The Black Cauldron is a 1985 animated film created by Walt Disney Studios. It is based on The Book of Three and The Black Cauldron, the first two books in the The Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander. It was the first Disney movie to be rated PG.
Summary[]
A young boy named Taran lives on a farm with his caretaker, Dallben, and serves as the Assistant Pig-Keeper to him, caring for an oracular pig called Hen Wen. He is exasperated with his "boring" life and longs to be a hero. When the wicked Horned King attempts to raise an army of skeletal warriors known as the Cauldron-Born, however, Hen Wen is kidnapped and Taran sets out to find her. He gains several companions- Gurgi, an odd furry creature who loves food and is easily frightened, Eilonwy, a talkative and strong-willed princess being held captive by the Horned King, and Fflewddur Fflam, a bard with a tendency to "color the facts". The four of them work to find Hen Wen and stop the Horned King.
Differences from the books[]
- Eilonwy has blonde hair rather than "red-gold" hair
- Fflewddur is portrayed as having a round belly and gray hair rather than being thin and blonde as described in the books
- Many characters, such as Gwydion, Coll, Achren, and Ellidyr are absent
- Dallben in the movie appears to be a combination of Dallben and Coll from the books
- Due to Ellidyr's absence from the movie, Gurgi is the one who sacrifices himself to the cauldron instead
- The sacrifice to the cauldron is able to be reversed, which is not true in the books.