The Black Cauldron (1985)

The Black Cauldron, considered by many as “the movie Disney tried to bury”, as it was not released on home media for quite a while. I don’t agree with that statement. The movie Disney tried to bury, or, is still trying to bury is Song Of The South. The Black Cauldron tells the story of Taran, a young assistant pig keeper, who aspires to be a hero. One day, he is tasked by the pig keeper to transport a pig, Hen Wen, who has powers to see into the future, to a safe spot, as the Horned King (John Hurt) is hunting the pig to find a black cauldron that will grant whoever finds it ultimate power. The pig is quickly kidnapped and Taran goes to get the pig back before the Horned King finds out where the cauldron is. Along the way, he joins forces with strange and annoying creature Gurgi, Princess Eilonwy, and minstrel Fflewddur Fflam (Nigel Hawthorne) to get Hen Wen back and to defeat the Horned King. This film is considerably darker than most of the early Disney films. The Horned King is undoubtably scarier than most of the Disney villains. Another difference in this film and the other Disney films is the absence of songs. Music plays in the background, but no songs are sung by characters. This film isn’t a very memorable Disney film, and it definitely isn’t the best, but it’s a film worth checking out. I rate it GOOD on the scale.