Entertaining Disney fantasy based on Lloyd Alexander's novels, The Book of Three and The Black Cauldron. The story was Disney-fied, of course, but the result was still scary and intense enough for the MPAA to give it a 'PG' rating, the only official Disney animated film to receive anything but a 'G' to date.

The characters aren't particularly distinguished, but the adventuresome, sometimes spooky story makes up for it. Although the climax doesn't seem to build up much energy on its own, the film as a whole has some to spare, making this one exciting adventure.