The Black Cauldron

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The Black Cauldron

PG

1985

1h 20m

Kids & Family

Fantasy

Animation

Adventure

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

57%

Tomatometer

37 Reviews

48%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

In the land of Prydain, lowly pig herder Taran dreams of becoming a gallant knight. Young Taran receives his heroic calling when the evil Horned King kidnaps Hen Wen, a prophesying pig that had been entrusted to Taran. Now, with help from his furry sidekick Gurgi and Princess Eilonwy, Taran must locate the magical black cauldron before the Horned King is able to use its mystical powers to summon an army of the undead.

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Critics Consensus

Ambitious but flawed, The Black Cauldron is technically brilliant as usual, but lacks the compelling characters of other Disney animated classics.

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Paul Attanasio

Washington Post

01/03/2018

Technically brilliant though short on narrative, "The Black Cauldron" is a painless, old-fashioned way to take out the kids, and a triumph for the animation department at the Disney studio, where it has been in development for almost a dozen years.

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Empire Magazine

11/04/2009

2/5

Possibly not the worst animated feature the House Of Mouse has produced, but certainly stumbling around the darker recesses of the Disney vault.

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Variety Staff

Variety

02/05/2009

The characters, though cute and cuddly and sweet and mean and ugly and simply awful, don't really have much to do that would remain of interest to any but the youngest minds.

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Terry Grimley

Birmingham Mail

Apr 17

It hardly seems to have been worth waiting 14 years for. But if you judge it on its own merits rather than on its publicity it is quite entertaining as well as exciting when it needs to be.

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David Reddish

CBR

11/19/2024

3/4

Flaws and all, it doesn't deserve its reputation as the nadir of Disney's animated storytelling. If nothing else, it's still a hell of a lot more entertaining than Wish.

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Carson Timar

ButteredPopcorn

11/11/2023

While The Black Cauldron might not be the best Disney film, it easily could be the studio's most underrated work.

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Matteo Q

@Matteo59 3d

È noioso nonostante l animazione sia di alto livello

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Kristine H

@RT23177857 3d

So critics, you’re trying to tell me that this is as good as Robin Hood and Pocahontas? Maybe I shouldn’t put much thought into what you have to say.

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Ben W

@Username618 Apr 25

Yeah. And I did enjoy the first chronicle of Prydain as a book.

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Tyler L

@Tyler131 Mar 3

A very underrated Disney movie, it is dark but it has a good story to it with a good world building to it,

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Vincent S

@Vin_E_At_The_Movies Mar 2

A dull, chopped up and underwhelming Disney animated dud. I didn't care for any of the characters, and I was bored by the action. The animation is muted and unappealing and the movie just lays there putting me to sleep.

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Michael F

@MDF3530 Jan 31

Honestly I don’t get the hate some people have for it. Does it have some dark moments in it? Yes. So does "Fantasia", where the villagers in the "Night on Bald Mountain" segment summon Chernabog who is analogous to the Devil in Slavic folk tales. Also, just nine years later they released The Lion King which has regicide in it, but hey it’s got a great soundtrack. It’s got a great sword-and-sorcery tale and the late John Hurt absolutely crushes it as the voice of the Horned King.

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Ted Berman

Director

Richard Rich

Director

Wayne Allwine

Henchman

James Almanzar

Henchman

Grant Bardsley

Taran

John Byner

Gurgi

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Synopsis

In the land of Prydain, lowly pig herder Taran dreams of becoming a gallant knight. Young Taran receives his heroic calling when the evil Horned King kidnaps Hen Wen, a prophesying pig that had been entrusted to Taran. Now, with help from his furry sidekick Gurgi and Princess Eilonwy, Taran must locate the magical black cauldron before the Horned King is able to use its mystical powers to summon an army of the undead.

Director: Ted Berman, Richard Rich
Producer: Joe Hale
Distributor: Buena Vista Distribution
Production Co: Walt Disney Productions
Rating: PG
Genre: Kids & Family, Fantasy, Animation, Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 26, 1985, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2014
Runtime: 1h 20m
Sound Mix: Surround