The Black Cauldron

Admittedly, I had never seen The Black Cauldron before watching it for this Animated Film Profile, due to hearing that it is pretty terrible. And well it was not quite as terrible as I was imagining, let’s just say that it won’t be cracking my Top 10 list anytime soon. The overall film was fairly weak in terms of storytelling and characters (many of whom are quite annoying) and the animation, though advanced back in 1985, is hard to appreciate now.

Premiered on: July 24, 1985

Directed by:

Ted Berman
Richard Rich

Produced by:

Joe Hale
Ron Miller

Based on: The Chronicles of Prydain written by Lloyd Alexander

Sequels: none

Cast:

Grant Bardsley – Taran
Susan Sheridan – Princess Eilonwy
Freddie Jones – Dallben
Nigel Hawthorne – Fflewddur Fflam
John Hurt – The Horned King
Phil Fondacaro – Creeper / Henchman
John Byner – Gurgi / Doli
Arthur Malet – King Eidilleg
Eda Reiss Merin – Orddu
Adele Malis-Morey – Orwen
Billie Hayes – Orgoch
John Huston – Narrator

Supervising Animators:

Andreas Deja
Mark Henn
Glen Keane

Music by: Elmer Bernstein

Songs: none

Academy Awards: none

The Story:

The Black Cauldron opens with a scene of a dark and cloudy night. The narrator explains about the legend of Prydain. A king was so cruel that even the gods feared him. There was no prison that could hold him so he was thrown into a black cauldron where his spirit was captured. The black cauldron lay hidden for centuries while evil men searched for it, knowing that whoever possessed it could resurrect an army of deathless warriors and rule the world. The scene shows the black cauldron and then the title card of the film.

The next scene zooms onto a cottage in the forest. Inside is a sleepy cat and Dallben the enchanter is telling the cat that he fears something is wrong. He thinks that the Fair Folk must think that as well because they haven’t been around. Dallben wonders what the Horned King is waiting for. The cat starts to meow and Dallben says that his thinking is more important that the cat’s breakfast. The enchanter then notices that a pot on the fire is starting to boil over. He warns Taran, his assistant pig keeper, about it but Taran is daydreaming out the window. Taran tells Dallben that he is worried that the war will be over before he has the chance to fight. Dallben thinks that would be a good thing but Taran disagrees. He wants to fight and to become a hero. As he says this, Taran burns his finger on the boiling pot and proves that he is not as tough as he makes himself out to be with his yelp of pain. Dallben tells the boy that if the Horned King returns, he will have a lot more to worry about than a burnt finger. Dallben scoops some of the mush out of the pot and plops in down on a plate in front of the cat, but then he tells the cat that it is not for him but for Hen Wen the pig. Taran complains that it is always about Hen Wen and Dallben tells him that one day Taran will know why. He then tells the boy to go finish his chores.

Outside, Taran is complaining that Dallben does not understand him and that he should be off being a hero for Prydain and not taking care of a pig. He gives Hen Wen her food, though the pig does not care for the taste of it. Taran grabs a stick and pretends to be a warrior as he challenges the farm animals. But then the goat headbutts him in return and Taran falls in the mud. He then pretends that he is Prydain’s finest warrior drawing his last breath. Dallben then appears and is upset that Taran is daydreaming again. Taran asks if he will be anything other than an assistant pig keeper one day and Dallben reminds Taran that Hen Wen is a special pig. He tells Taran to give her a bath. During the bath, Hen Wen starts to freak out. Dallben checks to see what is going on and he tells Taran to quickly bring the pig inside.

Inside, Dallben says that he never uses Hen Wen’s powers unless he has to. He tells Taran that the boy must never reveal this to anyone. Dallben stirs a bucket of water and says his magic spell. Hen Wen then puts her snout into the water and a reflection of the Horned King appears, searching for the black cauldron. Dallben starts to explain what the black cauldron is to Taran but then they see Hen Wen in the water vision as well. So Dallben tells Taran that he must take Hen Wen and hide because before only Dallben knew of the pig’s power but now the Horned King does as well. They are no match for his power. Dallben packs up some food for Taran and Taran and Hen Wen take off.

At the Horned King’s dark and spooky castle, the King is in the catacombs talking to his dead soldiers. He says that the black cauldron will soon be his and that he will soon make them cauldron-born. And that they will worship him!

In the forest, Taran and Hen Wen are walking along and Taran is still very surprised about how special Hen Wen is. Taran is bragging about how Dallben is going to be glad that he put his trust in Taran because he is not going to let anything happen to Hen Wen. Then they stop by a pond to take a drink and Taran starts to daydream about being a hero again. But then during the daydream, Hen Wen disappears and Taran runs deeper into the forest to look for the pig. He thinks he hears Hen Wen in the bushes and pulls out an apple to tempt the pig out of hiding. Gurgi appears instead and grabs the apple. Taran demands the apple back and threatens Gurgi that he will be sorry. Gurgi finally gives the apple back, but not before taking a bite out of it first. Gurgi feels very guilty about it, but Taran just finds him annoying. He asks Gurgi if he has seen a pig and Gurgi says nope. So Taran puts the apple back in his pocket and stars to walk away. Gurgi then says that yes, he does actually remember seeing a pig and that he will show Taran the way. And then they will be friends forever! Taran then hears Hen Wen squealing and knows that she is in trouble. He runs off to look for her and he sees the pig being chased by dragon-like creatures called gwythaints. One of them grabs Hen Wen with its talons and Taran grabs onto the gwythaints’ tail but is pulled off by the other one. Taran does his best to follow the creatures and he climbs up a rocky mountain side. He sees the gwythaints off in the distant heading towards the Horned King’s castle. Gurgi suddenly appears and tells Taran not to go there and to forget about the pig. Taran asks what Gurgi is doing there and Gurgi says that he wants to be friends forever. Taran does not and needs to go rescue the pig because he promised that he would take care of her. Taran asks Gurgi one last time if he is going with him, but Gurgi refuses and so Taran says that Gurgi is no friend and throws the apple at him because that is all Gurgi wanted anyway.

Taran climbs up the side of the castle and slips through a hole in the stones. He sneaks past a sleeping guard, whose dog notices Taran and starts to bark. The guard wakes up but thinks that the dog is barking at nothing and so Taran continues on. He comes to a banquet hall where a celebration is happening. Suddenly a wind starts to blow through the hall and the Horned King appears. The Creeper does his best at trying to welcome the King and then yells at a guard to bring in the prisoner. Hen Wen is brought into the banquet hall. The Creeper yells at Hen Wen to show the Horned King where the black cauldron could be found and they place a dish of water in front of her. But Hen Wen refuses. The Creeper threatens Hen Wen with a piece of hot coal. This startles Taran and the boy falls out of his hiding spot in the rafters. Taran tries to fight off the guards with a broom, which does absolutely nothing. The guard throws Taran in front of the Horned King and the King asks Taran if he is the keeper of the pig. Taran says yes, so the Horned King tells him to make the pig show where the black cauldron is. Taran says that he promised that he wouldn’t so the Horned King says that the pig has no use to him. The Creeper then grabs the pig to have her executed. Taran then says that he will get Hen Wen to show the black cauldron. So Taran says the magic spell and stirs the water. Hen Wen puts her snout in the water and the reflection shows the black cauldron. The Horned King comes closer to Taran and Hen Wen, which startles Taran. As a result, Taran stepped in the water dish which causes the water to fling up and into the Horned King’s face. This gives Taran a chance to try and escape so he grabs Hen Wen and runs. All of the guards chase after them. Taran and Hen Wen make it to the top of the castle and Taran throws Hen Wen into the moat down below to escape. However, Taran is caught by the Creeper before he can jump as well. Taran is thrown into the dungeon.

In the dungeon, Taran is thinking about how he failed Dallben and Hen Wen. Suddenly a stone in the floor opens up and Princess Eilonwy appears with her magical bauble. She says that she is a prisoner as well and introduces herself. She asks Taran if he is a lord of a warrior. He admits that he is an assistant pig keeper and Eilonwy is disappointed because she was hoping for someone that could help her escape. She invites him to come along with her though and she tells Taran that she was captured because the Horned King thought that her bauble could tell him where the black cauldron was. They wander around through the castle and the bauble chases the rats away that they come across. They then come to a burial chamber and Eilonwy thinks that this must be for the King who built the castle before the Horned King took over. Taran approaches the tomb and thinks that he must have been a great warrior. There is a sword lying on top of the tomb and Taran grabs it. They then spy the Creeper and a goon stashing a cart of dead soldiers and they must quietly sneak by the room where the Creeper went it. Taran and Eilonwy hear lots of noise ahead and they peek through a door. A guard is locking up a minstrel, whom is putting up a big protest.

Taran and Eilonwy rescue the minstrel after the guard leaves. The minstrel introduces himself as Fflewddur Fflam. Soon after, they must take off quickly because they have been discovered. The three of them end up getting separated. Taran fights off a guard with his new sword and the sword turns out to be magical and can cut through anything. Taran is very excited about this and he is about to beat the guard. Eilonwy finds him celebrating. Taran now has a new confidence and he takes over leading the way out of the castle. They see Fflewddur being chased by a dog but are unable to help him at the moment. They make it outside and Taran is able to fight off everyone with the magic sword. He uses the sword to cut the chain to let down the draw bridge. They escape over the bridge and Fflewddur catches up with them just in time.

The Creeper is working up the nerve to tell the Horned King that the prisoners have escaped. The Horned King asks the Creeper if he is bringing new of the pig but the Creeper says not exactly; he is bringing news about the pig keeper…who has escaped. The Creeper starts to choke himself so the King does not have to, but the King thinks that the pig keeper escaping is actually a good thing because then he can find the pig and then they can find both of them. The gwythaints are sent out to find them.

In the forest, Fflewddur is serenading Eilonwy and Taran while Eilonwy is sewing up Fflewddur’s pants that were ripped by the guard dog. Taran is bragging about how he was not afraid at all, but Eilonwy does not believe him because they were literally running for their lives. Taran thinks that it was all thanks to him that they escaped but Eilonwy reminds him that it was because he had a magic sword. Taran says that girls do not know anything about swords, which really upsets Eilonwy. She reminds him that it was she who rescued him out of his dungeon. Fflewddur is trying to stop the fight but Eilonwy interrupts his help as being on Taran’s side so she stomps off. Taran takes off as well but then he finds Eilonwy crying in the forest. She says that Fflewddur is right because they have to work together. Taran thanks her for getting him out of the dungeon and Eilonwy says that they couldn’t have done it without him. Suddenly they hear Fflewddur yelling for help.

They go back to Fflewddur, who is being climbed on by Gurgi. Gurgi wants both Flewddur’s hat and harp and Fflewddur tells Gurgi that he can take it because he is sure that Gurgi has murdered for less. Taran is surprised to see Gurgi and Gurgi makes up a story of how the old man feel down and that he was just trying to help Fflewddur back up. Fflewddur asks Taran who his friend is, but Taran says that he is not friends with Gurgi! He describes Gurgi as a little thief. Eilonwy thinks that Gurgi is charming, which pleases Gurgi. Gurgi then starts to walk away because Taran does not want him around but then he remembers that he saw pig tracks earlier. But Taran and Fflewddur are suspicious that Gurgi is lying again but Eilonwy believes him. So they take off and come to where Gurgi had seen the tracks. The tracks are by a pong and Gurgi jumps on a rock in the water. Then the rock disappears so Gurgi has to jump onto the next one. That rock starts to spin and spin which creates a whirlpool in the pond. Taran tries to save him but he ends up getting swept into the whirlpool. Eilonwy and Fflewddur also try to help but soon all of them are stuck in the whirlpool.

They end up underneath the pond on dry rock. The Fair Folk find them and are wondering how the humans got down there. One of them suggests that they should tell their King but the others disagree because they are not supposed to be that close to the pond entrance. The Fair Folk disappear so they don’t get into trouble.

Down in the Fair Folks’ home, King Eidilleg and Doli are trying to fix a leak from the pond. The humans are watching them from above and Eilonwy comments on how charming the Fair Folk are. King Eidilleg and Doli are very surprised to see their visitors and the King reacts politely while Doli does not. But then quietly to Doli, the King says that he thought that Doli had fixed the hole. Doli says that he did, perfectly. And the King points out that it could not have been perfectly because the humans are there! Doli complains that everything is his fault, even that the pig is there! Taran overhears and says that the pig is his. Doli goes off to fetch the pig. The Fair Folk then all appear to see their guests as Doli comes back with Hen Wen.

The King asks the humans if all of the burning and killing is still going on up there. Fflewddur asks if he is referring to the Horned King then yes! Taran says that the Horned King is trying to find the black cauldron and if he does, he will kill them all. King Eidilleg says that the Horned King will never find it and lets them all know that they cauldron is located in Morva. He says the Doli will know exactly where the cauldron is and Taran gets an idea that if they find it first, they can destroy the black cauldron before the Horned King can get to it.

King Eidilleg sprinkles them all with a little bit of magic and they fly up and through the pong. Hen Wen stays with the Fair Folk for safety.

In the next scene, they are in the marshes of Morva and it is a very dreary place. They come across a spooking looking house in a tree and Eilonwy thinks that it seems empty so they should have a look inside. They all go inside and there are many little eyeballs staring at them. They search around the eyeballs turnout to belong to frogs! Doli says that they once were people who had been turned into frogs. Gurgi then exclaims that he has found the cauldron and brings everyone into a room filled with cauldrons.

They then hear shrieking from the main room and someone is exclaiming that all of their frogs have been stolen! They head into the main room and they find three witches who threaten to turn them all into frogs. But one of the witches, Orwen, sees Fflewddur and is smitten with him. But another witch, Orgoch, turns him into a frog and tries to cook him in a cauldron. Orwen saves Fflewddur and turns him back into a human. Orgoch turns Fflewddur back into a frog and then he gets turned back into a human. Taran tells them “Enough.” He explains that they are looking for the black cauldron and Orwen says that no one has asked about the cauldron in over 2000 years! The witches think that it must be a trick then.

Orddu offers to interest them in something else and all of her different pots and kettles fly around the room. She tells them that they can have anything they want. But then the magic sword starts to slash all of the pots and kettles. And then witches cannot believe their eyes! The witches huddle up and think that they need the sword. They think that they will offer to trade the cauldron for the sword but then they will end up with both items because the humans will not be able to do anything with the cauldron.

The witches tell the humans that they will bargain with them and Taran immediately says that they cannot have the sword. So Fflewddur offers his harp which the witches refuse. Gurgi offers to trade his apple core. So then Taran gives in and offers his sword. He knows that it is their only chance.

The witches disappear with the sword and a wind storm happens. The house blows away along with all of their stuff. And the ground shakes and the black cauldron appears out of a crack in the ground. The witches appear in a cloud and laugh at the humans because they do not know that the cauldron is indestructible. They say that only the evil powers trapped in the cauldron can be stopped when a living being climbs into the cauldron by their own will. Gurgi starts to climb inside because he thinks he is good and brave but then Orddu says that the living being will never climb out alive again and Gurgi quickly runs away from the cauldron. Eilonwy and Fflewddur complain because the witches said that they could have the cauldron and Orgoch laughs and points out that they can have it. It is not their fault that the humans cannot do anything with it. The witches disappear in a cloud.

At night, the group is all sitting glumly by a fire. Doli has enough of the adventure and flies away. Taran blames himself for everything and says that without the sword he is a nobody. But Eilonwy encourages him and says that she thinks that he is a someone. She goes in to kiss him but then Gurgi kisses Fflewddur instead, ruining the moment as everyone laughs. Suddenly the gwythaints appear, along with many guards. They surround Taran, Eilonwy, and Fflewddur but Gurgi escapes.

Back in the Horned King’s castle, the three prisoners are hanging by their wrists. The Creeper is preparing the black cauldron and then the Horned King appears and the Creeper says that everything is in order. He calls on the army of the dead, the cauldron-born. He puts a skeleton into the cauldron which starts the spell and the army rises. The guards are terrified of the army and run away. The Horned King sends his army off and tells them to destroy anything in their path.

Gurgi sneaks into the castle and he finds his friends hanging. Gurgi says that he is sorry that he always runs away when there is trouble. He unties them and Taran climbs up above the cauldron and says that he must stop the spell. Eilonwy tells him to stop because he will die but Taran says that his mind is made up. Gurgi suddenly jumps in front of him. They argue about it and Gurgi says that Taran has many friends but since Gurgi has none, he should be the one to jump in and he does. He sacrifices himself to stop the cauldron-born.

The army starts to fade away and die. The Horned King knows that something is wrong and he tells the Creeper that it better not be his fault. If the cauldron needs another body, it will be the Creeper’s!

At the black cauldron, Taran tells Eilonwy and Fflewddur to get out of there. He thinks there might still be a chance to save Gurgi. The Horned King appears and yells at the lifeless skeletons to get up! The Creeper suggests that they might only be resting and yells at the skeletons to come alive because his life is at stake. But then they see that Taran was the one who stopped the army. The Horned King goes over to him and tells Taran that he has interfered for the last time. He wants Taran to satisfy the cauldron’s hunger and throws the boy close to it. But then the cauldron drags the Horned King towards it with a powerful wind and the Horned King falls right into the cauldron and dies.

The castle starts to crumble and Taran, Eilonwy, and Fflewddur try to escape before they are buried alive in the rubble. They climb into a boat but they cannot get through a locked gate until Taran gets into the water and unlocks the chain. They make it through just in time as the castle is compete destroyed. The Creeper makes it out on one of the gwythaints.

They paddle through the mist and come to the shore away from the fallen castle. The black cauldron suddenly appears floating on the water and Taran has a moment for Gurgi. The witches appear in a cloud and laugh at them for getting what they wanted and not being satisfied about it. The witches say that they have business to do with the hero and the tell Taran that they are going to take the cauldron back because the humans no long have a need for it. But Fflewddur stops them and says that instead they will bargain for it. The witches give Taran his sword back in exchange but Taran is still very sad and says that he is only a pig boy and not a warrior so he doesn’t deserve it. Taran instead asks if he can trade the cauldron for Gurgi. The witches say that is not possible so Fflewddur says that they have no real power. So the witches must prove them wrong and they take the cauldron and give them back Gurgi. Gurgi appears dead and Taran picks him up. Gurgi wakes up and everyone celebrates. Taran and Eilonwy kiss and then Taran invites everyone to head home. They take off, all holding hands and that scene turns into a vision that Hen Wen sees in the water. Dallben is there with Doli and he says that Taran did well.

And then the film ends with end credits over tapestry-looking scenes of the film.

Trivia:

• Though The Black Cauldron did not receive any Academy Awards, David W. Spencer did receive a Technical Achievement award for developing the Animation Photo Transfer process which was first used on this film.
• Ffleddur Fflam’s harp breaks a string every time he says a lie.
• This film was mostly based off of the first two books of the series: The Book of Three and The Black Cauldron.
• Though none of the Nine Old Men worked on the film, Eric Larson was credited as an Animation Consultant.
• This film had a lot of Firsts for Disney animation:
  • First to receive a PG rating
  • First to make use of CGI
  • First to feature absolutely no songs
  • First to have no opening credits, only end credits.
• This was the last Disney animated film to be produced in the original animation building at the Walt Disney Studios.

Representation in the Disney Parks:

Currently there is no representation of The Black Cauldron in any Disney Park. Gurgi’s Munchies and Crunchies was a quick service restaurant in Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom from 1986 to 1993. In Tokyo Disneyland, the Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour featured characters from The Black Cauldron. This walkthrough attraction was open from 1986 to 2006.

Check out the other films of Disney’s Bronze Age:

The Aristocats (1970)
Robin Hood (1973)
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
The Rescuers (1977)
The Fox and the Hound (1981)
The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
Oliver and Company (1988)