The Black Cauldron

Name: The Black Cauldron
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Animation
Released: July 24, 1985
Duration: 80 min
Rating: 59
Cast: Arthur Malet, Brandon Call, Eda Reiss Merin, Freddie Jones, Grant Bardsley

1985

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 31 Ratings

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5.7

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5.7	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 31 Ratings

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The Black Cauldron

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Movie Details & Credits

Buena Vista Pictures | Release Date: July 24, 1985 | PG

Starring: Arthur Malet, Brandon Call, Eda Reiss Merin, Freddie Jones, Grant Bardsley, Gregory Levinson, John Byner, Lindsay Rich, Nigel Hawthorne, Susan Sheridan

Movie Facts:

The first feature-length cartoon shot in 70 mm since Sleeping Beauty in 1959.
The Black Cauldron was at the time (1985) the most expensive animated film ever made, and earned Disney animation's first-ever PG rating.

Summary: Fantasy, magic, and fun are all brewed together in Disney's legendary adventure The Black Cauldron. Whoever releases the mysterious Black Cauldron's power will be invincible. The fearsome Horned King will do anything to possess it, but he is challenged by the most unlikely adversary: a young assistant pig keeper named Taran, who dreams ofFantasy, magic, and fun are all brewed together in Disney's legendary adventure The Black Cauldron. Whoever releases the mysterious Black Cauldron's power will be invincible. The fearsome Horned King will do anything to possess it, but he is challenged by the most unlikely adversary: a young assistant pig keeper named Taran, who dreams of doing heroic deeds. With a motley team of the brave Princess Eilonwy, a minstrel named Fflewddur Fflam and Hen Wen, a remarkable pig who can predict the future, Taran embarks on a quest to stop the Black Cauldron's evil once and for all. Will he have the courage to succeed? [Disney] The story is based on "The Chronicles of Prydain," a series of books for young people by Lloyd Alexander that won critical and popular acclaim in the mid-1960's.… Expand

Director: Richard Rich and Ted Berman

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Animation, Family

Rating: PG

Runtime: 80 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Richard Schickel

The new boys know how to create wonderful transformations in a character's expression with a deft stroke or two, and they have mastered the deliciously parodistic plasticity required by the movements of their ever twisting-turning-tumbling creatures. Their pastoral scenes still glow with the old Disney sweetness, and the ones of foreboding glower with the old relish for the grotesque. They satisfy an older viewer's nostalgic feeling for his childhood's delight while fulfilling the younger crowd's need for a kind of magic the movies too rarely even try to provide of late. It is never too early to learn that animation is still the best special effect. Read full review

Dan Kois

But there's still a great deal to love in The Black Cauldron. The untested animators Don Bluth left behind created some amazing sequences, including a dramatic scene of Taran's oracular pig, Hen Wen, being captured by pterodactyl-like gwythaints...For all its flaws, The Black Cauldron was a movie ahead of its time. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not Credited)

Despite its drawbacks as entertainment, it remains one of the best technical cartoon features ever produced by Disney. Read full review

Charles Champlin

If you care about animation as an art form, it is impossible not to be thrilled by Disney's "The Black Cauldron." [27 July 1985, p.1]

Staff (Not Credited)

As usual it is technically excellent, but the charm, characterisation and sheer good humour that made features like Pinocchio and Jungle Book so enjoyable are sadly absent. Read full review

Keith Phipps

While more grim than most Disney films, it's not bleakness that gets in the way of The Black Cauldron succeeding; unmemorable protagonists, annoying sidekicks, an awkwardly episodic plot, and animation that ranges in appearance from impressive to cheap to unfinished take care of that. Read full review

Jay Scott

In the end the taste of the brew is inferior to the bouquet, and while it's true that the cauldron is a splendiferous container, the dregs at the bottom are bitter. How 12 years and $25- million could be lavished on a movie with narrative holes big enough to swallow the film's major creation, a prophetic pig, is a conundrum that must have Uncle Walt spinning in his cryogenic crypt: this is a movie that knows how to do everything but tell a story. [26 July 1985]

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User Reviews

timone

Apr 30, 2019

Legend has it, in the mystic land of Prydain, there is once a king so cruel and so evil, that even the Gods feared him. Since no prison could hold him, he was thrown alive into a crucible of molten iron. There his demonic spirit was captured in the form of a great, Black Cauldron. ForLegend has it, in the mystic land of Prydain, there is once a king so cruel and so evil, that even the Gods feared him. Since no prison could hold him, he was thrown alive into a crucible of molten iron. There his demonic spirit was captured in the form of a great, Black Cauldron. For uncounted centuries, the Black Cauldron lay hidden, waiting, while evil men searched for it, knowing whoever possessed it would have the power to resurrect an army of deathless warriors... and with them, rule the world...

The Black Cauldron is well known to be a box office failure as for as Disney's concern. The only thing I have it is that I hate box office failures, it's just not good as a movie even for Disney. On the bright side it gained a cult following and it's good to see people really liking the movies that are box office bombs that gained cult followings.

My friends really loves this movie because years ago my best friend Liam Fleming heard me quoting the lines when I was in the front of the taxi.

He heard me quoting:

I shall send of your dastardly deed.
I'm Fflewddur Fflam, minstrel of minstrels! Balladeer to the grandest courts in all the land!
And I, uh, eh? Eh, well, have you forgotten? I have sung in some of the finest courts...
Well, I'm only waiting for an invitation.
Oh, shush. Why do you have to judge every word I say?
(gasps) (whispers) What's that? (screams) HHHHHEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPP!!!

Me and my two friends joined in and we both have fun together. Jacob Dimmock recorded me quoting what Fflewddur fflam says. Too bad the characters are bland and forgettable even Taran who looks like Wart from The Sword in the Stone. But The Horned King is so horrifying and he's voiced by John Hurt. Nothing too bad about The Black Cauldron, it's just forgettable.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Panchogul

Jun 13, 2021

Con razón fue tan mal recibida en su época, es demasiado oscura y turbia para ser una película de Disney, no me extrañaría que les haya provocado pesadillas a los niños en aquel entonces.

No es mala como dicen, pero está lejos de ser memorable por cosas positivas, la historia y losCon razón fue tan mal recibida en su época, es demasiado oscura y turbia para ser una película de Disney, no me extrañaría que les haya provocado pesadillas a los niños en aquel entonces.

No es mala como dicen, pero está lejos de ser memorable por cosas positivas, la historia y los personajes son bastante olvidables, el villano, aunque tenebroso y siniestro, también es olvidable, aún así es pasable, las hay peores.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

JPK

Dec 12, 2019

Pretty Forgettable
The Black Cauldron is just a very forgettable Disney film.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

BrunoVn00

May 26, 2019

The Black Cauldron is infamous for being the biggest box office flop Disney Animation Studios has ever made. This is one of the lesser known Disney movies and I watched it looking for a hidden gem, like Treasure Planet or Atlantis, but it wasn't the case.
This movie has tons of clichés andThe Black Cauldron is infamous for being the biggest box office flop Disney Animation Studios has ever made. This is one of the lesser known Disney movies and I watched it looking for a hidden gem, like Treasure Planet or Atlantis, but it wasn't the case.
This movie has tons of clichés and it was a pretty generic movie, extremely predictable and none of the characters have an actual character or anything memorable and ended up being pretty stereotypical. The villain was weak and really had no motivation, he was just the typical, generic cartoon villain that wants to conquer the world just cause.
The only thing I actually liked was the animation. This is the first Disney movie to use CGI and in some scenes it shows and I guess for the time it looked impressive, sure now looks outdated but considering that's probably the best they could do at the time, it's impressive. I can't call this movie a schlock because the animation as expected from a Disney movie is amazing, the amount of effort and hours of painstaking work really shows, it seems like the animation director(s) cared and made sure the characters and effects were well animated, I really love 2D animation because when done right, it can lead to beautiful results.
I liked the fact that Disney took risks with the color palette. Insted of the vibrant colors Disney movies usually have, this one has darker, more washed out colors that suit the setting of the movie.

One of the major problems this movie has besides the generic plot and characters is its tone, this movie seems to be made for no one. I don't know if this was made for kids because there are some disturbing and scary images, which I loved because it's not usual in a Disney movie, but I don't think this is aimed towards teenagers or adults either because the writing is so dumb that it will make them roll their eyes out, like I did several times, specially with Gurgi, the worst character of the movie and one of the most annoying characters I've seen in a movie.

Overall, this is a pretty dated, mediocre movie, one of Disney's weakest films with some impressive animation. If you're curious to watch "the film that almost killed Disney", do it, it's not like I don't recommend it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Piussio

Feb 9, 2023

Animazione impeccabile ma con una storia davvero pessima e personaggi poco caratterizzati.
Da precisare però che questo film è stato segnato da diverse scelte che hanno portato il film ad un processo produttivo disastroso.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

AvengerDragon56

Jul 20, 2019

This could have been so much better, but it was badly executed, poorly constructed and tonally inconsistent.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

FilipeNeto

Aug 23, 2018

This movie is a rather low point in the history of Disney studios. The story revolves around a king (who looks like the Devil) who aspires to be the lord of all things, needing to get a cursed cauldron that has been hidden because of his potential evil power. And the only one who canThis movie is a rather low point in the history of Disney studios. The story revolves around a king (who looks like the Devil) who aspires to be the lord of all things, needing to get a cursed cauldron that has been hidden because of his potential evil power. And the only one who can possibly tell him where the cauldron is hidden is Taran, who has in his guard a sow with divinatory powers. Summarized, thus, its not difficult to understand the illogical confusion of this script, nor the terrible way the characters were conceived. The animations are also not very good, with a heavy, strong trace, low light and dark colors. Disney has always used us to exquisitely crafted, visually elegant and bright films. What happened here? Wasn't the theme of the film dark enough? We also have the problem of music. This film, against the habit of this renowned studio, has virtually no soundtrack. To conclude, I leave here a parental warning: this film, although it was intended for young people, is not suitable for impressionable children. At least that's my opinion. Some scenes are strong, sometimes impressive and scary.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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