The Black Cauldron [DVD]

I brought this Disney for my children as I had lovely memories of it of when I watched it as a munchkin but when I put it on for the first time for my, at the time 4-year-old child, I soon realized that I had completely forgotten about the horned king in my reminiscing of childhood memories. My days he's a scary character, albeit he didn't do a great deal in the film, you could probably take him out with a spoon but that's not the point he looks proper evil. Suffice to say our little ones had some nightmares after that, it's been put away for when they're a bit older. All in all, it's a great film, lovely classic and would recommend. Just probably better for ages 7-8 upwards, not for small children (silly me, though in my defense I had forgotten about the scary stuff). Also it's sad that Princess Eilonwy has been forgotten amongst the prestigious the ranks of "Disney Princesses", she's awesome!!!

Director Ted Berman takes Disney in a brave new direction. No musical numbers, no girl power princesses, darkness and a sense of malevolence you never knew they had in them. But it still has Disney values of friendship and the greatness of the little guy. I was 10 when I saw this at the movies. I'd avoided Disney for being sappy (victim of Snow White poisoning years earlier). This is a very dark movie. Totally un-Disney, but all the better for it. Wouldn't recommend it for the very young as it goes to dark places. A really great, out of character venture for a studio that usually provides more saccharine stories. Real shame they haven't done more like this or ventured in this direction again. The animation was great at the time but won't necessarily satisfy the computer animated generation. No one believes me when I say this is a Disney movie. It's a real shame that for their 50th or 75th venture they don't try going out on a limb once again, it works. This was roughly the era of Willow, Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal, all great kids' movies with darker edges than we'd go and see these days. Try this out, remember it's darker and the animation looks rougher than we'd like these days but see what Disney can achieve when they don't follow their own well worn path.

One of the best films made by Disney. This brings back memories from the 1990s. A time when I was growing up and for some reason this was my favourite movie as a child. It was the first thing got me to like fantasy/adventure in general. Hence why these days I enjoy things like Game of Thrones among other things. Bought this for my two cousins. I hope they enjoy it.

Caution: As many here have said, The Black Cauldron is quite scary for little kids. The Horned King is basically a horned skull in flowing robes, so if your nipper's a bit sensitive I'd wait a few years before offering this one. Let them see the box first maybe, or a trailer. The film is ambitious in its scale but seems to have been cut back to keep a child friendly rating. I am reliably told by my brother that it was cut in the UK and got a PG rating in cinemas. So, this is a little watered down and it seems like Disney weren't sure how far down the scary path they wanted to go. As a result this film pleases no-one fully, except me. I was enthralled to see it all these years later. Gurgi is cute, as is the drunken pig. Taran reminded me of Arthur in The Sword And The Stone. And the princess Ellonwy is delightfully vacant, a bit like Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter. The story is taken from a series of books called The Chronicles of Prydain, which itself borrows heavily from Welsh mythology (Prydain was the old name for Britain and actually where we get the name Britain from. Taranis or Tarantis is an ancient British God. The Horned King is based on Cernunnos, The Horned God of the underworld. There are many Cauldrons in ancient Welsh Mythology and yes, one was told to have brought the dead back to life so they could fight again, though I forget which.) So, it's nice to see some Welsh culture on screen for a change. I liked it, but it is a bit uneven in tone and some of the editing is a bit choppy (due to its troubled past). That said, it's fine for 77 mins of sword and sorcery. Extras on the DVD include a 10 minute section not used in the film and as a result it's literally sketchy in its animation. I can see why they cut it though as it adds little to the film. There are some simple games and a still frame gallery, a Donald Duck cartoon and Backstage at Disney feature. The feature is in 2.35:1 (Anamorphic Widescreen) and a 5.1 Dolby Mix. It looks crisp for a DVD, but I was disappointed there is no Bluray available. Given its notoriety you'd think that Disney would have the foresight to issue a collector's edition with all the gruesome stuff back in and a documentary about its troubles. I'd pay for it. Anyway, that my verdict on The Black Cauldron DVD. It's fine as far as it goes. It's a bit muddled. A bit toothless. But I still enjoyed it.

Arrived as pictured and in perfect quality. A Disney classic often forgotten about but that is a great watch with all the elements of a great Disney movie ❤️

This DVD was brought to finish off our favourite Disney Dvd's, We have been looking for some time and glad we waited for the 25th Anniversary as we like all the extras these Dvd's have to offer.. They are not all Blue-ray but playing them on a blue-ray player the picture quality is out-standing, we have a large collection of Disney Dvd's for the child in the pair of us..

Arrived on time and recipient was very pleased

For me it's one of the best Disney movies. Excellent animation and a darker kind of story, unlike the usual Disney narrative, with a genuinely grim villain. It's a shame Disney didn't made more of these kind of movies.

Pour un vieux Disney, la qualité des images et des animations est étonnament bonne. Le scénario change agréablement de l'ordinaire opposition manichéenne entre le héros et le super méchant, avec des rebondissements, des déceptions etc, de façon à nous garder en haleine. Le côté sombre et macabre est certes très développé pour un film d'animation, surtout un Disney, ce qui en fait plus un film pour ados/adultes que pour de petits enfants...

This item did not play on my player...It was not indicated,that item would not play on North American players. Refund required.

Bought one and it didn't work returned it and got a replacement. Didn't check it right away and when I finally got around to watching it. It didn't work either. Now to late to return.

Ordered what I thought was the right dvd, had to return it because it was one of those other region ones

Says it was made for region 2 and cannot be played here. I've never had this issue before so wtf.