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NEWS: The Last Unicorn Gets BD/DVD Combo Release in February


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lkmjr



Joined: 21 Jun 2008
Posts: 68
Location: Austin, Texas
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 11:25 pm Reply with quote
So... aside from the studio's work on Nausicaa, this has what to do with anime? I thought The Last Unicorn was just normal western animation.
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keikanna44



Joined: 12 Feb 2009
Posts: 155
Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 11:31 pm Reply with quote
I love this movie! Fantastic story! It's one of my favorite animated films! It has absolutely nothing to do with anime but still... Very Happy
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Yumeko-chan



Joined: 03 Nov 2010
Posts: 22
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 11:47 pm Reply with quote
Are they gonna leave the damns in this time? I've refused to get it on DVD so far simply because it's not unedited.
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littlegreenwolf



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 4796
Location: Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 12:02 am Reply with quote
Question is now will Peter S. Beagle get any money at all from this release. Anyone who's spoken with him at those conventions can tell you he doesn't get a penny unless you buy the dvd from his booth. Damn shame when a creator looses rights/royalties.

Guess I know what I'm buying at Dragon*con this year if he's there again.
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Redlinks



Joined: 14 Feb 2010
Posts: 496
Location: America
PostPosted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 12:46 am Reply with quote
lkmjr wrote:
So... aside from the studio's work on Nausicaa, this has what to do with anime? I thought The Last Unicorn was just normal western animation.


The film was aparrently released in Japan as well. So I guess this kinda counts as anime from Japan...?
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Rukiia



Joined: 30 Aug 2010
Posts: 1897
Location: British Columbia, Canada
PostPosted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 1:15 am Reply with quote
*jaw drops*

This will look gorgeous on Blu-ray. I wonder if they will give us the original dialogue? I was annoyed that they edited it for the 20th Anniversary release. I prefer the original script from good old VHS tapes.

And I believe this is considered anime.
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Mytopia



Joined: 16 Sep 2009
Posts: 78
Location: Florida
PostPosted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 1:33 am Reply with quote
lkmjr wrote:
So... aside from the studio's work on Nausicaa, this has what to do with anime? I thought The Last Unicorn was just normal western animation.

Eh? Topcraft is a Japanese animation studio and as a result, their film the Last Unicorn is Japanese-animated and therefore it can and should be categorized as anime. While it may have been produced in the West, that does not make it any less an "anime" as compared to other out-of-the-norm anime series such as Masaaki Yuasa's works and the vibrant independent/avant garde anime scene in Japan.
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dewlwieldthedarpachief



Joined: 04 Jan 2007
Posts: 751
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 3:14 am Reply with quote
If Lionsgate get's their pedantic fingers out of my childhood and figures out that PAL isn't NTSC, I'll buy this. Otherwise, I'll hold out for a Deutsch disc.

@Mytopia: represent.
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Chrno2



Joined: 28 May 2004
Posts: 6171
Location: USA
PostPosted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 10:37 am Reply with quote
Finally on BD. I wonder if S. Beagle managed to gain enough of the proceeds for the amount of purchases made for the film when it was released. I'm assuming Topcraft did have some involvement with some of the Rankin and Bass releases here in the west, ie. - 'The Hobbit' and 'Return of the King' and possibly 'Flight of Dragons' as those features possessed very similar if not the same art style. Some could be seen in Thundercats as well, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was caused by what was left over from the studio. Anyone care to clarify any info they might know?
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Zin5ki



Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 6680
Location: London, UK
PostPosted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 10:48 am Reply with quote
Interestingly enough, I noticed the DVD of this film available for sale beside the checkout of a garden centre last weekend, nestled amongst other child-oriented budget releases. Its price tag was the same as that of the birdseed shelved nearby.
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Mike Toole
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Joined: 09 Jan 2002
Posts: 105
Location: THE GOOD OLE U-S-A
PostPosted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 11:56 am Reply with quote
Mytopia wrote:

Eh? Topcraft is a Japanese animation studio and as a result, their film the Last Unicorn is Japanese-animated and therefore it can and should be categorized as anime.


Depends on the extent of the studio's involvement. Sunrise did some work on Batman Beyond, but I certainly wouldn't call that anime. Ditto with Toei and the old GI Joe and Transformers cartoons.

I think the big consideration should be senior production staff. Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin are credited as directing this film, but if you examine the credits, you'll see that the animation direction is handled by Katsuhisa Yamada, the production manager is Masaki Iizuka, the movie is chopped by Tomoko Kida... outside of Rankin and Bass, the only big contributors on this side of the pond were Don Duga (storyboards) and Lester Abrams (character designs), and they didn't do all of the work, much of it was still handled in Japan. Given that balance, IMO The Last Unicorn could be called anime, in much the same way that the TMS Little Nemo film is anime despite having heavy Hollywood involvement.

Since this combo pack is still a Lionsgate joint, I reckon the mild profanities excised from the DVD will still be missing. Despite that, it's a very pretty film and I intend to buy the blu-ray from Peter Beagle if he's got copies at Otakon this summer.
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Kuchibiru



Joined: 01 Jun 2010
Posts: 17
PostPosted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 12:59 pm Reply with quote
Pff-ff. Wait a moment. My mother ended up buying this on DVD on a sales rack one day for my little sister, simply because she liked unicorns. I had absolutely NO idea that it had anything to do with anime or Japan. How long have I owned this DVD now...?

The more you know, I suppose.
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LKK



Joined: 31 Oct 2007
Posts: 426
Location: Virginia, USA
PostPosted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 1:27 pm Reply with quote
One look at the unicorn in her human form ought to be sufficient proof of the movie's anime influence. If she isn't a classic old-school anime otherworldly alien goddess, I don't know what is.
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malvarez1



Joined: 17 Nov 2008
Posts: 1628
PostPosted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 2:23 pm Reply with quote
Wow, I was a kid when I saw this film, and it scared me. It probably wouldn't now.
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Weazul-chan



Joined: 10 May 2005
Posts: 625
Location: Michigan
PostPosted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 3:55 pm Reply with quote
littlegreenwolf wrote:
Question is now will Peter S. Beagle get any money at all from this release. Anyone who's spoken with him at those conventions can tell you he doesn't get a penny unless you buy the dvd from his booth. Damn shame when a creator looses rights/royalties.

Guess I know what I'm buying at Dragon*con this year if he's there again.
seriously. I got it on DVD (the crappy version released before the 20th anniversary release) before I knew about that and felt ripped off, like I just found out I'd unwittingly bought a bootleg instead of something legit (and in some ways the quality of that version was on par with a bootleg). I made sure I got the new DVD from his site to make sure he'd get something for it this time. I could have gotten in cheaper from where I work, but some things are worth paying a little extra for.

I ADORE The Last Unicorn. I've got the book in both paperback and hardcover (the hardcover version includes the sequel short story), a paperback of the short story collection that included the sequel short story, the movie on VHS and DVD, and a signed copy of The Last Unicorn: The Lost Version (the incomplete original draft of what was later rewritten into the final version).
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