The Black Cauldron is a far cry from most films of Disney's dark period (1961-1988) in terms of aesthetics. It is a beautiful film to look at with its dark fantasy world, appealing character designs, good score and lush backgrounds that remind me of the detailed backgrounds for Sleeping Beauty. And that is about all the good I can say about this film, which is a dreadfully boring narrative mess.
The plot has little direction to begin with. There is no focus or clear goal to propel the story forward. None of the characters are interesting. Taran might be the weakest of Disney's animated leading men, having virtually no personality traits other than his cockiness and desire to be a great warrior. Love interest Princess Eilonwy is the same. Fflewddur is mildly entertaining comic relief, but aside from that he serves little purpose and could have been cut from the film with no consequence. Gurgi is to this film what Jar Jar Binks was to the Star Wars prequels. There are pathetic attempts at character development, but Taran and Gurgi's arcs are so weak that they leave little impact. The Horned King could have been an awesome villain, but he barely DOES anything, leaving most of his work to the ever annoying Creeper, who manages to liposuction all the coolness from the Horned King's scenes.
I doubt I'll be watching this again anytime soon. It's looks are nice, but the story and characters are not emotionally resonant enough to make the whole product memorable. It's sad, because I love it when Disney delves into dark territory. Such a shame.
The plot has little direction to begin with. There is no focus or clear goal to propel the story forward. None of the characters are interesting. Taran might be the weakest of Disney's animated leading men, having virtually no personality traits other than his cockiness and desire to be a great warrior. Love interest Princess Eilonwy is the same. Fflewddur is mildly entertaining comic relief, but aside from that he serves little purpose and could have been cut from the film with no consequence. Gurgi is to this film what Jar Jar Binks was to the Star Wars prequels. There are pathetic attempts at character development, but Taran and Gurgi's arcs are so weak that they leave little impact. The Horned King could have been an awesome villain, but he barely DOES anything, leaving most of his work to the ever annoying Creeper, who manages to liposuction all the coolness from the Horned King's scenes.
I doubt I'll be watching this again anytime soon. It's looks are nice, but the story and characters are not emotionally resonant enough to make the whole product memorable. It's sad, because I love it when Disney delves into dark territory. Such a shame.