rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 1985
Directed by Ted Berman & Richard Rich; produced by Joe Hale; story by David Jonas, Vance Gerry, Ted Berman, Richard Rich, Al Wilson, Roy Morita, Peter Young, Art Stevens, Joe Hale
Starring (the voices of) John Huston, John Hurt, Grant Bardsley, Susan Sheridan, Freddie Jones, Nigel Hawthorne
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
Disney's 'The Black Cauldron' plays in a world filled with witches, dragons
and other fictional creatures. My objection to those worlds is that the
story can invent a new kind of monster whenever it is required, and that
happens a lot here. Of course this belongs to the genre we call fantasy, but
it can be a lot better than we see it here. 'The Princess Bride' is one of
the best examples, most other Disney-films if you want an animated example.
The main thing in the story of course is the Black Cauldron, a thing that
can rule or destroy the world. You will say that sounds a little like that
story about a ring that can rule or destroy the world: you would be right.
Again, 'The Lord of the Rings' is a better example of how to invent new
creatures, although I have objections to certain inventions in that story as
well. Back to this story. The hero in here is Taran (voice by Grant
Bardsley), a boy who must protect the magic pig named Hen Wen. This pig will
lead the way to the Black Cauldron, so it is pretty important it stays
alive. The villain is the The Horned King (voice by John Hurt), who is also
after the cauldron. Of course are hero has to meet some friends on his quest
so together they can save the world.
I did not like the story. What I usually like about the animated Disney
features is that they can change the most simple and well-known stories into
original creations. 'Pinocchio', 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' and
'Beauty and the Beast' come to mind. With 'The Black Cauldron' the Disney
team has sort of failed. The funny sidekick of the hero is there, the
beautiful animations are there (not as good as 'The Little Mermaid' and
everything after that, but still good), but I was simply unable to like this
movie as much as other Disney features. If your hopes are not to high you
might enjoy this, but do not compare it with 'Bambi', 'The Fox and the
Hound' or 'Aladdin', to name a few Disney features out of different decades.