Taram et le Chaudron magique

"The Black Cauldron" is not a typical Disney animated feature. For one thing, it's not a G-rated musical. In fact, it was the first-ever Disney feature to receive a PG rating. The story comes from the works of Lloyd Alexander, in the spirit of J.R.R. Tolkien. In it, Taran, a young pig-keeper must protect Henwen, a prophetic pig who can divine the whereabouts of a powerful weapon known as the Black Cauldron. The demonic Horned King is after this bastion of black magic to create an invincible army of the undead. This movie boasts impressive art shot in 70mm widescreen format, art which includes the contributions of a young Tim Burton. Sadly, this feature did poorly in theaters, possibly being too frightening, or going over the heads of Disney's usual target audience. Just the same, "The Black Cauldron" deserves a good look!

I get tired of hearing people say that this is one of the worst Disney films ever. This film is energetic and action packed.

Simply because the movie is on the bleak side it has gotten unjust criticism. Sure Disney was not at a high point during this time but this movie was better than many others made during the 80's. Oliver and Company is good and I like it more than this but that's because I have more memories from it than BC. The Great Mouse Detective was alright but not anywhere as remotely good as these two films.

I haven't seen The Black Cauldron many times but it is a good Disney film. People 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.

The Black Cauldron is geared more towards a male audience but I am sure some girls may enjoy it as well.

If you haven't seen The Black Cauldron and your a big Disney fan at least give it a shot.

There were many good things going on in the Black Cauldron. First, there were NO SONGS, which really helped move things along. Second, the villain was truly frightening, the supporting cast was a lot of fun, and the movie's breakneck pace held my interest and entertained me throughout. But, there were some bad things as well. Taran wasn't really a character at all. Every important thing that happened to him was by luck or accident. And at the end of the story he's right back where he started. Also, the plot was little more than a succession of action sequences, with little sense holding it together. The heroes simply fell out of one situation into the next, perhaps the result of squeezing two full-length novels into one movie. And don't get me started on the ending. Our hero stumbles through the picture so that -- his furball sidekick can become the true hero of the piece. Yech. Still, I was entertained, and I'd see it again. But for those looking for the REAL Black Cauldron, read "The Chronicles of Prydain" by Lloyd Alexander. You'll be glad you did.

1st watched 10/2/2004 - 7 out of 10(Dir- Ted Berman & Richard Rich): Well-done overlooked Disney film. This is one of the movies that came out before "Little Mermaid" in 1989 similar to "The Great Mouse Detective" that didn't get much attention but nevertheless was a well-done story & production. This may have been the first animated Disney film to be rated PG as well, which may have kept people away. The PG rating may have been given for a small blood being shown on the mouth of our hero or the very scary zombie-like "Horn King" who has to rate up there as one of the truly scary villains in the Disney films. The story revolves around the Horn King's reign and his attempt to have greater reign over the world by finding the Black Cauldron. An enchanted pig that is able to see the future is also much wanted by the Horn King in order to find out where the Black Cauldron is. What makes this movie good is the story, the animation, the music, and the overall presentation. I also like that it didn't follow other Disney films and became it's own entity. This may be another reason it's not associated with Disney often. Overall this is a very groundbreaking Disney film, but it was so forgotten that it's not had any impact on the future of Disney.

This is not your average Disney movie, which is full of happy characters and a long line of happy-go-lucky songs. For many years, Disney disowned this movie because it wasn't a box-office hit and was released on VHS/DVD only twice.

One of few PG-rated Disney movies, this one contains no music, and truly scary characters (age-depending, of course). Although characters like the Horned King and his undead army, may frighten younger viewers, the movie's dark side may be appreciated by some children (we forget that they too may appreciate the darker sides of things).The story is slow-moving for a Disney movie, but involving nonetheless. Although it is not the best movie, it is different from their usual gooey-mess of a film, while still having a fantasy-theme and does not seem like a Disney movie whatsoever (in a good way!).