Customer Reviews

The Black Cauldron: 25th Anniversary Special Edition

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

In 1985, Walt Disney Pictures released their 25th animated feature in July 1985. The animated film "The Black Cauldron" is based on the first two novels of Lloyd Alexander's "Chronicles of Prydain" books (a total of five novels were created from 1964-1968) and is based on Welsh mythology.

"The Black Cauldron" is the first Disney film to utilize the APT process (a photographic transfer system that can transfer lines or solid blocks of colors onto cels) and as most new animated technology, the film was quite expensive to make.

It was also a Disney film in which it was an interesting risk for the company as the studio wanted to created a PG-rated animated film, especially since the original books that the animated film was adapted from, was quite dark. Because the animated film was not a musical nor was it a happy, uplifting film that many young children would want to see, the film didn't perform quite well in the box office (the film was budgeted at $25 million and made $21 million).

But times have changed since the "The Black Cauldron" was shown in the theater and with films such as "The Lord of the Rings" and television shows such as "The Legend of the Seeker" are more common place for today, there is no doubt that the storyline of "The Black Cauldron" will attract viewers and now "The Black Cauldron" will receive its DVD re-release in Sept. 2010 (the original "The Black Cauldron - Gold Collection" DVD was released in 2000) to celebrate the film's 25th anniversary.


VIDEO:

"The Black Cauldron" is presented in widescreen 2:35:1 (enhanced for 16×9 televisions). The first thing that came to my mind while watching this film is how beautiful the artistic backgrounds were. There is a lot of painted with a lot of detail in the background. From the look of the wood homes or buckets, to the lush scenery of grass and water or even the detail of the dark forest, "The Black Cauldron" looks fantastic. Walt Disney had done a fantastic job with the hand-drawn animation and overall look of the film. The last film before "The Black Cauldron" was the 1981 film "The Fox and the Hound", so it is no surprise to me that because the amount of detail we see in this film, this film took years to make.

The film looks great! But because of the film's dark subject matter, it's unfortunate that the film was not appreciated when it was released in 1985 and it makes me wonder, because the film is not a box office earning classic, if it will ever receive Disney's wonderful HD restoration and remastering treatment in the future?

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

"Black Cauldron" is presented in Dolby Digital (English, French and Spanish 5.1 surround). The dialogue is clear and understandable and if anything, I found myself just laughing at the parts that featured Gurgi talking. Love the sound effects that went into creating his voice. I will say that Elmer Bernstein's music ("Twilight", "Cape Fear", "Bulletproof") in the film is fantastic!

Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"The Black Cauldron - 25th Anniversary" comes with the following special features:

* Deleted Scene--(9:50) The Fairfolk: Viewers join Taran, Fflewddur Fflam, Gurgi and Princess Eilonwy as they travel into the depths of the earth and meet the Fairfolk. A combination of animation and the deleted animated and non-animated sketch of the various scenes.
* Still Frame Gallery--A compilation of behind-the-scenes artwork and photos that you can view via using your remote control (or keyboard).
* The Witches' Challenge Game--In order to defeat the dark powers of the Horned King, players must gain possession the magical sword from the Witches of Morva by solving their riddles.
* Quest For the Black Cauldron--A trivia game in which players compete against the evil Horned King in a race to reach the Black Cauldron first.
* Trick Or Treat-- (8:15) A classic Donald Duck Jack Hannah Halloween cartoon from 1952.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"The Black Cauldron" probably didn't make sense to viewers in 1985 but 25-years-later, the story is quite tame and I personally didn't find the overall film to be too dark. In fact, I watched it along with my seven-year-old and he just enjoyed the film and was quite engrossed while watching it.

I found the film to be quite entertaining but by saying this, I know that the film is based on Lloyd Alexander's "The Prydain Chronicles" and the fact there are five-volumes created, If the first two volumes were condensed to an 80-minute film, you can imagine a lot of story being lost, especially storylines that were meant to focus on character development.

So, having not read the original novels, I can imagine those who did enjoy them, may feel a bit disenchanted with the film and with Disney trying to fit everything into one film and also the film missing a lot of characters from the book and I've also read that Disney did change a few things to make it more Disney friendly. But again, this was released in 1985 and that was how things were back then with Disney.

"The Black Cauldron - 25th Anniversary" does add a little more content from its original 2000 "Gold Collection" DVD release. You do get the new "The Witches" challenge game and you do get a full nine minute deleted scene as well. And for those who are wondering, the animated short "Trick or Treat" starring Donald Duck and his 3 nephews is still included as well as the previous other special features as well. It's also important to note that Disney did improve it's DVD authoring after 2003, so since the film was released originally on DVD in 2000, there is an improvement in picture quality on this 2010 DVD release.

As for parents, this is a PG film and I would not recommend this film to very young children. The Horned King is an evil nemesis and a villain that can be too frightening for children and although there are no sexual themes in the film, there are parts where you see a buxom witch and seeing the character Fflewddur Fflam getting his head stuck between them. A scene which my wife did comment and was surprised to see (especially since we had our child watching along with us).

Overall, "The Black Cauldron" is a good film but I say this, having not read the original novels (so I don't share the same disappointment as those who have). I do feel that the writers really did have a major challenge of trying to incorporate so much into an 80-minute film and the fact that the film only covers the first two novels, it's a shame that the other three novels will not be made into an animated format. But I suppose if you go with this film's storyline on its own, despite having a dark storyline, in Disney fashion, you do have the happy ending.

I was very impressed by the artistic painted backgrounds and the animation was well-done. But compared to other Disney animated classics, the storyline was good but not great and I refuse to call it an inferior film because it's not inferior at all. It's just that Disney has so many great films and "The Black Cauldron" is not one of them. But I found the film to feature a good amount of fantasy and action and it looks fantastic. It's definitely a Disney animated film worth watching.

If you have not watched this Disney animated film, definitely give "The Black Cauldron - 25th Anniversary" a try!

To be honest, I didn't know what to expect when I popped The Black Cauldron: 25th Anniversary Edition into my DVD player. Sure, I've heard of it, but all I really knew is that it came from Disney's "Dark Era" (like The Great Mouse Detective), and that it takes place in a Tolkienesque world. And yes, The Black Cauldron is bold and different. This is not your average Disney fare.

The story revolves around a young boy named Taran, an assistant pig keeper who dreams of one day becoming a hero. Of course, his daydreaming usually ends up getting him into trouble, like losing his pig, Hen Wen, to the Horned King (who looks like Skeletor's more competent older brother). Why would your-paint-by the-numbers Evil Overlord want a pig? Well, it turns out this pig is magic, and can tell the future and where things are. And since the Horned King is looking for the Black Cauldron, a magical object that will give him an army of undead walking skeletons, he wants said pig. So Taran goes on an epic quest to save his pig and destroy the Black Cauldron. Along the way, he is joined by a minstrel named Fflewddur Fflam, a princess named Eilonwy (apparently the Disney Princesses line completely forgot about her, just like everyone else), and a thing named Gurgi that looks like an Ewok and talks like Donald Duck. Through the course of their journey they encounter witches, Fair Folk, and other mystical creatures. Eventually, they have to face the Horned King himself.

First off, I was really surprised to discover there was another Disney Princess I had never heard of, especially since this one is much closer in age to the Disney Princess line's target market. The next thing that stood out is how dark, violent and scary this movie is: its seems more like something up Ralph Bakshi's alley than Disney's. This may explain why it was a renowned flop; people have certain expectations for Disney films: It will have action and suspense, an exciting climax, and some patches of darkness, but the overall tone of the film is expected to be light. The Black Cauldron just isn't that kind of movie; it's still a children's movie, but it is definitely more geared for older kids.

Another problem is that darker doesn't automatically equal better. In this case, the movie has a definite lack of enjoyable characters. Taran himself is a boring, bland, selfish, unlikable character who still manages to remind me too much of Arthur/Wart from The Sword in the Stone. Most of the characters are bland; those that aren't are stereotypes; and many are both. The only character with any personality is Gurgi, and he's the comic relief!

Even when a Disney film suffers from bland heroes (I'm looking at you, Herc), a good villain can save the movie. They may be evil, but Gaston, Hades and Jafar are all have some sort of lightness to them, like you know you can't take them too seriously. The Horned King is nothing like that. He is dark, evil, quite, and just plain damn scary. In half of his scenes you can't even see his face. As a result you never feel a connection to him, and it leaves him feeling like just a clichéd, humorless villain. Even Judge Frollo, who was played straight and shown to have his own weaknesses to overcome, was compelling! The Horned King, not so.

Its weak characters aside, The Black Cauldron does still manage to be exciting. I was expecting relatively mediocre animation, as in The Great Mouse Detective, but I was absolutely blown away by the visuals. The animation in this movie is some of the best I've ever seen, most notably a scene where Hen Wen is captured by dragons. The transfer on this particular DVD is brilliant, providing a nice full picture, surprisingly in CinemaScope (2.35:1 widescreen as opposed to most animated films that are 1.85:1 widescreen). The DVD also has both French and Spanish language tracks and subtitles and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Most of the special features are carried over from the previous release: "Trick or Treat" (an entertaining Donald Duck cartoon), "The Quest for the Black Cauldron" trivia game and a still frame gallery. The only new features on this disc are "The Witches' Challenge" game, which is essentially a rather dull Black Cauldron point-and-click riddle game, reminiscent of Dora the Explorer, and a deleted scene. For those hoping for the infamous "man being dissolved by mist" scene that was cut from the film for a better rating, prepare to be disappointed: the deleted scene in question here is an alternate, more boring version of when the gang meets the Fair Folk, and it's understandable why it was cut, as it would've definitely slowed the movie down. It's about ten minutes long and is told through storyboards and pencil tests. The rest of the DVD is filled out with previews for upcoming releases, and promos for DisneyFile Digital Copy and Disney Blu-ray (basically the Sprouse brothers explaining why Blu-ray is "suite". Their word, not mine).

It's really quite a shame. Here we are, given a decent movie with a good transfer and practically no special features. This seems to be the case more and more often, as of late. Considering the troubled production this movie had, we should've at least had a retrospective documentary or a commentary. If you're like me and care about special features, I'd wait until the inevitable Blu-ray release several years down the road, though seeing how poorly Disney treats this film, I wouldn't be surprised if we get no special features there as well.

Overall, The Black Cauldron is a decent fantasy movie, and an interesting experiment on the part of the Disney animation studio. Considering what a rarity it is--a dark Disney fantasy--it certainly deserves at least a rental, especially if you've never seen it before.

I love Disney movies, and I really am following and collecting every single classic that comes out on dvd or bluray... but they are lately being quite disappointing with their releases on dvd or bluray, since they are doing editions very poorly, above all here in Spain, but now it's happening also in all over the world. The previous trailer and teaser about the edition of the Black Cauldron was saying 2 disc special edition, and now it's gonna be only one disc... what's going on with Disney and its market?
Very disappointed here...

Yes, The Black Cauldron is no Lion King or Pinocchio, but is far from Disney's worst animated feature. There is so much negativity towards this movie that people have preconceived notions. The animation is beautiful and the story is exciting and enjoyable. There are some scenes that may scare young viewers and some of the dialog is poorly written, but the action, the story and the animation more than make up for the movie's shortcomings. So if you have been told to avoid this movie, you are missing out. My only complaint is that there aren't more deleted scenes and that it is not available on blu-ray.

It's baffling to me no one has mentioned that in post Eisner, the studio STILL hasn't put back the footage Eisner hastily (and amateurishly) removed from the film, after it's final mix! You can see and hear the cuts in the film during any of the truly dark sequences, when sound and visuals jarringly cut from one scene to another. INSTEAD Disney gives us ONE SINGLE deleted scene from the original cut, with none of the violence and bloodshed. I know for a fact the extra scenes still exist, I suppose they don't feel it warrants spending any extra money to do so, yet they sure did must have spent time and money creating the pointless new kiddy games they threw on this release...

I thought that the Horned King was creepier than Judge Claude Frollo himself and even Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent! What makes it even more boring though is that there is barely any plot in the movie! No wonder it failed in the box office!

Great Disney movie that always seems to be over looked. A little dark but great story and excellent animation. Check it out!

I love this movie!!! This special Edition is definately going to be a LOT better than its Gold Edition release. I have been after this movie ever since I had seen it. A good replacement for the VHS version. and much better. Love this movie!!!

Disney is a good choice for family entertainment. The Black Cauldron follows that Disney tradition of quality. Good prevailing over evil is and always the right theme for any movie.

A++ all the way great price, great item, awesome communication, Product packaging was great not a lousy pouch was in a good amazon box and seems to be on top of it all !!