The Black Cauldron (film)

The Black Cauldron (also known as Taran and the Magic Cauldron in some countries) is the twenty-fifth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. It was produced by Walt Disney Productions, and originally released to theatres on July 24, 1985 by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution. It is based on Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain book series. The movie was directed by Ted Berman and Richard Rich and starred the voices of Grant Bardsley, Susan Sheridan, Freddie Jones, Nigel Hawthorne, and John Hurt.

The story concerns the evil Horned King who attempts to secure the Black Cauldron in order to rule the world. The Horned King is opposed by the heroes Taran, Princess Eilonwy, Fflewddur Fflam, and a strange creature named Gurgi.

Plot summary

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As the film starts, a voice-over explains the legend of the Black Cauldron:

On the small farm of Caer Dallben, Taran, a young boy relegated to the life of an "assistant pig keeper", longs for joining the war against the evil Horned King and becoming a hero despite the insistence of Dallben, his guardian, that "war is no game". On a nondescript morning, Hen Wen, the pig Taran looks after, seems to go crazy. Dallben explains that Hen Wen is a magical pig who can create visions using water, which Taran was previously unaware of. Using Hen Wen's powers, Dallben discovers that the Horned King is after the Black Cauldron and that he seeks to use Hen Wen to find it.

Realizing that Hen Wen simply cannot fall into the hands of the Horned King, Dallben orders Taran to leave the farm and take Hen Wen into hiding. Meanwhile, the Horned King came into a dark, vast chamber, where he told the piles of skeletons of warriors long dead that the Black Cauldron will be his, and he will bring the skeletons to life as the Cauldron Born. Once on his way, Taran was walking with Hen Wen and stopped by a pond for a drink, then he started dreaming about being a warrior until he lost the pig. Taran looked for her in the forest, but then he encounters a strange creature called Gurgi, who likes apples. Gurgi 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 has been captured by the Gwythaints, dragon-like creatures that serve the Horned King. He trails them to the Horned King's dark castle. Determined to save Hen Wen, Taran heads for the castle, but 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. The festivity ends when the Horned King appears and Creeper, a creature that serves the King, order Hen Wen brought out. Creeper orders the pig to reveal the location of the Black Cauldron, but she refuses. Taran stumbles into 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. Facing the possibility of Hen Wen being killed otherwise, Taran agrees to do so.

However, when the King leans over him, Taran is frightened by the King's skeletal face and glowing eyes. He makes a break for it, taking Hen Wen with him, and just manages to throw the pig into the moat before being captured himself. Thrown to 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, but becomes disappointed when she finds out that Taran isn't a warrior, just an Assistant Pig-keeper. They agree to escape the castle together.

While exploring the dungeon, they share their stories about how they got thrown in the dungeon. They come across a burial chamber. Eilonwy explains that the chamber must house the body of the good king who built the castle before the Horned King took over. Taran notices something on the top of the tomb and, upon discovering that it's a sword, takes it. They sneak past Creeper, who's ordering a henchman to carry a cart full of dead warriors into the castle. They 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. Every time Fflewddur tells a lie, 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. Taran and Eilonwy get separated. Suddenly, Taran runs into a guard wielding an axe. The guard attempts to kill Taran, but before he can strike, Taran pulls out his sword and uses it to block the axe. The sword magically damages the axe, and the horrified guard runs away. Excited over the magic sword, Taran plays with it for a while, but then Eilonwy shows up, and they continue onward. They run into more guards, and Taran deflects them with the magic sword. Meanwhile, Fflewddur 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.

Back in the castle, Creeper nervously goes up to the Horned King's throne room and informs his master of the pig-keeper's escape. He attempts to choke himself as punishment, but is surprised to find out his master likes the news. The King orders him to send the Gwythaints to follow the boy, which Creeper thankfully does.

In the forest, Fflewddur is singing to the heroes while Eilonwy is sewing his pants. They are all very thankful that they made it out of the castle alive. But Taran starts to become arrogant and say that he wasn't afraid. He and Eilonwy get into an argument, wherein the Princess runs off crying. Taran goes to apologize to her, and she informs him that they all need to work together to find the cauldron before the Horned King does. Just then they hear Fflewddur yell for help since he was being harassed by someone attacking him. Taran draws his sword in case of danger, but sheaths it when the "danger" turns out to be Gurgi looking for goodies. ...

...The witches, now in the form of clouds, inform the heroes that the Black Cauldron can never be destroyed, but only its evil power can be stopped. A living being must climb into the cauldron of his own free will, however the good person shall never climb out alive. They then disappear, saying they always keep a bargain...

Later, the heroes are sitting around trying to figure out what to do with the cauldron. Doli gets frustrated and disappears. Taran blurts out that he's nothing without the sword, but Eilonwy assures him that he is somebody; he just needs to believe in himself. Taran is about to say something to Eilonwy, while Fflewddur and Gurgi look on with happy eyes. Then Taran turns to all of them, saying they've all been good friends thus far. Just then, a cry is heard. The gwythaints have found them! Gurgi sneaks to safety, but when the others try to make a run for it, they're stopped in their tracks by the Horned King's henchmen. Gurgi looks sadly at his captured friends.

Back at the Horned King's castle, Creeper orders another cart to be taken into the castle. He then taunts the three captured friends while preparing the cauldron for his master. The Horned King then enters, acknowledges the three heroes for finding the cauldron for him, then prepares them for "what fate has in store for you...". He picks up a dead warrior, puts it in the cauldron, and begins his great spell. The cauldron brings to life all the dead warriors in the castle and transforms them into the "Cauldron Born". All the Horned King's henchman run away in fear. The three heroes begin to despair as now all hope seems lost. Creeper takes his master to the tallest tower so they can get a better view of the undead leaving the castle. Meanwhile, Gurgi sneaks into the castle, evading the horrifying soldiers brought to life by the cauldron. He reaches Taran and the others, and unties everyone. Remembering the witches' advice, Taran makes up his mind then and there that he'll sacrifice himself to destroy the black magic. Eilonwy begs him not to, but Gurgi is able to stop him. Gurgi walks toward the cauldron and says his final words: "Taran has many friends...Gurgi has no friends...". Taran tries to stop him, but Gurgi jumps into the cauldron and destroys the black magic. Outside, Creeper and the Horned King watch in shock as their undead army falls and dies. Blaming Creeper for the screw-up, the King takes his slave to be thrown into the Cauldron to reignite the spell. Taran tells Eilonwy and Fflewddur to leave the castle while he attempts to save Gurgi. As the King and Creeper enter the chamber, they see Taran is free. Creeper blames Taran for the incident, and the King turns his anger on the boy: "You have interfered for the last time, now pig-keeper you shall die!". He attempts to push Taran toward the cauldron, but being the heavier mass, he gets sucked in the cauldron instead. He screams in agony as he is violently sucked in. Once he's gone, Creeper begins to mourn for his master, but then realizes he is now free and starts laughing. The cauldron sinks into the ground and the castle begins to crumble. Taran finds his friends waiting for him. They escape in a rowboat as the castle explodes and falls into the water. Creeper, still laughing, flies away on a gwythaint.

Taran and his friends have just made it to shore when the cauldron rises from the water. The witches reappear, again in the form of clouds, decide the heroes have no more use for the cauldron, and prepare to take it back. But Fflewddur reminds them that they always keep a bargain by trade. Orddu doesn't want to give up the sword, but Orwen gives it to Taran. Taran no longer wants the sword, but will trade instead for Gurgi's life. Orddu deems it impossible, but when Fflewddur starts goading them, they take away the cauldron and the sword and leave a lifeless Gurgi in the cauldron's place. The heroes look tearfully at Gurgi, and Taran picks him up to hold him. But suddenly, Gurgi reaches for munchies and crunchies, and everyone is ecstatic to see him alive again. Furthermore, he pushes Taran and Princess Eilonwy's heads together when they are staring at each other, and share a kiss. They all head home together. Back at the farm, Dallben, Doli, and Hen Wen are all watching the heroes through a vision. They all agree that Taran did very well on his first adventure.

Production details

The Black Cauldron was first use of the APT process in a movie, which replaced Xerography at Disney. The most expensive animated feature made as of its release in 1985, it cost $25 million in actual production costs, but returned less than $10 million at the North American box office. It is also the first Disney animated feature to employ computer-generated imagery. The dimensions and volume of the animated objects were fed into a computer and then their shapes were manipulated through computer programming before they were transferred as physical outlines the animators could work on. Some CGI includes the realistic flames seen near the end of the movie and the boat that Taran and his friends use to escape the castle. (Animated features with cels containing computer animation are probably rather rare as animation studios stopped using cels years ago.) The Disney sound editors began experimenting with newly-recorded sound effects, beginning with this film, to replace many of the classic effects heard in many animated Disney movies up until after The Fox and the Hound. This included newer, more-realistic thunderclaps (to replace the "Castle Thunder" sound effects used on most 1937-1981 animated Disney features), newer crashes and explosions, and more. However, a rare 1985 trailer of this did use the Castle Thunder in it and The Great Mouse Detective (released the following year) made heavy use of the old Disney sound effects. After that movie, the classic sound effects (including "Castle Thunder") were officially retired from Walt Disney Feature Animation.

The Black Cauldron was the first Disney animated feature to have closing credits since Alice in Wonderland. The earliest Disney animated feature to have closing credits is Fantasia. This film was shot using the Super Technirama 70 widescreen 70 mm film process, and is one of only two Disney films to have been produced in such a manner, the other being Sleeping Beauty. Some of the film's settings, aesthetics and character designs were recycled in the creation of the Gummi Bears television series.^{[citation needed]}

Studio Edits

Shortly before the film's release to theaters, newly appointed Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg ordered several scenes from The Black Cauldron be cut, due to the fear that the graphic nature of them would alienate children and family audiences. The bulk of the cut scenes involved the undead "Cauldron Born", who are used as the Horned King's army in the final act of the film. While most of the scenes were seamlessly removed from the film, one particular cut involving a Cauldron Born killing a person by slicing his neck and torso created a rather recognizable lapse due to the fact that the removal of the scene creates a jump in the film's soundtrack. Additionally, a scene involving Taran taking the magic sword and slaying his foes while he escapes the Horned King's castle for the first time was removed, as well as another scene with Princess Eilonwy partially nude as fabric was ripped off of her dress as she is hanging by her hands with Taran and Fflewddur Fflam. Another scene cut featured a man being dissolved by mist.^[1] The removal of these scenes was to prevent the film from receiving either a PG-13 or R rating, in which Disney doesn't approve. The final version of the film was the first animated film from Disney to get a PG rating from the MPAA.

As of 2008, the original cut of the film with the removed scenes restored has never been released on video or DVD. A version of the film with more cuts has appeared on the Disney Channel and the Toon Disney channel.

Film legacy

The Black Cauldron represented the Disney studio's attempt to reach out to teenage fans of fantasy novels, a popular genre at the time. However, the gamble proved unsuccessful as the film failed at the box-office. Some critics blamed the film's lack of appeal on the dark nature of the book (though some gave it a good review; Roger Ebert's review at the time of the film's release was mostly positive). The film's failure at the box office combined with its dark tone led to Disney shelving the film for nearly 15 years.

Although Disney traditionally re-released their animated features every 7 or so years to theatres, The Black Cauldron remained out of circulation (both theatrically and on home video) for well over a decade after its release. Finally, it was released on home video in late 1998. In 2000 the video was re-released on VHS, and released for the first time on DVD under Disney's "Gold Classics Collection" banner. Though the R1 DVD is unrestored and non-anamorphic; the R2 release in France is restored, remastered, and anamorphic. The US DVD release features the film's theatrical trailer (though no mention is made of this anywhere on the packaging), as well as a still frame gallery, the Donald Duck cartoon "Trick or Treat," and a "Quest for the Black Cauldron" set-top game.

The company rarely incorporated characters from the film into any Disney-related merchandise since shortly after the film's debut, although The Horned King has made several low-key appearances in recent Disney merchandise and a series of The Black Cauldron themed beanie toys were produced in limited quantities for sale at Disney Stores in the late 1990s. Despite the film's lackluster reception, it seemed to have developed a cult following among viewers, and it also got score of 63% "fresh" at Rotten Tomatoes.

A restaurant called "Gurgi's Munchies and Crunchies" was opened at Walt Disney World at the time of the film's release. It featured artwork of the film's characters on the walls and a picture of Gurgi on the front. Due to the film's failure, most attempts at tie-ins at the park were removed, but the restaurant remained for several years (even as the film it referenced became more and more obscure) until it was redesigned and renamed with a Beauty and the Beast motif. The Horned King was also the main villain of Tokyo Disneyland's now removed Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour, in which a guest from the tour group would be chosen to defeat him with the power of a magic sword in the attraction's finale.

Although it was first released to video in 1998 as part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection video line, it was originally going to have its home video debut in 1989 as part of the Walt Disney Classics video collection which ran from 1984 to 1994. It was even mastered on tape, but didn't make it due to the success of The Little Mermaid.

Cultural references and Uses

In the scene when Taran and his friends visit the fairfolk in their underworld, you can see Tinkerbell floating to the right of Taran when the fairies swarm them.

A scene at the beginning of the film when Hen uses her powers in the pail of water, the vision of The Horned King is a re-used section of the Night on Bald Mountain scene in the movie Fantasia.

International release dates

• Argentina: July 25, 1985
• Brazil: September 19, 1985
• U.K.: October 11, 1985
• France: November 27, 1985
• Sweden: November 29, 1985
• West Germany: December 5, 1985
• Finland: December 13, 1985
• Netherlands: December 19, 1985
• Spain: December 19, 1985
• Italy: January 28, 1986
• Hong Kong: February 20, 1986
• Australia: May 8, 1986
• Japan: July 19, 1986
• China: October 19, 1986

The Black Cauldron theatrical release history

• July 24, 1985 (Original theatrical)
• June 14, 1994 (Re-released)
• April 12, 2001 (Re-issued)
• September 3, 2007 (Re-released in IMAX Theatres)

Differences between the film and the books

• Quite a number of significant characters were omitted from the film, including Coll, an assistant to Dallben, an evil queen/witch named Achren, a war hero named Gwydion, and an evil lord Arawn who was actually the master to the Horned King. However, Arawn may be the "spirit" trapped within the Cauldron.
• Also missing is Ellidyr; a prince who sacrifices himself to the cauldron, Gwystyl; a Fair Folk who has a way post near Annuvin, Adaon; Son of Taliesin, Medwyn; an enchanter who helps the companions, Morgant; a king who tries to use the cauldron for himself, Smoit; a king who helps with Gwydion to find the cauldron, and Kaw; a crow who can talk.
• In the books Eilonwy is described as having red-gold hair, but in the film her hair is mainly blond.
• Dallben had a beard in the books, perhaps having an appearance closer to Gandalf, in The Lord of the Rings.
• Creeper, who served as the henchman to The Horned King was an added character in the movie, not found in the books.
• Fflewddur Fflam is described as having more yellowish hair in the books, as well as being lankier and much younger than he appeared in the film.
• In the book, Taran does indeed find Dyrnwyn (the magical sword) but is injured when he attempts to clear it from its scabbard. Dallben later tells him that had he drawn it completely, it would have likely killed him. (He is able to wield it in Book 5, The High King, since by that point he is able to draw it "for noble worth").
• The Horned King did not try to get his hands on the black cauldron. Unlike the movie where the cauldron is hidden, and being sought by the Horned King, in the books the Horned King was the servant to the evil lord, Arawn, who already owned the cauldron to release the cauldron-born. In the beginning of the second book, the good characters planned to steal it from Arawn, only to find it had already been stolen (by the Witches of Morva).
• In the book, Prince Gwydion defeats the Horned King by shouting his true name aloud; In the movie, the Horned King dies by being swallowed up by the Cauldron.
• In the movie Doli can clearly be able to disappear/become invisible. In the first book, The Book of Three, Doli's main wish is to be able to have the power to become invisible.
• In the movie, Taran meets Eilonwy in the dungeon of the Horned King's castle. In the first book, The Book of Three, Taran was trapped in the evil witch, Achren's castle, and was then rescued by Eilonwy.
• The characters met Fflewddur Fflam, in the movie, in the dungeon. However, in The Book of Three, Taran and the war hero, Gwydion are separated in different dungeons. Taran sends Eilonwy to rescue his war hero friend, but mistakenly takes Fflewddur Fflam for Gwydion.
• At the end of the film, The Horned King's castle collapses. In the middle of the first book, Achren's castle collapses.
• There were inconsistencies in character motivations. Doli is presented as a bit of an oaf in the movie, when in the book he is an ill-tempered but talented craftsman. Eilonwy is much more sarcastic in the book than in the movie. The witches of Morva, in the book, are more care-free about the Black Cauldron, opting to trade it to Taran for Adaon's Brooch. When the witches (who really aren't all that afraid of Arawn or the Horned King) meet the protagonists, they are much more motherly and much less sinister.
• In the movie, Gurgi puts his body into the cauldron to destroy its powers. However, in the book it was a character named Ellidyr. Ellidyr goes into the cauldron and dies. (In the movie Gurgi died, but was brought back to life by the Witches of Morva.) The cauldron is also destroyed when Ellidyr jumps into it, but he is not restored to life. The Cauldron is destroyed, but Arawn's Cauldron-Born warriors still serve him.
• In the movie Hen Wen is a piglet, in the book she is a full grown white sow.
• In The Book of Three Hen-Wen runs from Caer Dallben because she is frightened by the nearby presence of the Horned King. Taran is hooked into his adventure when he chases after her to return her to Caer Dallben. Dallben wants to keep her home so she can read a prophecy that might help them fight the Horned King. In the movie, however, Dallben is sending Hen-Wen away with Taran to keep the Horned King from getting her.
• Hen-Wen uses her oracular abilities by gazing into a dish of water, in the movie. In the book, Dallben has a set of ash-sticks with symbols carved on them. Hen-Wen then points to the symbols with her snout to dictate the prophecy.
• In the movie Eilonwy's bauble floats. In the book it doesn't and she carries it in her hand.
• In the movie, Eilonwy tells Taran that the Horned King kidnapped her so that her father (a king) would give information about the Black Cauldron. In the book, Eilonwy lives, more or less reluctantly, with her "aunt" Achren, who is keeping Taran prisoner.
• In the movie, Taran and the others are pulled into the Fair Folk realm by mistake. In the book, the lake is made to pull people in on purpose, as it is felt that if they reach the lake, they are already "too close" to Fair Folk territory to leave.
• Doli is a dwarf in the book.

References

1. ^ [1] - Graphic image. An animation cel which was auctioned on eBay, from Sarah's Black Cauldron Page

See also

• The APT process

External links

• The Black Cauldron at the Internet Movie Database
• The Black Cauldron at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Black Cauldron at Box Office Mojo
• The Black Cauldron at the Big Cartoon DataBase

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