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The Black Cauldron (1985)

tomatometer

57

Average Rating: 5.8/10
Reviews Counted: 28
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 12

Ambitious but flawed, The Black Cauldron is technically brilliant as usual, but lacks the compelling characters of other Disney animated classics.

60

Average Rating: 6.2/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 2

Ambitious but flawed, The Black Cauldron is technically brilliant as usual, but lacks the compelling characters of other Disney animated classics.

audience

52

liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 43,268

My Rating

Movie Info

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

Oct 3, 2000

Cast

All Critics (28) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (16) | Rotten (12) | DVD (9)

The characters, though cute and cuddly and sweet and mean and ugly and simply awful, don't really have much to do that would remain of interest to any but the youngest minds.

February 5, 2009 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It's quite good, though by the impossible standards the film sets for itself it inevitably falls short.

September 5, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment (1)
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This is the 25th full-length animated feature from Walt Disney studios, and professionally put together as it is, many of the ingredients may seem programmed to those who have seen some of the others.

May 21, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
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The backgrounds are as richly textured and detailed as in any other Disney film.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: ReelViews | Comment
ReelViews
Top Critic IconTop Critic

By the end of The Black Cauldron I was remembering, with something of a shock of nostalgia, the strength and utter storytelling conviction of the early Disney animators. The Black Cauldron is a return to the tradition.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comment
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It's not a good film, but for one with the reputation of being the studio's worst animated feature, it shows that interesting work is done in it.

March 9, 2011 Full Review Source: Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema | Comment
Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema

Disney's worst animated feature.

September 22, 2010 Full Review Source: EDGE Boston | Comment (1)
EDGE Boston

Flawed jumble of a film, but a picture of immense artistic accomplishment and dedication to atypical faces of wickedness...there's still so much to admire about this red-headed stepchild of a film.

September 20, 2010 Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com | Comment
BrianOrndorf.com

It may have cost five times the amount of any other Disney film in the preceding two decades, but by God that money ended up on screen.

November 22, 2009 Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | Comment
Antagony & Ecstasy

A glorious return to the days at Disney when animation was full and detail was everything.

November 4, 2009 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Possibly not the worst animated feature the House Of Mouse has produced, but certainly stumbling around the darker recesses of the Disney vault.

November 4, 2009 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | Comment
Empire Magazine

As usual it is technically excellent, but the charm, characterisation and sheer good humour that made features like Pinocchio and Jungle Book so enjoyable are sadly absent.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

Middle road Disney animation, unmemorable.

January 2, 2005 Comment

John Hurt's gravelly voice of the Horned King steals the show.

February 10, 2004 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | Comment
Filmcritic.com
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Black Cauldron

Okay, I'm going to get a lot of hate for this but I do enjoy this movie, unlike so many other people. The animation is decent, but the thing I enjoy the most about this movie is the villain, the horned King. Mainly because its a demon, horned, skeleton voiced by John Hurt, and he pulls it off frighteningly well. Also

December 20, 2011
michael e.
Michael Edwards

Super Reviewer

Stylistically, The Black Cauldron has little in common with the typical Disney movie. In many ways it works in a good way; it's nice to watch something without a musical element. However, it kind've lacks a lasting effect. A lot of this is cheesy, which could've been fixed with singing and dancing, but this is dead

April 22, 2011
ythelastman89

Super Reviewer

    1. Horned King: Get up you fools! Kill!
    – Submitted by Emil Å (3 months ago)

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