Rating: 
Summary: Please buy and read Alexander's books and ignore this junk
Review: I love movies. I love books. I am often the one defending the merits of a movie adaptation of a book to those who don't like the choices that must often be made to translate a book to film. I can't defend this disaster. If it was possible to give "0" stars, I would. I love Disney animation, but this was inexcusable, and has harmed the reputation of the books. Please, please if you are the sort who loves outstanding children's fantasy literature, go buy the Prydain chronicles in Amazon's book section (there are some very nice sets) before allowing this to turn you off to the books. I normally have friends who take my recommendations automatically, but who won't give these books a chance because they saw this movie first and hate it so much. O.k., here's why. The character's are flat and lack any of the wit of the characters in the books, let alone other Disney characters. I especially hate Disney's take on good old Doli. And while all movie adaptations must make some adjustments or liberties to translate a book to film, the drastic differences between the characters in the books and in the movie are both unnecessary and render the characters dull and uninteresting. By the end of the Prydain chronicles, you care so much about these characters that, if you are an avid reader, you will end up revisiting Prydain for years to come. I can honestly say that after one viewing The Black Cauldron on videotape, it has sat on a shelf collecting dust, which is far better treatment than the incinerator it so richly deserves. P.S. If you can find some good in this movie (and I understand some might, and that's o.k.), I still strongly recommend that you read the books. With authors such as Tolkien, C.S. Lewis (Narnia), Susan Cooper (Dark is Rising) and Ursula LeGuin (Earthsea), Lloyd Alexander was one of the outstanding authors who wrote fantasy literature accessable to both children and adults long before Harry Potter led to the current boom. The new writers are good, and some are great, but don't forget that there were authors who were good enough to get noticed before the genre truly came into its own.
Rating:
Summary: Disney's mistake
Review: What were they thinking?!? Why on earth they tried to make a cartoon based on the Prydain Chronicles I'll never know. Yes, I love the books. Yes, I love Disney. But the two just didn't mix in this animated feature. I am aware that Disney always changes classic stories (and sometimes history) to make their movies, and I'm usually quite willing to forgive them for it. After all, fairy tales and folk stories are passed on through word of mouth and change a little everytime someone new tells the story. Disney is just one of those voices. But when you take a relatively new work whose author is still alive and claim to be retelling the story, it needs to be somewhat similar. Honestly, the only thing accurate in the whole movie are the names of the main characters. They even got the color of Hen Wen's eyes wrong after such a big deal is made out of that point in the books. You'd think that would be a simple thing! But even this would be forgivable if Disney had produced a decent movie. But, in my opinion, this was not good at all. The plot was rushed and the characters shallow (except maybe Taran). I had seen this movie before I read the books and didn't like it at all. I watched it again after I read the books thinking that I would appreciate it more after knowing some background information, but it was even worse! Disney could have made a really good fantasy film if they had had the confidence to write their own story. Instead they were constrained by their ties to a highly regarded series of books that couldn't possibly be boiled down into an 80 minute movie with any success. I think they learned their lesson, though, since in recent years we've seen several top-notch original stories from Disney that didn't have any of the short-comings of "The Black Cauldron." Thank you, Disney, for learning from your mistake!
Rating: 
Summary: A Great and fun Disney Animated gem.
Review: Known as the first disney animated feature to be rated " PG", this 1985 Animated gem was an expensive one that was forgotten over the years until it hit Video and DVD for the first time plus this one gained a cult following cause it was the first PG rated Animated Disney movie.Inspired by the books of Prydain, in a faraway land in the Camelot times, a pig keeper named " Taran" has a pet Pig that is psychic and the evil Horned King wants to use the pig so he can use a powerful thing called " The Black cauldron" to rule the world with an army of deathless warriors, now Taran along with friends must save the world. A highly fun and entertaining Disney effort with good Xerox style animation and no songs, but why is it rated " PG"? well cause it does have some frightening material that may not be suitable for small children but this does include John Hurt as the villain plus there is even a beautiful princess named " Ellionwy" who is a dreamgirl of mine. Also recommended: The Last Unicorn, The Secret of NIMH, The Dark Crystal, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, The Princess Bride, Fun and Fancy Free, Fantasia, Beauty and the Beast, Star Wars, Atlantis, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, Oliver and Company, and The Great Mouse Detective.
Rating: 
Summary: Repeat Viewings
Review: I will admit that upon my first viewing, I was surprised and somewhat disappointed. The Horned King is far too one-dimensional. The plot is sometimes confusing and simplistic. The plot progression and resolution is not satisfying enough. The animation is quite alright, considering the time period they tried to portray. So why four stars? 'Cuz I just can't get it out of my mind. It was groundbreaking in that Disney tried something different, darker, and foreboding. Yet I want to see it again. Disturbing, yet makes me curious. I had first rented it. After I watched it, I promised myself to never to see it again. Then three weeks later, I bought it. It was the strangest feeling that I had that I wanted to see it again. Now I like it. I'm sure with each viewing, I'll find something else to appreciate. It's just one of those movies. I never read Alexander's books, upon which this was loosely based. For all intents and purposes, this movie is a simple fantasy flick that fits the fantasy mold.
Rating:
Summary: This Movie is a sad disgrace...
Review: I thought untill recently that I had seen every Disney movie in some form or another untill I heard about the release of this one. My little brother owns it so I just recently decided to watch it. I was extremely dissapointed. If you look at a list of chronologicaly listed disney films, it is no surprise that this is part of Disney's "down period"... Along with Oliver and Great Mouse Detective, it helped to create a bad name for Disney and it was only with the creation of The Little Mermaid and Rescuers Down Under that they restored their name. The animation in this movie is sloppy and pictures are unclear. This would normally be acceptable except for the fact that in a short amount of three years they created one of the greatest animation-wise movies of their times, Rescuers Down Under. Realizing now that it was made after a book and looking at the general jist of the story, I have to believe that the movie was made and released only to counter that of the animated Lord of the Rings... Disney was losing their audience and they knew it so they created this sloppy film. It is no wonder that it was forgotten for more than a decade.
Rating:
Summary: One of Disney's most enchanting (and unappriciated) classics
Review: Being an avid Disney video collector, I of course saw trailers for this release hitched onto other 1998 tapes, and was genuinely amazed with them alone. Needless to say I ran out to the store August 4 of that year to buy my copy of this never-before-released-on-video animated Disney flick and popped it into the VCR as soon as I got home. I honestly do not understand why so many people who have reviewed this movie have called it bad. Sure, it's different, and yes, it did recieve a PG rating, but those are not nessesarily bad things. And, yes, appearently it IS different from the book, but, putting all of that aside, it is a WONDERFUL movie, and, unlike some reviewers, I'm very glad that they let it out of the vaults. Taran, dreams of being an incridible warrior, but soon finds himself reduced to searching for Hen Wen, a young pig he tends to that has run away. This eventually leads to his embarking on a quest to find the mythical Black Cauldron, which gives the one who bears it ultumate power, before the evil Horned King. Aside from the adventurous, dark mood, the movie carries other strengths, too. First off, the characters are amazing and can be related to. I too have dreams and fears just like Taran (in fact quite simmilar in one perspective), and he is like a welcome friend to me. Gurgi is cute and funny and is this movie's classic Disney sidekick; there's one in every classic, you know. Second, there's the annimation - it's amazingly mood-setting and obviously helped the animators learn a great viriaty of skills they would use in later films. Finally, there's the film's tear-jerking (yes, I did say "tear-jerking" in regard to Disney's "The Black Cauldron," folks) ending and the timeless moral that is illustrated within it -- I won't say what it is; you have to go rent (or better yet buy) this too-often-ignored Disney gem to find that part out. To top it all off, the original 1998 release has a very cool-looking cover, supposedly "FX packaging" according to some old TV spots; the Gold reissue has a wonderful (different) logo and cover image too. All in all, I can't find a negative thing to say about it. The DVD supposedly has it in widescreen, which I'd love to see - and the Gold Collection issue (in both VHS and DVD formats) has "Trick or Treat," a classic Donald Duck short. I don't know why I don't have this on DVD yet! It's something you and I should both make a point to get. Amazing! I sincerely hope that this gem enjoys many more successful years out of the Disney vaults, and am glad that Disney had a change of heart about it in 1998 after its summer 1985 theatrical release bombed. ***** 5/5
Rating:
Summary: The first PG rated Disney cartoon
Review: Everybody seems to forget about the detailed, and sometimes dark Disney cartoon 'The Black Cauldron', untill it was re-released for few years ago, and this 'Sword & Sorcery' inspired cartoon is not for small kids.
This is something for the audience of the 80's cartoons, and role play fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Good film, not for kids. Different for Disney.
Review: The Black Cauldron certainly doesn't fall into the genre of animated Disney family favorite, but instead feels much like the more grim and complicated fantasy films that were made in the eighties. Does it stack up to (...) films as Return To Oz and The Dark Crystal? Well, although not as complex as the aformentioned, this film is not without its charm. The story of Taran, the pig-keeper's journey from gawky boy to gawky boy-hero apparently works better as told through the course of five books, and indeed it is the plot that feels put together, with a lot cut out of it for it's slim 1:20 running time. Also suffering becuase of the short time is any character development, or a reason why the charcter of Dallben (an old minstrel) are in the film at all. However, this film still has a lot going for it. The film has a wonderful pacing to it with some fantastic action scenes. It is adventurous and fun. An engaing film for any fantasy fan. What really makes the film though is it's terrifying and dastardly villain, The Horned King. He is basically a Skeletor knock off with absolutely no sense of humor. He looks like he stepped right out of an Iron Maden album cover, and that is a monumental good thing. The true threat felt by the presence of this decidedly un-Disney character keeps the tension of the film high. It is this contrast, between the unconventionally ghoulish villans (definatly enspirered by Bakshi's animated adaptation of Lord of the Rings ) and the stock Disney characters makes the audience care more-so for the cutesy characters than usual. This is especially true for the cutsey character of Gurgi, who is much more tollerable than almost all other Disney sidekicks and especially more tollerable than a certain J*r J*r B*nks that we have all been over exposed to lately. So I would reccomend The Black Cauldron , it's a fun and well animated adventure film. Compleatly scary and strange for Disney to make, but still very very good nonetheless.
Rating: 
Summary: disappointing flick compared to the BOOKS!
Review: This is a so-so movie that, sadly, is all many people know of Lloyd Alexander's wonderful Chronicles of Prydain. It's Disney, but it lacks the "charm" of earlier Disney flicks as well as the "polish" of ones to come only a few years later. I'd only pick this up for Alexander fans or people who want to own *every* Disney movie...but, regardless, READ THE BOOKS- they are wonderful!
Rating:
Summary: It deserves minus 5 stars!!!!!!!
Review: This movie should be erased from the disney collection. It was a horrible translation of the charming book by Lloyd Alexander. No person who read the book could ever like this movie. It was an attempt to mix the whole series of "The Book of Three" that went horribly wrong as any movie would when you try and mess with such a wonderful classic. It left out wonderfull characters and basicaly the whole story line. Disney needs to take this one back and try again or jsut leave it alone. There's a bad apple in every buch but disney sure turned out a rotten one.
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