Ya Know, THE BLACK CAULDRON Ain't Half Bad

Often considered the nadir of the "post Walt" era of Disney, The Black Cauldron boasts some incredible imagery and is deserving of a cult following.

By: Josh McCormack

My journey of watching films I've never seen in the midst of my COVID-19 quarantine led me to something a bit different this morning. After weeks of watching "important" or R-rated fare, I decided to hop on my 'Disney+' account--which in all honesty hasn't been used quite so frequently since The Mandalorian ended back in December--and give a couple animated Disney films I had never seen a watch.

It struck me after about five minutes of browsing this library that there aren't many animated features from the House of Mouse which I haven't seen. So I was left with slim pickings overall and I first decided to go with 2003's Brother Bear, a film that is somewhat beloved by those of my generation, but one I never had much interest in seeing as a little kid. The film actually wound up somewhat of a gem. Not groundbreaking in any way and easy to see why it was met with pretty rocky reception by critics and audiences upon release, but nevertheless a heartwarming, enjoyable Disney film rom the early 2000s.

After this was through, I noticed that one of the films I had never seen was The Black Cauldron, and to be perfectly honest, I don't know many people who have ever talked about seeing The Black Cauldron. As a bit of a Disney nut, I've of course heard what a financial failure it was in 1985 (the midst of an already dark period for Disney) and I had read many beautifully written film journalist pieces on how it practically destroyed the animation studio before the mild success of Oliver & Company in 1988, followed by the massive success of The Little Mermaid a year later, which helped usher in the Disney renaissance of the early '90s. However, all this knowledge never really helped me understand what the movie was actually about, nor if the film was any good aside from all the chaos it caused after its release.

Well, I'm here to tell you that The Black Cauldron is...pretty good. Not great, it's tonally inconsistent and the characters are among the most vapid and uninteresting in the entire Disney canon (I'll get into this later), but its animation and art design is quite stunning and the film delves into some wonderfully dark territory for the family friendly studio which I believe makes it ripe for reevaluation as we approach the film's 35th anniversary.

The story of The Black Cauldron is pretty standard stuff from this era of post-Star Wars, pre-Lord of the Rings fantasy/sci-fi storytelling. The macguffin is that of the titular Black Cauldron, a dark magical item that can...destroy the world--I think? It's not perfectly clear. The film starts with a very cool and dramatic narration from the great John Huston describing that the cauldron is a demonic presence that has the power to raise the dead back to life and destroy the world. But there's never any indication of the cauldron's past nor how to stall its power, making for a pretty confusing climax. But even in the midst of this confusing, exposition dump, the imagery is pretty appealing right off the bat.

I've read many critics complain about the animation in The Black Cauldron and while I can agree the main character designs aren't all that unique or interesting, the film pulls heavily on Tolkien-esque imagery and even images from then-current, more adult animation like the work of Ralph Bakshi (Wizards and the animated Lord of the Rings) or even 1982's cult classic, Heavy Metal, to provide some pretty cool and unique stylings amongst the mostly more traditional style of most Disney films. 

The painted backgrounds of The Black Cauldron are also pretty stunning. The film is at its best when it's set in the dungeons of the villainous Horned King (voiced by the late, great John Hurt), and it's in these settings where the art direction really shines. These sequences alone, riddled with skulls and chains dangling as if you've stepped into Clive Barker film as done by "The Happiest Place on Earth", make The Black Cauldron well worth your time.

But sadly, the film really loses its way when it focuses on our main characters. These characters are the true low point of the film. Animated Disney films, even at their worst, always leave you with a couple characters that are bound to become fan favorites amongst the fan base. The Black Cauldron doesn't have a single one of these. These characters with forgettable fantasy names like Taran or Eionwy are about as milk toast and boring as one can get. Half of them seem to have no personal stake in the actual conflict itself and even the trademark comedic sidekicks don't provide anything interesting to this group dynamic.

However, much like Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal from 1982, the characters or stock plot aren't what you should be focusing on here. Instead the animation, the score by Elmer Bernstein, and the dark subject matter not usually seen in Disney films of this type is what makes The Black Cauldron worth watching while you're deciding what to watch next at home. Again, like The Dark Crystal, this somewhat macabre story under the brand of a kid friendly studio drove parents away back on its release, but I think it's the element that really winds up being the film's greatest strength.

The Black Cauldron is far from a masterpiece. Most of its criticisms are warranted. Its plot rambles, the characters are boring and it's tonally uneven, often going back and forth between resurrecting demons and playful fairies from scene to scene. However, I've always had a fascination with Disney films that missed the mark, but did so with some ambition. Be it Robin Hood, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, or even Treasure Planet, I find myself far more drawn to talking about the more non-commercial, yet very unique failures than I do the established classics, and The Black Cauldron is probably the greatest example of this bunch. 

The Black Cauldron  certainly isn't for everyone, but if you're willing to tap into the film's strange sensibilities, it's one I have to recommend and one I hope finally gets a cult following as it approaches its 35th birthday.