The Black Cauldron

 


The Black Cauldron poster.jpg 
 
 
 
 
RELEASE DATE: July 26, 1985
 
STARS: John Hurt, John Bryer, Freddie Jones, Susan Sheridan 
 
STUDIO: Walt Disney Studios 
 
WATCH FORMAT: Library rental 
 
 
PLOT: A young farm boy named Taran is tasked in searching for the legendary Black Cauldron, which contains evil powers, before the evil Horned King can use it to release an army of the dead. Along the way, Taran befriends a dog-like creature named Gurgi, a young princess, and a mistral who join him on his quest as they deal with witches, fairies, and other mystical creatures. 


MY OPINION: This movie has been labelled as the "black sheep" of the Disney animated library. When it first came out, it did not do so well at the box office and was beaten by the Care Bears Movie, which had already been out for several months. After watching it myself, I can see why. 

This film does have a few good moments. Like the Horned King has quite a nice and creepy design, and being voiced by legendary actor John Hurt didn't hurt either. Also, some of the visuals were quite good, but that's about it. 

The one downside to this movie is the lead character, Taran. He's not much of a protagonist. He spends most of the movie whining that he's "a warrior" which gets him in a lot of trouble. There was one scene where he's suppose to watch Hen Wen, his pet pig, and starts to daydream about being praised for being a great warrior, only for Hen Wen to get captured. 
 
And don't get me started on Gurgi. He's like a hairy version of Gollum and he never shuts his mouth. Part of me was happy in the scene where he sacrificed himself by jumping into the Cauldron. 

In conclusion, other that a few good scenes and visuals, The Black Cauldron doesn't really hold up.

I give it three Tarans whining "I'm a warrior" out of five.

 

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