Taran is an assistant pigkeeper with boyish dreams of becoming a great warrior. However, he has to put the daydreaming aside when his charge, an oracular pig named Hen Wen, is kidnapped by an evil lord known as the Horned King. The villain hopes Hen will show him the way to The Black Cauldron, which has the power to create a giant army of unstoppable soldiers.
By the end of The Black Cauldron I was remembering, with something of a shock of nostalgia, the strength and utter storytelling conviction of the early Disney animators. The Black Cauldron is a return to the tradition.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
The backgrounds are as richly textured and detailed as in any other Disney film.
– James Berardinelli,
ReelViews,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
This is the 25th full-length animated feature from Walt Disney studios, and professionally put together as it is, many of the ingredients may seem programmed to those who have seen some of the others.
– Walter Goodman,
New York Times,
21 May 2003
fresh:
It's quite good, though by the impossible standards the film sets for itself it inevitably falls short.
– Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader,
5 Sep 2008
rotten:
The characters, though cute and cuddly and sweet and mean and ugly and simply awful, don't really have much to do that would remain of interest to any but the youngest minds.