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A video game adaptation of Disney's The Black Cauldron was designed by Al Lowe and released in 1986 by Sierra, which was designed to be similar to Sierra's King's Quest series. Along with The Dark Crystal, it remains one of only a few adventure games by Sierra (prior to the Vivendi buyout) to be based on a film. In 1986, Sierra On-Line, Inc. Publishes The Black Cauldron on DOS. Also published on Amiga, Atari ST, Apple II and Apple IIgs, this adventure game is abandonware and is set in a fantasy, licensed title, graphic adventure, puzzle elements and walt disney.

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The Black Cauldron is a 1985 American animatedadventuredark fantasyfilm produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation in association with Silver Screen Partners II and released by Walt Disney Pictures.^[1] The 25th Disney animated feature film, 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 the evil 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 a young pig keeper named Taran, the young princess Eilonwy, the bard Fflewddur Fflam, and a 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 in 1981, the first Disney animated film to be recorded in Dolby Stereo. It features the voices of Grant Bardsley, Susan Sheridan, Freddie Jones, Nigel Hawthorne, John Byner, and John Hurt.

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 film was distributed theatrically through Buena Vista Distribution on July 26, 1985. With the budget of $44 million, it was the most expensive animated film ever made at the time. Earning $21.3 million domestically, it led to a loss for the studio, putting Walt Disney Feature Animation near bankruptcy. Because of its commercial failure, Disney did not release the film on home video until 1998.

• 3Production
• 4Soundtrack
• 5Release
• 8Video game
• 9References

Plot[edit]

In the land of Prydain, Taran is an 'assistant pig-keeper' on the small farm of Caer Dallben, home of Dallben the Enchanter. Dallben learns that the Horned King is searching for a mystical relic known as the Black Cauldron, which is capable of creating an invincible army of undead warriors, the 'Cauldron-Born'. Dallben fears the Horned King may try to steal his pig Hen Wen, which has oracular powers, and use her to locate the cauldron. Dallben directs Taran to take Hen Wen to safety; unfortunately, Taran's foolish daydreaming causes Hen Wen to be captured by the Horned King's forces.

Taran follows them to the Horned King's stronghold. Along the way, he encounters the small, pestering companion Gurgi, who joins Taran on his search. Frustrated by Gurgi's antics, Taran leaves the former to sneak into the castle and rescues Hen Wen, but although Hen Wen escapes from the castle, Taran is arrested and thrown into the dungeon. A fellow captive named Princess Eilonwy frees Taran as she is trying to make her own escape. In the catacombs beneath the castle, Taran and Eilonwy discover the ancient burial chamber of a king, where Taran arms himself with the king's sword. It contains magic that allows him effectively to fight the Horned King's minions and so to fulfill his dream of heroism. Along with a third prisoner, the comical, middle-aged bard Fflewddur Fflam, they escape from the castle and are soon reunited with Gurgi. Upon discovering that Taran has escaped, the Horned King orders his goblin companion Creeper to send the Gwythaints to follow Taran and bring him back alive.

Following Hen Wen's trail, the four stumble into the underground kingdom of the Fair Folk who reveal that Hen Wen is under their protection. When the cheerful, elderly King Eidilleg reveals that he knows where the cauldron is, Taran resolves to go destroy it himself. Eilonwy, Fflewddur, and Gurgi agree to join him and Eidilleg's obnoxious right-hand man Doli is assigned to lead them to the Marshes of Morva while the Fair Folk agree to escort Hen Wen safely back to Caer Dallben. At the marshes they learn that the cauldron is held by three witches—the grasping Orddu, who acts as leader; the greedy Orgoch; and the more benevolent Orwen, who falls in love with Fflewddur at first sight, which causes a frightened Doli to abandon the group. Orddu agrees to trade the cauldron for Taran's sword, and he reluctantly agrees, although he knows that to yield it will cost his chance for heroism. Before vanishing, the witches reveal that the cauldron is indestructible, and that its power can only be broken by someone who climbs in under his own free will, which will kill him. Although Taran feels foolish for aspiring to destroy the cauldron alone, his companions show their belief in him; and it seems that Eilonwy and Taran will kiss. Suddenly, the celebration is interrupted by the Horned King's soldiers who have finally reached the marshes themselves. They seize the cauldron and arrest everyone but Gurgi, and take their prisoners back to the castle. The Horned King uses the cauldron to raise the dead and his Cauldron-born army begins to pour out into the world.

Gurgi manages to sneak into the castle and rescue his friends. Taran decides to cast himself into the cauldron, but Gurgi stops him and jumps into the cauldron himself. The undead army collapses. When the Horned King spots Taran at large, he infers the turn of events, says that Taran has interfered for the last time, and throws the youth toward the cauldron; however, the cauldron's magic is out of control. It consumes the Horned King in a tunnel of fire and blood, killing him and destroying the castle, using up all its powers forever. The three witches come to recover the now-inert Black Cauldron. However, Taran has finally realized Gurgi's true friendship, and he persuades them to revive the wild thing in exchange for the cauldron, forcing him to give up his magical sword permanently. Fflewddur challenges the reluctant witches to demonstrate their powers by the revival, and upon hearing Fflewddur's remarks, the witches honor the request, restoring Gurgi back to life. After Gurgi is resurrected, he pushes Taran and Eilonwy into a kiss. The four friends then journey back to Caer Dallben where Dallben and Doli watch them in a vision created by Hen Wen, and Dallben finally praises Taran for his heroism though he prefers to be a Pig-Boy.

Voice cast[edit]

• Grant Bardsley as Taran
• Susan Sheridan as Princess Eilonwy
• John Byner as Gurgi and Doli
• Nigel Hawthorne as Fflewddur Fflam
• John Hurt as The Horned King
• Phil Fondacaro as Creeper
• Freddie Jones as Dallben
• Arthur Malet as King Eidilleg
• Eda Reiss Merin as Orddu
• Adele Malis-Morey as Orwen
• Billie Hayes as Orgoch
• John Huston as Narrator

Production[edit]

Development[edit]

Walt Disney Productions optioned Lloyd Alexander's five-volume series in 1971,^[7] and pre-production work began in 1973 when the film rights to Alexander's books were finally obtained. According to Ollie Johnston, it was he and Frank Thomas that convinced the studio to produce the movie, and that if it had been done properly, it might be 'as good as Snow White'.^[8] Because of the numerous storylines and with over thirty characters in the original series, several story artists and animators worked on the development of the film throughout the 1970s,^[9] when it was originally slated for release in 1980. Veteran artist Mel Shaw created inspirational conceptual pastel sketches, which Disney CEO Ron W. Miller considered to be too advanced for the animators.^[10] Therefore, in August 1978 the studio pushed its release date back to Christmas 1984 due to the their inability to animate realistic human characters; its original release date would later be assumed by The Fox and the Hound.^[11] During its development limbo, one of those writers was veteran storyboard artist Vance Gerry, who was chosen to create beat storyboards that would outline the plot, action, and locations. Having set up the three principal characters, Gerry adapted the Horned King into a big-bellied Viking who had a red beard, fiery temper, and wore a steel helmet with two large horns. Desiring an experienced British screenwriter to write the screenplay, the studio signed Rosemary Anne Sisson onto the project.^[12]

The first director attached to the project was animator John Musker after he was proposed the job by production head Tom Wilhite. As director, Musker was assigned to expand several sequences in the first act, but they were eventually deemed too comedic. When production on The Fox and the Hound had wrapped, several feature animation directors Art Stevens, Richard Rich, Ted Berman, and Dave Michener became involved in The Black Cauldron. When Miller decided too many people were involved, he decided Stevens was not appropriate to supervise the project so he contacted Joe Hale, who was a longtime layout artist at Disney Studios, to serve as producer.^[10][13][14] With Hale as producer, actual production on The Black Cauldron officially began in 1980.^[9][15] He tossed out visual character artwork submitted by Tim Burton and along with The Fox and the Hound directors Richard Rich and Ted Berman, they desired a Sleeping Beauty-style approach and brought Milt Kahl out of retirement to create character designs for Taran, Eilonwy, Fflewddur Fflam, and the other principal characters. He and the story team (including two story artists David Jonas and Al Wilson that Hale brought to the project) revised the film, capsulizing the story of the first two books and making some considerable changes which led to the departure of Sisson who had creative differences with Hale and the directors.^[16] Animators John Musker and Ron Clements, also citing creative differences, were removed from the project and began development on The Great Mouse Detective.^[17] Displeased with Vance Gerry's concept for the Horned King, Hale turned the Horned King into a thin creature donning a hood and carrying a spectral presence with shadowed face and glowing red eyes, his role expanded into a composite villain of several characters from the books.^[9] Taran and Eilonwy eventually acquired elements of the past designs and costumes of earlier Disney characters, especially the latter, who was drawn to resemble Princess Aurora.^[16][18]

Test-screening and editing[edit]

Shortly before the film's initially planned 1984 theatrical release, a test screening for the rough cut of The Black Cauldron was held at the studio's private theater in Burbank, California. After the film, particularly the climactic 'cauldron born' sequence, proved to be too intense and frightening for the majority of the children in the audience (most of whom fled the theater in terror before it was even finished), the newly appointed Disney studio chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg ordered certain scenes from The Black Cauldron be cut, as a result of the length and the fear that their graphic nature would alienate children and family audiences.^[19] Since animated films were generally edited in storyboard form using Leica reels (later known as animatics: storyboards shot sequentially and set to temporary audio tracks), producer Joe Hale objected to Katzenberg's demands. Katzenberg responded by having the film brought into an edit bay and editing the film himself.^[19]

Informed of what Katzenberg was doing by Hale, Disney CEO Michael Eisner called Katzenberg in the editing room and convinced him to stop. Though he did what Eisner insisted, Katzenberg requested that the film be modified, and delayed its scheduled Christmas 1984 release to July 1985 so that the film could be reworked.^[19]

The film was ultimately cut by twelve minutes,^[20] with existing scenes rewritten and reanimated for continuity.^[19] Many of the cut scenes involved extended character interactions, but other trims involve violent content, including the undead 'Cauldron Born', who are used as the Horned King's army in the final act of the film. While most of the scenes were seamlessly removed from the film, the Cauldron Born sequence contains rather recognizable lapses because the removal of the scenes of the Cauldron Born mauling the henchmen, as well as one of them being dissolved by the mist, creates a jump in the film's soundtrack.^[7]

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Animation[edit]

Invented by David W. Spencer from the studio's still camera department,^[21] the animation photo transfer process (APT) was first used for The Black Cauldron which would enhance the technology by which the rough animation would be processed onto celluloid. First, the rough animation would be photographed onto high-contrast litho film, and the resulting negative would be copied onto the plastic cel sheets that would transfer lines and the colors which eventually eliminated the hand-inking process.^[22] But as the APT-transferred line art would fade off of the cels over time, most or all of the film was done using the xerographic process which had been in place at Disney since the late 1950s.^[23] Spencer would win a technical Academy Award for this process, but the computer would soon render the APT process obsolete.^[21]

The Black Cauldron is notable for being Disney's first animated feature film to incorporate computer-generated imagery in its animation for bubbles, a boat, a floating orb of light, and the cauldron itself.^[24] Though The Black Cauldron was released a year before The Great Mouse Detective, both films were in production simultaneously for some time and the computer graphics for the latter were done first. When producer Joe Hale heard about what was being done, the possibilities made him excited and he made the crew from The Great Mouse Detective project create some computer animation for his own movie. For other effects, animator Don Paul used live action footage of dry ice mists to create the steam and smoke coming out of the cauldron.^[20]

Soundtrack[edit]

The Black Cauldron: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the film. It was composed and conducted by Elmer Bernstein and originally released in 1985.

Composition[edit]

Unlike most other Disney animated films, the film did not contain any songs. At the same time, Bernstein had just come off the success of his Academy Award-nominated score for the 1983 film Trading Places as well as the score for the 1984 film Ghostbusters. Like in the latter of the two, The Black Cauldron saw the use of the ghostly ondes Martenot to build upon the dark mood of Prydain.^[25]

Original release[edit]

Because of the film's last minute revisions, much of Bernstein's score was cut and unused.^[25] In its minority, the score was re-recorded for the album original release by Varèse Sarabande in 1985, with the composer conducting the Utah Symphony Orchestra.^[25] The album soon fell out of print and many of the film's tracks did not resurface until a bootleg copy entitled 'Taran' was supplied to soundtrack specialty outlets in 1986.^[25]

Re-release[edit]

The film tracks received their premiere release in 2012 as part of Intrada Records partnership with Walt Disney Records to issue several Disney films soundtracks.^[26]

Critical response[edit]

The score received positive reviews from music critics, and today is regarded as obscure but one of the best works by Bernstein and for a Disney animated film. Jason Ankeny from AllMusic gave to the soundtrack a positive review, stating that 'Bernstein's bleak arrangements and ominous melodies vividly underline the fantasy world portrayed onscreen, and taken purely on its own terms, the score is an undeniable success'. The film score review website Filmtracks wrote: 'The score for The Black Cauldron was for Bernstein what Mulan was for Jerry Goldsmith in the next decade: a fascinating journey into a fresh realm that required its music to play a more significant role in the film'.

Release history[edit]

Release[edit]

For its initial release, the film became the first Disney animated film to receive a PG rating from the Motion Picture Association of America.^[29] It was also presented in Super Technirama 70—the first since Sleeping Beauty—and Dolby Stereo 70mm six-track surround sound.^[30]

The film was re-released in 1990 in selected markets under the title Taran and the Magic Cauldron.^[31]

Box office performance[edit]

The Black Cauldron was released in North America on July 24, 1985.^[3] The film was also screened at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.^[32] While officially budgeted by Disney executives at $25 million,^[10] the film's production manager, Don Hahn,^[10] said in his documentary, Waking Sleeping Beauty, that it cost $44 million to produce the film.^[5][6] The $44-million budget made it the most expensive animated film ever made at the time.^[7] The film grossed $21.3 million domestically.^[3] It resulted in a loss for Walt Disney Studios and put the future of the animation department in jeopardy (earning it the nickname 'the film that almost killed Disney').^[7] It was so poorly received that it was not distributed as a home video release for more than a decade after its theatrical run.^[19] Adding insult to injury, the film was also beaten at the box office by The Care Bears Movie ($22.9 million domestically), which was released several months earlier by Disney's much-smaller rival animation studio in Canada Nelvana.^[33] The film was however more successful outside North America notably in France where it had 3,074,481 admissions and was the fifth most attended film of the year.^[34]

The film was the last Disney animated film to be completed at the original Animation Building of the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.^[35] The animation department was moved to the Air Way facility in nearby Glendale in December 1984, and, following corporate restructuring, eventually returned to the Burbank studio in the mid-1990s at a new facility.^[33]

Critical reception[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 55% based on 31 reviews, with an average score of 5.56/10. The critics' consensus stated 'Ambitious but flawed, The Black Cauldron is technically brilliant as usual, but lacks the compelling characters of other Disney animated classics.'^[36]

Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times gave a positive review of the film,^[37] while Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times praised its 'splendid visuals'.^[38]Walter Goodman, reviewing for The New York Times, praised the animation and John Hurt's performance, but believed '[p]eople old enough to recall their delight at earlier feature animations, no doubt burnished by memory, are not of course the audience at which The Black Cauldron is aimed. Nor, apparently, is it aimed at youngsters who have had a taste of more sophisticated animation of the Star Wars breed of movies.'^[39] London's Time Out magazine deemed it 'a major disappointment', adding that 'the charm, characterization and sheer good humor' found in previous Disney efforts 'are sadly absent'.^[40]Jeffrey Katzenberg, then-Chairman of the Walt Disney Studios, was dismayed by the product and the animators believed that it lacked 'the humor, pathos, and the fantasy which had been so strong in Lloyd Alexander's work. The story had been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it was heartbreaking to see such wonderful material wasted.'^[41]

Lloyd Alexander, the author of the books on which the film was based, had a more complex reaction to the film:^[42]

First, I have to say, there is no resemblance between the movie and the book. Having said that, the movie in itself, purely as a movie, I found to be very enjoyable. I had fun watching it. What I would hope is that anyone who sees the movie would certainly enjoy it, but I'd also hope that they'd actually read the book. The book is quite different. It's a very powerful, very moving story, and I think people would find a lot more depth in the book.

Home media[edit]

Following many requests from fans, The Black Cauldron was released on VHS in the United Kingdom in 1997, and in the United States on August 4, 1998, as part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection,^[43] in a pan-and-scan transfer, thirteen years after its theatrical release.^[10] The film received a DVD release with a 2.20:1 non-anamorphic widescreen transfer in 2000, as part of the Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection line, featuring an art gallery, a new game The Quest for the Black Cauldron, and the 1952 Donald Duck short Trick or Treat.^[44]

In 2008, Disney announced a Special Edition DVD release of the film to be released in 2009, but failed. It was re-advertised as a 25th Anniversary Edition and released on September 14, 2010, in the US and UK. It contains a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, the new Witch's Challenge game, deleted scenes, and all of the features from the 2000 DVD release.

Theme parks[edit]

Costumed versions of the characters from the film have made occasional appearances at the Disney theme parks and resorts.

In 1986, the eatery Lancer's Inn at Walt Disney World, was renamed Gurgi's Munchies and Crunchies. Eventually, in 1993 it was closed and then remodeled into Lumiere's Kitchen, The Village Fry Shoppe, and currently The Friar's Nook.^[45][46]

On July 11, 1986, Tokyo Disneyland opened Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour, a walk-through attraction in which the Horned King makes an appearance. The attraction was in operation until 2006.^[47][48][49] To tie in with the attraction's opening, a 14-day special event and castle show The Mystery of Cinderella Castle was featured on the Cinderella Castle Forecourt Stage, featuring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy, with Princess Aurora, Prince Phillip, and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. During the battle against Maleficent's forces by Goofy, Donald, Phillip, and Aurora, a cameo appearance is made by Creeper with other Disney villains.^{[citation needed]}

Video game[edit]

The video game The Black Cauldron was designed by Al Lowe of Sierra On-Line and released in 1986. It was made shortly after the first King's Quest game, so it resembles that adventure in many ways. Along with The Dark Crystal it remains one of only a few adventure games by Sierra to be based on films.

The player character is a young assistant pig-keeper named Taran, who undertakes a quest to stop the evil Horned King, who seeks for Hen Wen, the magical pig of the wizard Dallben, for her visionary abilities. With these abilities, the Horned King would be able to discover the Black Cauldron and rule the land. Taran's first mission is to lead her to the Fair Folk while the Horned King's dragons are looking for them. If the pig should be captured (the game allows either possibility), Taran can go to the Horned King's castle and rescue her. As soon as he is inside, Taran will meet Eilonwy with her magic bauble and may rescue Fflewddur Fflam, as well as discover a Magic Sword. The Cauldron is in the possession of three witches of Morva who will trade it for the Sword. A dragon grasps the cauldron and Taran goes back to encounter the evil man himself. The game features plot branches and multiple endings depending on many variables, such as whether Hen Wen the pig was saved, how the cauldron was destroyed, and what reward was chosen afterward. This use of multiple endings preceded the more famous use in Lucasfilm's game Maniac Mansion by a year.

Reception[edit]

Antic in 1987 criticized the Atari ST version of The Black Cauldron as 'typical of early software for newer computers. It doesn't fully utilize the ST's capabilities', citing the 'chunky low-resolution' graphics 'obviously ported from another make of computer'. The magazine concluded that fans of other Sierra adventures would enjoy the game.^[50]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcd'The Black Cauldron'. American Film Institute. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
2. ^Hughes, Willaim (March 17, 2016). 'Disney Animation might be returning to the series that nearly killed it 30 years ago'. The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
3. ^ ^abcd'The Black Cauldron (1985)'. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
4. ^'THE BLACK CAULDRON (U)'. British Board of Film Classification. July 23, 1985. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
5. ^ ^abHahn, Don (Director) (2010). Waking Sleeping Beauty (Documentary film). Burbank, CA: Stone Circle Pictures/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Event occurs at 16:08. Black Cauldron cost $44 million to make and made less than half that at the box office.
6. ^ ^abHartlaub, Peter (March 26, 2010). 'Review: 'Waking Sleeping Beauty''. SFGate. Archived from the original on April 20, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
7. ^ ^abcdeKois, Dan (October 19, 2010). 'Revisiting The Black Cauldron, the Movie That Almost Killed Disney Animation'. Slate. Archived from the original on January 17, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
8. ^'Ollie Johnston - an interview, part 1' (Interview) (in Norwegian). Interviewed by Jo Jürgens. 1996.
9. ^ ^abc'Black Cauldron, The (film)'. Disney D23. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
10. ^ ^abcdeHill, Jim (February 9, 2006). ''The Black Cauldron' : What went wrong'. Jim Hill Media. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
11. ^Harmetz, Aljean (August 10, 1978). 'Disney film far behind schedule'. The New York Times. Eugene Register-Guard. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
12. ^Hulett 2014, p. 46.
13. ^Hulett 2014, p. 47–8.
14. ^'The Black Cauldron: Producer Joe Hale talks munchings and crunchings…' (Interview). Interviewed by Jérémie Noyer. September 17, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
15. ^Blowen, Michael (August 3, 1985). '`Black Cauldron` A Brew Of Vintage Disney Animation'. Boston Globe. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 20, 2015.Italic or bold markup not allowed in: publisher= (help)
16. ^ ^abHulett 2014, p. 48.
17. ^Ron Clements and John Musker (September 7, 2012). 'John and Ron Mention 'The Unmentionable''. Animation (Interview). Interviewed by Michael Mallory. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
18. ^Deja, Andreas (February 9, 2013). 'Milt Kahl's Black Cauldron'. Deja View. Blogger. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
19. ^ ^abcdeStewart 2005, pp. 68–70.
20. ^ ^ab'Cauldron of Chaos, PART 3 - Ink and Paint Club: Memories of the House of Mouse'. Peraza, Michael. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
21. ^ ^ab'Animation photo transfer process'. Disney D23. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
22. ^'The Black Cauldron'. Disney.go.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
23. ^'The Black Cauldron'. April 24, 2008. Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
24. ^Maltin, Leonard (1995). The Disney Films (3rd ed.). Hyperion Books. p. 286. ISBN0-7868-8137-2.
25. ^ ^abcd'Filmtracks: The Black Cauldron (Elmer Bernstein)'. Filmtracks. May 12, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
26. ^'Intrada Records: The Black Cauldron'. Intrada Records. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
27. ^Ankeny, Jason. 'The Black Cauldron – Elmer Bernstein'. allmusic (Allrovi). Retrieved July 30, 2012.
28. ^'Review: The Black Cauldron'. Filmtracks Publications. November 1, 1996. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
29. ^Hill, Jim (September 10, 2010). 'Why For did Disney's 'The Black Cauldron' fail to connect with audiences back in 1985?'. Jim Hill Media. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
30. ^Diehl, Bill (June 15, 1985). 'Disney Pictures back to basics with fully-animated feature'. Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
31. ^'Starts Wednesday! Walt Disney Classic..Taran and the Magic Cauldron'. The Bulletin. March 20, 1990.
32. ^Goodman, Walter (July 26, 1985). 'Screen: Disney's 'Black Cauldron''. The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
33. ^ ^abHahn, Don (Director) (2010). Waking Sleeping Beauty (Documentary film). Burbank, CA: Stone Circle Pictures/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
34. ^JP. 'The Black Cauldron (1985)- JPBox-Office'. jpbox-office.com.
35. ^Crew Picture The Balck Cauldron [sic]. Upload to Creative Talent Network blog.
36. ^'The Black Cauldron (1985)'. Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
37. ^Ebert, Roger (July 24, 1985). 'The Black Cauldron Movie Review'. Rogerebert.com. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
38. ^Solomon, Charles (July 24, 1985). 'CAULDRON is a treat for kidvid-sore eyes'. Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. p. OC_E1. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
39. ^Goodman, Walter (July 25, 1985). 'Screen: Disney's 'Black Cauldron''. The New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
40. ^Peretta, Don (2008). 'The Black Cauldron'. In Pym, John (ed.). Time Out Film Guide 2009 (17th ed.). Time Out Group Ltd. p. 104. ISBN978-1846701009.
41. ^Johnston, Ollie; Frank Thomas (1993). The Disney Villain. New York: Hyperion Books. p. 173. ISBN1-56282-792-8
42. ^Alexander, Lloyd (January 26, 1999). 'Lloyd Alexander Interview Transcript'. Scholastic. Archived from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
43. ^Torme Olson, Karen (July 30, 1998). 'August 4 releases (dates subject to change) - Blues..'Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
44. ^'The Black Cauldron 25th Anniversary DVD Review'. DVDDizzy. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
45. ^'Chronology of Walt Disney World (1990-1994)'. www.islandnet.com.
46. ^'Sunday Brunch'. www.fromscreentotheme.com.
47. ^'Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour - Fantasyland - Tokyo Disneyland - Joe's Tokyo Disney Resort Photo Site'. www.jtcent.com.
48. ^Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour: 20 Terrifying Years (1986-2006) - 1971 CollectiveArchived August 17, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
49. ^'A Great Mystery… - Parkeology'. January 13, 2011.
50. ^Loveless, Matthew (April 1987). 'Black Cauldron'. Antic.

Bibliography[edit]

• Hulett, Steve (December 4, 2014). Mouse In Transition: An Insider's Look at Disney Feature Animation. Theme Park Press. ISBN978-1-941500-24-8.
• Stewart, James (2005). DisneyWar (1st ed.). New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN0-684-80993-1.

External links[edit]

• The Black Cauldron at Disney Archives
• The Black Cauldron at The Big Cartoon DataBase
• The Black Cauldron on IMDb
• The Black Cauldron at the TCM Movie Database
• The Black Cauldron at Box Office Mojo
• The Black Cauldron at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Black Cauldron (video game) at MobyGames
• The Black Cauldron (point and click video game remake) at SCIprogramming
• 'Why For did Disney's 'The Black Cauldron' fail to connect with audiences back in 1985?' (2010) at Jim Hill Media
• Black Cauldron, or Cauldron of Chaos at Memories of the House of Mouse by animator Michael Peraza Jr. (michaelperaza.blogspot.com)

The Black Cauldron

DOS - 1986

Also available on: Amiga - Atari ST - Apple II - Apple IIgs

Description of The Black Cauldron

The Black Cauldron is a fun adventure for kids based on a quite obscure Disney's movie of the same name, which was in turn based on the popular 'Chronicles of Prydain' series of children's books by Lloyd Alexander.

As in the movie, you are Taran, assistant Pig keeper, making your meager living in the fantasy land of Prydain. Your troubles begin when your pig HenWen, which has magical powers, was kidnapped by the Evil Horned King. The King wants to use HenWen's magical powers to locate the powerful black cauldron and rule the world. Naturally, your job is to rescue HenWen and save the world from evil.

The feature that sets The Black Cauldron apart from other Sierra adventure games at the time is the lack of parser. Instead of typing commands a la Police Quest, King's Quest etc., the entire game is played only by pressing a few function keys which represent 'USE [INVENTORY] OBJECT,' 'DO,' and 'USE' commands. This fulfills the game's goal of being a 'kid's game,' since it allows preschoolers to enjoy the game without worrying about grammar. The only problem with this approach is that if you are near several Do-able objects, the game just arbitrarily picks one. Not a big deal, though.

The game overall is well-designed, with appropriate pacing and logical puzzles that won't frustrate kids. Although there is a maze and a few action sequences, they are easy to pass. Unlike most early Sierra games, there are many endings in The Black Cauldron. Some follow the storyline, others are just there for fun, making the game quite replayable.

With colorful characters, accessible interface for kids, and the usual charm of early EGA Sierra games, The Black Cauldron is a great adventure that kids of all ages will enjoy. Thumbs up!

Review By HOTUD

Captures and Snapshots

Screenshots from MobyGames.com

Screenshots from MobyGames.com

Screenshots from MobyGames.com

Screenshots from MobyGames.com

Comments and reviews

Sara2018-02-100 point

I can't get the game to load at all. It says 'Illegal Command'. I haven't played this game since I was a kid and was really looking forward to it. :(

legust2015-12-250 point

Very funny game. has a good Story and system

fdisk2015-11-100 point

manual:amiga & hint book:
EDIT: THX fdisk!

A Wise Old Man2013-02-210 point DOS version

The Mouse House actually made more money off this game than they did the movie, which was a major flop in the theaters. A lot of K-6 schools bought copies to help kids get a start on the basics of just using a computer - booting up, using a floppy drive, accessing files, loading programs, etc, etc.

guest2012-10-030 point DOS version

Review of the Black Cauldron for DOS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOTcU7Al7CU

Pollito2012-08-281 point DOS version

If anyone is having trouble running this under DOSBox, they might want to try ScummVM. It's great at interpreting most Sierra and SCUMM adventure games on many different platforms.

Anne2012-08-180 point DOS version

It's been years since I played this game, but I believe you actually need to type words to interact with things.

Eric2009-10-180 point DOS version

Press Esc to bring up the command buttons. This game uses the F keys for everything. IJKM or arrows to move around.

Justyn2009-10-030 point DOS version

I was hoping I could make this game play. But I could not get the emulation speed to work correctly in DOSBox. Also no key I pressed seemed to work as the interact button. I wasn't able to enter doors, interact with any items or places. Maybe just incompatible with DOSBox or Perhaps I was doing something wrong.
It looks like a fun game, let me know if anyone knows how to make it work right.

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DOS Version

The Black Cauldron Free Download

Amiga ROM

Black Cauldron Game Online

• Year:1987
• Publisher:Sierra On-Line, Inc.
• Developer:Sierra On-Line, Inc.

Game Extras

Various files to help you run The Black Cauldron, apply patchs, fixes, maps or miscellaneous utilities.

Atari ST ROM

• Year:1986
• Publisher:Sierra On-Line, Inc.
• Developer:Sierra On-Line, Inc.

Apple II Version

• Year:1986
• Publisher:Sierra On-Line, Inc.
• Developer:Sierra On-Line, Inc.

Apple IIgs Version

• Year:1987
• Publisher:Sierra On-Line, Inc.
• Developer:Sierra On-Line, Inc.

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The Black Cauldron Free Online