30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 7- The Black Cauldron (1985)

You'll see on this blog that there are a lot of Disney movies that I have not seen even during my childhood and it's not because I was deprived, but I just never cared to. Thanks to the fact that I am doing a 30 day movie challenge and that day seven calls for me to watch an animated film, today was the perfect chance to check out 1985's The Black Cauldron which was directed by Ted Berman (The Fox and The Hound) and Richard Rich (The Swan Princess). For young Taran (Grant Bardsley), life is pretty bland as an assistant pig farmer and all he wants is a chance to be a warrior for the fame and honor that comes with it. He'll get his chance to prove it with a group of misfits he meets along the way when he loses a special pig that could lead the tyrant Horned King to a cauldron that could give him infinite powers. Now it's up to them to stop him from getting it before it's too late. The film also stars John Hurt (Hellboy) as The Horned King, Phil Fondacaro (The Garbage Pail Kids Movie) as Creeper, Susan Sheridan (Agony) as Eilonwy, Freddie Jones (Krull) as Dallben, Nigel Hawthorne (Demolition Man) as Fflewddur Fflam, John Byner (Transylvania 6-5000) as Gurgi, Eda Reiss Merin (Turner & Hooch), Adele Malis-Morey (Critters), and Billie Hayes (H.R. Pufnstuf) as the three witches, Arthur Malet (Hook) as King Eidilleg, and John Huston (Moby Dick) as The Prologue Narrator.

I have to be honest in saying that while I do love where animation has gone over the years because let's face it, it's superior now than it ever was, but there is something to be said about these old 80's animated films. I have always enjoyed this animation style that you see in films like Heavy Metal, Rock and Rule, etc. Plus the imagery when it comes to the Horned King and his castle and the skeleton army is amazing in my opinion especially with me being a heavy metal fan. The animation style is just gritty and well drawn and very imaginative because can someone tell me what in the world is Gurgi? The whole time I was trying to figure it out and I kept asking what animal or creature in the world has a moustache? He is way to hairy and tiny to be a human in this fantasy world that they live in, but I guess that's the beauty of it right? Anything is possible when you put your imagination to it. My only complaint of the film has to do with the actual Black Cauldron itself because I feel like it literally took them no effort or real sacrifice to find it. They just landed in this underwater world and these fairy things were like oh yeah we'll lead you there and there it was. Then the Horned King just easily got the cauldron with no real effort other than his men were following them and they brought it back with no struggle whatsoever. I guess thanks to Lord Of The Rings, I want some psychological struggle to go with it. Other than that, I enjoyed the film a lot and I highly recommend it considering that they are thinking of making it into a live action film. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.

Hook (1991)

Every month the app VUDU has free movies that you can watch, but the only catch is that it comes with advertisements. Those are the least of your worries because the selection is usually amazing and I found one that I have been meaning to see for 29 years now. The film I am talking about is the 1991 Steven Spielberg (Jaws) directed Hook which stars the late Robin Williams (Good Morning Vietnam) as Peter Banning, a lawyer known for closing deals between companies that merge. During a trip to England to see Granny Wendy (Maggie Smith), his children are kidnapped by Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman) and that is when he learns that he was Peter Pan at one time in his life, but he needs help remembering so that he can save his kids before it's too late. The film also stars Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman) as Tinkerbell, Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) as Smee, Caroline Goodall (Schindler's List) as Moira, Charlie Korsmo (Can't Hardly Wait) as Jack, Amber Scott (American Experience) as Maggie, the late Laurel Cronin (A League Of Their Own) as Liza, Phil Collins (Buster) as Inspector Good, the late Arthur Malet (Halloween) as Tootles, Dante Basco (The Perfect Weapon) as Rufio, Raushan Hammond (Tales From The Crypt) as Thud Butt, and Jasen Fisher (The Witches) as Ace.

What can one say about the film that probably hasn't already been said? I mean Dustin Hoffman was masterful as the conceited and disillusioned Captain Hook. Every time he was on screen, he intrigued me to want to keep watching because he is an amazing actor.  One of the things I really enjoyed about the film was the idea they used in explaining how Robin's character was the grown up Peter Pan. He simply stopped believing and he grew up as a result of it and most of the memories of Neverland were erased from his memory because all he knew was his love for Moira. If you think about it, that was a brilliant idea because it was a different take on a classic story and I loved how everyone thinks they are made up stories by Granny Wendy who is really Wendy in the story. The only thing that was predictable was how Robin was a shitty dad who focuses way too much on his work that he ends up neglecting his kids and now he has to prove to them that he still loves them. WE have seen that part of the story so many times in the past, but it helps with this. The scenes with the Lost Boys were really good, the cinematography and sets were amazing and the writing was well done which is all that matters. Oh yeah, the acting was amazing all around, but one thing I was confused about at first was that you see Phil Collins in the beginning of the film as a cop, I thought at first that he was Smee in Neverland, but I was wrong. The film is awesome so go and check it out because I am going to give the film an A for a final grade.