The Corner Penthouse

It has been a well-known fact among us video collectors that all DVDs released by Warner Brothers and its related brands (such as New line Cinema) from approximately 2006 to 2008 were not manufactured properly. Over time, the chemical makeup of these discs would break down causing them to become unplayable. I discovered this personally a few years ago, and even wrote about it in December 2023. Still, it wasn't until March 2025 that Warner Brothers finally acknowledged the problem.

It seems that Warner Brothers has made an effort to get many of the affected titles back in stock through Manufacture On Demand (MOD). The Last Mimzy (2007) MOD Recorded DVD is one such title. Read on to find out more about it...

There is no doubt that this new dual layer DVD+R disc is using the original dual-layer DVD master from 2007. Once you pop the disc in your player, you will see the New Line "Infinifilm" logo (removed from the case art) and ads for Hairspray (2007) and TMNT (2007).

[ SYNOPSIS ]

When Noah (Chris O'Neil) and Emma Wilder (Rhiannon Leigh Wryn) discover a special box on the beach, they open it and unlock an exciting adventure beyond imagination. Inside they find Mimzy, a magical stuffed rabbit along with other mystical toys, which give the children exceptional powers of their own. Able to move objects with their minds and solve complex equations, these new wonder kids begin to attract the attention of their parents, teachers...and even the FBI. Surrounding the phenomenon of Mimzy is an awesome secret - one that holds the key to saving the future of all mankind.

[ SPECIFICATIONS ]

The movie is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 1:36:06. The movie has been rated PG for some thematic elements, mild peril and language. Audio languages include English. There are NO subtitle languages.

[ SPECIAL FEATURES ]

All of the content listed below can be found on the DVD disc. It should be noted that the special features are organized as "Infinifilm", the branding that New Line Cinema was using for the extras on its high-profile DVDs in the 2000s. It's really a mess that tries to make everything seem more special than it really is. Also, all of the menus are cluttered with question marks that explain basic menu navigational concepts which makes things look even more messy.

• Audio Commentary - by director Robert Shaye.
• Infinifilm - At 28 conveniently chaptered spots in the film you can choose one or two short videos related to that part of the film. (see screenshot below) All of these videos are snippets from the featurettes or deleted scenes found elsewhere on the disc, making this rather pointless, unless you want to see this content in the context of the film.
• Fact Track - This seems to be the Infinifilm track with added trivia between the branching video prompts. The facts are not usually facts about the film itself, but about elements in the film. For example, when Emma picks up the stuffed rabbit, we see a factoid about the number of rabbit breeds in the United States.
• The Mandala: Imaginary Places (5:49)
• The Looking Glass: Emma and Alice (2:37)
• Soundwaves: Listening To The Universe (6:20)
• DNA: The Human Blueprint (4:06)
• Nanotechnology: The Human Revolution (3:11)
• Wormholes: Fantasy of Science (4:20)
• Adapting The Story (13:52)
• Bob Shaye: Director Profile (8:56)
• Casting The Kids (7:10)
• Production Design and Concept Art (4:06)
• Real Is Good: The Visual Effects (8:12)
• Editing and Music (13:09)
• Deleted/Alternate Scenes (13:33 + 0:32 intro) - Presented with optional commentary by director Robert Shaye are these 11 scenes: "Director's Introduction" (0:30), "Science Test" (0:59), "Noah's Crush" (0:13), "Alternative Meditation Scene" (3:59), "David Calls The Beach House" (0:57), "Whidbey Fight" (2:30), "Emma's Birthday" (1:43), "Noah's Crush Part Two" (0:37), "Alternate Naomi Introduction" (0:24), "Naomi is Shocked" (0:36), "Mandala Drawing Left Behind" (0:32), and "Extended Boardman Ending" (0:43). Two of the scenes are prefaced with an unskippable "Parental Discretion Advised" warning, and Rainn Wilson's bare butt (in the far background of a scene) has been blurred out. (Leopard print underwear was digitally added in the final film, as Shaye says in the commentary.)
• "Hello (I Love You)" Music Video by Roger Waters (4:34)
• Theatrical Trailer (2:28)
• Interactive Challenges - Three desktop games of memory and spatial perception are available from the main menu: "Spider Bridge", "Memory Match", and "Mandala Mix-Up".

[ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ]

No digital copy code voucher is included inside the standard one-disc black DVD case. The MOD case art is a modified version of the original "Fullscreen" artwork from 2007. When the movie was first released on DVD in 2007, there was a "Widescreen" (16:9) DVD and a "Fullscreen" (4:3) DVD, with the type listed in big text on the top right corner of the front cover next to the "Infinifilm" name. For the most part, the artwork was the same between the two releases, other than the title on the front cover being orange on the "Widescreen" DVD and white on the "Fullscreen" DVD, and the "Includes Interactive Games for the Whole Family!" circle on the back being completely whited out on the "Fullscreen" DVD. This MOD case art has the white movie title and the whited out circle, but the specs have been altered to give the widescreen details.


What's most fascinating is that Warner Brothers completely removed ALL Infinifilm branding from the MOD case art, which leaves a lot of unsightly unnecessary empty space all across the top. Even more perplexing is that the MPA rating and soundtrack logos were also removed from the lower right corner on the back cover, which again, leaves a lot of unsightly unnecessary empty space.


The original DVD included DVD-ROM content, which is even listed on the DVD main menu. I popped this DVD+R disc in my computer and checked it out in a file manager. As seen in the screenshot below, the file list is there, but it's a fake file list! Clicking on any of the images, html files, etc. will cause the file manager to crash because the files aren't actually there, just the names and directory structure. Granted, all of this PC Friendly/Interactual Player content is outdated, so it wouldn't be of much use these days anyway, but it's just odd that there is a file list, but no actual files.


[ NOTES ]

The Last Mimzy (2007) is a hard film to recommend as a blind buy. The film is basically 12 Monkeys for families, only with a plush bunny in place of Bruce Willis' James Cole. It's an enjoyable mystery, with some pretty big plot holes, and a rather pretentious ending. In the past 18 years, Warner Brothers never released the film on Blu-ray here in the United States. That's a shame, as the special effects would look great in high definition.

The Last Mimzy is available on DVD (MOD Recorded Dual Layer DVD+R). It was also released on factory-pressed disc in 2007, but I will not give purchase links for any that are still out there since they are no longer playable. You might be able to get a working factory-pressed disc if you find a rare later pressing stamped on the back of the shrink wrap or the plastic case as "Manufactured in Mexico", or possibly a copy in English & French packaging from Canada, but most of the pressed discs are bad and should be avoided.

It's really easy to determine the MOD DVD+R disc from the 2007 discs. It not only has a 2025 release date in online listings (the back of the case still says "MMVII" (2007), but there is NO "Infinifilm" banner at the top, and it has a UPC number of 883929827282. The UPC number for the original Widescreen DVD is 794043109164, and the original Fullscreen DVD has a 794043106934 UPC number. The MOD DVD+R disc has a plain label on the disc, while the original DVDs have a photo of the plush Mimzy bunny on the disc.

As an FYI: The release I'm reviewing is a Manufacture On Demand Recorded Blu-ray, not a factory-pressed disc. If online artwork and the case spine says "DVD" in plain text, it's a recorded disc. If it has a DVD logo, it's a factory-pressed disc. If you have the disc in hand, a purple bottom is a recorded disc, and a silver bottom is a pressed disc. It is said that factory-pressed discs last longer than recorded discs, aside from those made by Warner Brothers in the late 2000s. I don't know if that's true, but if it matters to you, I'm letting you know.

This item has been provided by Warner Brothers for review on this site.