The Black Cauldron (film)

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The Black Cauldron
Directed by	Ted Berman Richard Rich
Produced by	Ron Miller Joe Hale
Written by	Lloyd Alexander (novel) David Jonas
Starring	Grant Bardsley Susan Sheridan Freddie Jones Nigel Hawthorne John Hurt John Byner
Music by	Elmer Bernstein
Distributed by	Walt Disney Pictures Buena Vista Distribution
Release date(s)	July 24, 1985 (USA)
Running time	80 min.
Language	English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

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.

The film was a flop at the box office, and today remains one of the more obscure and unpopular Disney animated features.

[edit] 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]}

[edit] The Black Cauldron theatrical release history

• July 24, 1985 (Original theatrical)
• November 20, 1988
• December 25, 1991 (with Dexter's Cartoon in The Big Sister)
• October 7, 1992 (with Frankenweenie Andrew's 20th Motion Picture)
• June 14, 1994 (Re-released)
• April 12, 2001 (Re-issued with The Powerpuff Girls in Crime 101)
• October 7, 2003
• October, 2005 (with Ed, Edd n Eddy's Halloween Movie)
• September 3, 2007

[edit] Differences between the film and the books

This section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (December 2007)

• 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.
• In the movie they call some people witches and they call some things magic, in the book they call them enchantresses and enchantments.

[edit] See also

• The APT process

[edit] External links

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