Arthur Malet, Billie Hayes, Freddie Jones

Taran is an assistant pigkeeper who longs to be a knight. He's given his chance to live his dream when he is sent out in search of a magical black cauldron which can either be a powerful instrument of...( read more  read more... ) good or a bottomless font of evil, depending entirely upon who should find it.

Flixster Users

54% liked it

40,058 ratings

Critics

58% liked it

24 critics

PG, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Richard Rich, Ted Berman

Release Date: January 1, 1985

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DVD Release Date: October 3, 2000

Stats: 1,057 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,057)


  • March 21, 2009
    Certainly one of the oddities from Disney's darker 80's period. The Black Cauldron is disappointingly bland in it's narrative. Boy must bring back a fortune telling pig, there's evil and there's sidekicks. They get captured, escape, and then get captured again. The villain is par...( read more)ticularly disturbing and has one of the more traumatic Disney villain deaths, probably just after the Tarzan hanging. It should be praised for it's adult style but unlike Basil the Great Mouse Detective, it loses it's Disney charm. Not enough humour, action or adventure. But if you want to see a comedic sidekick sacrifice themselves, then this is the film for you.
  • January 1, 2008
    A family classic.
  • September 2, 2007
    starts of great,really promising but it kinda loses its punch half way through.it just goes alittle flat.the characters and look are amazing,the animation is good and the voices work well.the music is alittle uninspiring and the story is very old but it is unrated.the look saves ...( read more)it really.
  • July 7, 2007
    A truly magical Disney movie not-for-kids, because it has frightening skeleton baddies.

    A young farm boy named Taran has a pig who fortells trouble for the world if the Horned King's Black Cauldron is not found and destroyed. Taran is assisted by a beautiful princess, an old m...( read more)instrel, his magic pig, and a mischievious furry talking dog-like creature named Gurgi.

    Various obstacles stand in their way, including three annoying witch sisters, the King and his guards, and the Horned King and his skeleton army.

    The animation is astounding, drawn by Don Bluth (creator of Dragon's Lair video laserdisc). I love the scene where they meet a cave full of glowing rainbow pixies. The Cauldron pyrotechnics are astounding. The undead armies which rise from the cauldron are done in creepy slimey realism. Visually, it's a triumph.

    The plot is a bit confusing and long. Little kids will get frightened and adults might get bored.
  • January 23, 2007
    the horned king is the scariest animated villian of all time, this movie was sweet
  • November 13, 2009
    The worst Disney movie ever made.
  • October 12, 2009
    Epic sacrifice scene near the end speaks for all the movie.
  • July 31, 2009
    Definetly not a classic. The Black Cauldron had so many things going for it, but lacked any real humour, adventure, or drama. It seemed like it had been edited to death, as when the movie was over, I felt there must have been a lot of the storyline left on the cutting room floor.
  • June 25, 2009
    Seriously, this is my favourite Disney movie. It's one of the darker ones, but I had the biggest crush on the main character.

    A crush which only grew once I read the book series.
  • June 24, 2009
    This film is pretty bad ass, though not quite as suitable for younger viewers I think most of them would be scared.

Critic Reviews


January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

By the end of The Black Cauldron I was remembering, with something of a shock of nostalgia, the strength and utter storytelling conviction of the early Disney animators. The Black Cauldron is a return... full review

View more The Black Cauldron reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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The Black Cauldron Trivia


  • This film director originally started as an animator at Disney doing uncredited work on The Fox and the Hound, Tron and The Black Cauldron. Who is he? (Hint: It was while he was working at Disney that he first conceived what would become a certain stop-motion film about Halloween and Christmas)  Answer »
  • In wich disney movie can a pig tell the future?  Answer »
  • In 1981, John Hurt played Jesus in "The History Of The World: Part 1". In which 1985 animated film did he play The Horned King?  Answer »
  • What was Disney's first PG rated cartoon?  Answer »

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