The Black Cauldron

Play trailer

The Black Cauldron

PG

1985

1h 20m

Kids & Family

Fantasy

Animation

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

56%

Tomatometer

36 Reviews

48%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

In the land of Prydain, lowly pig herder Taran (Grant Bardsley) dreams of becoming a gallant knight. Young Taran receives his heroic calling when the evil Horned King (John Hurt) kidnaps Hen-Wren, 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.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

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

Read Critics Reviews

Paul Attanasio

Washington Post

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.

Jan 3, 2018

Full Review

Empire Magazine

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

Rated: 2/5

Nov 4, 2009

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

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.

Feb 5, 2009

Full Review

David Reddish

CBR

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.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 19, 2024

Full Review

Carson Timar

ButteredPopcorn

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

Nov 11, 2023

Full Review

Wesley Lovell

Cinema Sight

“The Black Cauldron” is an intriguing medieval film to be shared by a family or any group of fantasy role-players.

Rated: 3.5/4

Oct 4, 2023

Full Review

Read all reviews

Kauã L

In reality, the film is so bad that not even a child would like it.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

06/03/25

Full Review

Vincent R

Like, I get how the story is not good, but I think that the character concepts are good and the animation is fantastic. Also, if you recommend this movie to a friend, say that this movie basically The Legend of Zelda but if Link was ginger

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/22/25

Full Review

Stephen C

This box-office bomb can kiss my ***!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/13/25

Full Review

George W

the movie is amazing with great voice actors and a amazing plot and story only thing is there is way too many twinks. where is the big buff men at normally played as the dad of some character!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/21/25

Full Review

Garrett B

Beautiful animation though the story felt generic

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/09/25

Full Review

Greg G

It was okay for a Disney movie. Did anyone notice that the voice of Gurgi sounds like Gollums on The Lord of the Rings

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Ted Berman

Director

Richard Rich

Director

Wayne Allwine

Henchman

James Almanzar

Henchman

Grant Bardsley

Taran

John Byner

Gurgi

James and the Giant Peach

91%

66%

James and the Giant Peach

Watchlist

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride

84%

77%

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride

Watchlist

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

48%

55%

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Watchlist

Frankenweenie

87%

70%

Frankenweenie

Watchlist

The Dark Crystal

78%

81%

The Dark Crystal

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Dark Crystal

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

In the land of Prydain, lowly pig herder Taran (Grant Bardsley) dreams of becoming a gallant knight. Young Taran receives his heroic calling when the evil Horned King (John Hurt) kidnaps Hen-Wren, 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
Production Co: Walt Disney Productions
Rating: PG
Genre: Kids & Family, Fantasy, Animation
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2014
Runtime: 1h 20m
Sound Mix: Surround

Most Popular at Home Now