The Inner Beast 2: Werewolf Cinema of the 80s and 90s

 

I started the Retro Revelations blog, back in October of 2012. So it will soon be something of a Nine Year Anniversary for me. During that first month, both wanting to celebrate Halloween, and the whole writing blog articles thing being new to me, I churned out several different pieces. One of those initial articles was entitled “The Inner Beast: A History of Classic Werewolf Films”. That article, as the name implies, literally went over what I could find of the early history of werewolf cinema, from a bit of info on some (now mostly lost) silent era films, as well as getting into the better known “Golden Era” Hollywood films, such as Werewolf of London (1935), The Undying Monster (1942), and of course the most infamous, Lon Chaney Jr.’s starring role as The Wolf Man (1941), among others. I even touched upon some werewolf films of the 50s and 60s, including Hammer Horror’s own The Curse of the Werewolf (1961).

There were a handful of werewolf movies in the 1970s, but none that I feel were truly of great note. But the 1980s? That’s a whole different story. In the 80s, werewolf fiction became all the rage again, hitting with full force in 1981 most especially. In that year, in a span of fewer than 12 months, four major werewolf films released, a couple of which at least are now considered to be perennial classics of the genre. I’m here today to talk about some of the more notable werewolf films of the 1980s and 1990s. I will mainly be covering films that specifically focus on werewolves, and don’t merely feature one. And for the interests of space and redundancy, I also won’t be covering individual sequels. So without further adieu, let’s dive into it!

 

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Film: The Howling

Year: 1981 

 Director: Joe Dante

First up, on the trail of his cheeseball satire of Jaws, the Roger Corman produced Piranha (1978), but before the smash hit that truly launched his career in Gremlins (1984), Joe Dante helmed this, the first major mainstream werewolf thriller to come along in many years. An adaptation of a novel of the same name by author Gary Brandner, the story, at least at first, plays out more like a murder mystery. A television reporter, played by Dee Wallace of (later) E.T. and Cujo fame, is investigating a series of murders, and trying to get close to the killer by setting up a private meeting (like an idiot) at a local porn shop. During the encounter, she briefly sees the killer’s “true form”, that of a werewolf, though she and the audience naturally don’t get a good look. She screams, the police barge in and shoot him, and that’s that. Except that the reporter, Karen White, is now traumatized and amnesiac. She sees psychiatrist Dr. Waggner, played by Patrick Macnee of Avengers (60s TV show) fame, who recommends she go to a private retreat he runs to recover from her ordeal. And of course, everything gets crazier from there.

The film also stars a young Dennis Duggan, a fairly unknown actor who would go on to become a pretty successful comedy director, of such films as Problem Child (1990), Happy Gilmore (1996), Beverly Hills Ninja (1997), and Saving Silverman (2001). One way in which this film stands out from most werewolf fiction is that the werewolves within it, do not conform to the established “rule” of only transforming during full moons. Without spoiling the whole plot, it turns out that this “retreat” called “The Colony”, is, in fact, a colony of werewolves, of which the serial killer, Eddie Quist, had been a member. And as the heroes come to learn, these werewolves can apparently transform at will, day or night. In point of fact, that was the one outstanding thing about this film upon release, was that for its time, the werewolf effects, and in particular the transformation effects, were some of the best practical effects yet seen. As a movie, it works for the most part. It grabs your interest with the mystery of the main plot, and as most good horror films do, gradually ramps up the weird, creepy, and horrific, until the final climax.

It is not one of my personal favorites, as far as horror films or Joe Dante films go, though he is one of my favorite directors of all time. But it is a very well made film, for the most part, and if you like werewolf or murder mystery fare, it’s got everything you could want in that genre of film. The success of this movie also went on to spawn seven (yes seven) sequels or prequels, etc. Although none of them are really quite of the quality of Dante’s original.

Film: Wolfen

Year: 1981

Director: Michael Wadleigh

Another film based on a late 70s novel, this time written by Whitley Strieber, better known for his 1987 alien story “Communion”. This film also plays out like a murder mystery, though this time the main character trying to solve the case is a retired police officer named Dewey Wilson, played by veteran actor Albert Finney. This story, however, unfolds on the East Coast, vs. The Howling’s California setting, specifically, New York City. The basic plot is that Captain Wilson has been brought back to active duty to help solve a series of murders that is stumping local law enforcement. The investigation eventually leads Wilson to contact a militant Native American activist he once arrested, Eddie Holt, played by Edward James Olmos. Through Holt and other Natives, it is learned that the killings are being committed by “Wolfen”, which they regard as wolf spirits, who “only kill to protect their hunting ground.”

The film also features Diane Venora, Gregory Hines, and Dick O’Neill. One major thing of note is that this was apparently the director’s only fictional film, as he was more known as a cinematographer and director of documentaries, the most famous of which being Woodstock (1970).  For his only shot at a fictional film, let alone a supernatural horror story, it’s actually pretty impressive. As far as the film itself goes, unlike perhaps any of the others on this list, the story actually plays out more like a gritty crime drama with supernatural elements. And the “werewolves” in question, are either literally spirits, or they are more like how werewolves were depicted in the earliest werewolf movies, as humans who could transform fully into wolves, instead of the more transitory “Wolf Man” hybrid-like state. Either way, it deserves recognition for being a very unique entry in the genre.

Film: An American Werewolf in London

Year: 1981   

Director: John Landis

Now we come to both the first at least semi-comedic entry on this list, as well as being the first to not be based on a book. Written and Directed by John Landis, a longtime friend of Joe Dante, this is not only most likely the most well known of the films on the list, but it’s also arguably the weirdest. This movie also had the benefit of having veteran special effects man Rick Baker in charge of the (again for the time) rather lavish and complicated practical effects, which actually won multiple awards. As far as John Landis goes, he’s definitely known more as a comedy director, not the least of which were the two prior films of his that had already established him as a big name in the business: Animal House (1978) and The Blues Brothers (1980). He would mostly stick to comedy again after this, though he did take a stab at it (pun intended) with 1992’s vampire flick Innocent Blood. But while you could argue that this is more of a “dark comedy”, Landis’ first foray into the horror genre must have been pretty good for its time, as it’s still one of the most iconic and remembered werewolf films, even today.

The plot sees friends David Kessler and Jack Goodman (played by David Naughton and Griffin Dunne) traveling to England on a backpacking trip. While walking across the Yorkshire moors at night (against the advice of somewhat hostile locals), they accidentally wander off the road and are attacked by a huge wolf-life beast, and Jack winds up dead. David is taken to a hospital in London, and from there things only get stranger. One of the signature things people remember about this film, is the very disturbing and surreal visions and dreams of the dead that the character David keeps on having. For one thing, he keeps seeing his friend Jack’s ghost, who informs him he is now a werewolf, and is something of a gruesome comedy relief. As he transforms and kills local Londoners, their ghosts also appear to him, urging him that he must kill himself before he transforms again. But perhaps the weirdest, most disturbing, and most memorable scene from the entire film is the so-called “Mutant Nazi Nightmare” scene, where he dreams that he is back home in America with his family, only to have grotesque undead Nazis break into their house and slaughter his family while he watches. A very random scene, arguably out of place, but it fits with both Landis’ style and the odd tone of the film in general.

Film: Full Moon High

Year: 1981 

Director: Larry Cohen

The fourth, certainly silliest, and probably most obscure of the “Big 4” 1981 werewolf films, is Full Moon High. Directed by Larry Cohen, previously known for both exploitation films like Black Caesar, and horror films like It’s Alive!, this was his first real attempt at a pure comedy film. In fact, it’s an outright goofy film, which is a welcome departure from the typical sombre mood of werewolf stories. It is in part a send-up to the 1957 film I Was a Teenage Werewolf, itself a more serious and for its time somewhat groundbreaking work. But it also, ironically, shares a lot of similarities with the later mid-80s hit film Teen Wolf. Both feature a boy who becomes a werewolf but tries to live a normal life in spite of that, and both have a focus of a werewolf trying to make it on his local high school sports team, though in this case, the main character Tony Walker, is trying to play football. 

Both are comedy films, even farcical ones, but I’d have to say Full Moon High has a more blatantly silly tone. The werewolf of this story is portrayed as being more of a “town nuisance” than a dangerous threat, even going so far as having a gag where he keeps biting people on the ass, instead of killing them. Though the film also provides some more subtle social commentary on how America had changed since the 1960s when Tony had become an “ageless” werewolf, and the 80s, where all of his friends have also grown up and changed.

One thing to note about this movie is that it features both the main star, Adam Arkin (Tony), as well as his brother and famous actor/director father, Anthony Arkin and Alan Arkin. The movie also stars comedian Ed McMahon, most well known for his long stint on the The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. It also has appearances by Pat Morita, Elizabeth Hartman, Kenneth Mars, Desmond Wilson, and a young Bob Saget.

Film: The Company of Wolves

Year: 1984 

Director: Neil Jordan

Perhaps the most obscure movie on this list, this is more of a “Gothic Fantasy” from the UK, by director Neil Jordan, who would a decade later go on to direct his biggest hit, Interview With a Vampire (1994). The film is unique for its very odd narrative structure, which sees a young girl from the modern day, dreaming that she lives in a “fairytale forest” of earlier centuries. In fact, her character Rosaleen is basically “Little Red Riding Hood”, complete with red cloak, and a granny who lives in the forest. During the course of the film, which is already established as a dream, there are several “anthology” style shorter stories told, from one character in the film to another, all of them dealing with wolves or werewolves. While the main framing tale is a direct analog to “Little Red Riding Hood”, the overall story winds up being something of a “cautionary tale”, albeit a bit of a contrived one. Not a great movie, but a decent one, notable for being a British entry into the genre, and more a fairytale take on werewolves, instead of straight horror.

The film stars Angela Lansbury as the girl’s grandmother, as well as David Warner and Terrance Stamp, among others.

Film: Teen Wolf

Year: 1985 

Director: Rod Daniel

1985 was arguably the year of Michael J. Fox. He was not only starring in the hit television comedy Family Ties, but he had two films that took the box office by storm that year as well: Back to the Future and Teen Wolf. Both films were comedic and unique twists on other genres (science fiction and horror), and both films were definitely high school-centric, coming of age stories. And both just so happened to also turn out being a couple of THE most quintessentially “80s” films of the decade.

The film Teen Wolf itself, is a story, much like Full Moon High, about a boy who becomes a werewolf, but tries to cope and continue having as “normal” a high school existence as possible. In this particular case, Fox plays the character Scott Howard, a kid who is tired of being bland and “average”, in his life, on his high school basketball team, with the girls, etc. Things most teenage boys could probably relate to on some level, making the story very relatable. But the Howard family has a secret: the condition known as “Lycanthropy”, or werewolfism, runs back into their history, but sometimes it skips a generation. Meaning that Scott’s father Harold (played by James Hampton), is also a werewolf. Scott tries to live his regular life, dealing with normal teenage things, like trying to make it on the basketball team, trying to impress a girl, and trying to fit in. But because of his werewolfism, he also does things like, say, accidentally claw a girl he’s making out with, or using his now super-sense of smell to help his friend find pot. Because why not? While far from a horror film, it’s still a dumb, fun 80s movie, and watching it, it’s easy to see why Fox became such a likable star.

The movie was a big box office success, in fact the biggest of director Rod Daniel’s career, along with Beethoven’s 2nd (1993). It was written by Jeph Loeb, who went on to become a well-known television and comic book writer, among his works are runs on Superman, Captain America, and Cable. There would be one loosely related sequel, titled Teen Wolf Too (1987), which follows Scott’s cousin Todd Howard.

Film: Silver Bullet

Year: 1985 

Director: Dan Attias

Also released in 1985, Silver Bullet has a couple of major distinctions that set it apart. The first of which being, that it is one of the only films, let alone horror films, that features a physically disabled central hero. And the other, of course, being that it’s the only one based on a story written by the “Master of Horror” himself, author Stephen King.

An adaptation of the novella “Cycle of the Werewolf”, the story is set in the small town of Tarker’s Mills, Maine. Marty Coslaw (played by Corey Haim) is a paraplegic 10-year old, who still tries to live a fairly normal life, in spite of his malady. His family consists of his older sister Jane, father Bob and mother Nan, as well as his “black sheep” uncle, Red (played by Gary Busey).  A series of murders rock the town, occurring over several months, but they are all either explained away as accidental deaths, or left unexplained. Eventually, when Marty’s best friend becomes the latest victim, not only do the town’s people form a vigilante force to go out and “hunt the killer”, but Marty himself becomes determined to solve it once and for all, for his friend. His Uncle Red gives him a custom built wheelchair/motorcycle, called the “Silver Bullet”, which he rides around town on his quest. Marty eventually discovers that it is the town’s religious leader, Reverend Lowe (played by Everette McGill), who is not only the (somewhat reluctant/remorseful) killer, but is of course a werewolf. He and his sister Jane become determined to fight the werewolf and enlist their uncle’s aid in doing so.

While the movie apparently differs in some key ways from the novella, it’s still classic King, probably one of the better King story adaptations. It can be rather dark and gruesome (again, King), but it also has a lot of heart, and there is a really nice relationship displayed between the siblings, and with their Uncle Red. I would definitely say it’s one of the strongest werewolf films out there. In fact I would say it's my favorite on the list, as far as straight werewolf movies go. Though my TOP favorite on the list, is the following entry...

Film: The Monster Squad

Year: 1987 

Director: Fred Dekker

The one film that I will break my rule for, I am including this in the list purely on the basis that it happens to feature one of the better werewolves ever committed to film. Written and Directed by Fred Dekker, who previously wrote the story for House (1986), and directed the cult classic Night of the Creeps (1986), the film is a love letter to the classic Universal monsters of the 1930s-50s. It was also co-written by Shane Black, a good friend of Dekker’s, who would have a solid career as a writer in Hollywood, before finally becoming a director himself, with his big hit thus far being Iron Man 3 (2013). In fact, Dekker and Black again collaborated on the film The Predator (2018), which represents the first feature film Dekker has worked on since 1993 (sadly, as he’s a great talent).

But as for the movie itself, if you’re unfamiliar, it has been described as “The Goonies with Monsters”, which is not an unfair or inaccurate statement. I would say Monster Squad has a bit more “attitude” (though I love The Goonies), but it really is its own unique entity as well. I’ve never seen another film quite like it, and it is another one of those movies that are, in part, so great specifically because it is totally a product of its decade. All of the monsters, Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, The Creature (From the Black Lagoon), The Mummy and The Wolf Man, all get 80s updates, and the designs for each actually exceptionally good. 

They definitely spent money and care for detail. And the werewolf is no exception, as it definitely pays homage to the classic Chaney look for the monster, but it also manages to look a bit more organic and lupine. Still not “perfect”, but for a lower budget 80s movie, it’s pretty damn good. Actor Jonathan Gries also does an excellent, and very sympathetic portrayal of the human version of the Wolf Man, probably the most compelling of the bunch, outside of good ol’ Frankenstein. If you love monsters, love the 80s, and love good movies, and have never seen The Monster Squad, please do yourself a favor and see it. You’ll thank me.

Film: My Mom’s a Werewolf

Year: 1989 

Director: Michael Fischer

Possibly the most obscure film on this list, next to The Company of Wolves, this is a very “80s” movie, very much in the same mold as something like Teen Witch (1989). For all I know they might have both been part of a late 80s trend to have supernatural comedies with a focus on teen female characters. But I will say, while this one isn’t a great movie by any means, it’s definitely better than Teen Witch.

The basic premise, and what makes this film stand out and worth including, is that, as the title suggests, it’s about an “everyday housewife” who becomes a werewolf. Played by Susan Blakely, said mom Leslie Shaber is your typical put upon housewife, whose well-meaning but oblivious husband doesn’t pay her enough attention, her teen daughter sasses her, etc. Fed up, she goes shopping (what else?), and remembering their dog needs a flea collar, she drops into a downtown pet store to get one. While there, she meets the curious shop owner, Harry Thropen (played by John Saxon of Enter the Dragon fame), who seems to have a hypnotic gaze, and she becomes fascinated with him. 

Through a series of events, he eventually uses his “mysterious gaze” to seduce her, basically making out with her in a public restaurant, all while her teenage daughter, who was coming to find her, sees the whole thing. The daughter Jennifer decides to try and follow her mom around town to see what’s really going on, and they wind up back at the pet shop, where ol’ Harry tries to get mom into bed. Just barely failing because of biting her toe (yes really), Leslie slips away back home, but the dastardly home-wrecking werewolf remains determined. Meanwhile, ol’ mom starts showing signs of becoming a werewolf herself, like growing apparently unbreakable fangs and displaying a more aggressive attitude, which her husband Howard (played by character actor John Schuck), finds out in bed later that night.

The film is full of dumb moments and silly hijinks galore, as the mom starts growing fur all over her body etc. The daughter Jennifer is obviously kind of meant to be the main character, palling around with her horror-obsessed best friend Stacey. They even track down the stereotypical gypsy woman (played by comedienne Ruth Buzzi), to discover what to do about their mom (even though she comically gives the wrong advice). John Saxon, good actor that he usually is, turns in a pretty solid performance as the creepy wife-stealing pervert werewolf, and while the movie contains plenty of face-palm worthy moments, it’s also not a horrible way to spend an hour and a half of your life.

Film: Wolf

Year: 1994 

Director: Mike Nichols

I remember seeing commercials for this film when I was a kid, thinking that Jack Nicholson (who I was not all that familiar with at the time), certainly seemed pretty scary. Which is a pretty fair assessment. I also was not familiar with werewolves all that much as a kid, as mysteriously it was one genre that my grandmother never really let me watch (the same with vampire, Frankenstein or mummy films). I didn’t actually wind up seeing this movie until a few years later, in my teens, and while I didn’t love it (nor did it scare me much by that time), it’s still pretty solid for what it is. Which is basically a big budget, “mainstream” Wolf Man attempt.

Directed by Mike Nichols, who was previously known for such films as The Graduate (1967) and Catch-22 (1970), this film is more of a drama with horror flavoring than a straight up horror movie. Jack Nicholson (who let’s be honest, is a pretty perfect choice for “crazed werewolf”), plays Will Randall, an editor-in-chief of a big publishing house, plenty of money, big house, hot wife, the “whole nine yards” as they say. One day while driving home, he gets bitten by a wolf, and his life just kind of spirals from there. He loses his position, getting demoted in the process, to rival Stewart Swinton (played by James Spader), who it turns out not only connived behind the scenes for Will’s job, but he’s also having an affair with Will’s wife Charlotte. He tries to move on with his life, getting with the bosses daughter Laura instead (played by Michelle Pfeiffer), but things continue to go awry, as it turns out that maybe Will turned that asshole Stewart into a werewolf also.

Overall, it’s a well-made film, but it’s really not all that much of a horror story. It focuses a lot more on the bestial nature and senses that the werewolf gains, and otherwise is kind of just a rich guy drama story, with supernatural trappings. One thing I will say is that for the (at the time) rather huge budget, the werewolf makeup and effects aren’t all that impressive. I understand that they had one of the top actors in Hollywood as the star and maybe didn’t want to cover up his face all that much. But still, that’s shallow Hollywood reasoning at best. For most of the film, it’s basically just Jack Nicholson with a bit more hair, some claws, some fangs, and yellow eyes. It’s a solid film, but I wouldn’t say it’s essential viewing unless you’re a big fan of Nicholson or Pfeiffer.

Film: Werewolf (aka Arizona Werewolf)

Year: 1996 

Director: Tony Zarrindast

Being best known for getting lampooned on an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, is probably not the best distinction a movie could have. But hell, it worked pretty well for Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966), right? There really isn’t a ton to say about this one, but I felt I should include it just for its infamous badness. I am not one of those who really subscribes to the “so bad it’s good” philosophy, but regardless, this movie is just bad. The only thing that actually makes it bearable to view, is the hilarious ribbing it gets by the MST3K guys. So if you’ve never seen it, and want to, PLEASE watch that version.

This movie was surprise surprise, a very low budget, direct-to-video affair. And like most such films, it’s just really kind of a mess, from start to finish. Set in the Arizona desert, some archaeologists on a dig, manage to unearth what they just happen to decide must be a werewolf skeleton. Through a series of starkly idiotic events, one of the foremen gets into a fist fight with some of his digging crew, and he just happens to fall on the werewolf bones. Which turns him into a werewolf. Because, you know, that happens. The plot isn’t really worth getting into deeper, if you truly care, then, by all means, watch the film. I haven’t seen every single werewolf related movie ever made (and there are lots), so I can’t say with 100% certainty that this is the very worst werewolf movie ever made. But I can, I think with some authority, state that this is easily the worst werewolf film I’ve personally ever seen. And let’s just leave it at that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Film: An American Werewolf in Paris

Year: 1997 

Director: Anthony Waller

So I figured I might as well bookend this article, finishing where we began, so to speak. This is the one film off of this entire list, that I actually saw in theaters. I had just recently turned 16 at the time, and while it released on Halloween in the UK, apparently they thought it would be a great idea to release this on Christmas Day in the United States. I remember being kind of excited to see this movie, because I thought werewolves were pretty cool, and I saw it with my friend Brian, who was huge into wolves and werewolves himself. I also remember the promotional shit leading up to this, including the Bush song “Mouth”, which Brian also liked. But as enthusiastic as I was to see this, I have to say, it wound up disappointing me.

It is supposed to be a loose sequel of sorts to John Landis’ 1981 film, though he had  zero involvement with it, and it shows. It is also listed as being a “comedy horror”, but I don’t remember the movie being very funny. Like at all. It is more of a serious, straight horror film, and as such, it loses the weird, f’ed up charm that the original had. The basic premise is that yet another American middle-class kid named Andy (played by Tom Everette Scott, who was in a lot of things in the late 90s), along with his buddies Brad and Chris, are vacationing in “The City of Love”. They are in fact going to bungee jump from the Eiffel Tower because you know, it’s the late 90s, and everything was all about “EXTREME”. Before Andy jumps, he sees a blonde girl basically trying to jump to her death, and he saves her. Afterward, she disappears, and that’s that. Later Andy and Co. go to a club, because that’s something else extreme young men do, and it turns out, guess what guys, the club is actually a place where a secret society of werewolves lure tourists so they can kill them. Because people totally wouldn’t catch onto that at all.

The blonde Andy saved earlier shows up, and tries to rescue the idiot Americans, though dumbass Brad falls behind and gets killed. Andy also gets bitten, and blacks out. He later finds himself at the girl’s apartment, and it turns out, because why not, she’s the daughter of David from the first film, and Alex Price, the nurse he fell in love with. Because David was her father, she’s also a werewolf, and she’s morose as hell because she accidentally wound up killing her own mom. As I said, the levity and charm form London are completely devoid in Paris (the movies that is), and the entire thing just kind of plays out like a plodding, overly “dark and gritty” horror film. Which is par for the course in the late 90s. So anyway, to save time, the ghost of Brad shows up (because that happened in the first movie too!), and informs Andy that all he has to do to save himself from being a werewolf, is eat the heart of the werewolf that bit him. First off, that’s gross, and secondly, that would have been a super helpful rule to know about for poor David in the first movie.

Long story short, in my opinion at least, this movie sucks. I’ve seen worse, yes. But it’s just dull and lifeless. And worst of all, again, in my opinion, the CGI werewolf designs in this film, are some of the very worst looking werewolf designs I’ve ever seen. Like yeah, it’s partly that it’s the 90s, but there was CGI from Jurassic Park in 1993 that looks a TON better. No, the design is just bad. The film has one advantage (in my book) over the first, in that they gave the main character a saving grace, and he and Wolf Girl (whose name is Serafine for some reason), more or less live happily ever after because they find a way to control her wolfness. But even having a happy-er ending, doesn’t save it from being a lame movie.

 

 

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So there you have it. Trust me when I tell you that just in the 80s and 90s alone, there were a lot more werewolf films I could have listed and shared with you all. But I feel like I picked the best or most notable, and it’s a pretty healthy sized list as it is. So if you’re in the mood for some good beastly horror, look one of these up and give it watch! Cheers.

Godzilla Chronicles: Godzilla vs. Megalon

 

 

On the heels of the previous Godzilla Tag-Team match, 1972's Godzilla vs. Gigan, Toho gifted the world yet another crazy Tag-Team affair! But this time, instead of teaming with my boy Anguirus, the Big G would be seen joining forces with...Ultraman? Not quite, but close enough! And while as you can see in the poster above, the oddball Gigan is back for more action, instead of teaming up with the awesome King Ghidorah, he instead mixes his might with another monster, equally as bizarre as he! In what is quite probably the second weirdest entry of the Showa series outside of Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster, I'm about to tell you of one of the most bizarre films of my childhood. Buckle up...

 

 

Jet Jaguar

 

The True OG, Ultraman

Perhaps the weirdest thing about Godzilla vs. Megalon, is that aforementioned robot side-kick! The singular personality of Jet Jaguar was born out of a contest held by Toho in 1972. The contest winner would have their design featured in an upcoming Toho production! The winner was a school-boy, who came up with the very Ultraman-inspired "Red Arone", which was later reworked by Toho into what we would come to know as Jet Jaguar. Supposedly, when shown the reworked design, the kid who created "Red Arone" was quite unhappy, as it didn't resemble his creation as closely as he would have liked. But just the same, it must have been cool to be a kid, having SOME version of a character you made up yourself, featured in a movie!

Speaking of Ultraman, it was Godzilla's own special effects wizard creator, Eiji Tsuburaya, who kicked off the Tokusatsu (or "Special Filming", meaning special effects based) "Giant Robo-Man" craze, in the mid-60s. Beginning with the very X-Files-like show Ultra Q, which featured something of a paranormal investigation team, dealing with various weird creatures, aliens and monsters, in 1966, the concept later evolved into a second show which debuted later in the year, Ultraman. Ultraman featured a dedicated team of anti-monster fighters who protect the Earth (or rather, Japan) from supernatural threats. Shin Hayata, prominent member of this "Science Patrol", unbeknownst to his teammates, had fused with an alien being, and when things were too tough for the Patrol to handle, he would transform into the gigantic, robot-looking warrior known as Ultraman, to defeat the monsters. Ultraman proved to be so popular with kids, that several other VERY similar shows were created in the late 60s and early 70s, including Giant Robo, Mirrorman, and Toho's own Zone Fighter, which featured several appearances by Godzilla himself! 

Mirrorman

Zone Fighter, teaming with Godzilla.

Ironically, Toho's Zone Fighter show was produced within the same time frame as Godzilla vs. Megalon, and would debut not long after the movie itself, also in 1973. The show is considered "canon" to the Showa Era movies, and not only featured appearances by Godzilla, but villain monsters like Gigan and King Ghidorah as well! If Toho had any long-term plans for Jet Jaguar, they certainly never came to pass, unfortunately. 

Jet Jaguar's creator, Goro, and his friend Hiroshi.

Little brother Rokuro, and his weird-ass fish thing.

In the film's story, scientist and inventor Goro Ibuki, has created a sophisticated android, apparently just for fun, called Jet Jaguar. WHY Jet Jaguar? Well, that is a mystery the movie leaves unexplained. One day, when Goro, his hip friend Hiroshi Jinkawa, and little brother (whom he seems to be raising on his own) Rokuro Ibuki, are enjoying a seemingly peaceful day at a local lake. As you can see above, Rokuro was playing out on the water, with what looks like a very odd "mother fish and children" floating water-bike of some kind. No doubt another invention of Goro. And while it looks goofy as hell on the surface, I'll fully admit that seeing it as a kid, I actually thought it was pretty cool, and wanted one. Though to be perfectly fair, seeing it in action, it does seem RATHER slow moving, so maybe that wouldn't be so much fun after all? 

The boys' idyllic day at the lake is abruptly interrupted, and ruined, by a giant fissure that opens, draining the entire lake into the deep underground. After saving his kid brother with a towing line, Goro and Company, left stunned by the demise of their favorite lake, make for home. But upon coming home, they are attacked by mysterious assailants, who have broken into their very odd, cube-shaped science hut. The bad guys make a get-away, but return soon enough, as they're after the amazing Jet Jaguar! It seems they are agents of a lost, now underground civilization, the remnant of essentially ancient Atlantis, called "Seatopia". Seatopia has been suffering lately, due to earthquakes caused by the surface-dwellers' idiotic nuclear experiments. And now, they want revenge! 

An average day, down in Seatopia.

Seatopia's fashionably 70s leader, Emperor Antonio.

Surprisingly, it would seem that Seatopia's retaliation for the destruction of their own home, is going to come in the form of, believe it or not...a giant monster! In this particular case, a gigantic beetle-thing whom they worship as a god, called Megalon. Their plan seems to be, to get control of Goro Ibuki's miraculous Jet Jaguar, who they will in turn use to guide Megalon, as he hops and glides and bombs his way to the utter destruction of the surface world! Or at least Tokyo.

The problem is, those damn surface dwellers seem more clever than anticipated. After a thwarted attempt to dump poor Goro and Rokuro down the fissure in a big metal cargo box, they double back, and that blasted inventor manages to cook up a supersonic device which allows him to retake control of Jet Jaguar! He sends Jet on a mission to Monster Island, to enlist the aid of Godzilla, which forces Seatopia's Emperor Antonio to call on his own aid, this time from those deep space bastards of Space Hunter Nebula M, the very same giant cockroach aliens from the previous film, Godzilla vs. Gigan. The roaches promise to send Gigan to help, setting up the Tag-Team rematch between Godzilla and Gigan that I mentioned early in this very same article! 

New partner, same bad attitude!

As an aside, it seems that this movie was made rather hastily, after a previously planned Godzilla project had been canned at the last minute. It seems that director Jun Fukuda was left to basically write the script, based on a rough story outline, by himself, and the production took place over three weeks. Not that Gigan before it was some elaborate masterpiece, but it's a shame, as usual, that Toho, especially in the 70s, was being so cheap when it came to their Godzilla films. Because it would have been interesting, and preferable, to see what Megalon could have been, with more time, and more budget. Then again, what I just said applies to the vast majority of "genre" (science fiction, fantasy, horror, etc.) films from yesteryear, most of which were (and this applied to TV shows as well) constrained by smaller budgets and less time than they should have been given. Such fare was considered "low brow" back then, and thus it was very rare for shows, or films of such nature, to be given the kind of treatment they deserved. 

 

 

 

Fearsome Godzilla

 

Cute Godzilla

 

 

As a SIDE-side note, it must be said that the suit featured in this movie, dubbed "MegaroGoji", is a major contrast to the suit used in multiple prior Godzilla films. Where as the suit which had been used from Destroy All Monsters, all the way up through Godzilla vs. Gigan (in another cheap move, Toho was REALLY getting their mileage out of these suits in the 70s), was featured arguably the most fearsome, and certainly most angry looking face of the bunch, this new suit was quite the opposite. The "MegaroGoji" suit, which would be featured in the Zone Fighter show, as well as ultimately the final three Godzilla films of the Showa Era (including this one of course), features a decidedly softer, friendlier look. In fact, many fans consider it to look somewhat "dog-like", and is arguably the cutest looking Godzilla. Toho really wanted to drive home the fact that Godzilla was now firmly a good guy, and humanity's friend and guardian, no longer the city-trampling terror. This suit was said to be slapped together faster than any other suit in the series, but in all fairness, it looks pretty damn good if that's the case. 

My VHS cover.

Alternate VHS cover

My own experience with Godzilla vs. Megalon, comes from that period of my childhood, around 1989/90, when we finally first got a VCR in our household. As I've related in the past, I'm pretty certain that the first Godzilla movie I ever came to own on tape as a kid, was Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster. But other early inclusions in my collection, were Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs. Monster Zero, and the bizarre classic we're here talking about today. On an interesting side-note, if you look above to the top picture of the cover of my own VHS copy of this film, you'll see that it features rather bland, and rather odd artwork. In point of fact, that image of Godzilla, is taken from the first film in the Hesei Era series (the only one I that knew existed until I got later into my teens), The Return of Godzilla. I'm going to guess that art was used, as perhaps they figured that was the version of Godzilla that U.S. audiences might be most recently familiar with, as the American version of the film, Godzilla 1985, was I'm sure a popular rental of the time. I know I rented it pretty early into our VCR ownership. As for the bottom image? I've actually never seen that art before I did research on this piece, but while it's kinda goofy looking, I think kid me would have preferred that cover. 

 As for what kid me actually thought of this film? Put bluntly, I'd have to imagine, of the growing number of Godzilla (and related Toho) films that I came to own, or see thanks to TNT's MonsterVision, that Megalon was not one of my favorites. But that isn't to say that I disliked it, by any means. In fact, I loved pretty much any Godzilla or monster movie in general, as a kid. ANYTHING Godzilla-related was my bag back then, meaning even if it wasn't a favorite, I still loved it. A slight exception would be poor All Monsters Attack, which I saw on TV as "Godzilla's Revenge", a movie that I hardly HATED, but didn't love either. Mainly due to the fact that most of the monster footage was taken from other movies. But as for Megalon himself? I suppose I probably felt he was a pretty cool monster. The idea of Jet Jaguar, and a little boy who gets to live with his cool inventor brother, and have cool gadgets to play with, and NOT be bossed around, I'm sure held a lot of appeal. And of course this movie was actually my own personal first experience of the monster Gigan, along with the Godzilla: Monster of Monsters NES game, as I would not come to see Gigan's debut movie until a few years later, on TV. 

 

Those damn bullies!

As an adult, all these long years later, my opinion of the film is that it was obviously rushed. Like Gigan before it, Megalon suffers from too-short a production cycle, and a similarly cheap over-use of stock footage of city destruction and other such scenes, used from various previous Godzilla movies. Neither movie is BAD, by any means, at least not in my view, or likely the view of most fellow die-hard Godzilla fans. But it is, again, a damn shame that these productions were treated as they were, because these films deserved to be much more than they got to be. In the end, I think stacked up next to each other, even ignoring the fact that Gigan has my beloved Anguirus in it, as well as King Ghidorah, I think Gigan still comes out on top over Megalon. Megalon is, I'm sorry to say, one of the weakest of the Showa Era, and certainly of that tail-end 70s period. 

However, as a movie, it's also still a lot of fun. It is quite possibly the overall goofiest of the bunch, though it has very stiff competition from Son of Godzilla in that regard. But with the colorful Jet Jaguar, the goofy kid-brother, the cheese-ball Seatopian villains, and incredibly weird nature of Megalon himself, there's a strong argument to be made. Megalon, as a monster, while surely gigantic and fearsome in his destructive capacity, also has moments of acting, even just left on his own, spectacularly goofball. On the one hand, the dude's got metal "hands" that come together to form a drill, which he can use to bore under the ground. He also can shoot deadly electric beams from his rhino-beetle-like horn, and he can spit what seem to be highly destructive organic bombs from his mouth to boot. On the other hand, Megalon seems to like hopping across the land in a hilarious fashion, and at one point, left without the guidance of Jet Jaguar, he even busts out some "fancy gliding" dance moves for no apparent reason whatsoever! 

The Slide

Of course, THE single goofiest moment of the film, and the thing that is most infamous about this movie, is "The Slide". Known, thanks in large part to Mystery Science Theater 3000 (one of my favorite shows of all time), even to people who don't know Godzilla movies at all, let alone the exact movie it's from, this incident has become something of a Godzilla-meme unto itself. Which is both hilarious, but also a bit unfortunate. Hilarious because it IS such a genuinely ridiculous moment, and is entertaining in its own right. But unfortunate, at least in this man's view, because it is one of the single cheesiest moments in what is already (somewhat unfairly) a Godzilla series that is known by the mainstream public as being "cheesy" to begin with. It's unfortunate, I suppose I would say, that when many people who don't know or love Godzilla films as I do, think of Godzilla, they might likely associate that name most closely with a cornball image like this one. 

The move in question, comes late in the film, at the climax of the great Tag-Team battle between Godzilla & Jet Jaguar vs. Megalon and Gigan. By this point, Gigan has already had enough, and has flown off back out into space, leaving poor old Megalon all on his own. Jet Jaguar holds Megalon up, pinning his arms back, and Godzilla, backing up enough to build up some steam, proceeds to tail slide a RATHER long way, to give ol' Mega a "kangaroo kick" from hell. And he does this not once, but twice! Megalon is left so utterly defeated and humiliated, that he burrows back into the earth, and those dastardly Seatopians give the hell up for good. For what it's worth, while this is inarguably an incredibly cheesy moment, I WOULD argue that Godzilla using his own death breath to fly (backwards) in Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster, is still more ridiculous than this. 

 

The US poster.

The German poster...

As another aside, if you look above, you'll see a couple of the international promotional posters for this film. In the American one, taking a book right out of the promo art for the 1976 remake of King Kong, Godzilla and Megalon are depicted as fighting, in the United States, on TOP of the World Trade Center buildings. As if the sheer bulk and weight of monsters that large, wouldn't absolutely crush those buildings in the first place! And speaking of King Kong...below it is the poster for the movie in Germany. It's a bit too long and convoluted a story to fully get into, but let's just say that Germany had a long history with false advertising, when it came to promoting Godzilla (and related) movies. The general idea here, being, that somehow Jet Jaguar is actually just King Kong...turned into a robot? 

 

 

 

Pals.

 

Just hangin' with the boys.

 

 

 

 As with pretty much any of the original Showa series of Godzilla and related monster movies, I would honestly recommend watching this one. Not as a first or even second choice. But it's still worth seeing, and it's a fun, and perhaps unintentionally funny, ride. I'd say it's the most "70s" of the bunch", in its own way, right down to the incredibly catch Jet Jaguar theme song at the end.

I don't generally like to think of Godzilla films as something to laugh at, and it genuinely bothers me, I'll admit, that so many people do view them that way. That isn't to say that I don't recognize and even treasure the goofier, and admittedly funny moments that the series can provide. I just dislike the notion that the films' "cheesy" effects, and just the movies as a whole in general, are "bad", and something to be sneered at, or only viewed/enjoyed ironically, as in "so bad it's good, let's watch them and laugh at them" kind of fare. 

It isn't that I take Godzilla SO seriously, but I do think, viewed through the right lens and taken in the proper frame of mind, that most of these movies, have a lot more substance, and a lot more to offer, than merely laughs. These films, and especially the "Big G" himself, are very dear to my heart, and they are 100% a connection with that inner kid in me who, in spite of everything I've been through in life so far, has refused to become totally cynical and dead inside. I suppose you could say, that Godzilla is a connection to that inner child, and thus, what still remains, in the face of a VERY cynical world, of my innocence, and sense of wonder. 

 

 

                                                                ********************* 

 

So go watch yourself some Godzilla flicks, including this one! And I'll be back next month, with a brand new Halloween piece for all you boys and ghouls! In the meantime, stay dialed to the various Retro Revelations social media, for "Halloween Countdown" goodness.

Here is the full list of Godzilla Chronicles articles, if you've missed any:

1. The Beginning

2. Gojira (aka Godzilla: King of the Monsters)

3. Godzilla Raids Again

4. King Kong vs. Godzilla

5. Mothra vs. Godzilla

6. Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster

7. Invasion of the Astro Monster (aka Godzilla vs. Monster Zero)

8. Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster

9. Son of Godzilla

10. Destroy All Monsters

11. All Monsters Attack

12. Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster

13. Godzilla vs. Gigan

 

The Black Cauldron: Disney's Forgotten Masterpiece

 

Walt Disney was, inarguably, one of the single most influential figures not only in film animation history, but film history period. He was a visionary, an innovator, and a driven workaholic, which at times made him difficult to work with (or for), but it also pushed his animation teams to expand and evolve an artform which the man himself, loved dearly. It can, and should, rightly be said, that without Walt Disney, modern animation as we know it would not be the same. It might not even exist, as we know it today. 

I will most certainly have to dedicate an article to the man himself someday, as along with the likes of Jim Henson, Ray Harryhausen, and many others, he is one of my personal heroes. But it goes without saying that when he and his company risked everything in the late 1930s, taking a massive risk in producing the first ever feature-length animated film, he was creating one of the single most important works of cinema in history. When Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs released in 1937, no one, certainly not Walt himself, knew whether it would succeed or fail. If it had failed, his company very well could have been done for good, and full-length animated movies might not be a thing today. But because it was a massive critical and box office success, not only was Disney's future assured, but he paved the way for seemingly countless animated movies to come. 

 

 

The Master.

 

 

From Disney themselves, with a dip in the 40s due to World War II,  the world received a steady flow of high-class, high quality features, a mix of original tales, and now infamous adaptations of classic stories. Most film and animation historians would agree, that the "Golden Age" of Disney animated theatrical films, lasted from 1937, until probably into the 1960s, before Walt's death in late 1966. Among those "golden" classics, beyond the masterpiece that was Snow White, were Pinocchio, Bambi, Fantasia, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, and The Sword in The Stone. And in all honesty, while Disney's 60s output was still fantastic, for a variety of reasons, the overall quality of art and animation itself, seemed to start gradually changing (and arguably dipping) after Beauty's release in 1959. From Snow White to Sleeping Beauty, there was a premium by the studio, put on having these animated classics be as technically advanced and beautiful as possible. But starting with 1961's One Hundred and One Dalmatians, there was a very noticeable shift in the look of their movies. 

It would not be fair, nor correct, to say that the art or animation became POOR. Not by a long stretch. But comparing Beauty to Dalmatians, there is, however, a stark contrast in style. The biggest factor, as I understand it, was a major shift in animation technology, as while in the previous 16 films, Disney animators had applied ink to each individual cells (or frames) of animation by hand, with Dalmatians they began using Xerox methods to copy drawings to cells instead. This saved them a lot of time, and subsequently a lot of production cost. Apparently Beauty had been so expensive to make, that if they hadn't come up with the Xerox method, they would not have been able to afford to keep making animated films.

So it IS accurate to state that this was a literally cheaper method of animation, though it would still be unfair to state that the animation was now "cheap". It was, however, as previously stated, notably different. The films from Dalmatian onward tended to have a "grainier" look to them, I find. And most noticeable, the films started employing, for whatever reason, very visible black outlines around characters and objects. The background art also, for the most part, started being less "picturesque", and more stylized, less realistic. 

 

 

Black outlines, simpler drawings and backgrounds.

 

 

 

That is not to say, by any means, that the art or animation didn't still have great moments and great beauty. But it would also be dishonest and disingenuous for even the most ardent Disney fan, to not acknowledge that there was a definite drop off, from the 50s to the 60s. 1967's The Jungle Book, was the final animated feature in production before Walt died. Two more features, 1970's The Aristocats and 1973's Robin Hood, would be produced before their animation department essentially took a hiatus. For what it's worth, both Cats and Hood, are still great movies in their own right. Deservedly remembered as classics. But it is also undeniable, again, that the overall quality continued to erode. Most people, of course, are keenly aware of the so-called "Disney Renaissance", which began with 1989's The Little Mermaid, and lasted until, more or less, the early 2000s (before traditionally animated theatrical features sadly faded away in the United States). That era saw a major resurgence in more elaborate and more expensive art and animation. No more black lines, no more "lesser" looking animation or scenery.

But in-BETWEEN that Golden/Silver era, and the 90s "Renaissance", was a whole other era of Disney animation. An era less talked about, less known about, and in some circles, much less highly regarded. Unfairly so, I might interject. And it is that era, and more specifically one film in particular from that era, that I'm here to talk about. 

The Rescuers.

For the purpose of convenience, if we're going to refer to the 1937-1959, pre-Xerox period of Disney animated films as the "Golden Age", and thus let's call the following 1961-1973 period the "Silver Age", then it only stands to reason, continuing to follow that comic book convention, that we refer to the period I'm here to talk about, as the "Bronze Age". First and foremost, it bears pointing out that there was what I consider one "In-Between" film, a leftover from the "Silver Age", that was released in early 1977, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. This is a splendid film, one of their stronger works in fact. But it is also an anthology release, with a bit of new material made to connect three previously released Winnie the Pooh short films, into one "cohesive" story. The film that I consider to be the true start of the so-called Disney "Bronze Age", also released just a few months later, in the summer of 1977, was film seen above, The Rescuers. 

While it absolutely still had some involvement (in some cases brought out of retirement), of some of the original "Nine Old Men" of Disney's animators, Rescuers also was significant for employing many new animators, among them and most influential on this particular project, Gary Goldman and most especially Don Bluth. Those names are, of course, important, because a couple years after the release of Rescuers, dissatisfied with how then-current Disney did things on the animated front, they along with many other animators, walked out and formed their own studio. Bluth films would go on to dominate much of the 1980s, not to mention shaping the animation landscape, but we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves. As far as Rescuers itself goes, while it clearly still made prominent use of "Silver Age" trademarks like black outlines and simpler backgrounds, it was also, I think, quite a bit more stylized and experimental in certain ways, compared to those earlier movies. Looking at Rescuers, and Don Bluth's later directed films (he only animated here), I think his influence is quite clear, and the film was all the better for it. 

The future?

One thing that Bluth was most passionate about, beyond wanting a return to the higher standards of art and animation practices of those early "Golden Age" days, was, in a way at least, to "treat animation more seriously". Meaning, at least earlier in his career, Don Bluth firmly believed that not only should "cartoon movies" not be made strictly with children in mind, but that (much like Jim Henson believed), children could not only handle more somewhat darker and more serious fare, but that they would even like it! On that token, I think that Walt Disney himself must have had similar feelings once upon a time, as when you look at the early feature-length output in that "Golden" era, the likes of Snow White, Pinocchio, Bambi, Fantasia, Alice, etc., those were all actually rather dark in their own way, and at times quite somber and serious in tone. The Rescuers, I feel, hearkened back to this kind of tone, as it is definitely a darker and more somber film than the company's several previous outings. 

Bluth, Goldman and company walked out during the production of Disney's next "Bronze Age" picture, which was The Fox and The Hound, a story aimed at children, but also dealing with many harsh and sobering facts of life, and nature. I don't think that Bluth had any issue with the content of Fox, but rather, he strongly disliked Disney's then-current method of doing things, how they went about producing animation. His group would eventually themselves produce the masterpiece you see above, The Secret of NIMH, a decidedly "anti-Disney" style of animated film. It was dark, it had many "scary" moments for children, it had zero song-and-dance scenes, and it tackled some pretty serious, fairly heavy and "grown up" subject matter. Yet it was a modest success, and on a personal note, one of my very favorite childhood films (and still to this day remains one of my top favorite animated films of all time). Ironically, the next project that Disney would tackle after Fox, would be far more like NIMH, far more Bluth-esque and "anti-Disney", than I think anyone would have ever expected. 

The Source.

The Heroes.

All the way back in 1973, the year of the last true "Silver Age" release, in fact, Disney was chasing after the rights to a series of fantasy novels by author Lloyd Alexander, called "The Chronicles of Prydain". Full of stories and characters heavily steeped in Welsh culture and Celtic mythology, these were epic tales of sword and sorcery, seemingly right up Disney's alley. But after taking most of the decade trying to develop the story into a "workable idea" for a feature film, and then after the animator walk-out during production on Fox and Hound, the movie that would come to be known as The Black Cauldron was pushed back to a 1984 release. Many new faces would be working on this epic project, one of whom was named Tim Burton, who had previously done some animation work on Fox and a little flick known as Tron. While his tenure on the production of Cauldron wasn't long, he did do some conceptual character art for the film.

Now it needs to be acknowledged up front, after all of my prattling about animation history, where it concerns Cauldron as a film, that it is widely, and I would personally add QUITE unfairly, considered by many film buffs to be "the film that almost killed Disney". It's also considered by many, again unjustly, to be one of the "worst films Disney ever made". The first claim, I'm sorry to say, is at least PARTIALLY true, but we'll get into that in a moment. The latter, however, I would most strongly argue, could not be any further from the actual truth. The production of Cauldron was a rough and somewhat infamously difficult one. Not so much because of the animators or production crew themselves, but more because of the tumultuous times that Disney as a company was going through. In the early 80s, the Walt Disney Company had, in just a few years, not one, not two, but three different CEOs. It was a time of major uncertainty for the company, and especially its animation division, which was seen at the time as not nearly as profitable as it once was. And to top it all off, with Michael Eisner coming on board in 1984, he brought with him one Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was put in charge of Disney's film production. 

Fearful omens...

The production of Cauldron had a lot of issues before Katzenberg came on board, with various names either being removed or voluntarily removing themselves. There were also various "cooks in the kitchen" over time, and thus some serious conflict in just what the tone and direction of the film should be. But ultimately, it was Katzenberg, one man, who I think had the most detrimental impact on the movie's possibility for success. After seeing the final print, and feeling it was "too scary for children" etc., he personally edited a whopping 12 minutes from the movie. And it was already finished when he did this, mind you. It was pushed back from its December 1984 release date, all the way to summer of 1985. And while perhaps nothing major was cut in his editing rampage, it still had an adverse effect on the final product, especially the climax. 

All that said, I want to be perfectly clear about something. The Black Cauldron, as a movie, is NOT a "bad" film. Not even remotely close. In point of fact, while I'll elaborate more in a bit, I personally consider it one of the best animated features Disney has ever produced, and yes that really is saying something. It is hardly a "perfect" picture. Fans of the books would swiftly point out that while it draws its material from the first two books in the Prydain series, that it is not especially accurate to them, instead telling its own story "inspired by", really. Disney fans would also, somewhat rightly, point out that Cauldron absolutely is the "red-headed step-child" of their animated feature catalogue. As stated before, a very a-typical, in many ways "anti-Disney" Disney film. But none of that, in this man's estimation, makes it a "BAD" movie, at all.

Eilonwy and her magic Orb.

The story the movie tells, in a nutshell, is that the land of Prydain has been besieged by war, from the forces of the powerful and mysterious Horned King. He seeks an ancient artifact known as the Black Cauldron, so that he might use it to raise an army of undead called the "Cauldron Born", soldiers who cannot be killed, to finally conquer the kingdom. The enchanter, Dallben, who is responsible among other things for the care of a special pig, Hen Wen, who can produce visions, fears that the Horned King seeks his pig, to use it in finding the Cauldron. Also in Dallben's care, is his assistant, a farm boy named Taran who dreams of being a great and heroic warrior. The old man charges Taran with hiding with Hen Wen in the forest, until he comes for them, hoping that will keep her from the Horned King's clutches. But his dragons find the pig anyway, when Taran was day-dreaming carelessly, and take her away. It is then up to Taran, with new friends he makes along the way, to try and get Hen Wen back before the worst is realized. 

I have heard it said that this film, among its other perceived faults, has a "weak story" compared to other Disney classics. A claim that I find to be laughable, considering that, even though it deviates from its source material (as many Disney films do anyway), Cauldron's plot is actually, while straight-forward, pretty unique. You don't often run across stories about undead wizards seeking undead armies, and prophetic pigs and mystic cauldrons. I have also seen it said that this film, unlike many other Disney classics, has "weak characters", which I also find to be rather dubious. Quite frankly, I would contend that The Black Cauldron has stronger and more interesting characters that many of Disney's highly praised masterpieces. Taran himself is a bit of a cliched "well meaning bungler who must grow up and realize his potential" type of hero, yes, but he's still a charming and relatable character. Eilonwy, while indeed an initially kidnapped princess, is hardly a mere "damsel in distress", rather being portrayed as fairly equal to Taran in the story. The goofy bard Fflewddur Fflam, whose lute always seems to bust a string whenever he's being less than honest, is good comic relief, as well as a wizened adult voice to help temper the youthful heroes. The fairy Doli, is an a-typically grumpy and stern, but likeable ally. And last but not least, Gurgi the...creature, is an all at once cowardly wretch of a sneak thief, but also a lovable (and apparently stinky) loyal friend. I actually think of all the characters, Gurgi undergoes the most growth throughout the story. 

The Big Bad.

Fearsome Foe.

The "loyal" minion.

Of course no hero can be great, without a great villain, and Black Cauldron provides no exception. I would say, hands down, that the Horned King is the most fearsome, and certainly scariest baddie of the Disney lot. Having never read the books, I have to trust the internet when it tells me that, apparently, The Horned King is not any one direct character from the source material, but rather something of a mishmash of villains. Or if you prefer, more of an original Disney creation, in a very real sense, and in THAT light, I think one of their best. It doesn't get much more intimidating than a dude who is basically an undead, skeletal wraith himself. And voice actor John Hurt, who had previously voiced the heroic Aragorn in the 1978 Lord of the Rings film, does a marvelously sinister job, making the Horned One sound rather otherworldly. And no great villain is complete without a memorable minion, to which the king has Creeper, a pint-sized goblin, who seemingly lives to serve, yet also seems like he'd bolt if only he thought he could get away with it. 

The point being, that the movie is full of memorable and charming characters, including the likes of the jovial Fairy King Eidelleg, as well as the sinister yet self-serving three witch sisters straight out of Shakespearean myth, Orddu, Orgoch and Orwen. Not to mention Hen Wen the pig herself, who, while she has no lines, beyond her prophetic abilities, is quite emotive and endearing.

 

 

The Witches.

 

The Bard.

Gurgi the Great.

 

 

I did not, thanks to Disney's own idiotic lack of foresight, get to see this film as a child, and I really wish I had been able to. I SHOULD have been able to, and I'm certain I would have adored it, just as I adored other "dark" 80s kids movies like The Dark Crystal, The Secret of NIMH, and The Land Before Time. The reason I didn't get to, is because the film bombed at the box office, in large part I feel, due to Disney's own mismanagement and mis-marketing of it. But also due to some kind of public perception at the time that it was "too dark for a Disney movie". Which is sad, because OTHER "dark" kids or family films did well in theaters, in the 80s. But worse, because of this, and I suppose not yet understanding just how big of business home video could be yet, Disney decided to NOT release the movie on VHS at any point in the 80s, in fact not releasing it on home video at all until 1998. It also was never shown on television, on The Disney Channel, which meant that if you were like me, and didn't get to see it when it was out in 1985, then you were shit out of luck. I literally had to wait until I was around 16, perhaps nearly 17 years old, before I could finally watch this movie.

And it's funny, because at the time it finally released so I could rent it, I really didn't have much idea at all about its apparently "infamous" stature, that it was "the film that almost killed Disney", etc. To elaborate on that a bit, this movie at its time of release, was the single most expensive animated movie ever produced. And if you ask me, it shows, as it is a massive step up from that (still great) "Silver Age" fare, or even from The Rescuers or The Fox and The Hound, in the visual department. The animation in this movie is top notch, and the artwork in general is downright gorgeous. Its one of the best looking animated films ever produced, flat out. It was also the first time Disney used CGI in one of their animated features, though I'm sure the long production time didn't help the inflated budget. Either way, it probably wound up costing way more than it should have, and even though they already had their next animated movie in somewhat concurrent production, this movie losing money like it did, "put the future of Disney's animated division in serious doubt". It isn't that this movie literally would have killed Disney the company. I'm sure they would have soldiered on with live action flicks, their theme parks, The Disney Channel, etc. But I suppose it's possible that they could have been REALLY stupid in overreacting to Cauldron's U.S. box office, and decided to not release The Great Mouse Detective  the following year. 

For what it's worth, Cauldron did well in certain other markets, such as France, where it apparently did good business. It was mainly the United Stated/North American market that for whatever dumb reasons, didn't go see it in droves. And again, the thing is, I don't believe that Cauldron failed because it was "dark". Not simply on that fact alone. Don Bluth went on to have MASSIVE success with "darker", more serious animated fare, such as An American Tale and The Land Before Time, within the same time frame, from the same audiences. So either Americans really were holding Disney itself to a silly double-standard, or I don't know...maybe Disney really did mismanage the film's release. What I do know, is that I hardly think the content of the movie itself, can truly be blamed for its lack of monetary success. And while not AS much so, Disney's following 80s movies, Mouse Detective and Oliver & Company, had similarly darker tones, but found at least moderate success themselves. 

The Cauldron in Question.

Creepy dudes.

I would hardly go so far as to try and argue that this film doesn't have flaws. In fact with the nature of the production, and the 12 minute hack-job, it was inevitable that it would have some. However, I would argue that the movie does not have any GLARING flaws, and I do feel fairly justified in considering Cauldron to be, in spite of the production, one of Disney's strongest works. I believe it really deserves a second chance by audiences, and a more sincere reconsideration on its merits as a movie. Because it really is a great piece of work, beautiful to look at, interesting story, compelling and likable characters, scary bad guy, dark and creepy atmosphere but genuinely funny moments of levity. It has very solid writing, good acting, with voices by veteran character actors like Freddie Jones, Nigel Hawthorne, John Hurt, and Phil Fondacaro (not to mention narration by the great John Huston). A very nice score by Elmer Bernstein. And in spite of the stupid cuts, good flow, as the story really doesn't drag at any point.

This film really doesn't come up sorely lacking in any area. And I think if more people gave it a genuinely fair shake, public opinion of it would improve dramatically. This film suffers mostly from what I fully consider to be a poor reputation, dating all the way back to 1985, its financial failure, and Disney's stupid decision not to release it on VHS. If they had done just that one thing, I earnestly believe that it would have become a hit on home video (as many movies that didn't initially do well in theaters did), and people would consider it a cult classic. What's more, as an aside, while I like The Lion King, and love Aladdin, overall I like the "Bronze Age" output more than the revered "Renaissance" output that followed it. Rescuers, Fox & Hound, Black Cauldron, Mouse Detective, and Oliver & Company, that's a pretty damn strong lineup if you ask me.

Magic swords are pretty much always awesome.

The most poignant moment in the movie.

For me personally, to tell the truth, when I did finally first get to see this in my teens, for whatever silly reasons, I seem to vaguely recall not being that into it. I couldn't tell you why, now, though I can say that I did  the same thing on initial viewings at that age of several OTHER movies I would go on to absolutely love. But when I gave it another chance myself, years later, in my 20s, I did fall in love with it. My reasons for liking it so much, and coming to regard it so highly, I suppose you could say are varied. For one thing, I'm huge into mythology and folklore in general, especially Celtic stuff. I grew up a massive monster nut, as many of you know, and usually gravitated towards anything that had monsters, or magic, and cool adventures in general. And this movie has all of that. So it definitely appeals to the kid in me, who somehow magically hasn't fully died over my crappy adult lifetime. 

But it also has things that appeal to the cerebral adult in me. Such as the relationship between Taran and Eilonwy. I love the fact that she isn't a helpless or airheaded damsel. In fact when he first meets her, she is showing initiative, finding her way out of her captor's dungeon. If it weren't for her, Taran might not have escaped himself. I'm less a sucker for the stereotypical "strong, independent female" (though I do like such characters a lot, when done RIGHT), than I am a total sucker for the kind of relationship between a hero and heroin, that is totally equal, as in they need each other, have to rely on each other, and wind up saving each other. Which Taran and Eilonwy definitely do. In fact, of the four main heroes of the story, all of them get their moments to shine, their times to be brave, and to matter. You don't always get that with stories, let alone movies. And while it's major *SPOILERS*, as the picture above hints, possibly the strongest moment in the entire film, is when Taran is going to sacrifice himself to the Cauldron to stop the Cauldron Born, but previously cowardly Gurgi stops him, insisting that Taran matters more, and opting to himself jump to his doom instead. Naturally, in the end they get Gurgi back, but it is still a super poignant, tear-jerking kind of moment. *END SPOILERS*

So as I often end these pieces by saying, if you have never seen this movie, or haven't seen it in a long time, do me a favor, do yourself a favor...hell, do the MOVIE a favor, and give it a first/second/whatever chance. It really is a great, super underrated work, and I really do believe, in its own way, a bit of a masterpiece. The Black Cauldron is a very good movie, at the least, and I truly feel that it deserves to be recognized as such, after all this time.