The Black Cauldron *** (1985, voices of Grant Bardsley, Freddie Jones, Susan Sheridan) – Classic Movie Review 3710

Directors Ted Berman and Richard Rich’s intriguing and underrated 1985 Walt Disney sword and sorcery animated feature tells the story of the young farm lad Taran in the land of Prydain in the Middle Ages who is desperately sought after by the devilish Horned King while he is fighting bad guys to gain the mystical Black Cauldron of the title. Taran is given the task of protecting the magical pig Hen Wen, who knows the location of the cauldron but the Horned King will so anything to stop him getting the cauldron.

The Black Cauldron is the 25th animated Disney film, a hugely costly and time-consuming project from the studio’s doldrums days in the Eighties. It was so long in the making (Disney advertises that as 12 years) that when it came out the vogue for sword stuff had faded and the expectations stoked up for it were too great to be fully realised. It struggled at the box office, grossing only $21 million on a budget of $44 million.

However, David Jonas and Vance Gerry’s screenplay tells a satisfactory story for children and young people, based on the first two novels in Lloyd Alexander’s 1964-68 five-book fantasy series The Chronicles of Prydain, itself based on Welsh mythology. It is a notably smart-looking movie, and there is notably eye-catching animation that will please adults.

Even if The Black Cauldron does not stay fondly in the memory, it does have its moments, with some impressive scenes and involving characters. There is a good voice cast (Grant Bardsley as Taran, Susan Sheridan as Eilonwy, Arthur Malet, John Byner, Freddie Jones as Dallben, Nigel Hawthorne as Fflewddur Fflam, John Hurt, and John Huston) and Elmer Bernstein’s driving score helps too.

It was announced in March 2016 that Disney has picked up the rights to Lloyd Alexander’s five books – The Book of Three, The Black Cauldron, The Castle Llyr, Taran Wanderer and The High King. They are set in the magical land of Prydain, which is engaged in a series of battles with Annuvin, the Land of Death, and the books follow the story of its hero Taran, an assistant pig-keeper with dreams of becoming a real hero.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3710

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