Rating: 
Summary: WHY?
Review: This is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. It's bad, even for Disney, and while I have issues with their versions of fairy tales, taking this kind of "liberty" with a set of wonderful books should be criminal. As a fan of the books, I was disgusted beyond belief. I watched it with my daughter, wanting to give it a chance, but I simply couldn't stand it. If you like the books, don't touch it with a ten foot pole. If you never read them, read them, then don't watch this. If you don't want to read them, still don't watch the movie, because it's bad by itself. Even Disney can do better than this.
Rating: 
Summary: Black Cauldron - the first PG rated Disney Canon movie
Review: Black Cauldron was the first of a very short string of Disney's animated canon movies that was rated PG. (The others, so far, are "Lilo and Stitch" and "Treasure Planet".)But don't let that deter you from getting this movie and showing it to just about any age group. Although =some= younger children might get upset about the sheer evil of the "Horned King" and his army, he is still one of the best Disney villains ever. The basic plot is simple. Taran, an assistant pig keeper, finally realizes that the pig he is keeping watch over is a magical animal, capable of foretelling the future. He, along with a few friends, must protect this pig. The evil wizard captures the pig and finds out the location of the Black Cauldron, a very powerful magical device capable of summoning an army of undead warriors. Taran and his friends must somehow prevent the wizard from coming to the full fruition of his plans. My favorite character was Fflewddur Fflam, the travelling minstrel that is drawn into this quest of Taran's. Every time he tells a lie, a string breaks on his magical instrument. This funny bit reappears several times during the movie, and it is wonderful to see him change what he is going to say in mid-sentence in order to keep his strings from breaking. Strangely, this movie is based on the =second= book in Lloyd Alexander's "Chronicles of Prydain". I would have liked it much more had they done the other books in the series, but the fantastic bomb this was in the theaters probably prevented that. A good addition to a library of Children's films, and a great addition for the Disney collector.
Rating: 
Summary: Stop exagerating, people!
Review: Just because this movie was rated PG, it doesn't mean it is not suitable for children. This, is definately a movie for kids just like all of the other ones, it is just a bit scary. The film is fun and mysterious since you don't know what's going to happen next. So, if you have kids, ask them if they like skeletons (which is the only scary element added to the film, besides some sinister music) The witches are fun and the characters are lovable. The animal friends, Hen-Wen and Gurgi are both very cute and friendly. The villain, The Horned King, is a very evil Disney character and the reason for the PG rating. So, take my advise and don't listen to those reviews that say this movie is not for kids, because it is, it is just a bit more scary.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Animation and Story, but not representative of the Book
Review: This DVD should really be judged on 2 levels. For those who are interested in the movie, but are unfamiliar with the Prydain Chronicles, should find this fantasy movie compelling. The animation was unique for the time, and the movie itself should be compelling for adults and mature kids. Young children may find it disturbing. Viewers who are familiar with the Prydain Chronicles and are militant about the rendering of a written story to film will probably react otherwise. The movie is more of a parrallel of the entire Prydain series than the second book in the series, the eponymous Black Cauldron, with characters and events appearing anachronistically. Viewed through this prism, The Black Cauldron will be seen as little more that Disney's debasement of a beloved story.
Rating: 
Summary: A bit dark for the YOUNGER children.
Review: We rank this movie 35 of out of 41. It had some fun moments, but was generally a little dark for my kids. If you are looking for family entertainment there are so many other movies available that are better. This movie was based on a book, but based on some of the reviews, the older viewers that have read the book hated the movie. I didn't hate it, but it was below average, 2 star quality when compared to its peers. We had a lot of fun by gathering the family together to rank the 41 Disney movies we have that include some cartoon work. All the kids, ages 6 to 27, participated along with mother and dad. Lion King was selected number 1 of the 41 as the family favorite, but narrowly. Peter Pan was 2. Pete's Dragon 3, Beauty & the beast 4, Sleeping Beauty 5, Snow White 6, Robin Hood 7, 101 Dalmatians 8, Fox and the hound 9, Cinderella is 10th, Rescuers 11, Hunchback of ND 12, Aladdin 13 and Aladdin King of Thieves 14.
Rating:
Summary: Ok,but kind of dark.Odd for a Disney movie.
Review: Like the review's title says,the movie is odd for somthing Disney would do. In my opinion,this movie is similar to the Harry
Potter movies in that there is a lot of magic spells type of stuff.I don't think kids 2-6 years old should watch this as it is a creepy kind of movie.
Rating:
Summary: A hidden gem
Review: Sadly, this disney feature has not received the attention it deserves. In fact, I first heard of it a few years ago. Magical and full of atmosphere, it is one of the best feature animations of the past twenty years. If you like the mystic and medieval, you are in for a treat. I was very disappointed by The Sword in the Stone, mosly because many of the sequences not essetial to the telling of the story was too long and tiring for my taste. The Black Cauldron helped me fill the gap made by that film. It is a quite dark and fast-paced film, and it includes some of disney's early experiments with computer animation. It may not be the most stunning film in terms of visuals or story, but it is a highly entertaining experience with wonderful characters and places, and definetly worth the watch. If you liked Robin Hood or Alice in Wonderland, you might as well enjoy this one.
Rating:
Summary: An Underrated Masterpiece!!!!
Review: Ever since I saw this movie in a drive in theater as a child all those years ago, I have been fascinated by this movie. When they finally released it on video in 1998, I was pleasantly reminded why I was so obsessed about this movie. It has everything an imaginative child looks for in a movie. Adventure, sword fighting, castles, fairies, magic, strange creatures, witches, good versus evil, a princess... More importantly it still has the nice message the excellent Lloyd Alexander's books has to offer. Read the books and check out this movie!! Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Insult!!
Review: I have read the whole series the Pydrain Chronicles. There are no Dragons,the Horned King dies in The Book of Three(the first book). I just think this movie is insulting a great book!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: WIDESCREEN REVIEW & Sound
Review: -Widescreen format in 2:35:1;-Audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX I do not agree with the "widescreen review" published.I would give the quality of picture 5 stars and most definatly the sound quality 5 stars.PICTURE TRANSFER - The picture transfer was done to the best as possible. The picture and especially colors on this transfer to DVD are top notch. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because (if your very picky about your total picture quality) you can BARLEY notice (only if you look very close) the film element transfer with a very slight grain flicker. I am very picky about my DVD quality and I would suggest anybody that is a fan of the film to go ahead and buy it and overlook this very slight problem because you have to look very close to notice it. Otherwise I will say this is the best yet transfer to DVD that Disney has done. The colors are brillant and picture perfect in every way.SOUND QUALITY - TOP NOTCH! This is absolutly the best surround sound transfer I have heard yet from any Disney DVD. The surround sound is in Doldby Digital 5.1 Surround EX which is not stated on the box cover. The surround effects with the EX is one of my favorite dvds. All surround sounds are placed correctly and put you in the movie. I highly suggest this DVD for sound enthusiists who are into the home theatre surround effects. The extra features are fun and have a still frame gallery, a couple of games to play, trailers, and history of everything envloved with the movie.I have been dissapointed with many of Disney DVD's and have not bought many I would want due to their lousy transfers (non-widescreen) and lousy sound transfers (usually Dolby 2.0). (I always rent them before thinking of buying.) The Black Cauldron was an exception that I was very glad I purchased.
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