Disney's The Black Cauldron is a lot of things to a lot of people. It was an experimental piece for the company that bombed both commercially and critically while nearly dooming the animation department to oblivion. Some have lauded the film for daring to take a darker tone compared to the rest of Disney's filmography at the time, while Jeffrey Katzenberg found the film to be a little too out of place for Disney's target audience. Suffice it to say; there are reasons it's spoken about so little compared to the likes of the Disney Renaissance or, in recent memory, their live-action remakes.

While you'd be correct to criticize a plethora of Disney's remakes as dull cash grabs, this isn't to say that remakes are, by themselves, not without merit. Would it be so crazy to suggest that a live-action remake would be able to fix the issues that were present in the original Black Cauldron film? Let's not pretend it's without technical faults. Multiple editing issues are present amid its beautiful animation and darker plot beats. Seeing as other remakes updated even the most critically acclaimed of films for seemingly no reason, who's to say that The Black Cauldron isn't worthy of one?

The Black Cauldron is Deeply Flawed

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Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The Black Cauldron is, in many ways, a technical marvel for the time it was released. But, in other ways, it's also a movie held together by wacky glue and prayer. It's a little harsh, but you can't deny that the film's significant editing process hampered what could've been an amazing dark-fantasy film.

Disney fans likely know the story, but we'll give a brief synopsis for those who don't. The Black Cauldron was initially set to release around Christmas of 1984, but a conflict quickly formed between Disney studio chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg and producer Joe Hale. The film, taking a darker approach to the fantasy genre due to its source material, had several scenes considered by Katzenberg to be a little too intense for kids. If you've ever seen what was originally cut, you'd probably have to agree with him. Surprisingly graphic violence and a particularly morbid sequence of the dead coming to life are two such scenes. However, at the time of Katzenberg's objection, the film was already done -- completely drawn, inked, and ready to be test-screened for audiences.

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To make a bitter story short, Katzenberg got his way. Approximately a dozen minutes of the film were completely cut out, with surrounding footage having to be remade before a new release in July 1985. While most of the edits aren't noticeable unless you're actively looking for them, a few--especially during the climactic finale--feel incredibly disjointed. There's even a moment where the film's soundtrack cuts in and out with the edits of the footage. Combined with other issues that plagued the studio at the time, like a departure of animators led by Don Bluth, scrapped work by a young Tim Burton, and clashing ideologies surrounding improved technology, the film was a modest success overseas but bombed domestically. The resulting fallout nearly sunk the Disney studio outright were it not for the rebounding success of The Great Mouse Detective in 1986.

The Black Cauldron Deserves a Remake

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Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The Black Cauldron is a black sheep in the Disney canon, a misstep along the likes of Song of the South and Chicken Little. But, compared to those mistakes, The Black Cauldron presents an interesting scenario: what if we try again? It's already a film that could more easily make the transition to live-action compared to Dumbo or The Jungle Book, of all things. There's not even a full-length score attached to the original film, almost completely divorcing it from Disney's bread and butter.

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Of all the films to receive a live-action remake so far, which ones actually felt as though a remake was necessary? Or that a remake directly improved on what was already there? We won't argue whether they're enjoyable, but most would think that the original Mulan or Aladdin work just fine in their original incarnations. And while Chicken Little or The Jungle Book 2 are simply flawed stories that need a complete reworking, The Black Cauldron is unique in that it was a culmination of just about every problem Disney was facing at the time of its production. What we have as a result is something that reflects this troubled period. Would it not be beneficial to revitalize an older property while allowing it to thrive as a more cohesive product?

The fantasy genre, as well as media aimed toward younger audiences, is entirely different from what it was in the mid-1980s. Kids nowadays can handle darker aspects of the fantasy genre; some even revel in the maturity that works like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter can offer. Frankly, The Black Cauldron would make a terrific live-action film, especially given Disney's repeat success in bringing its older films to the modern day. Once the well of recognizable properties runs dry, we're sure it'll eventually see the light of day once again. Until then, it remains a movie that demands a second shot at the limelight.