The Black Cauldron (1985)

The MPAA rating for this film pretty much says it all- PG. PG? A Disney animated film? Really? Watching this film, the rating makes perfect sense but you have to wonder what the Disney crew was thinking. The fantasy genre has always been kind to the House of Mouse but for all its light, fluffy components, The Black Cauldron gets so dark at times that it is no longer recognizable as a Disney film.

Taran is a young assistant pig-keeper in a faraway land. His life changes dramatically one day when the sorcerer Dallban orders him to protect a magical pig. The Horned King seeks the pig because its powers as an oracle will lead him to the legendary Black Cauldron. If the Horned King succeeds in acquiring the cauldron, he will raise an army of undead warriors to destroy all those who oppose his ruthless will. When Taran fails to keep the pig from the Horned King’s minions, he sets out to reclaim the pig and defeat the Horned King if necessary. His path is beset by danger on all sides but a cast of colorful characters help him along his quest.

This is a very strange blend of ridiculously cheesy and dark fantasy. The film is adapted from the first two books in a fantasy series that I’ve never even heard of before. While the source material may have won a few awards back in the 1960s, whatever magic the pages held didn’t make the transfer to film. Maybe if I knew more about Welsh mythology the names wouldn’t all seem so outlandish and silly.

Taran is a fairly milquetoast fantasy lead and his only special quality is his determination. His success is largely due to the people and things around him. This kind of overly lucky hero archetype never sits well with me. Then of course there is Princess Eilonwy, whose appearance looks like an amalgamation of the costumes and features of the best Disney Princesses. The Horned King is menacing and frightening to look at, but his motivation in finding the Black Cauldron is pretty thin and recycled. Maybe it’s the current era’s effect on me, but I need my villains to be more complex than simply trying to take over the world.

The saving grace of this film is the animation. It’s complex, rich in detail and even stunning at times. For such a strange world, the animating staff really creates some immersive work here. That makes it all the more of a shame that this film get dark to the point of being un-Disney. I can appreciate the animation but after 24 films, Disney has crafted a very specific ‘type’ for its products and The Black Cauldron does not fit that type.

Fantasy fans and anglophiles may be more into this film than I am; I don’t know if it was marketed towards any specific demographic. What I do know is that this film could easily stain the reputation of Disney in the minds of unsuspecting parents. There is a reason why this, Disney’s first PG-rated film has been all but forgotten about. Despite my displeasure with some of the 1940s package films, the dark nature of this film makes it the least enjoyable Disney film as of its release in 1985.

RATING: 3 out of 5

The Fox and the Hound (1981)

The specter of Don Bluth is still evident in some of the tone and atmospherics but this is clearly a step in the right direction for Disney. At least that’s what I call The Fox and the Hound. Some will consider it a step back toward the artistic stylings of an era long gone. In a way, it is, but in doing so, Disney manages to inject a little of the old Disney magic back into the veins.

After a gunshot makes a baby fox an orphan, several woodland creatures search for a suitable home. Left on the doorstep of Widow Tweed, the baby fox is adopted and given a name- Tod. Meanwhile her scruffy neighbor brings home a young puppy to be trained into a hunting dog. So begins the tale of Tod (the fox- voiced by Mickey Rooney) and Topper (the hound- voiced by Kurt Russell), two natural-born enemies that become the unlikeliest of friends. The bonds of friendship are tested though, by instinct, time, and the expectations placed on them by their owners.

Yes, I’m going to rave a little bit more about the animation. It really looks sharp. Not just good, but some of the best full-detail animation since The Jungle Book. It looks like they finally managed to get rid of those pesky guide- and sketch lines that drove me crazy through two decades of Disney product. There’s crispness in the colors and depth to the scenery that really make you feel deep in the heart of the woods.

In something of a bold move, The Fox and the Hound does not include songs. While this flies against the archetypal (I refuse to apply the term ‘stereotype’ here) Disney format, it works because the story doesn’t really demand musical numbers. Disney had been hit or miss with the inclusion and exclusion of song and lyrics for the best part of 20 years. Some films could have used less (or more work on the numbers) while other films leave you feeling very aware of the absence of music. This film works though because the sounds of the forest are its soundtrack. Plus, as it grows darker and more serious, sing-songy bits would feel out of place.

One absolute point of contention is the flimsiness of the story. The characters are likeable more for the fact that they are cute animals than for anything they do, say, or learn. There also exists a fairly brazen anti-hunting message being delivered. It may never get preachy about the subject matter but there is no doubt that the hunter is a villain according to the Disney crew. That’s a slightly subjective position to take but I believe the observation is as objective as can be.

Plenty of good things are in play in this film. It’s a trim 83 minutes long, so it doesn’t overstay its welcome. It hearkens back to the glory days of Disney, when he animation was vibrant, lush, and legitimized Walt Disney’s goal of getting animation to be taken seriously as an art form. Too simple a story is the downfall here but even that doesn’t hurt it too badly. Parents and children can all watch this film and enjoy it as a solid second-tier Disney flick.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5