The Black Cauldron is an American animated feature dark fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and originally released to theaters on July 24, 1985. The 25th animated feature in the Disney Animated Canon and Disney's first PG-rated animated film, the film is based on the first two books in Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain five-volume book series, which is, in turn, based on Welsh mythology.
Set in the mythical land of Prydain during the Early Middle Ages, the film centers on the evil Horned King who hopes to secure an ancient magical object known as The Black Cauldron that will aid him in his desire to conquer the world. He's opposed by a young pig keeper named Taran, the young princess Eilonwy, the bard Fflewddur Fflam, and a wild creature named Gurgiwho seek to destroy the Cauldron, to prevent the Horned King from ruling the world.
The film is directed by Ted Berman and Richard Rich, who had directed Disney's previous animated film The Fox and the Hound in 1981. Tim Burton had produced endless designs for The Black Cauldron, all of them in his unique, personal style, though they were ultimately rejected by producers who felt they were not a good fit for the film's intended tone.[1]
Plot[]
In the land of Prydain, Taran, a teenage "assistant pig-keeper" on the farm of Caer Dallben, home of Dallben the Enchanter, dreams of becoming a famous warrior. Dallben learns that the evil Horned King is searching for the Black Cauldron, a mystical relic that can create an invincible army of undead warriors known as the Cauldron-Born. Dallben fears that the Horned King might use his pig, Hen Wen, who has oracular powers, to locate the cauldron. He directs Taran to take Hen Wen to safety, but the pig is captured by Gwythaints, the Horned King's wyvern-like creatures.
Taran looks for her in the forest, instead encountering a strange creature named Gurgi, who insists on being Taran's friend, but Taran is annoyed by Gurgi's mischievous behavior. In the midst of their confrontation, Taran hears a squeal and finds that Hen Wen is being chased by the Gwythaints, dragon-like creatures that serve the Horned King. Taran attempts to rescue her, but the Gwythaints carry her off. He follows them to the Horned King's dark castle. Determined to save Hen Wen, Taran heads for the castle, but the cowardly Gurgi elects to remain behind.
Taran sneaks into the castle and finds his way to a banquet hall filled with the King's partying henchmen, apparently celebrating the capture of the pig. The festivity ends abruptly when the Horned King appears and Creeper, a creature that serves the King, order Hen Wen to be brought out. Creeper orders the pig to reveal the location of the Black Cauldron, but she refuses. Taran stumbles onto the scene and the King, realizing Taran is the owner of the pig, orders him to make Hen Wen reveal the location of the Black Cauldron. Taran refuses, but when the King orders for Hen Wen to be beheaded, he relents. Taran ends up spooked by the Horned King's appearance, and helps Hen Wen escape before being captured. Thrown into the dungeons, Taran is left to brood over his failure. Just then, a piece of the floor opens and a magic bauble pops out, followed by a princess. She introduces herself as Princess Eilonwy, and is disappointed when she finds out that Taran isn't a warrior, but agrees to team up with him in order to escape the castle.
Eilonwy reveals she was captured because the Horned King thought her bauble could tell him where the Cauldron was, and like Taran, she was thrown into the dungeons when his plan failed. They come across a burial chamber, where Taran obtains a sword. They then enter a room where a minstrel is being chained by another henchman. The minstrel, Fflewddur Fflam, tries to convince the henchman to let him go. But everything he says is a lie: he is cursed, and every time he lies, one of the strings on his harp snaps. Taran and Eilonwy attempt to set him free, but then they hear more henchmen coming. They run for it, while Fflewddur tries to save himself, causing Taran and Eilonwy to get separated.
Taran fights a guard and discovers his sword to be filled with magic before he reunites with Eilonwy. They run into more guards, and Taran deflects them with the magic sword. Meanwhile, Fflewddur has escaped the dungeon, but is being chased by a dog. Taran slows down the guards by slashing some wine barrels with the sword. Taran and Eilonwy finally make it to the entrance of the castle, only to find the drawbridge closed. Creeper and the other henchmen have them cornered, but then Taran uses the sword to cut the chain to the drawbridge, allowing it to fall down. Creeper and the guards stand back in fright, while Fflewddur bowls past them. Taran and Eilonwy make it past the closing gate, but Fflewddur barely makes it with his pants ripped, and together they escape into the forest.
Cast[]
- Grant Bardsley as Taran
- Susan Sheridan as Eilonwy
- Freddie Jones as Dallben
- Nigel Hawthorne as Fflewddur Fflam
- Arthur Malet as King Eidilleg
- John Byner as Gurgi and Doli
- Eda Reiss Merin, Adele Malis-Morey, and Billie Hayes as Orddu, Orwen, and Orgoch
- Phil Fondacaro as Creeper
- John Hurt as Horned King
- Wayne Allwine, Pete Renaday, James Almanzar, Phil Fondacaro, Steve Hale, Phil Nibbelink, and Jack Laing as the Horned King's Henchmen
- Brandon Call, Gregory Levinson, and Lindsay Rich as Fair Folk
- John Huston as Narrator
Production[]
Release[]
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- The Black Cauldron was inspired by the book series by Lloyd Alexander, The Chronicles of Prydain.
- It should be noted that this is currently the only film adaptation of the books written by Lloyd Alexander.
- Tim Burton worked on this movie as a concept artist, and it was the first film he worked on that he was credited for. This was the second Disney movie he had worked on, the first being The Fox and the Hound. It was when he was working on this film, during his downtime, that he came up with some drawing sketches of The Nightmare Before Christmas. The Black Cauldron became Burton's last involvement with a Disney animated film, before he became a filmmaker in his own right.
References[]
- ↑ [https://www.forbes.com/sites/timlammers/2024/12/10/early-tim-burton-disney-artwork-going-up-on-auction-block/ Early Tim Burton Disney Artwork Going Up On Auction Block