The Black Cauldron is a 1985 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and originally released to theatres on July 24, 1985. The twenty-fifth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, the film is based on Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain book series, which is in turn based on Welsh mythology.
The film centers around 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 creature named Gurgi.
The film is directed by Ted Berman and Richard Rich, who had directed the previous Disney animated feature The Fox and the Hound, and features the voices of Grant Bardsley, Susan Sheridan, Freddie Jones, Nigel Hawthorne, and John Hurt. A video game based on the film was released in 1986.
Plot
On the small farm of Caer Dallben, Taran (Grant Bardsley) is an Assistant Pigkeeper to the enchanter Dallben (Freddie Jones), with dreams of becoming a great warrior. However, he has to put the daydreaming aside when his charge, an oracular pig named Hen Wen is kidnapped by an evil lord known as the Horned King (John Hurt). The villain hopes Hen Wen will show him the way to The Black Cauldron, which has the power to create a legion of invincible undead warriors, (known as "The Cauldron Born"). With the aid of Princess Eilonwy (Susan Sheridan), an exaggerating middle-aged bard named Fflewddur Fflam (Nigel Hawthorne), and a pestering but ultimately loyal creature called Gurgi (John Byner), Taran tries to save the world of Prydain from the Horned King. As the new friends face witches, fairies, magic swords, and the Cauldron itself, Taran starts to learn what being a hero really means and that some things are more important than glory.
Production
For The Black Cauldron, a new way to transfer drawings to cels was invented, called the APT process. But as the lines would fade off the cels over time, most or all of the movie was done with the xerox process in colors.[3] It was the most expensive animated feature made as of its release in 1985. It cost $25 million to produce,[1] but grossed only $21 million at the North American box office.[2]
The movie is notable for its early use of computer generated imagery (CGI) for baubles, a boat and the cauldron itself.[4]
This was the last Disney animated feature that was completed in the old Buena Vista studios.[5]
[edit] Censorship
The Black Cauldron was the first animated film from Disney to get a PG rating from the MPAA.[1] The film's rating came about due to the inclusion of a number of dark and violent scenes, some of which were edited from the film by newly installed studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg before the release of the film.[6]
[edit] Release
The Black Cauldron was released in North America on July 24, 1985.[2] The film was also screened at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City.[7]
Disney released a 25th Anniversary Edition DVD on September 14, 2010 in the US and UK containing new 2.35:1 16:9 widescreen presentation, deleted scene "The Fairfolk" and new game "The Witches' Challenge" along with features from the 2000 DVD release, including "The Quest for the Black Cauldron" game, an art gallery, and a 1952 Donald Duck short called Trick or Treat.[8]
Find out more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Cauldron_%28film%29