and as with all Disney adaptations it owes more to Disney than the source it's adapted from. the animation and styling are unmistakably Disney. what it lacks as an adaptation of Lloyd Alexander's 'Prydain' books (i miss the Raven on Taran's shoulder), it makes up for as a excellent Disney cartoon feature. 'The Black Cauldron' is definitely the best from the eighties. the eighties cartoon features are much cuter. the eighties animated films like 'Fox and the Hound', 'Great Mouse Dective', 'Oliver and Co.', had a sweeter, more endearing and modest quality that was lacking in the nineties. the nineties animated features always leave me a little cold and they feel over-blown and over-hyped and produced. aside from 'The Little Mermaid', i've always thought the nineties animated features from Disney were somewhat over-rated. the eighties produced some of Disney's most memorable and endearing animated features. the eighties Disney films are very maligned and under-appreciated. however, as far as Disney feature length, hand drawn animation goes, i have a real fond spot for the forgotten decade in their legacy. it really wasn't much of a stand out decade aside from the possible notoriety of it's President. I actually don't really love the eighties. Compleatly scary and strange for Disney to make, but still very very good for other reasons nonetheless. So I would recommend "The Black Cauldron", it's a fun and well animated adventure film. This is especially true for the cutsey character of Gurgi, who is much more tollerable than almost all other Disney sidekicks and especially more tollerable than a certain J*r J*r B*nks that we have all been over exposed to lately. It is this contrast, between the unconventionally ghoulish villans (definatly enspirered by Bakshi's animated adaptation of "Lord of the Rings") and the stock Disney characters makes the audience care more-so for the cutesy characters than usual. The true threat felt by the presence of this decidedly un-Disney character keeps the tension of the film high. He looks like he stepped right out of an Iron Maden album cover, and that is a monumental good thing. He is basically a Skeletor knock off with absolutely no sense of humor. What really makes the film though is it's terrifying and dastardly villain, The Horned King. The film has a wonderful pacing to it with some fantastic action scenes. However, this film still has a lot going for it. Also suffering because of the short time is any character development, or a reason why the charcter of Dallben (an old minstrel) are in the film at all. The story of Taran, the pig-keeper's journey from gawky boy to gawky boy-hero apparently works better as told through the course of five books, and indeed it is the plot that feels put together, with a lot cut out of it for it's slim 1:20 running time. Does it stack up to such films as "Return To Oz" and "The Dark Crystal"? Well, although not as complex as the aformentioned, this film is not without its charm. "The Black Cauldron" certainly doesn't fall into the genre of animated Disney family favorite, but instead feels much like the more grim and complicated fantasy films that were made in the eighties. If you haven't seen The Black Cauldron and your a big Disney fan at least give it a shot. The Black Cauldron is geared more towards a male audience but I am sure some girls may enjoy it as well. HERO OF THE KINGDOM 3 CAULDRON LOCATION MOVIEPeople who have a problem with the darkness of the film let me put it this way, "Don't watch it and don't show it to your young children!" If you think they can handle it later on than go ahead but don't knock the movie just because it's not what you think Disney should be. I haven't seen The Black Cauldron many times but it is a good Disney film. The Great Mouse Detective was alright but not anywhere as remotely good as these two films. Oliver and Company is good and I like it more than this but that's because I have more memories from it than BC. Sure Disney was not at a high point during this time but this movie was better than many others made during the 80's. Simply because the movie is on the bleak side it has gotten unjust criticism. This film is energetic and action packed. I get tired of hearing people say that this is one of the worst Disney films ever.
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