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The Black Cauldron

Play trailer Poster for The Black Cauldron PG 1985 1h 20m Kids & Family Fantasy Animation Play Trailer Watchlist
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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.
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The Black Cauldron

The Black Cauldron

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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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Critics Reviews

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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

Audience Reviews

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Evan B Okay, for a film that nearly bankrupted the studio, it’s not as bad as you’d think… but I can partially see how that happened. Having said that, The Horned King fucking rules and I will die on that hill. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 12/20/24 Full Review David D Magically made. It's a wonderful film, although the narrative does hold it back from being a timeless classic. Great characters deliver joy, scares and childish adventure. One for every family. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/17/24 Full Review Audience Member Great movie but I HATE GURGI HE’S STITCH BUT WAY MORE ANNOYING Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/30/24 Full Review G.D. 0 One the best movies Disney ever made Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/29/24 Full Review The Prince O Great Potential, bad result. Still it was decent and as someone who have read the books I like them more. This is also 2 books crammed into 1, which is sad. Hope some other studio gives these books the right treatment. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/28/24 Full Review Kenneth E Too many characters. Too many subplots. Poor character development. Typical mustache-twirling villain. But I still liked Gurgi. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 11/28/24 Full Review Read all reviews
The Black Cauldron

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

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
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