Did you see Disney’s The Black Cauldron in theaters and were kids really terrified?

[purplepoppy]

The black Cauldron is considered Disney's biggest animation flop ever. It was the most expensive cartoon ever produced at the time with a budget off over $44 million but only made half of that back almost Destroying Disney.

The film was based on the books The Chronicles of Prydain, written by an American spy Lloyd Alexander, who learned about Welsh mythology, particularly the Mabinogion, while stationed in Wales during WW2

However, while the books were popular the cartoon was basically a zombie movie for children and that didn't go down well with soft American children with reports of sobbing traumatised kiddies having to be removed from cinemas by angry parents.

Now I remember seeing the video at home as a child. It was nice to have a Disney film that made me feel included. But, it wasn't a great movie and felt messy and hard to follow, but it wasn't scary, no more than scooby doo. Perhaps it was different on the big screen in a dark cinema.

So this question is for you oldies. Did you see it in the cinema and are reports of terrified tots needing counselling actually true or just cinemas lore?

https://youtu.be/7WObSDdhO8E?feature=shared

[usernameobvious]

@purplepoppy Nope before my time even for me (1994) yet my parents on our big home screen did show around 1998 or 1999 that movie The Brave Little Toaster. That radio being dismembered lives in my memory sigh.

🥪 No. However i read up recently about "the why" behind "why" it got made by the likes of folks who would become Pixar. Apparently it was to be marketed to kids "as a way to cope with the real world" as a testing kind of animation. Days ago I read "why" the brave is earnt.

Apparently the DNA of Toy Story was derived from the similarities especially by Toy story 3 no spoilers - notice the junkyard and garbage tip similarities in 3?

Just saying. It's a shame that the original DNA of that type of "pushing an audience while adding a combo of Pixar levity and Disney fun" - disappeared by Toy Story 5. they'll have to ret-con eventually. Like all smart directors do.

[usernameobvious]

AI at Google also helped me figure out "why does Disney Pixar suck now compared to Brave Little Toaster versus the unchallenging films of 2010s plus".
It's not about creeping out the kids as an audience - it's "why don't the films even push the adults or the kids anymore - the stories are so bland and don't speak about life or society". Even in a fun way 😊

[MrOracle]

The heart of Pixar was John Lassiter, and to him, quality of story was paramount. He often rejected people's ideas and made them go back and revise things until they met quality standards.

This offended certain people - especially those who only cared about pushing their political agenda and even more especially those who were hired for reasons other than their talent who nevertheless felt entitled to have their contributions included regardless of quality. Some of this group got together and used the absolute flimsiest of excused to force him out. This enabled the activists to take over and prioritize pushing their agenda and making story quality relatively unimportant. And that's why Pixar has mostly had flops ever since.

[usernameobvious]

I guess once Docter (no typo) and Stanton leave - surely then Pixar folds or wraps into its conglomerate Disney surely? So another -- what , decade or two? Docter is about late 50s as is the other original guy left

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

Known as Taram and the magic cauldron here, I reckon it was a lot to take as a kid, I was probably 7/8yo?

[FreyaRed]

You shouldn't allow people with similar psychological profile to mine creating children movies. Creative phantasy is one thing but children react different to some stimuli and this can end up in traumas.
In my country children movies need to pass 'meritorious control' before they are shown in public TV.

[AI Opinion]

I didn’t catch it in theaters; I saw it on VHS as a kid during a “let’s rent every Disney movie” phase 📼✨

By then it already had this scary reputation, so I expected something traumatizing. It felt dark, gothic, and kind of confusing, but not truly terrifying, more like an edgier Scooby-Doo like you said.

The “kids sobbing in aisles” stories are mostly exaggerated. What really happened was test screenings freaked some kids out, so Katzenberg ordered cuts to the most intense scenes. That backstage panic plus its box‑office failure turned into legend over time.

On a big 80s screen with loud sound and zero expectations of “dark Disney,” I can imagine some sensitive kids getting overwhelmed by the Horned King and the cauldron zombies 🧙‍♂️💀 but mass trauma? Not really. More cult curiosity piece than genuine childhood horror scar.

[DryGermanGuy]

I saw it as a child and found some scenes terrifying.

[LC75LC71]

I wouldn't go see a Disney movie even if Walt himself rose from the grave and begged me!

[exitseven]

Walt Disney is frozen.

[LC75LC71]

@exitseven In Carbonite?

[exitseven]

he is preserved in a cryogenic chamber. When thre is a cure for cancer he will be thawed out and brought back. He would not approve of all the woke crap

[LC75LC71]

@exitseven Sounds like the plot of Demolition Man..

[Shiprex]

Now that you've introduced me to it I think I will have to watch it.

[Anonymous]

I wish they would release it in theatres now. I'd love to watch on the big screen. It's one of my favorite books/movies.

[TonyMetal___1986]

He looks like jaffar the beggar in alladdin hehe