Disney Marathon: ‘The Black Cauldron’

Disney Marathon: 'The Black Cauldron'

For those just joining us, this is a movie marathon with a twist. Myself (cranky 40 year old blogger), my son Josh (10 year old Nintendo obsessive) and my daughter Amelia (drama llama 8 year old princess) are watching Disney movies in a random order and ranking them. We hope to see interesting differences in how we organise our lists.

Film: The Black Cauldron

Released: 1985

Director: Ted Berman and Richard Rich

Cast: Grant Bardsley, Susan Sheridan, Freddie Jones, Nigel Hawthorne, Arthur Malet, John Byner, Phil Fondacaro, John Hurt, John Huston

Plot: In a fantasy realm, teenage boy Taran is tasked with protecting a psychic pig and seeking the mythical Black Cauldron. If the sinister Horned King finds the cauldron first he will use it to rise an unstoppable army of the dead.

Review: It's easy to see why people forget this is a Disney movie. It came out at a time when Disney animated movies weren't pulling in big crowds and didn't have a strong cultural impact. On top of all that, the style leans more towards the Don Bluth style, who was putting out more theatrical releases during this period. The combination of these factors, and the now traditional troubled production, lead to The Black Cauldron going from an ambitious attempt to adapt a complex, multi-book fantasy epic to being one of the least remembered Disney animated films.

Coming back to this movie post Lord of the Rings, it's difficult to imagine Peter Jackson not taking visual cues from this adventure, or that Ralph Bakshi's influenced this movie. Either way, it is seeped in the same fantasy style coloured in rich browns and greens. There plenty of plot and style similarities, although as they're both derived from Celtic and Anglo-Saxon based folklore this isn't terribly surprising. Unless this is your first ever Western fantasy story you're going to feel comfortably familiar before long. Taran (Bardsley) is every part the young adventurer coming from humble beginnings but chosen by fate, guided by a wise old man and targeted by a sinister villain.

It's a little unusual that his main quest involves protecting a psychic pig, but aside from that...

Taran and his magical pig have set out to locate and destroy the powerful magical artefact. Failure to do so will give the powerful villain The Horned King (a phenomenal John Hurt) the chance to solidify his rule. On a journey that takes him through a forest, dungeons of The Horned King, the realm of the Fair Folk and marshes occupied by witches Taran meets and is joined by Princess Eilonwy (Sheridan), aged bard Ffewddur Fflam (Hawthorne) and furry, funny talking merchandise opportunity Gurgi (Byner). It's not a story to get especially excited by, before they move through introductions and settings with some speed that we never get a chance to invest in any of it.

As nice as the movie looks, and as interesting as the premise and characters are, this is a pretty soulless movie. It's hardly surprising that this movie feels rushed and hollow, given the addition of dark and scary imagery didn't sit well with some of the Disney higher ups. Jeffrey Katzenberg famously grabbed the film and started editing it himself. Although Eisner talked him down, the compromise still saw a solid 12 minutes left out. Some of these cut scenes toned down the violence and horror elements, but also cut out many moments of the main characters chatting amongst each other.

Disney Animation has not taken a risk like this since, and given the tepid critical response and poor box office it's no surprise. This isn't just a Disney take on the fantasy genre, it's just a fantasy film like many others before and after it. Nowadays it's remembered for the trauma it inflicted on younger children and being swept under the rug. Also briefly Disneyland's most terrifying ride in the Tokyo park, where a visiting child has to stand up to The Horned King. This guy is easily among Disney's most terrifying creatures, right up there with Chernobog from Fantasia in terms of nightmare fuel.

Coolest Easter Egg: It's easy to spot, so look for Tinker Bell among the fairies in the Fair Folk kingdom. Her distinct proportions are in stark contest to the rotund looking creatures of this world.

Weirdest Trivia: There's a series of character designs submitted by newcomer Tim Burton, who'd worked as an animator on The Fox and the Hound. That would've been a unique movie.

Rating: FOUR out of TEN

THE RANKING ME

Look, it's not that bad. But I can't imagine choosing to sit down and watch it again any time soon.

Click those titles if you want to see what we said about the other movies.

AMELIA

Amelia quite enjoyed the Fair Folk, the lead characters and the pig...but as expected the scary elements were a bit much for her. Ever since starting on the Percy Jackson book series she's been patrolling the house for monsters, wielding a toy katana and grappling hook, so she'll sleep fine.

1. Raya and the Last Dragon
2. Frozen
3. Moana
4. Tangled
5. The Little Mermaid
6. The Rescuers
7. The Rescuers Down Under
8. Peter Pan
9. Emperor's New Groove
10. Zootopia
11. Lilo & Stitch
12. Atlantis: The Lost Empire
13. The Great Mouse Detective
14. Home on the Range
15. The Nightmare Before Christmas
16. Mulan
17. Hercules
18. Alice in Wonderland
19. Cinderella
20. Wreck-It Ralph
21. Bolt
22. Pocahontas
23. The Black Cauldron
24. Enchanted
25. Dinosaur
26. The Aristocats
27. The Princess and the Frog
28. Robin Hood
29. The Jungle Book
30. Fantasia 2000
31. The Lion King
32. Beauty and the Beast
33. The Three Caballeros
34. The Fox and the Hound
35. The Sword in the Stone
36. Saludos Amigos
37. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
38. Tarzan
39. Oliver & Company
40. Aladdin
41. Treasure Planet
42. Big Hero 6
43. Fun and Fancy Free
44. Sleeping Beauty
45. A Goofy Movie
46. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
47. Meet the Robinsons
48. Chicken Little
49. The Wild
50. Fantasia

JOSHUA

It was sort of like a Disney movie, but more spookier.

1. Zootopia
2. Big Hero 6
3. Raya and the Last Dragon
4. Aladdin
5. Emperor's New Groove
6. Treasure Planet
7. Moana
8. Ralph Breaks the Internet
9. The Three Caballeros
10. Saludos Amigos
11. Wreck-It Ralph
12. The Rescuers
13. Frozen
14. Mulan
15. The Princess and the Frog
16. The Lion King
17. Lilo & Stitch
18. The Jungle Book
19. Robin Hood
20. Bolt
21. The Sword in the Stone
22. Beauty and the Beast
23. Oliver & Company
24. Peter Pan
25. The Rescuers Down Under
26. Sleeping Beauty
27. Tangled
28. The Great Mouse Detective
29. Cinderella
30. The Little Mermaid
31. Meet The Robinsons
32. Enchanted
33. The Black Cauldron
34. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
35. Home on the Range
36. Pocahontas
37. A Goofy Movie
38. The Aristocats
39. Fantasia
40. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
41. Atlantis: The Lost Empire
42. Fun and Fancy Free
43. The Fox and the Hound
44. Fantasia 2000
45. The Nightmare Before Christmas
46. Dinosaur
47. Hercules
48. Tarzan
49. Alice in Wonderland
50. The Wild
51. Chicken Little