The Black Cauldron (1985)
With the ability to craft completely unique worlds and characters with little concern for the practicality of real world physics or limitations, it makes total sense that the animated medium would become a major home for the fantasy genre. Especially before the rise of CGI and modern visual effects, animation allowed for filmmakers to create what simply was impossible to achieve in live-action and Disney embraced the concept in multiple of their films. One of these was 1985's The Black Cauldron. Loosely adapting the first two books of Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain, The Black Cauldron follows a young boy named Taran (Grant Bardsley) who has to go on a quest to protect his pig, Hen Wen, from the evil Horned King (John Hurt) who wants to use the pig's magical powers to find the powerful Black Cauldron and use it for his evil plans. While The Black Cauldron has sadly fallen to be one of the more obscure Disney titles, the film remains a rather strong outing for the studio who craft a compelling and unique adventure.
Immediately, it is the creativity and unique iconography within The Black Cauldron that stands out the most. From the designs of characters to the world-building throughout the film, the film thrives with memorable ideas and unique visuals that help it stand out against other films of the genre. From Hen Wen being able to have visions of the future when put into a bucket of water to the devilish Horned King, The Black Cauldron is sure to feel like a visual treat for anyone who thinks they know what to expect from Disney's filmography and are sick of seeing the same ideas being brought to life over and over again. Throughout the film, the actual artwork is also genuinely stunning at times with backgrounds and various designs which stand tall as some of the best in Disney's history.
The narrative is where things can feel less inspired. While the film starts strong with a thrilling desperation to protect Hen Wen from those out to use the pig, the narrative quickly begins to follow a pretty standard narrative of a group of nobodies coming together to form a team to save the day. Included in this group is Taran, Princess Eilonwy (Susan Sheridan), a strange creature named Gurgi (John Byner), and a bard named Fflewddur Fflam (Nigel Hawthorne). Progressively as they are introduced, this cast of characters becomes weaker and weaker. While Taran works fine as a young protagonist, Gurgi is a mixed bag. While shockingly less annoying than some might expect, his character does feel quite weak at times with a healthy amount of his comedy landing flat.
Eilonwy also has her moments, but ultimately feels reduced into being a pretty poor figure of romantic interest for Taran with her character never being fully fleshed out. Fflewddur Fflam, on the other hand, feels almost completely useless and is where the film really starts to threaten to become annoying. For some reason, the film felt the need to add even more comedic relief on top of this in the form of a group of Fair Folk the team meets along the way. While their animation is strong, they are nearly consistent sources of annoyance. It is sad to see such a strong feature get distracted by a desire for cheap and ineffective comedy with this ideal feeling like the biggest misstep for the film as a whole.
With that said, while this lackluster cast of characters can cause the middle portion of the film to drag and lose momentum, it is hard to argue the film doesn't find itself by the end. With a strong amount of violence and horrific imagery, the concluding action does feel worthy and memorable. This really is the case for any scene involving the Horned King himself. Hurt does a fantastic job giving this villain an edge and the film wisely uses his physical presence to make every time he is on screen feel important and threatening. Out of every success of the film, this character feels like the most noticeable positive and does deserve more of a legacy than he currently has.
While The Black Cauldron might not be the best Disney film, it easily could be the studio's most underrated work. Filled with strong ideas to create a captivating and unique world, the film uses some of the best animation seen from Disney to paint a compelling and captivating viewing experience. While the film does have a tendency to get sidetracked with comedy and the 2nd act can feel somewhat off, the feature still remains worthwhile and worthy.
Immediately, it is the creativity and unique iconography within The Black Cauldron that stands out the most. From the designs of characters to the world-building throughout the film, the film thrives with memorable ideas and unique visuals that help it stand out against other films of the genre. From Hen Wen being able to have visions of the future when put into a bucket of water to the devilish Horned King, The Black Cauldron is sure to feel like a visual treat for anyone who thinks they know what to expect from Disney's filmography and are sick of seeing the same ideas being brought to life over and over again. Throughout the film, the actual artwork is also genuinely stunning at times with backgrounds and various designs which stand tall as some of the best in Disney's history.
The narrative is where things can feel less inspired. While the film starts strong with a thrilling desperation to protect Hen Wen from those out to use the pig, the narrative quickly begins to follow a pretty standard narrative of a group of nobodies coming together to form a team to save the day. Included in this group is Taran, Princess Eilonwy (Susan Sheridan), a strange creature named Gurgi (John Byner), and a bard named Fflewddur Fflam (Nigel Hawthorne). Progressively as they are introduced, this cast of characters becomes weaker and weaker. While Taran works fine as a young protagonist, Gurgi is a mixed bag. While shockingly less annoying than some might expect, his character does feel quite weak at times with a healthy amount of his comedy landing flat.
Eilonwy also has her moments, but ultimately feels reduced into being a pretty poor figure of romantic interest for Taran with her character never being fully fleshed out. Fflewddur Fflam, on the other hand, feels almost completely useless and is where the film really starts to threaten to become annoying. For some reason, the film felt the need to add even more comedic relief on top of this in the form of a group of Fair Folk the team meets along the way. While their animation is strong, they are nearly consistent sources of annoyance. It is sad to see such a strong feature get distracted by a desire for cheap and ineffective comedy with this ideal feeling like the biggest misstep for the film as a whole.
With that said, while this lackluster cast of characters can cause the middle portion of the film to drag and lose momentum, it is hard to argue the film doesn't find itself by the end. With a strong amount of violence and horrific imagery, the concluding action does feel worthy and memorable. This really is the case for any scene involving the Horned King himself. Hurt does a fantastic job giving this villain an edge and the film wisely uses his physical presence to make every time he is on screen feel important and threatening. Out of every success of the film, this character feels like the most noticeable positive and does deserve more of a legacy than he currently has.
While The Black Cauldron might not be the best Disney film, it easily could be the studio's most underrated work. Filled with strong ideas to create a captivating and unique world, the film uses some of the best animation seen from Disney to paint a compelling and captivating viewing experience. While the film does have a tendency to get sidetracked with comedy and the 2nd act can feel somewhat off, the feature still remains worthwhile and worthy.