Disney Movie Challenge
The Black Cauldron (1985)
After the dust up between old and new animators on The Fox and the Hound Disney really went for something different on their next film and still ended up with a lot of behind the scenes drama. The Black Cauldron was an ambitious film that they filmed in a 70 mm Cinemascope like Sleeping Beauty, and it was also one of the first animated films to feature Dolby Stereo 70mm six-track surround sound. Unfortunately like Sleeping Beauty it failed at the box office and almost bankrupted the Disney Animation department.
The Black Cauldron is a fantasy film set in the land of Prydain. I’m going to try to explain the plot as best as I can without getting too complicated but a lot happens. A boy, Taran, is tasked with protecting the magical pig named Hen Wen from the evil Horned King. When he loses the pig he heads to the Horned King’s castle to find her. There he manages to free the pig but ends up being captured and thrown in the dungeon. A princess named Eilonwy comes and rescues him and as they try to escape Taran finds a magic sword in the catacombs. The sword comes in handy against some of the Horned King's guards and they end up finding another prisoner, Fflewddur Fflam. Fflam is a musician who has a magic harp. They escape and find an animal named Gurgi who knows where Hen Wen is. They find Hen Wen’s trail and follow it to the land of the fairies. There they learn that the black cauldron is in the marsh land and with the help of the fairies they travel to get it. They set out to find the Black Cauldron before the Horned King can use it to release an army of the undead. Unfortunately they find out that three witches are protecting it but they are willing to trade it for Taran’s magic sword. The Horned King had Taran followed and as soon as they got the cauldron the King took it for himself. The group finds out the only way to destroy the cauldron is for someone to sacrifice themselves and go into the cauldron where they will never escape. But the Horned King starts to use it and his army of the “cauldron born” begins to rise. Gurgi who wasn’t captured frees everyone and then jumps into the cauldron and ruins the plan. The Horned King and Taran begin to fight but the Horned King is sucked into the cauldron and the castle is destroyed. After the day is saved the witches return and want their cauldron back. The team makes a deal they will give the cauldron back if the witches return Gurgi. After the deal is done the ragtag team heads home.
The major point of contention in this film was the “cauldron born” rising up. On initial test screenings during the scene kids and parents left the theatre. The scene was deemed too scary and cut from the movie. New studio head Jeffrey Katzenberg ordered the film to have 12 minutes cut. New Disney CEO Michael Eisner had to step in to ease some tensions. Another reason for the cut was because initially the film was given a PG-13 rating by the MPAA. The cut got the rating down to PG and The Black Cauldron became the first Disney Animated film with a PG rating. Having that much animation cut from a film is rare. The only other Disney Animated Film to have a big cut after the animation was finished was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
While fantasy films are hit and miss for me I love the filmmakers ambition and willingness to try something new. Unfortunately it’s not a great film. The biggest problem for me is that the characters are one dimensional. We really know nothing about them. Why does Fflewddur Fflam have a magic harp? Why does the harp break everytime he lies? Why is the princess in a dungeon? What kind of magic is in the sword that Taran finds? What power does the cauldron actually have? These are all questions that would really help the story. The other big problem is the ending is really anticlimactic. The Horned King gets sucked into the cauldron. They build up to what you think would be an epic fight but nope, the cauldron just sucks him in without anyone doing anything. Now some claim that this would be solved by the additional 12 minutes that was removed. While those 12 minutes might be able to solve some stuff it’s not enough time to solve it all.
The movie did use some new technical innovations. A new process was developed that was supposed to take the place of Xerography that had been used since 101 Dalmations. Animation Photo Transfer (APT) used high contrast Litho film to transfer drawing onto cels. One advantage was that it meant the animation lines could be in any color not just black. The movie was also the first to use computer generated images. Despite all this technical advances the film still looks like a Saturday Morning Cartoon.
Overall: Surface level fantasy film. No character depth and wish they leaned more into the dark PG (or maybe even PG-13) territory. While I appreciate the ambition it ultimately didn’t work for me.
Random Facts:
First PG Disney animated film
First animated film to use CG animation.
David W. Spencer won a technical Academy Award for the development of the ATP process. It was used on a few of the Disney animated films but quickly got replaced by computer transfers.
The Care Bear Movie was released the same year. And while ultimately made about the same as The Black Cauldron but was made for a lot less and would be very profitable. This made the fact that Disney lost money on The Black Cauldron an imbaressment.
The most expensive animated film at the time and a box office failure.
Tim Burton’s character design was abandoned
The weirdest scene in the film was a scene where one of the characters gets turned into a frog by one of the witches. He then gets stuck in one of the witches' boobs. It’s just very odd. And now feel I need to share it with you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQqT71czTXs
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