Post here if you own The Black Cauldron.

[Evil Genie Jafar]

What the post says.

I was wondering since this is one of the few Disney movies people seem to hate, dislike or forget... how many UD member have it.


... and if you think it was worth buying.



PS

I do. And I certainly like it and have learned to appreciate it.

[daryliscool1]

I have it. It is great from an artistic point of view, just not typical Disney fare. It is well worth your time to see it. I'm glad I own it, but I know it isn't for everyone.

[MickeyMousePal]

No, I don't own one but I own two!!!!
Just kidding I own one but it should have gotten a better treatment.

[Wonderlicious]

I own it. I like it, and in all honesty, I think some hate it due to the fact that others hate it.

[Sendur]

I own it, and it's one of my favourites just because it's something different.
Only Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid I like more!

[Loomis]

I own the film because I'm a Disney completist, but I wouldn't mind having this in my collection anyway.

I remember reading the books as a lad, and thoroughly enjoying them. The film squishes together several bits, and adds its own Disney spin of course, but has received a bad rap in my opinion.

Some say the film is too 'dark' for Disney, but I think that the problem is that Disney wasn't dark enough for the material. It is certainly an enjoyable film, but it could have been so much more. The production was plagued by unrest in Disney Feature Animation at the time, and it sometimes shows on-screen. However, it certainly doesn't deserve all the bad press.

The DVD is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio with 5.1 surround, which isn't bad for a 'forgotten' catalog title. I don't think a better version will be coming along any time soon. Pick it up if you can find it cheap, or else rent it and see if you like it.

Ultimate Disney has reviewed the film here:

http://www.ultimatedisney.com/blackcauldron.html

[ichabod]

In terms of the content, there is no other animated classic in the disney cannon that comes close, the only possible one to go in to the same levels of darkness would be "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", but even then both movies are two fruits from different trees.

I have to state, that hands down There is no animated film in history that IMHO that has used the multiplane camera to such a sublime level. Yes there are scenes in Bambi such as the panning through the forest, but almost in every frame the multiplane camera can be seen to be hard at work. The Black Cauldron is in my mind the indesputable swansong of the multiplane camera, which was never used again after the completion of The Black Cauldron owing to the technological advances of the computer.

The animation and artistry is very vibrant, very rich and highly detailed and is completely unlike any of the film which precede and succeed it, the Xerox appearance that was commonplace in the previous films, with the partial exception of The Fox and the Hound, and the more looser backgrounds and animation style that appeared with The Great Mouse Detective and Oliver and Company are all absent from The Black Cauldron, the difference is quite jarring IMO as though It was made by another animation studio. It seems like a product of a different era from which it was made, and to be honest wouldn't have looked out of place, if released in 1940 alongside Pinocchio, the artistic appearance of the film, is along that sort of line.

My thoughts about the Black Cauldron with regard to the story are that while I find it the least structured and cohesive in terms of plot (due to the changovers that occured in the early 80s) it is still a very strong film.
The characters' goals and traits are portrayed with great clarity, strong independant approaches to situations, are clearly displayed and their is a high quality of 'acting', for want of a better word.

There is drama, excitement, threat from the Horned King and from the Witches of Morva and moreover a strong moral of friendship, which you may not even realise until the film's climax (which I won't spoil for you).

All in all, agreeably I must say, the film does possess a feeling of 'too many cooks' and the fact that production was halted half way through and half of the film rewritten does show itself in some places when characters seem to vanish and then reappear a couple of minutes later (like Princess Eilonwe's glowing ball and the old fairy, I forget his name). But on the whole I think The Black Cauldron is still worth a look, I would not class it as one of my favourite Disney films, but I am glad to own it.

[marlan]

No, I don't own one but I own two!!!!
Just kidding I own one but it should have gotten a better treatment.

I posted to another thread some screen capture comparisons of the Scandinavian and the anamorphic French releases of The Black Cauldron. Perhaps the new, restored version will be released soon in the U.S. as well — write to Disney and inquire...

http://www.ultimatedisney.com/forum/vie ... 550#208550

My collection: http://www.dvdplaza.fi/dvdcatalog/nayta ... ser=marlan

[Jeremy]

I own it. Actually 5 different versions of it(!):

- UK VHS-version from 1990's
- Finnish VHS-version from 1990's
- US DVD -version (Gold Collection)
- Finnish DVD-version (non-anamorphic widescreen)
- French DVD-version (restored, anamorphic widescreen)

I like this film, but of course it's not even close my top ten Disney classics. It's different from other classics and I always think that such is a good thing. Sure, it's one of the weakest classics, but it is such an interesting film since it tried several different ways to expand Disney's animations artistically, technically and story-wise. Some of these aspects failed (story mostly) but what remains is an interesting look to Disney's rocky era of the 80's.
I'm happy to own all these versions. Every now and then I grab the restored French version (great picture quality byt he way) and enjoy some of my favourite scenes of the film.

If you haven't seen it, rent it!

[vojna]

I own it too. I like this movie a lot. that evil horned king is fantastic! and all the atmosphere as well. I guess this movie deserve a better picture and sound restoration (like all the disney classics do).

PS
that scene in the castle when Taran is surpriesed by the barking wolf really got me ))

[memnv]

I have it on Video

[Enchantress]

I own it, I bought it on a blind buy, tbh I didn't like it I just didn't warm to any of the characters, and that furry thing really annoyed me.

[Lars Vermundsberget]

I have it - I even had it (in a bad shape) quite a while before it was ever released on video. Now I have the DVD and as a Disney laserdisc collector I also had to have it on LD. It's a French release - the only one I know of.

Is it worth having? Since it is one of Disney's "Classic" features, there's really no question from my point of view. But some of those who don't "need" everything, might do all right without this one. I'm not saying it's bad - I'm able to enjoy it somewhat myself. But it has its problems.

[littlefuzzy]

I don't own it, as I am disappointed by the R1 version. However, the books are among my favorite books, and I plan to get the film if there is ever a decent version released over here.

[Lars Vermundsberget]

I don't own it, as I am disappointed by the R1 version. However, the books are among my favorite books, and I plan to get the film if there is ever a decent version released over here.

Just being curious: What would you consider a decent version?

[Jake Lipson]

I have it -- on VHS (*gag*) -- from when it first came out in 1998. I love it and it is on my long, large list of movies to upgrade to DVD.

At least the VHS has this really cool cover art (cooler than the DVD) -- it's holographic.

[JiminyCrick91]

Thats what I have the 1998 tape.

[Mr. Toad]

I own it, I hate it, but I could not handle having all but one animated classic so I caved in and bought it. Even rewatched it. Still the same wretched movie I remember.

[littlefuzzy]

Just being curious: What would you consider a decent version?

Anamorphic widescreen (which is the biggest problem,) better picture and sound quality, possibly more extras, etc.

Taken from the UD review:
"VIDEO and AUDIO

Presented in its original aspect ratio of approximately 2.20:1, the transfer is not enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Image quality is generally good, with accurate display of colors and detail throughout. However, as I’ve noted on other Gold Collection discs, there are instances when the image looks slightly blurry or print imperfections pop across the screen. Nothing is very severe, which means that overall, it’s acceptable.

For audio, there is a Dolby Digital 5.1 track that I found to be good, with some problems. The sound itself is rich and has good range, with bass being simply excellent. During some of the most active scenes, though, it was difficult to discern dialogue, as the sound effects and music overpowered what the characters were saying. In addition, I didn’t notice the rears being particularly strong, but rather enforcing what was being produced in the front. Since this is a relatively recent film, I expected something a little better, but I was still pleased. I think this title would really sound superb if it was given a new remix, but alas, that’s unlikely to happen."

[dvdjunkie]

I own three copies of this Disney animated film. Don't particularly care for the film as a whole, there are parts that I like and the multi-plane camera work is phenomenal. Just not one of my favorites. Like the rest that have posted, I have it because I am a collector of all that is Disney except for the direct-to-video releases.