The Black Cauldron
Rating – 2.5/4
*SPOILERS*
A film about swords, princesses, dragons, an evil ruler, and magic in a Disney film? Very common. A film made by Disney that has no songs, deals with death, full of scary creatures and images, and has a darker and depressing tone? That’s new. But The Black Cauldron, is a different step for Disney. Released in 1985, the film became infamous because of Disney’s attempt to bury the film and I don’t really see why. Animation is not just for kids and not every Disney movie has to have singing and bright colors.
Why not try something different?
The film follows a young boy named Taran, who dreams of living a life of adventure but is stuck being a simple farmer for his master Dallben. But when the evil Horned King begins threatening the land of Prydain, Taran takes upon the quest to find and destroy the fabled Black Cauldron, a magical cauldron that is said to give the Horned King ultimate power. Along the way, he’s joined by a princess named Eilonwy, a mystic pig named Hen-Wen, a bard named Fflewddurr Fflam, and a creature named Gurgi.
Unfortunately, the film falls for the classic clichés. Hero goes on quest, meets a girl, has a plucky comic relief (two in this case: Fflewddurr and Gurgi), gets in trouble and has to get bailed out, a character sacrifices himself, he defeats the great evil, and shares a kiss with the girl. But despite those tropes, the film plays them remarkably well. It doesn’t try to send a message of “follow your destiny” or “be yourself.” The film just wants to tell a story. The film has comedy as well as action, likeable characters, and a pretty menacing villain. The voice acting isn’t bad, and the animation is very well done for the time.
But the issue I had with the film is that it was too short and never felt complete. There wasn’t a lot of character development and the Horned King did not have enough scenes to truly bring out his evil side or truly give him a character. Princess Eilonwy also felt underutilized and simply served as a sidekick, never feeling like the strong female she was meant to portray. Maybe it’d be better if she did have a song to show off her character?
And I would’ve liked if the film explored the mythos of the Black Cauldron. What are its powers? How did the Horned King take over? And what was the origins? It’s world of magic and creatures so make it interesting. Make it unique. Make it the new world Disney wanted it to be.
In an attempt to try something new, it just felt too careful with its execution.
Despite those flaws, the film at least tried to be different and did hit some of its marks. It’s coherent and interesting enough to keep someone entertained, but not enough to break barriers. And unfortunately, the film didn’t make enough money to continue the story, seeing as it only adapted the first two books of The Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander. The world would’ve been expanded more. But for what Disney did to try something new, it should not go unnoticed. It’s a step in the right direction, but it just hasn’t arrived yet.
