Thanks for the link! I do indeed know most of the story behind the studio at that time. But there was some new information in there for me too. Mostly the remarks from some of the new animators.
Its a flawed film. There's some outstanding animation, I really like the first 10 minutes of the film. But the character animation is a bit stiff, then again that's because they had mostly young animators working on the project.
Its also clear the art style is all over the place. Again not surprised when so many hands were involved with the film at various points of production. I think the outside artist who contributed design work was Brian Froud.
The story kinda meanders and the characters are not well defined. For animation fans it has its good moments.
The film probably did the best it could at the box office. I'm more disappointed The Great Mouse Detective didn't do better. Its a fantastic film full of energy and rich characterizations. TGMD is another film Disney just hates and wants to forget. Evident by the Blu Ray release which didn't receive the same love and restoration as other Disney films put on Blu Ray.
Cheers y'all & I hope that wasnt too odd or creepy to single you out Solium! For whatever odd memory-retention I have, thought of you. I guess Mr. Jack is in that animated company too??
It is flawed, yes, but that score has been a staple for me forever & I didn't see the film until its first dvd release. Love that Bernstein! I didn't really know more beyond the scary bits were frowned upon and cut down by Disney, and Tim Burton drew something, so it was an interesting find.
Cheers y'all & I hope that wasnt too odd or creepy to single you out Solium! For whatever odd memory-retention I have, thought of you. I guess Mr. Jack is in that animated company too??
No sweat, I appreciate the thought. I think Im kinda known as the classic animation guy on these forums.
A very interesting read. Most of the information in there was previously known to me, though I never knew how much the film’s production led to the directing careers of Musker and Clements. The comments from the various animators that worked on the film were very enlightening and the Milt Kahl sketch of the Horned King was interesting, though I kinda prefer the design they went with (though neither design comes close to Lloyd Alexander’s description of the king in the books). Also, I like that the author gives a shout-out to Bernstein’s score.
I first saw the film when it made its home video debut in 1998 and liked it for being different from the usual Disney fare (it would be quite a few years later before I first learned of the edits made to the film). However, my appreciation for the film went down considerably once I read the original books and realized how much Disney bowdlerized them for the film (that Lloyd Alexander liked the film for what it was is to his credit). Rewatching the film now, the film’s flaws are more noticeable (such as the meandering storyline as Solium mentioned) and I still hope a more faithful adaptation of the books comes out eventually, yet it’s still a decent film with thrilling moments and a terrific Bernstein score. That said, I do wish we could see the original version of the film, though I can’t help but wonder if the deleted scenes still exist in any form, much less on the original Technirama negative.
There's actually some videos on YouTube that try and reconstruct the deleted scenes by using storyboards, actual animation cels and shots in the trailers.
There's actually some videos on YouTube that try and reconstruct the deleted scenes by using storyboards, actual animation cels and shots in the trailers.
Yes, I've seen those videos and have conversed with the man who made those videos via PM on another forum. He did a very good job reconstructing those scenes with the limited materials available (though on the fourth video, he unfortunately seems to consider the unmentionable as a legitimate source when observing the bits of score that got dialed out beside the excerpt of Cauldron Born), though it would be nice if the actual footage turned up someday. He's actually found some more material since making those videos, chiefly some storyboards of the original version of the Horned King's death, which actually had some stuff added as well as deleted, presumably on Katzenburg's orders. The boards in question can be found here:
The reason Disney took on a seemingly serious story was because their animation and film division was in shambles in the 70's and not making a profit at the box office.
Lucas and Spielberg came along and started to make in live action, what up to that point was only done in animation, and they were obviously having great success. Disney felt it had to make more mature films in order to be competitive again.
But nothing IMHO would have saved this film. Even if it was truly as epic as it could've been. American audiences see animation as kiddy fare and their just isn't a market for action adventure animated films.
Disney instead found success going back to its roots with high quality animated musicals.
American audiences see animation as kiddy fare and their just isn't a market for action adventure animated films.
Sad, but true. While it's not technically action adventure, it's that rather absurd view of animation that led to the butchering of The Thief and the Cobbler and a wrong-headed attempt to turn it into a rip-off of Aladdin, even though Thief had been in production decades before Disney began developing that film.
A rather interesting video on The Black Cauldron’s production history recently turned up on YouTube with an in-depth look at the deleted scenes. Apparently, the uploader managed to get ahold of an entire set of storyboards made for the film (some of which have never been seen before), which makes this examination particularly intrigued.
