my Nan's video shelf (which she refuses to throw the contents of it away) for many years. I was actually browsing for a different DVD for my son when this came up in the "customers who purchased this also purchased..." list and as I said above it was an instant add to basket and purchase. My son is absolutely addicted to the DVD at the moment and has this on almost every morning before breakfast. It is so nice and very strange to see my own son getting so much enjoyment out of a film that I thought I'd never watch again let alone the 50 or so times I've now watched it with him! Surprisingly the film quality is actually really good and even the sound and music has been transferred onto DVD okay. The story is the same and tells of The Last Unicorn who sets out to find the rest of the Unicorns and what has happened to them. She finds out from a funny bird that the Unicorns have been taken by the Red Bull and then later that the Red Bull is being commanded by King Haggard. After being captured by a witch and a run in with a Harpy she meets up with the magician Smendrick who vows to help her. Other characters include Prince Lear, Molly and a drunk skeleton (I think the mention of the skeleton may jog memories who watched this when they were young). Like other reviewers have said, I knew the songs and the words to them within a few seconds of hearing them again and I can't believe all the parts and music I had forgotten. A real but wonderful blast to the past and still an enjoyable film even for the future generations. If you loved this film when you were a child then you'll fall in love with it all over again.

This is one of the best movies that I have bought from Amazon.co.jp. As a late thirties father who speak only English to his children it is sometimes hard to find good television and good movies for my daughters to watch in English, we currently live in Japan. I thought of this movie and how I liked watching it on Sunday afternoon when the Buffalo fox station would play it. I was pleased to see that it was super cheap. I watched the movie with my daughters last week and they could not stop talking about it. We watched it again last night and they are still talking about it. For that fact alone it is a good purchase. The movie itself really stands out from all the other animated movies not only from that time but from all times. The characters have a sense of realism as they make mistakes and are not clear cut character troups. Some characters are truely evil and when they get what they deserve in the narrative they still win. The animation is old by current standards but that does not mean that it is bad. It is qiute endering and a real pleasure to watch. Many animated movies require multipule watchings to enjoy all the hard work that the animators put into the film and this one is no different. There are some people who are up in arms about how the film has been edited, where a few swear words are replaced or edited out. This is true but it did not stop me from enjoying the film. I didn't know where the swear words were in the movie so my suspension of belief was not disrupted. This movie is fantastic and a joy to watch. The projects that these animators went onto afterwards was helping Miyazaki in Studio Ghibli make Naussica and the Valley of the Wind.