DVD Review: ‘The Black Cauldron: 25th Anniversary Edition’

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CHICAGO – Disney has been such a leader in the transition from standard DVD to High Definition Blu-ray that it almost makes their DVD-only releases even more lackluster than they might otherwise be. Take for example the 25th Anniversary Edition of “The Black Cauldron,” one of the least-successful films in the Mouse House canon given a truly disappointing home release.

DVD Rating: 3.0/5.0

It probably has to do with a release date of around the same time that all little boys are at least somewhat interested in the world of Camelot, Merlin, and mythology, but I always had a soft spot for “The Black Cauldron.” Watching it again a quarter-century after its release, it’s easy to see why the film isn’t getting the beloved treatment of some of the other Disney canon classics but the title will at least have some nostalgic fans and those who need to collect all the Disney releases and they’ll be somewhat disappointed.

The Black Cauldron: 25th Anniversary Edition was released on DVD on September 14th, 2010
Photo credit: Walt Disney Home Video

Released in 1985, “The Black Cauldron” is one of the few Disney films that could accurately be called a bomb. It didn’t gross back its budget, barely cracking $20 million. The twenty-fifth official Disney release came out four years after “The Fox and the Hound” and preceded a pair of disappointments — “The Great Mouse Detective” and “Oliver & Company” — before the triumphant comeback of the company with 1989’s “The Little Mermaid.”

The Black Cauldron: 25th Anniversary Edition was released on DVD on September 14th, 2010 Photo credit: Walt Disney Home Video

“The Black Cauldron” is based on a series of books called “Chronicle of Prydain” by Lloyd Alexander that tries to tap into the vein of magic, witches, and warlocks that turned projects like “The Sword in the Stone” into a hit. “The Black Cauldron” was clearly too dark a project for mid-’80s audiences and I imagine the mediocre film would suffer a similar fate were it released today. It’s more interesting as a product of a rare downtime for the most influential studio of all time than a quality film on its own.

Despite the film’s relative failures, there are thousands of people who collect Disney films and it would have been nice to produce a stronger release for them. The video on the standard-only release is pretty-average as is the audio track. It’s never distracting but would an HD release have been impossible? And the “new games” are just goofy. The fact is that the title basically includes no special features and wasn’t released on Blu-ray. It’s not a highly-celebrated anniversary, wasting the opportunity to truly please Disney collectors and providing what is essentially a space-taker on your animated shelf.

Special Features:
o New! The Witches’ Challenge Game
o New! Deleted Scene: The Fairfolk
o “The Quest For Black Cauldron” Game
o Short “Trick or Treat” Cartoon Starring Donald Duck And His 3 Nephews
o Still Frame Gallery

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com