The Black Cauldron (1985)

[zombiehorror]

Had to add the (1985) so no one thought it was a new remake...LOL!

Anyways who else loves...or even likes this movie?!  I got to see it during its initial run (I was 13) on a double bill with The Sword and the Stone and have always enjoyed the movie; So much so that I even read the book.  For some reason the film just popped in my head and I had to watch it, realizing that not only do I own the 25th Anniversary dvd but a vhs as well and I really haven't sat down to watch the dvd, nor have I watched the vhs in years!

The movie is definitely not without flaw but I can't help but think if this had been released in the mid 70's (The rights to the "The Prydain Chronicles" were acquired in 1971) it could have been a bigger hit for them.  It has some really creepy atmosphere with the Horned King's castle, the swamp and the army of dead marching in that green fog!

The flaws I find with it are few; I never did like the Fairfolk, their design is completely out of place with the rest of the film and are very 80's generic.  Luckily as I watch the film again they really don't have that big of a part and if you go get a snack or go to the bathroom they'll be gone before you come back!  The witches or more to the point the one witch...What happened there?!  You have two great classic witch designs and then you get this rosy-cheeked-cutesy oddball, who's character design is again way to generic 80's!

I see some complain about the difference of novel to screen but come on, what film (especially an animated feature from Disney) is even close to the original novel/story?!  That being said this series could make for a killer redo as a live action flick!  Also there are complaints that the story itself is somehow confusing?!

Supposedly this film was in production for quite some time before it was ever realized and released leading to some speculation that there is a good hour of completed animations that was excised!  There are definitely a few known scenes that were cut by Jeffrey Katzenberg (Disney studio chairman) when the producer, Joe Hale refused to make them.

From wiki~
"The film was ultimately cut by 12 minutes, including whole sequences involving the world of the Fairfolk. Some existing scenes were rewritten and re-animated for continuity. Some of the cut scenes involved the undead "Cauldron Born", who are used as the Horned King's army in the final act of the film. While most of the scenes were seamlessly removed from the film, one particular cut involving a Cauldron Born killing a person by slicing his neck and torso created a rather recognizable lapse due to the fact that the removal of the scene creates a jump in the film's soundtrack. One particular deleted scene featured Princess Eilonwy being partially naked with her dress being ripped - probably after or during a skirmish with a couple of the Horned King's henchmen - as she's hanging for her life with Taran and Fflewddur Fflam before or after The Horned King summoned the Cauldron-Born warriors from the Black Cauldron. Another scene cut featured a man being dissolved by mist."

Here is one of those cuts~
The Black Cauldron - Army of the Dead restored score + Deleted scenes. (READ DESCRIPTION FIRST)
At 17sec you'll see the minion get melted!

If you have the dvd and haven't looked at the image gallery you should do yourself a favor and check it out there are some great-atmospheric paintings in there as well as some interesting character concepts!  There is a rather disturbing one of Gurgi where he is depicted as an overweight man with a hairy face...at one point depicted on all fours....it's very Deliverance to say the least!!  Also the cherub faced witch started out looking much cooler, very classic witch-almost troll like...not sure what happened there!?

Here are some of the images featured in the dvd galleries http://livlily.blogspot.com/2012/04/black-cauldron-1985-production-art_05.html

I was farting around looking at stuff on the Black Cauldron and found this as well http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2006/02/10/712.aspx#.UUycAlfyQrU~

"Actually, the most audacious gimmick that was proposed for use in "The Black Cauldron" never actually made it beyond the test phase. You see, for a time during this film's production, Disney's animators were in league with the Imagineers to create the first hologram that could be projected in a conventional movie theater.

The idea here was that -- at the moment in this motion picture where the very first "Cauldron-born" emerged from this cursed kettle -- the holographic projection system would suddenly click on. And there on the big screen, this seemingly undead spirit would emerge in three dimensions and appear to loom out over the audience for a moment.

That sounds like a truly cool effect, don't you think? Well, I'm told that those who actually saw the test version of the holographic "Cauldron-born" emerging from the Black Cauldron were impressed. They thought this effect would truly wow audiences, turning Disney's newest animated feature into a "must see" movie for film fans.

The only problem was ... The projected cost of creating a holographic projection system that then could be used in conventional theaters was astronomical. Given that -- after its years & years of development -- "The Black Cauldron" was already severely over-budget ("How severely over-budget?," you query. When this film was finally released in July of 1985, Disney execs admitted to spending $25 million to produce this full length animated feature. Though some company insiders would tell you that the movie's actual final production costs were much closer to $40 million). So adding a holographic projection system to the mix just to make this motion picture seem more special than it actually was was out of the question."

Holy Crap!  Could you imagine, if the Black Cauldron had been a huge hit, even without this holographic gimmick, it surely could/would have been somehow implemented at one of the theme parks!  The holographic undead creeping out of the movie screen, man that would have been awesome to see!

Speaking of Disney rides, the Black Cauldron is featured in Tokyo Disney (a few pictures can be seen in the gallery on the dvd) as part of Cinderella's Castle Mystery!

Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour Walk Through Attraction Tokyo Disneyland Japan Black Cauldron
Skip to 12:50 for the Black Cauldron segment....but the walkthrough has some neat stuff before, just wish this guy would have turned off the nightvision!

Found a lit version of just the Black Cauldron portion!
Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour (Tokyo Disneyland)Part 2 of 2

You still can't see the set dressing very well but surrounding the horned king are a bunch of undead warriors!


Sorry to go on and on but this really is an unappreciated (by the masses anyway) Disney classic in my opinion!