The Black Cauldron

"Hidden by darkness. Guarded by witches. Discovered by a boy. Stolen by a king. Whoever owns it will rule the world. Or destroy it."

1985 1h 20m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 1,479

AnimationAdventureFamilyFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Taran is an assistant pigkeeper with boyish dreams of becoming a great warrior. However, he has to put the daydreaming aside when his charge, an oracular pig named Hen Wen, is kidnapped by an evil lord known as the Horned King. The villain hopes Hen will show him the way to The Black Cauldron, which has the power to create a giant army of unstoppable soldiers.

“Hidden by darkness. Guarded by witches. Discovered by a boy. Stolen by a king. Whoever owns it will rule the world. Or destroy it.”

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Cast

Grant Bardsley
Taran (voice)
Susan Sheridan
Eilonwy (voice)
John Byner
Gurgi / Doli (voice)
Nigel Hawthorne
Fflewddur Fflam (voice)
John Hurt
The Horned King (voice)
Freddie Jones
Dallben (voice)
Phil Fondacaro
Creeper / Henchman (voice)
Arthur Malet
King Eidilleg (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Richard Rich
Writers: Peter Young, Peter Young, David Jonas
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

80 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 85% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

41 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Elmer Bernstein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Armetta Jackson-Hamlett shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Grant Bardsley and Susan Sheridan and John Byner carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Hidden by darkness. Guarded by witches. Discovered by a boy. Stolen by a king. Whoever owns it will rule the world. Or destroy it.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0088814 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Richard Rich directs. Elmer Bernstein scores. Armetta Jackson-Hamlett cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

180 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Earned back only 85% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
341 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Original score by Elmer Bernstein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Armetta Jackson-Hamlett shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Grant Bardsley and Susan Sheridan and John Byner carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Hidden by darkness. Guarded by witches. Discovered by a boy. Stolen by a king. Whoever owns it will rule the world. Or destroy it.".
8IMDB entry: tt0088814 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 14 themes, including "witch", "based on novel or book", "pig", "magic".