mte@busch.UUCP (Moshe Eliovson) (08/01/85)
Before the movie was released I looked up Lloyd Alexander's books. Now
they looked quite interesting but I was unsettled by the fact that they looked
like children's fantasy, a fact which was later confirmed.
Now that I've seen the movie, I can confirm Peter Reiher's review. This
is not as fantastic as one could hope. But this should not be a criticism, this
IS a children's story! This is not adult fantasy animation (fans of Heavy Metal
will agree). There is absolutely no bloodshed, no cursing- there is a tavern
wench, but she's mostly there for comic relief.
Concerning Gurgi; I think the best thing about the movie was the laughter
of the (very) little children there. Gurgi was a unanimous favorite, played against
the evil King's little monster (whom I personally wanted to throttle). He inspired
the greatest mirth in the children and an absolute high when he was revived. I
think the same applies to the Ewoks. 1) any lover of teddy-bears fell instantly
in love 2) if you were a moviemaker, wouldn't you want to add these elements in to
greatly increase your takings? Although I found them a bit improbable, the Ewoks
were cute and their little war was well engineered. It did not detract from the
main part of the movie, namely the fantastic duel between Luke and Vader.
If you are a fan of fantasy animation, Disney or have little kids it is
worthwhile to take the hour and a half or so to see The Black Cauldron, the movie
is not slow. Just realize, that it's for the kids.
Moshe Eliovson
{allegra, ihnp4}!we53!busch!mte