The Black Pearl

The Black Pearl is a 1974 animated fantasy feature film directed by Paul J. Smith, written by Tony Benedict and Cal Howard, based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Scott O'Dell and it was produced by Tony Johnson and Mark Berman. It features the voices of Ronny Howard, Charlton Heston, Terence Alexander, Mia Farrow, Jeff Bridges, Stefanie Powers and Pamela Sue. The film's score is composed by John Williams.

It was produced by The Animated Feature Film Company and it was released by Universal Pictures on July 24, 1974, and it grossed $10.3 million in distribution rentals over a $5 million budget. The film has garnered a cult following.

Plot
Coming soon!

Voice cast

 * Ronny Howard
 * Charlton Heston
 * Terence Alexander
 * Mia Farrow
 * Jeff Bridges
 * Stefanie Powers
 * Pamela Sue

More coming soon!

Production
In 1968, Walter Lantz met author Scott O'Dell and chose to adapt it as an animated feature film, hoping that "it could be faithful to the source material". Production started in 1971. After the short "Bye, Bye Blackboard", Walter Lantz Productions was shut down in 1973 by Universal Pictures, while the film was in production, so it ceded producing duties to producers Tony Johnson and Mark Berman.

Ronny Howard was selected to do the voice in 1971, while the others follow suit. In 1972, Walter Greene, Walter Lantz's composer was dropped out, and hired John Williams to become the new composer.

Release
The film was originally released on July 24, 1974 by Universal Pictures, and it was rereleased in 1978.

Home media
The film was first released on the MCA DiscoVision laserdisc format on June 6, 1980, and it was destined to be "summer's most-watched family video of all time". It went on to surpass Disney's VHS titles by the end of late 1980, and into early 1981. It was later released on VHS and Betamax by MCA Videocassette on June 11, 1982 (which happened on the same day, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which also happens to be scored by John Williams, was released), and it became the top selling family video by the Christmas of 1982.

Box office
During its initial release, The Black Pearl earned $10.3 million in rentals in the United States and Canada, and it also grossed $40 million in foreign territories, for a worldwide record of $50 million. The 1978 rerelease grossed $15 million, which received a grand total of $65 million.

Critical reception
The Black Pearl has received generally positive reviews upon its initial release on 1974. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that the film received a 94% rating with an average rating of 9.1/10 based on 70 reviews, and the website's consensus states that "The best animated films of 1974, The Black Pearl features its unique dark storyline and plot, and the most epic music of all time.". Metacritic gave the film a score of 88 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Accolades
Coming soon!

Legacy
Coming soon!

Main transcript
To see the transcript of the film, click here.

Trailer transcripts
To see the transcripts for the trailers of the film, click here.