Hi everyone!
I purchased 'The Black Cauldron' on DVD 1 and a half years ago in Region 1 (So lucky...). I was pleased to find out that it wasn't as bad as I'd heard.
True, the characters are a bit flat, except for Princess Eilonwy who is a real treat. The film (in my opinion) also suffers in the story departement, so that after half an hour or so, I wasn't too interested in what was going on. But I continued watching it, and I think I owe that to the magnificent special effects that envelope the movie's characters.
At the back of my mind, I also thought of the effort that Disney had put into making this film, presenting it in 70mm Widescreen, which if I'm not mistaken is called Super-Technirama 70. It was also one of the first movies released in 6 Channel Dolby(R) Surround Sound, which is frickin' impressive.
Critics' reviews vary, Leonard Maltin gives it 2.5 stars on 4 and describes it as being unmemorable but pretty good, whilst Roger Ebert gives it an excellent 3.5 stars on 4, and praises it incessantly, as opposed to all the negative reviews about it.
The DVD was a bit disappointing though. The picture had a lot of flaws, but I suppose it will just have to do.
I wonder if one day Disney will give ALL its animated classics a thorough restoration, even the lesser-known ones?