The Black Cauldron (1985) Retrospective / Review

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The Black Cauldron (1985) Retrospective / Review
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[@tenchiofJurai67]

Here's a fun fact for any who weren't aware: The voice actor who provided the opening narration was none other than legendary actor and director, John Huston, who you may recognize as the voice of Gandalf from the 1977 animated adaptation of The Hobbit. He was also the father of actress Angelica Huston, whom you may remember from films the The Witches and The Addams Family. Pretty nifty!

[@ThunderingJove]

Thanks for these factoids!

[@tenchiofJurai67]

***** No prob!

[@alucard624]

I thought that was his voice. He had a great voice, but overall was a complete hedonist and dirtbag.

[@thareelhelloagain]

He was also the main vocal basis for the character Daniel Plainview in "There Will Be Blood", played by Daniel Day Lewis.

[@AndrewAmbrose]

Hearing his voice at the start of this review, I immediately recognized it from his role as Gandalf

[@gamestation2690]

I actually didn't find Gurgi annoying at all. I thought he was kind of cute.

[@Terron-de-pimienta]

GameStation3 Same.

[@connorbrennan4233]

I found him pretty one-dimensional. Pretty much the only defining trait he has is that he's a coward. I don't think his sacrifice was earned in the slightest because his development comes out of nowhere.

[@matthewjury4385]

But what is he

[@warsthemarvel8608]

Gurgi is like Disney’s Sméagol. GOLLUM, GOLLUM!!!!

[@Kaughper]

I think the main reason Disney at times seems "ashamed" of this movie or tries to hide this movie is because kids flocked to it, seeing as it's a Disney cartoon (didn't realize the PG rating), and got the ever-loving crud scared out of them by the Horned King and his Cauldron Born. I seem to recall hearing stories of children running screaming from the theater. That's not quite the publicity the Disney company wanted.

[@dmcdarkknight]

Yeah, I also used to be scared of the horned king..although I thought he was also kind of cool

[@dmcdarkknight]

Yeah, I also used to be scared of the horned king..although I thought he was also kind of cool

[@MGSBigBoss77]

*Another thing I've heard was there were parents protesting about the movie.* Spineless sentimental parents with no guts whatsoever!

[@compulsiverambler1352]

Children were taken out screaming in the test screenings, before the graphic violence was removed.

[@ConejoZing]

It is a scary movie and it is about a curse being placed on a cooking cauldron. As it turns out the person seeking to obtain this cursed cooking pot is none other than the horned king. It is a movie that requires bravery and heroism... but as we know the young hero saves the day and breaks the curse. Some of the animation used in this movie is epic and puts anime to shame. So raise your blade and enjoy the food because a good meal speaks for itself!

[@Texy88]

R.I.P. John Hurt.

[@Ambipie]

Texy88 ouch

[@Ponakalaranjit456]

He Was The Best Part of The Flim.

[@Johnlindsey289]

Does this movie remind anyone of The Dark Crystal, Return to Oz, Willow, Conan, The Last Unicorn, The Secret of NIMH, The Flight of Dragons and even adult animated fantasy flicks like Heavy Metal, Fire and Ice, Wizards and Princess Mononoke?

[@mr.sinjin-smyth]

***** You forgot Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.

[@Johnlindsey289]

kellcooz Yup that too

[@karlkarlos3545]

+Johnlindsey289 More like LEGEND actually.

[@Johnlindsey289]

Karl Karlos Seen those movies i mentioned?

[@karlkarlos3545]

Of course I have.

[@queencancerous5332]

The Horned King is honestly one of the scariest villains Disney has created. Also the animation in this movie is phenomenal.

[@lilliedoubleyou3865]

Okay, so...Ebert actually liked *The Black Cauldron* but absolutely ripped a new one into *Return to Oz* because it was too dark and weird (also released in 1985)...Inconsistent reviewing is inconsistent!

[@OliverHarper]

yeah Ebert does flip flop a lot in his reviews of similar movies.

[@steerpike66]

That actually seems consistent tp me. RTO was relatively innovative and quite disturbing but kids (some kids) adored it for its perverse and creepy imagery, and it's pervasive atmosphere of madness and degeneration. He loves the Black Cauldron for exactly the reason I dislike it: it is drearily safe and by-the-numbers, colorless and lacking real mood or vivid characterizations. It takes a fine story and reduces it to yet another Disneyfied fairy tale.

[@lilliedoubleyou3865]

It seems like critics in the '80s had this general idea that "kids are stupid!" and therefore weren't worthy of anything complex, thought-provoking and (sometimes) frightening. Ebert was one of the worst: he liked this film, but thoroughly trashed two of (in my humble opinion) the greatest films for kids produced in the '80s: *Return to Oz* and *An American Tail* - the first one for being too scary and mean-spirited, the second one for being too depressing and confusing. Even though he ultimately gave it a positive review, he still determined that kids wouldn't find "anyone they could identify with" in *The Secret of NIMH*, considered a masterpiece in children's entertainment. Consider that as atmospherically dark as *The Black Cauldron* was, it was darkness without any kind of point; it was stripped of story complexity and character development, which Lloyd Alexander's series had in spades. It's a great example of a movie that was trying for flash without substance; yet the films that did have substance were often times dismissed.

[@asnaes7425]

Ebert called people who watch slasher movies "Sick". Fucking shill moron.

[@steerpike66]

I have no evidence for that. He loved Halloween and 'The Evil Dead. He hated 'Last House on the Left'

[@justindemoret9481]

The Prydain Chronicles and Lloyd Alexander were my favorite books and author as a child and Taran was right up there with Bilbo and Luke Skywalker and Atreyu as heroes I wanted to be like.

[@Terron-de-pimienta]

I just love this film since I was a little girl. Its dark atmosphere is great, the animation and backgrounds are beautiful, and the soundtrack is terrifing, sweet and hypnotic.

[@dmcdarkknight]

My favourite nostalgic disney film that I kept watching as a chil, right next to Basil the Rat detective

[@GreyWolfLeaderTW]

I wish someone would try making a series of films about the Chronicles of Pyrdain, this time more faithfully following the plot of the book. Disney's version is a heavily mixed bag. The characters are fantastically well transmitted from their incarnations in the book to animated form, but the film's plot so heavily butchers the original, more engaging narrative that it feels more like one of those mockbuster films (cheaply made cartoons which imitate popular Disney films in the hopes of cashing in by being mistaken for the Disney version).

[@wildgirl6557]

Oliver Harper, if you don't mind, could you do a retrospective/review of the 1988 animated film, Don Bluth's the Land before time? And also the secret of NIHM, which is also created by Don Bluth.

[@sebamkfan]

Could you review Ralph Bakshi's Wizards? I personally liked it, but most importantly i think it has plenty of material for a meaty review.

[@violetvalkyrie476]

Underrated. Probably too dark for some people for a kids movie. I absolutely loved the fuzzy little gurgy.

[@laranaarana]

I bought the VHS format of this wonderful (and dark) movie in the early 90s. I still own all the VHS Disney movies from the 80s and 90s.

[@joonie1974]

I really disagree with Gene Siskel on this one. I love the British accents of the human characters (especially the protagonist), which makes him all the more charming and charismatic. I'm saying this and I'm an American. That said, I was a bit disappointed with the ending. I felt like the ending was a bit obscure.

[@patrickshields5251]

Clearly he didn't do his research. They made the same mistake when they did Return to Oz.

[@millyskittles1071]

Just going to the review clip, makes me think that the idea of being bothered that American actors aren't giving their voice to a film that is obviously supposed to be based in England, Europe or somewhere like that is rather silly, if it's based in a place where Americans wouldn't be, why would he expect American accents and then be bothered when they aren't there? To the film itself, it's a shame that DIsney doesn't showcase this film too much but I do understand that the film is a far cry from the extremely happy ending and feel-good films that they have also created. It's a good film if you don't mind a little darkness in your animated films, and can accept a slightly more mature tone.

[@lowgunfire2671]

Thank you, for being a sensible person and praising "The Black Cauldron" for its darker and more mature tone. I just wish some other idiots would be sensible like you.

[@alicejames5020]

Wales is in Britain...

[@sisyphus8870]

I saw this in the cinema when it came out as a kid and loved it.

[@jdude9314]

Great review, dude! Could you review the Secret of NIMH sometime?

[@Tigerfire75]

I read several of the books but not all of them. They are different and I like them both.

[@Carnivius_Prime]

Never saw this when I was a kid and watched it recently cos I'm so sick and tired of all the obnoxious CGI animated movies we've had to endure over the past 15 or so years. Was pleasantly surprised by this movie. Nicely animated and with a lovely dark atmosphere. Not exactly the most original story but I enjoyed it greatly.

[@thermonuclearcollider4418]

10:34 I never liked Siskel & Ebert but, out of the two, Siskel he's the one I could never stomach and here's an example why: the movie very clearly states that the Horned King wants the Black Cauldron to raise his army of the dead and take over the world. Not only the initial voice over tells you what the cauldron can do, but the very first scene with the Horned King (the one in the catacombs), which was apparently moved so early in the movie during the infamous last-minute re-edits for the sake of clarity, has him monologuing about his evil plan. I saw this movie as a child and I had no problem understanding what the Horned King wanted and why. But Siskel apparently couldn't grasp it. Also, "why don't the good guys use the pig to get to the cauldron before the bad guy"? Because it's pretty evident by the set-up that the Black Cauldron mustn't be found in order to avoid it failing into evil hands. Taran decides to go and find it because he's a naive boy who dreams to be a hero: that's the biggest mistake he makes in the story and the one that ignites his maturation process (losing Hen Wen in the forest because he was daydreaming wasn't enough, as it was more of case of bad luck - but digging up the Black Cauldron, that was a major fuck up).

[@BuckarooBanzai84]

I really think you should do a follow-up. So much more about this movie has come to light in recent years, and what you've presented here doesn't even scratch the surface! (And you can take my word for it. As someone who loves the books and the film equally, I've kept a close eye on it for years.) =)

[@Ah1My-Spinach-Puffs1]

I really like how you clipped the intro together

[@laranaarana]

This one is in my collection of Disney Animated movies in VHS format. Saw it when I was in my mid-20s and I did find it dark but very interesting.

[@rickbeck2121]

FINALLY got that Blu-ray. It looks incredible. It was a big missed opportunity to include the original extended cut. That might've been our last chance for a while.

[@IknowIamkindagreat]

My argument why this movie rocked is this: Disney only made princesses up to this point. Was nice for young boys (who I was at the time) to have someone they admired and looked up to who was normal and not some "prince charming", but no one ever addresses that when discussing this film.

[@DerekBoldiene360]

I think this movie is very underrated. I do really enjoy this movie I think it great. But like I said its so underrated. I heard there are plans to live action version of The Black Cauldron.

[@GRAFFDEMON]

this film got me obsessed with babarians, necromancers, wizards etc. when I was a kid.

[@unclepatrick2]

I love the Novels. I first read them as a child and they still hold up well when I read them again as a Adult. The Movie was Ok . It had much that was different from the Novel. Still it was the best Disney animated film at the time.

[@Hylas19]

You're doing some great work here Oliver! Keep it up!

[@sionfiction9566]

Did you stabilise the Siskel & Ebert Footage. The camera moves in a very weird way

[@Frisby2007]

A little history to people on this movie: The Prydain series have become popular at the time, and Disney decided to catch in on it and make a movie based on his series. Once they had the material...yeah, there they were split amongst each other on what they wanted to do with it. One one side you had the animators wanting to take a risk because they felt this was a change they really need (because this was the time when they weren't making truly "good" movies), while the other side felt extremely doubtful on adapting a series with extremely dark overtones. Hell even Tim Burton was one of their concept artists at the time for it, and he made some truly impressive and horrifying designs for them (which he never received credit for). However, this is what happened: Disney released it the FIRST time to the MPAA for review, and the movie was actually going to receive an R-rating. Yeah, that's correct, a RATED R animated Disney movie. They mention how much was cut up in "Waking Sleeping Beauty". The animators themselves were shocked with what they had made. The second time around they gave us this movie. The entire production for it cost a lot, and took extremely long because of their own inability to know WHAT they wanted to do, and it got to the point where Don Bluth left to do his own work (and you can't blame him for it given how Disney was doing at the time). The problem now is that, for fans of the series, you're irritated as all go out because the movie is MISSING SO MUCH MATERIAL. Plot points are missing (Eilonwy doesn't know she's a princess until later in the books, ), storytelling is everywhere, character development is missing a lot, and it all feels extremely botched together. People who haven't read the books will still be confused because they won't understand what's going on, because there's so much left to explain, and no development on the characters or themes going around. The movie is essentially bits and pieces of the first 5 books in the series, and only loosely, and I mean LOOSELY following the 2nd one (The Horned King is actually only in the first book of the series too). Disney apparently never learned their mistake from this, because they did the exact same thing with John Carter. The end result? Parents didn't want to take their kids to the FIRST DISNEY MOVIE TO GET A PG RATING, and Disney almost did NOTHING to market the film. It was so bad that even the fucking CARE BEARS earned more money over The Black Cauldron. Yeah, that's correct. Saddest thing is, Disney has indeed tried not getting attached to this movie at all, because of ALL of their announced movies for live action adaptions, this one didn't make it onto that list. Shame, because there was potential for it if they did try to fix what they did wrong.

[@socialmoth4974]

The last time I saw this movie was in the theater when it was released. I remember loving it but for some reason, I haven't watched it since. And Dragon's Lair - That was my favorite game. I don't know how many quarters I wasted playing that game and each time, I could barely get through three rooms.

[@patrickshields5251]

fun fact, that's not the only disney animated film siskel and ebert disagreed on, they also disagreed on oliver and company(1988), hercules(1997), and mulan(1998)

[@matsudamatsumoto7742]

Does anyone have their Mulan review from TV? I can only find the article from Roger, and I'm really curious about what they have to say about it.

[@patrickshields5251]

Gene Siskel didn't like it.

[@lokuzzz]

when the movie came out i was about 11 years old and i watched it 7 times in the cinema. was kinda addicted to it : )

[@EverettCDavis]

The reason the cgi doesn't stand out is because there was no way to combine digital images with hand drawn or painted images. What they ended up doing in both this film and The Great Mouse Detective was generating the the digital animation, printing out each frame, and then tracing over the frames and going from there. Starting with The Rescuers Down Under the hand drawn images were scanned in the a computer so CGI could then be incorporated seamlessly.

[@willlyon7129]

Who thinks this movie should get a live action reboot and make it faithful to the orignal books series and make it a franchise?

[@mr.sleepy4534]

I think Gurgi was purposely dislikeable, in order to make his sacrifice more poignant.:)

[@ahon1232]

wait the horned king was voiced by john hurt?...I NEVER KNEW THAT

[@L1701]

Hi there! I discovered your review of Akira some time ago, and I have been watching a lot of them ever since. Big fan!Since you reviewed Black Cauldron, do you have any plans to do reviews of any other films in the Disney Animated Canon? I'd love to hear your thoughts on them.

[@asnaes7425]

I want a goblin servant like Creeper.

[@negavenom]

Even when I was a teenager when I first watched this movie, I could never remembered anyone's name except for the Horned King.

[@darrenrenna]

Saw it in the theater as a kid and had a picture book of it---never understood why it disappeared for so long?

[@g.b569]

How dare you hate on this film! This was one of my favourites growing up and I liked it because it was more mature than the generic disney films

[@livelybubbs6242]

He can have his opinions, dude.

[@melodieustv]

I played the game on the apple computers when it came out. Really hard game, but mainly due to the controls.

[@hero92694able]

I love this movie

[@sisyphus8870]

One of the only times I've nearly agreed with Simple and Eediat.

[@J.Panxer]

Best Disney Movie Evarrrr! Next only to The Black Hole

[@jacobjames1171]

The same narrator for the Return Of The King animated movie.

[@firebarondm5529]

I love the art, I love the concept with the cauldron, the Horned King, and the Cauldron Born. However outside of the Horned King, I very much dislike the characters of the film especially Gurgy the little furry man dog thing.

[@bigblujay9729]

What's wrong with them?

[@manicpixiefangirl4189]

This movie never made me feel like there was an actual world that needed saving. Everything felt like it was taking place on a sound stage, which feels incredibly weird coming from an animated movie. All the characters felt at best superficial and at worst irredeemably obnoxious, ie Gurgi. Good grief, that bugger couldn’t die fast enough!

[@davidbull7210]

Dragon's Layer? Never heard of it.

[@JoeyArmstrong2800]

Had they stuck to their guns and made the film they wanted to make instead of wimping out, The Black Cauldron would have become a classic.

[@Oculas2003]

Did Nigel Hawthorne do much voice work in other things?

[@dornravlin]

this movie is the balls

[@duffyy1]

Yes it’s a fun film but you can tell how it almost killed the company

[@captainjakemerica4579]

Elmer Bernstein's score sounds too similar to Ghostbusters

[@triplebackspace3623]

Who narrates this ? I believe he does the voice of Rankin/Bask's Gandolf.

[@triplebackspace3623]

***** Thanks , I'll do some more research on his works , talented and with a great voice that gives the narration great depth.

[@steerpike66]

William Squires performed Gandalf for Bakshi's first 'Lord of the Rings' animated movie, for which John Hurt (who played The Horned King) performed Aragorn. John Huston performed Gandalf in the later animated 'Return of the KIng'. Daniel Day Lewis's performance in There Will Be Blood is a clear homage to John Huston's voice. He is also noteworthy (as an actor) in the splendid noir 'Chinatown' with Jack Nicholson and Faya Dunaway.

[@tenchiofJurai67]

It was narrated by John Huston, who provided his distinctive voice to the character of Gandalf in the 1977 animated adaptation of The Hobbit, which is better IMO than the turgid Peter Jackson films.

[@steerpike66]

HE WASN'T GANDALF

[@tenchiofJurai67]

Chazbot He wasn't the LIVE ACTION Gandalf. He DID voice Gandalf in Rankin Bass' animated The Hobbit movie. Look it up.

[@tortirion]

I remember loving the animation and the villain (horned king is still one of my favorite disney villains), and dislike almost all the rest of it

[@JohnSagin-SimViDeLucis579]

unique comment!

[@annnee6818]

Anyone else think the dog rather sounds like Donald Duck? :-)

[@Eggs_is_eggs]

I loved the book series when I was a kid. The movie was kind of meh though.

[@demm9000]

I still remember laughing with my father on the stealing apple scene (with that moustached little creature) ^____^

[@helios7170]

Nice American accents..... Hmm...

[@ultimatealdo1922]

The reason this movie flopped is because people went to go see the Care Bears movie

[@NapoleonCalland]

Dear 1980s film critic, Why does the bad guy need the Cauldron? Perhaps BECAUSE IT GIVES YOU AN ARMY OF THE UNDEAD ! Why no US accents? BECAUSE PRYDAIN IS HEAVILY INSPIRED BY WALES !

[@Khultan]

It's garbage.

[@bigblujay9729]

Nope!

[@mryoyoserpico]

Not only do I think black cauldron was a great film, but one of the most underrated films ever! I wish with all my heart that they release it on blu ray!

[@OliverHarper]

For fans of The Black Cauldron there is an HD copy on Netflix!

[@ribenariver]

+Oliver Harper Do you have footage of the deleted scenes? I'm curious why, for what scenes it would have got an R/15 rating.

[@deathlegionair]

+Robert Thomas Yagenmyer its on youtube, just type in Black Cauldron deleted scenes.

[@deathlegionair]

***** This is a movie from years back, trying to find the deleted footage now is difficult, especially when Disney just got the rights for it back this year.

[@yuripantyhose4973]

I always felt Black Cauldron failed even though I love Don Bluth because of lack of imminent threat and better end battle/climax. Thanks for explaining that it was the fucking censors that ruined the movie forcing them to cut the important battle scenes. It should have been 30min longer. Btw the narrator in the beginning sounds like the same narrator in Ralph Bakshis Lord of the rings. Still I loved watching black cauldron with my younger siblings, they liked it good enough. Especially the Gurgi.

[@yuripantyhose4973]

***** Oh, maybe that explains it then :P

[@petercharleskrug]

12:17 Actually, I have to make a slight correction here: "The Black Cauldron" was the first ANIMATED Disney film to be rated PG. However, they had already made a few live-action films that got a PG rating prior to this: "The Black Hole", "The Watcher In The Woods", "Dragonslayer" and "Something Wicked This Way Comes".

[@darrenrenna]

Has a bit of a Ralph Bakshi feel in some scenes

[@miyagiFTNS]

I really don't like those two Critics (I don't mean any offence) but you can't have a fantasy film based on Welsh mythology without Welsh or English voices, I think there should have been a Welsh actor in this film. I think I'll read the book now.

[@FlyingFocs]

I have a real soft spot for this flick. Maybe because I love 80s fantasy, and because it introduced me to a great series of books, but I kind of enjoy it. That it has one of the most genuinely creepy Disney villains is just an added bonus.

[@alejandrocaudillo2993]

This film needs a Remake

[@alexrivera2066]

Yeah a reebot would be cool

[@BuckarooBanzai84]

Absolutely!

[@emperorconstantine1.361]

Only if it’s as dark or darker than planned.

[@emperorconstantine1.361]

Wait….who would properly voice the Horned King?? John Hurt is passed on, (RIP Good Sir.)

[@connernickerson5509]

Absolutely, positively, completely...fuck no. No remakes, no reboots, woke hollywierd can never be trusted to remake anything ever again.

[@avatar6699]

Saying this movie is 'loosely' based on the novels by Lloyd Alexander is like saying the Titanic was a star cruiser from the year 2360. This movie is, with only the absolute minimum amount of effort and connection, based anywhere near close to Alexander's series. A damn good children's fantasy series by most standards.

[@user-ik4kh9lt6d]

I thought this movie was pretty good. Was it perfect? Of course not. Was it Disney's best film? No. But was it their worst, even up to that time? In my opinion, hell no. Overall I thought this movie was a good one. A 3 star film. I have no idea why Disney was so embarrassed about it that they flat out refused to give it a home video release until like, 16 years later. That's like disowning one of your children because they didn't get first place on a spelling B. The film delivered in a lot of ways, and I think the horned king could be their absolutely darkest/scariest villain. Its sort of a shame that not too many people know about this film, while lesser Disney works like the aristocats, oliver and company, and the rescuerers (the first one, NOT the second one), are still remembered. Anyways, good movie. If you're a fan of Disney, definitely check it out.

[@Ambipie]

Down Under was garbage. If Frozen didnt come out, i would call Down Under the low point.

[@walker1984]

Home on the Range should be the low point.

[@zacharyjochumsen9677]

@@walker1984 well, the thing was Disney freqked ed out about black cauldron due to it's dark tone

[@tomwaterwitch]

I'm surprised this movie has yet to show up in a Kingdom Hearts game, the plot of the movie is almost like a Final Fantasy plot line!

[@alucard624]

You would think it would've shown up by now, but I'm not sure Disney wants to even remember they made this film. Also, rights issues with Lloyd Alexander's estate might be a problem as well. Same with Narnia.

[@walker1984]

They could at least have the cauldron appear in the game as an Easter egg kinda like Vigo in the Ghostbusters game.

[@vigo2669]

@@walker1984 I concur.

[@Terron-de-pimienta]

I can´t believe there are people who don´t really like this film, and insult it. It´s not the best film ever made, but it is one of the best movies of Disney. The animation it´s beautiful, the argument is dark, mysterius, and innovate, the characters are funny and brave, (how many of us could fight against a horner demon and his army, and grow in the process?), and the soundtrack is just awesome and beautiful. One of the best classic of the little mouse´s animation company.

[@daniverse9625]

I really wouldn't call the music Disney-lite or similar to a Disney score. There's no so called "Mickey-Mousing" to be found anywhere. It's very fantasy, and they hired Bernstein likely as a reaction to Bluth using Goldsmith for The Secret of Nimh. Great music though. The reason it sounds so similar to Ghostbusters, is that they both use the Odnes Martenot.

[@HeyFella]

Gurgi is the best, I never found him annoying

[@RedFlyer411]

I wish disney would remake this film, but in live action or something. I always believed the Black Cauldron was like a movie Disney did just to see how well they could push the animation and technology they had at the time. Sort of like, even if this bombs, it'd be nice to see how people react to the work we did here. On a plus, it make for some seriously good reference for fantasy art and cartoon animation. And I think more should look at it.

[@RedFlyer411]

***** If you mean that I *totally read your mind* with my comment, then I guess so. If not...*WTD?!*

[@harrietamidala1691]

RedFlyer411 I agree. This is the Disney animated movie that deserves a live-action remake the most, or at least a whole new adaptation, this time for all the books.

[@roguechevelle]

i have been saying the same for years that if anything deserves a live action film it's the black cauldron. It would have to be PG 13 today though (they didn't have PG 13 til the 90's). It had so much potential they started the project back in 1978 when Don Bluth was head animator still and some of his animated scenes still made it to the movie like the pig chase with the dragon like creatures. But production got pushed way back especially after Don Bluth quit and took many artist with him. I really wonder what would have happened had Don Bluth still been with disney and stayed on for the Black Cauldron during that time. I love this movie for it's potential....it could have been a great movie. And the horned king is the best part...yes i like creeper and gurgi but the scenes with horned king and the army of dead are the best parts. the first act and the last were was the more interesting parts as a kid yes i thought the fairies were cute but the whole middle section seems like somebody threw it in so it would be more lighthearted. And i never cared for the witches they mostly annoyed me.

[@yethboth7873]

I remember watching The Black Cauldron at the cinema when I was little. I remember when I was little I really liked the lead boy character and imagined meeting him and being best friends with him, which is what I did whenever I was asleep and dreamed. lol :)

[@missiconoclast2943]

Questions and seemingly nitpicky comments usually asked/made by critics always make me realize what a nerd I really am. "If the pig is psychic why cant they find the black cauldron before the horned king". Just like how vampires cant stand sunlight or werewolves change under a full moon, it's generally understood as a common convention that psychics (when able to scry upon request) either cant Choose exactly what they see/are limited in their visions, or can't see things/people that are too powerful or too evil. ex: Morgan Le Fey not being able to see things pertaining to Merlin (and thus sends a girl to seduce and get information/destroy him), the elves in LOTR not being able to see where the actual ring is or what's going on with Sauron, only what's going on with Frodo at any given moment and general information in the vicinity of his "lair" because of the effect it causes the land and beings surrounding it. It's just a common convention in fantasy. Some things are too powerful for the "lower level" magical beings who's abilities are limited, otherwise there would be no story because there is no threat. They should read more fantasy, horror, sci fi, etc.

[@baronsengir187]

One of my favorite animated movies growing up. Loved the horned king.

[@wildsmiley]

Saw this in a now long-gone movie theater at my local shopping mall (the same one where I also saw, three years later, Willow), now also gone. Anyway, I was 6 years old and I really liked it, even though the Horned King scared the shit out of me. Movies like The Black Cauldron, Return to Oz, The Neverending Story, Legend and The Dark Crystal appealed to us when we were kids in the '80s, but they didn't talk down to us and they weren't afraid of scaring children to get them into the stories and characters. Sad to say, movies just aren't like that now quite so much.

[@jdraven0890]

I am still a huge fan of the book series (there were five books in all). Now it isn't that the movie has nothing to do with the books, but that Disney tried to cram the events of all five books into one movie! It was of course an impossible task that not even Disney could pull off. As you noted in your review, I was really, really put off by the portrayal of Gurgi - he was easily the most unusual and interesting character in the book, and nothing like the movie's portrayal. The books had a very dark edge, and you felt the danger and dread from the zombie-like "cauldron-born" throughout, as the characters developed in a quite enjoyable coming of age story - the movie was too rushed to flesh out any of it, as I recall. So all in all, a complete failure in adaption that no fan of the books would find very enjoyable. I wish I could evaluate the movie on its own, but I'm too attached to the original books to do so.

[@RosiYYAP]

BB Wolf 2 years late to the party, but I just watched this a couple hours ago, not even realizing it was based on any book or series. I could definitely tell they were rushing through plot points and locales. It feels very rushed and a bit gimped for how little time it spends in any one place or on any one person. By the end of the movie I didn't feel like I knew anything about the characters because they spent the whole movie being pulled around by the plot

[@felscorf456]

If they re-released that R version they might make some the money back

[@amybarton5840]

Glen Yardley they really need to consider that

[@asnaes7425]

The books were better.

[@eblizzard2842]

douche

[@jmwild1]

I remember seeing this film in theaters when I was 11 or 12. I loved it but never watched it again. I don't think there was even an awareness that the movie was rated PG. You can't go wrong with John Huston's voice though. I always think of Gandalf when I hear it.

[@MGSBigBoss77]

The Horned King, is Masters Of The Universe's Skeletor's scarier evil big brother, lol.

[@alucard624]

The Prydain Chronicles in general are very good. The Black Cauldron movie is more or less a loose combination of the first 2 books in the series. Apparently Disney regained the rights to the series and plans to do an epic live action adaptation of all 5 books eventually.

[@bartsimpson83]

I remember seeing clips of this film on the Wonderful World Of Disney as a child and at the time, I wondered why it wasn't available on video like Disney's other films. In my mind, it became almost mythical because it was the one Disney cartoon I had never seen. When it was finally released on video in 1998, I was 15 and had read the novels - and loved them - in the meantime. While I agree that it is a poor representation of the novels' story, I've always loved it purely as a film and have always felt that it deserves more respect. If you happen to have a projector (or even if you don't), this is the kind of film that makes it worth owning one so you can see it on the grand scale it was intended for.

[@MGSBigBoss77]

So remember seeing the teaser trailer in cinemas in 1985, brings back the memories indeed. should've been one of Disney's hits instead of misses upon its original release. Agreed, needs a blu-ray restoration effort with its original theatrical cut then all-new restored extended special edition cut for whatever restoration efforts in the near future!

[@irllcd13]

While this is loosely based on the books, they are only loosely based on Welsh mythology, and the names aren't actually very accurate to traditional Welsh. I still enjoy the books, though.

[@L1701]

Siskel's critique makes no sense. This was an adaptation of a series of books that used Welsh mythology. Why would American voices make it any better? Having British voice actors made much more sense.

[@patrickshields5251]

I don't think he read the book or did much research.

[@enminghee2926]

The Black Cauldron seems to have had the last laugh on TV. AMPHIBIA, THE OWL HOUSE and CENTAURWORLD are all majorly inspired by it.

[@wreathofpalmaria]

I like this movie.

[@WALLANDVOID]

that camera following Roger Ebert like that is so annoying.

[@zainhartono7193]

Could you do a retrospective for Atlantis:The Lost Empire.