Based on the five part novel series, The Chronicles of Prydain, by Lloyd Alexander, the story is based off Welsh Mythology and tells the tale of Taran as he goes on journeys and adventures with his band of friends. It was a very dark book and very deep, with good ideas and mythology. So naturally, after the passing of Walt Disney, they sought to make a movie based off the first novel and probably make a series much like Lord of the Rings. But it was a long time since the release of the previous film and a lot of money was put into the film, that I think it lost sight of what it was trying to do and just tried to earn back how much was put in. And, what do you know? The film flopped, critics and audiences were displeased and were unsatisfied with the end result.
And what was that end result. After a confusing opening, we meet our hero Taran. An assistant pig feeder who dreams of being a great warrior. He gets his chance when it is discovered that the pig can see the future (really?) and Taran is sent to bring the pig to safety (Why Him?Surely the pig owner knows how to take better care of the pig). But The Horned King searches for a mystical Black Cauldron, a magical source of power that can raise an army of Darkness and grant unbelievable power. To find it he finds the pig and Taran and imprisons them both. While imprisoned, he meets Princess Eilonwy and a musician named Fflewddur. They escape and meet a small creature named Gurgi (The equivalent to Smeagol) and together search for the Black Cauldron.
According to different sources, many scenes were cut out that included extreme violence. This is where are main problem lies. Not that I crave battle and blood, but the film is a dark film, but yet it feels so restrained. In my opinion they should have gone all the way and tried to scare us and intrigue us with complex plot and good character. It fails in most areas. The story is way too short and it's padded with unfunny dialog or jokes, little action despite being a fantasy film associated with a novel and the characters are bland, cowardly, unfunny and vain. The main character Taran is so self-obsessed that he causes most of the problems in the movie by negating his responsibilities and fantasizing. The Princess, as far as female protagonists go, is poorly done. She has no development apart from a sentence and is useless (she does literally nothing throughout the entire film). Gurgi is so bad as comic relief. Most have a problem with his voice, but to tell the truth I don't find it that bad. But when he sacrifices himself at the end, you feel no emotion for him. On watchmojo, they placed his sacrifice higher than the Iron Giant (No comment!) and I really wish people would stop giving this film so much slack. I feel as though this film came out when a lot of studios were trying to do adventure/fantasy films. Films like Warner Bros Quest for Camelot and Baksi's Lord of the Rings are classic examples.
But out of all the bad things in this movie, two stand out as good. One is the animation, as I said they put a lot of money into this and it really shows. The shadows, the designs, the magic performed and the movements all seem very flowing. It's just a shame there was a poor adaption of the story for this. The other is the villain. The Horned King is not only badass in design, but also in personality and character. He destroys everything and everyone and has little regard for life. Also being voiced by John Hurt doesn't affect him. One of the greatest actors ever in one of the worst films I have ever seen, only he shines out. But even this film found a way to screw him over. The ending is so anti-climatic and slow, that you can just guess how the film ends and turn it off. I heard this film was developing a cult following, but as a reviewer of cult movies and having seen nearly sixty-four of the best and worst, all I can say is...PLEASE DON'T DO IT! It is unworthy of the mainstream audiences and the underground Cult followers. My advice, watch The Iron Giant or the Baksi Lord of the Rings.
You know what else, I'm not putting a video on my blog for this, instead I direct you to Doug walker's website to get an extra opinion.
http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/specials/33645-disneycember-part-9
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