The Black Cauldron [25th Annivesary] [Special Edition]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Walt Disney Pictures produced this ambitious, animated tale of sorcery and swordfighting. Taran (voice of Grant Bardsley), is an assistant to Dallben (voice of Freddie Jones), a pigkeeper in the mythical land of Prydain. Taran longs to be a knight, and he's given his chance to live out his dream when he is sent out in search of a magical black cauldron which can either be a powerful instrument of good or a bottomless fount of evil, depending entirely upon who should find it. However, Taran is not the only one in search of this talisman -- the Horned King (voice of John Hurt) wants the cauldron to shore up his sinister powers and raise an army of the dead, and with the help of the all-seeing pig Hen-Wren, the wicked one may make his hideous plans a reality. The Black Cauldron had the distinction of being the first animated feature from Disney to receive a PG rating from the MPAA, due to some frightening scenes of black magic. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Cinemascope)
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Features:
  • New! The Witches' Challenge Game
  • New! Deleted Scene: The Fairfolk
  • "The Quest For Black Cauldron" Game
  • Short - "Trick Or Treat" Cartoon Starring Donald Duck and His 3 Nephews
  • Still Frame Gallery

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Grant Bardsley - Taran
       Susan Sheridan - Eilonwy
       Freddie Jones - Dallben
       Nigel Hawthorne - Fflewddur
       Arthur Malet - King Eidilleg
       John Byner - Gurgi/Doli
       John Hurt - Horned King
       Lindsay Rich - Fairfolk
       Brandon Call - Fairfolk
       Gregory Levinson - Fairfolk
       Adele Malis - Morey - Orwen
       Billie Hayes - Orgoch
       Phil Fondacaro - Creeper
       Phil Nibbelink - Henchman
       Wayne Allwine - Henchman
       Eda Reiss Merin - Orddu
       John Huston - Narrator
       Jack Laing - Henchman
       Steve Hale - Henchman
       James Almanzar - Henchman
       Pete Renaday - Henchman

• Director:

  Ted Berman, Richard Rich

• Producer:

  Joe Hale, Ron Miller

• Screenwriter:

  Ted Berman, Roy Edward Disney, Vance Gerry, Joe Hale, Rich Hale, David Jonas, Roy Morita, Richard Rich, Rosemary Anne Sisson, Art Stevens, Al Wilson

• Book Author:

  Lloyd Alexander

• Screenwriter:

  Pete Young

• Composer (Music Score):

  Elmer Bernstein

• Songwriter:

  Richard Rich

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Bob Hathaway

• Editor:

  Armetta Jackson, Jim Koford, James Melton

• Animator:

  Viki Anderson, Ruben A. Aquino, Dale Baer, Sandra Borgmeyer, Hendel Butoy, Jesse Cosio, Andreas Deja, Charlie Downs, Tom Ferriter, Mike Gabriel, Mark Henn, Ron Huband, Shawn Keller, Doug Krohn, Phil Nibbelink, David Pacheco, Ruben Procopio, George Scribner, Alt Stanchfield, Barry Temple, Cyndee Witney, Phillip Young, Steven E. Gordon, David Block

• Background Artist:

  Don Hahn, Lisa Keene, Donald A. Towns, John Emerson

REVIEW:

• The Black Cauldron is an unusual film from Disney that was supposed to mark a new era for its animation division. Instead, it failed at the box office and Disney would not recover until The Little Mermaid in 1989. A departure from the company's usual tendency to cheer up mythical stories, The Black Cauldron is an appropriately dark adventure-fantasy that benefits from the absence of any superfluous songs. Produced with a cruder animation style during the studio's rocky times in the late '70s and early '80s (starting with The Aristocats), it still looks excellent, filmed in 70mm and employing some computer animation enhancement. The story was based on two books from Lloyd Alexander's children's novel series The Chronicles of Prydain. Providing a predictable tale, it bears similarities to the Star Wars saga as well as a Raiders of the Lost Ark-style ending. Perhaps due to the PG rating, surreal settings, and evil characters, The Black Cauldron was a huge commercial flop upon its theatrical release, but it remains notable as an uncommonly risky Disney animated feature. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi