The Black Cauldron

"After the death of Walt Disney, his animation studio gradually began to fall into a series of critical and box office failures, briefly mitigated by the release of 'The Rescuers' in 1977. Inspired by the first two books of Lloyd Alexander's 'The Chronicles of Prydain', 'The Black Cauldron' was the first real flop that represented losses for Walt Disney Animation Studios, in part due to changes ordered by the new studio directive, in part because it was the first animated feature without the involvement of veteran animators (the "Nine Old Men of Disney"), and in part because it had an art direction and themes too dark for the Mickey Mouse audience. 'The Black Cauldron' went down in history, perhaps unfairly, as one of the lowest points in the renowned studio's history, although it is not below the great visual quality of its productions of the time."