Review of The Black Cauldron (1985) by Jonathan L — 03 Mar 2008

This is one of the few less succesful films released by Disney that never really managed to catch on, giving it a sort of cult status. I was very hopeful about this movie, and the opening monologue was creepy and effectively set up the movie.

..but the rest of it seemed to have its ups and downs. Part of it was scary (perhaps a bit much for its intended younger audience) and perhaps just a bit too sinister, and other parts were the typical cutesy Disney parts.

Maybe it was the fact that this story seem to borrow quiet heavily at times from the Lord of the Rings, that was the turn off for me. I had a very hard time connecting with any of the characters--and it kept bothering me that Taran looked a little too much like Arthur from "The Sword in the Stone".

On the other hand, considering the year in which it came out, the animation and special effects were quite good. Despite being a fairly entertaining movie, I really didn't get anything out of it. It didn't give off the same "vibe" as the classic Disney flicks or the soon to follow animated features during the Disney Renaissance.