The Black Cauldron (film)

The Black Cauldron
Theatrical release poster by Paul Wenzel
Directed by
Story by
Based on
Produced byJoe Hale
Starring
Narrated byJohn Huston
Edited by
  • James Melton
  • Jim Koford
  • Armetta Jackson
Music byElmer Bernstein
Production
company
Distributed byBuena Vista Distribution[1][a]
Release date
  • July 24, 1985 (1985-07-24)[3]
Running time
80 minutes[4]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$44 million[5][6]
Box office$21.3 million[3]

The Black Cauldron is a 1985 American animated dark fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Productions in association with Silver Screen Partners II and released by Walt Disney Pictures.[1] It is loosely based on the first two books in The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, a series of five novels that are in turn based on Welsh mythology.

Set in the mythical land of Prydain during the Early Middle Ages, the film centers on a wicked emperor known as the Horned King, who hopes to secure an ancient magical cauldron that will aid him in his desire to conquer the world. He is opposed by young swineherder Taran, the young Princess Eilonwy, the harp-playing bard Fflewddur Fflam, and a friendly wild creature named Gurgi, who seek to destroy the cauldron to prevent the Horned King from ruling the world.

The film is directed by Ted Berman and Richard Rich, who had directed Disney's previous animated film The Fox and the Hound (1981), and was the first Disney animated film to be recorded in Dolby Stereo. Disney acquired the film rights to the books in 1973 with production beginning in 1980 to be set for a Christmas 1984 release. During production, it had a severe editing process, particularly for its climactic sequence, which proved to be disturbing to children during a test screening. The newly appointed Walt Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg ordered those scenes to be cut, fearing that it would alienate children, and as a result, it was delayed to 1985. It features the ensemble voice cast of Grant Bardsley, Susan Sheridan, Freddie Jones, Nigel Hawthorne, Arthur Malet, John Byner, Lindsay Rich, Brandon Call, Gregory Levinson, Eda Reiss Merin, Adele Maus-Morey, Billie Hayes, Phil Fondacaro, Peter Renaday, James Almanzar, Wayne Allwine, Steve Hale, Phil Nibbelink, Jack Laing, and John Hurt, with John Huston serving as the narrator for the prologue.

It was the first Disney animated film to receive a PG rating, as well as the first Disney animated film to feature computer-generated imagery.[7] The Black Cauldron was distributed theatrically through Buena Vista Distribution on July 24, 1985. The film received mixed reviews from critics. Being the most expensive animated film ever made at the time, it was a box-office bomb, grossing just $21.3 million against a budget of $44 million, putting the future of Disney's animation department in jeopardy. Because of its commercial failure, Disney did not release the film on home media until 1997. It has since gained a cult following.[8][9]

  1. ^ a b c d "The Black Cauldron". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  2. ^ Hughes, William (March 17, 2016). "Disney Animation might be returning to the series that nearly killed it 30 years ago". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "The Black Cauldron (1985)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  4. ^ "THE BLACK CAULDRON (U)". British Board of Film Classification. July 24, 1985. Archived from the original on February 15, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference WSBBudget was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference SFGSleepingBeauty was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference SlateRevisiting was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Rico, Elizabeth (February 27, 2014). "How 'The Black Cauldron' Became a Cult Classic".
  9. ^ 22 Animated Cult Classics Worth Checking Out - MovieWeb


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