DVDizzy Forum

blackcauldron85 wrote:

DisneyJedi wrote:So... anyone wish Taran hadn't given up the sword in exchange for the Cauldron and used it in the final battle against the Horned King?

And have THK killed by the sword instead of the cauldron? No thanks. I love how he dies because of the one thing he wants so bad.

That and Gurgi would have remained dead if Taran didn't give up the sword.

blackcauldron85 wrote:

DisneyJedi wrote:So... anyone wish Taran hadn't given up the sword in exchange for the Cauldron and used it in the final battle against the Horned King?

And have THK killed by the sword instead of the cauldron? No thanks. I love how he dies because of the one thing he wants so bad.

Well, Taran wouldn't have exactly killed him, but instead weaken the King, and the latter would- despite being hurt- still try to kill Taran, but be killed by the Cauldron.

But I still wish Taran hadn't given up the sword.

DisneyJedi wrote:

blackcauldron85 wrote: And have THK killed by the sword instead of the cauldron? No thanks. I love how he dies because of the one thing he wants so bad.

Well, Taran wouldn't have exactly killed him, but instead weaken the King, and the latter would- despite being hurt- still try to kill Taran, but be killed by the Cauldron.

But I still wish Taran hadn't given up the sword.

Perhaps in the Books he gets the sword back at some point??

I grew up loving all of Disney's animated classics. When I was a kid, my parents bought most of the DAC's on VHS for me and my sister. We had all the Black Diamonds and most of the Masterpeice's except for The Black Cauldron. A couple of years ago when I began to buy the entire DAC collection on DVD, I let the Black Cauldron at the bottom of my list for some reason but I never bought it. So I recently ordered The Black Cauldron on netflix and they sent me a broken Gold Classic collection disc haha, now I'm really getting eager to watch this movie. They sent the replacement which was the new 25th anniversary edition I got even more excited because I was gonna watch it in its best quality. I have to say this movie underwhelmed me. I didn't get in to it at all. As much as I wanted to give it a chance to love it or even like it... nothing. I'm sad : (

disneyboy20022 wrote:

DisneyJedi wrote: Well, Taran wouldn't have exactly killed him, but instead weaken the King, and the latter would- despite being hurt- still try to kill Taran, but be killed by the Cauldron.

But I still wish Taran hadn't given up the sword.

Perhaps in the Books he gets the sword back at some point??

In the first book, he found the Sword of Light, whatever it's called, but couldn't wield it at first. In the second book, instead of giving up a sword, he gave away a brooch given to him by some guy named Adaon.

Giving up the sword is *essential* to the story. It's a *crucial* element in Taran's character arc. The sword symbolizes Taran's desire to become a hero, a knight in shining armor, a skilled fighter. But as the film progresses, he realizes he's not fit to be a warrior and that he must play the role he's given. Giving up the sword is an acknowledgement of that insight.


Cauldron of Chaos: Disney collaborator Michael Peraza tells about the 'making of' The Black Cauldron, in 3 parts:

http://michaelperaza.blogspot.com/2010/ ... art-1.html

^This totally. I only saw the movie once, and I remembered how crucial it was to give up the sword.

Goliath wrote:Cauldron of Chaos: Disney collaborator Michael Peraza tells about the 'making of' The Black Cauldron, in 3 parts:

http://michaelperaza.blogspot.com/2010/ ... art-1.html

A fantastic read, thanks for finding and posting this!

12 minutes? That's the most I've heard for cut material (I usually see the number 4) and if that's the case it makes me want to see an uncut version even more, despite the odds of that never happening.

Goliath wrote:Giving up the sword is *essential* to the story. It's a *crucial* element in Taran's character arc. The sword symbolizes Taran's desire to become a hero, a knight in shining armor, a skilled fighter. But as the film progresses, he realizes he's not fit to be a warrior and that he must play the role he's given. Giving up the sword is an acknowledgement of that insight.


Cauldron of Chaos: Disney collaborator Michael Peraza tells about the 'making of' The Black Cauldron, in 3 parts:

http://michaelperaza.blogspot.com/2010/ ... art-1.html

Hmm. Okay. But I still think the climax should have felt a little more climatic, if you get my drift.

Also, I still would love to see the deleted scenes, if they're still in the vault and not destroyed.

DisneyJedi wrote:Hmm. Okay. But I still think the climax should have felt a little more climatic, if you get my drift.

I get your point. I don't think 'more climatic' always makes for a better ending/movie. I found the ending to be pretty climatic as it is. Also, like Amy said, the ending is more significant if the Horned King is destroyed by the very thing he wanted so desperately. That's called poetic justice.

IagoZazu wrote:
That and Gurgi would have remained dead if Taran didn't give up the sword.

which would of been good thing. That gurgi was annoying twat. I was baffle why taran didn't just off the guy's head with that sword

Super Aurora wrote:

IagoZazu wrote:
That and Gurgi would have remained dead if Taran didn't give up the sword.

which would of been good thing. That gurgi was annoying twat. I was baffle why taran didn't just off the guy's head with that sword

Well, then that'd give the movie a PG-13 or R rating, wouldn't it?

DisneyJedi wrote:

Super Aurora wrote: which would of been good thing. That gurgi was annoying twat. I was baffle why taran didn't just off the guy's head with that sword

Well, then that'd give the movie a PG-13 or R rating, wouldn't it?

No... RLY?

How wide is The Black Cauldron? Is it wider than Sleeping Beauty? And for that matter, what about Atlantis? And these two in comparison to Lady & the Tramp. The only extra wide Disney releases as I know of.

I found this screencap and it's so wide it made me curious...

Disney Duster wrote:How wide is The Black Cauldron? Is it wider than Sleeping Beauty? And for that matter, what about Atlantis? And these two in comparison to Lady & the Tramp. The only extra wide Disney releases as I know of.

I found this screencap and it's so wide it made me curious...

It is definitely wider than anything that has come before it. I remember during the marketing of the movie, this was one of its novelties along with the Dolby sound. I can't remember the screen ratio though. And I'm not sure about movies that came out after it.

Disney Duster wrote:How wide is The Black Cauldron? Is it wider than Sleeping Beauty? And for that matter, what about Atlantis? And these two in comparison to Lady & the Tramp. The only extra wide Disney releases as I know of.

I found this screencap and it's so wide it made me curious...

The Black Cauldron is 2.20:1, since it was made in 70mm, not nearly as wide as Sleeping Beauty or Lady and the Tramp (both of which were 2.55:1) or even Atlantis, which was made in 2.35:1.

Interesting, it looks so much wider than the others, but I haven't compared them side by side, it must be that shot, full of empty space.

So, the question is then, have all these films, The Black Cauldron included, had their last releases keep the correct aspect ratios?

Disney Duster wrote:So, the question is then, have all these films, The Black Cauldron included, had their last releases keep the correct aspect ratios?

The Lady and the Tramp Platinum has the film at 2:55:1, the full ratio that the original Cinemascope films used (including Disney's own 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which for the record, uses the 2:55:1 ration on DVD). Many releases of the film (including the Limited Issue DVD), had the film slightly cropped at 2:35:1, as that quickly became the norm for panoramic films. The 2:35:1 ratio became the standard during the production of Sleeping Beauty, which had been made in 2:55:1. All releases thus cropped the film slightly. The DVD and Blu-Ray of Sleeping Beauty presents the film for the first time in the full 2:55:1 ratio. The Special Edition from 2003 actually zooms in on the overall image a bit more than should really have been, but it was obviously at the time a better representation of the film than what had been released on home video before.

I can assume that Atlantis uses the right ratio, along with the expanding-ratio Brother Bear (disregarding the version on Disc 1, which is completely cropped to a more standard 1:66:1). I'm a bit lost when it comes to The Black Cauldron, though.

I was a bit wrong with the earlier statement. The Black Cauldron was made with the Technirama process (like Sleeping Beauty, only since that has a wider ratio, I think that one was supposed to be in CinemaScope), which puts the film horizontally through the camera, instead of vertically. The negative has an aspect ratio of 2.25:1, so for the 70mm blow-up, some bits are lost from the sides, and for the 35mm reduction (with a ratio of 2.35:1) some bits are lost from the top and bottom. If the new DVD has a ratio of 2.25:1, then we're fine. Either way, it's really a small difference. That picture is definitely wrong, though.

Ultimate Disney said this about the latest film release's ratio:
"One of Disney's few very wide features, The Black Cauldron appears exclusively in 2.35:1 widescreen, enhanced for 16:9 displays as it should have been but wasn't its first time on DVD."

And Animated Views said this:
"Presented again in its intended 2.35:1 aspect, but this time anamorphically enhanced and spruced up by a digital wash..."

I'm surprised none are saying it's wrong, so maybe it isn't wrong?

Also, I realized that this got a really good, and it keeps grain but at a good level that doesn't interfere with the film. So, I just wish that all Disney films could get these "some grain yet still really amazingly good" transfers instead of the completely srcubbed, smoothed out, tampered looking ones.