#i had TONS of new merch come in that I had to categorize in my spread sheets

[loverofpiggies]

Convention Schedule for 2021

Hey guys! That’s right- conventions are actually returning! I wanted to make sure and post this while I was thinking of it.

I know I’ve been pretty quiet on here, but I’ve been focusing heavily on a new kickstarter (I’ll post a lil ad tomorrow), finishing up my old kickstarter, and completely reorganizing all my new merch into suitcases for travel again.

I’m actually genuinely so excited... I can’t believe things are coming back. Masks are still required at many of these events (which is great, because who knows how many people are actually gonna be vaccinated) and there are some attendance limitations in effect, but I don’t care. I can’t wait to travel again.

So anyway, here is my schedule!

--------------- June 25-27, Albuquerque Comic Con (New Mexico) July 2-4, Anime Midwest (Chicago, IL) July 9-11, Indypop Con (Indianapolis, IN) July 23-25, Metro Con (Tampa, FL) July 30- Aug 1, Anime Iowa (Coralville, IA) Aug 20-22, Planet Comic Con Kansas City (Missouri) Aug 27-29, Colorado Springs Comic Con (Colorado) Sep 3-6, Saboten (Phoenix, AZ) Sep 10-12, El Paso Comic Con (El Paso, TX) Sep 16-18, Salt Lake Comic Con (Salt Lake City, UT) Oct 30-31, Arctic Comic Con (Anchorage, AK) Nov 5-7, Rhode Island Comic Con (Providence, RI)

[spaceorphan18]

The Black Cauldron

You know - when we started this thing, I was looking forward to getting to this one.  There are a few Disney films I haven’t seen (a lot of them the more recent ones) but this is one of the few classic films I had never seen before -- and of course this film has a reputation of being the worst of Disney.  Well.  It’s not.  Unfortunately.  

I was really looking forward to it being a train wreck and, I mean, it’s not? It’s a competent story, even if it’s not that interesting of one.  I mean Sword in the Stone is far, far worse a film.  But -- I would definitely not categorize this film as ‘good’ either.  

So, hmmm, where to begin with this one.  The creators of this film adapted a high fantasy children’s series from the 60s.  All the elements of fantasy are there -- the epic quest, the hero, the old mentor, the princess, the magic item, the evil lord, fairies-slash-elves, weird creatures, witches, spells, etc, etc, etc.  I can see where this might be a rather entertaining series for children.  The first problem of this whole thing is that they tried to take a story that’s probably on the Lord of the Rings scale and distill it into an hour long film.  The plot was boiled down, I’m assuming, to the essentials, which leaves out world building and character -- things fantasy novels usually rely on heavily.  The script is... fine. But at no point are they able to break away from the fantasy tropes that we’ve all seen a million times.  Nothing about this feels particularly new or novel. 

On top of that -- you can tell they were adapting from a book that has certain points in the plot that you have to hit.  I mean, at point they were all like -- the black cauldron can be very hard to find, and then, bam, they’re at the place where it’s found.  Plot happens because it was something that happened in the book, not because it makes organic sense. 

But more so -- weighing it down are the characters.  They’re mostly annoying or pointless.  Our main hero is Taran -- though he spends the entire film either being arrogant or yelling at people. There’s no reason we should like him.  Then we have Princess Eilonwy -- I have no idea how she’s a princess, nor does she do anything of interest in the entire film.  There’s a bard at one point, whose purpose is.... ? Anyway, my point is that these characters aren’t fun to spend an entire film with.  They aren’t developed enough for us to care about them, and what little personality they have is kind of annoying to watch.  

Case in point - the ending sequence involves one of the furry creatures sacrificing his own life (it’s a bit dark for a children’s film) and Taran wanting to bring him back.  But since Taran spent the whole film being a dick to the creature, it’s hard to believe that he actually cares.  There isn’t any emotional satisfaction to how this film plays out.  

The villain, btw, is a dude named The Horned King.  He kind of reminds me of Skeletor from He-Man.  He’s actually not that bad - has an interesting design, and with a little development, would have been interesting! He’s definitely not the worst part of the film. 

The animation isn’t bad -- and one of the better aspects of the film.  While there are a few moments of clearly rushed animation -- most of it is rather nice to look at, and the parts they did spend time on are gorgeous.  

Another weird thing about this film is the lack of music.  The score is fine -- and has that epic fantasy thing going, but it’s unusual for a Disney film not to have songs in it.  It doesn’t stand out or anything, the film works fine without them, it just doesn’t feel like a Disney film.  

Anyway - I have to wonder if the reason this film has such a bad reputation (I mean, Disney has zero merch or recognition of it -- which is weird) is because there were a ton of changes going on at the time.  A lot of the old crew of animators were on their way out, and the people coming in were going to go in quite a different direction.  This film just happens to be at the junction of change, and the clout around that hangs over the film.  

Other thoughts: 

This is Disney’s first PG film.  I get that - there are some scarier images in it.  

Like all films of this era, it starts out with a grey sky.  What is up with that trope? Maybe it was the mood of the animator’s room. 

This is the first time the classic Disney Logo is on the front of it -- ah, childhood.  

This film also has its credits at the end instead of the beginning -- another indication that we’re headed into a new era.  

Princess Eilonwy’s haircut drives me crazy.  It’s longer, but she has two shorter pieces that frame her face, and they move about every time she turns her head, which is every time she speaks -- and it just looks weird.  

There’s an entire sequence where the bard gets turned into a frog, and ends up stuck in one of the witch’s cleavage.  It’s kind of bizarre to see, in a Disney film, a close up of large boobs for a good five minutes.  

There’s a magical pig that can has premonitions.  That’s relevant to the plot and I feel like I should mention it.  

Final Thoughts: Not the worst Disney has to offer - but they bit off more than they could chew, and the film kinda falls flat as a result.  It probably should have stayed a book.