Disney Princess Review: The Black Cauldron

The Black Cauldron

For those of you that thought I would review the Little Mermaid next, well “ha ha” and shame on you for forgetting the Black Cauldron! The Disney Princess line really only selects characters from financially successful films which this wasn’t and that’s a shame because it isn’t that bad. While this film was not that popular, the writer of the books, Lloyd Alexander did have this to say:

“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.”

Personally, I agree. The movie never seems to grasp the book series, granted the Black Cauldron as a book is the second book in the Prydain Chronicles and the movie is a fusion of the first two books. Eilonwy herself is noticeably different and other changes are there that don’t really hurt the film but I do feel this could have been done better. The sword Taran finds is better explained and it plays a big role in the series itself and there is also much more going on in terms of our characters. Unlike previous adaptations by Disney I feel this one had the most trouble standing on its own, which all adaptations need to do ultimately. Where Snow White and Cinderella told their own story, I think this film was trying too hard to mesh two books together into one, which I think would have been better if this had gotten another once over. But in all honesty, if you can get past that I find that it is actually a good movie; it is certainly not bad or great. While the film is good, the books are AMAZING! READ THEM!

 The biggest problem is it doesn’t really feel like a Disney film, it feels a bit like Secret of NIMH, (directed by Don Bluth who along with nine others left Disney to start their own animation studio). It’s dark to the point where almost ten scenes were cut, some involving the Cauldron Born actually decapitating a man on screen. This darkness is Classic Disney, which I think is forgotten at times. There is a lot of energy put into the animation and the interesting story that it’s a shame it isn’t liked that much. The characters are good enough, from Taran to the Horned King, but they really get lost in the story which goes a bit too fast there aren’t enough moments in between to flesh them out. One thing that sucks is the romance between Taran and Eilonwy, it feels more like Peter Pan and Wendy, but it was much more rushed. The film tries but it never builds on any dynamic, they don’t even really talk to one another and it’s a shame because they are all really good characters. Flueder is a king and don’t get me started on Eilonwy and Taran!

One thing this film does great is the villains, like the Horned King. Not only is this guy scary beyond all belief, he is actually the ONLY Disney Villain who goes for the biggest prize ever, godhood. The closest we ever really got to that was Jafar when he wanted to be a genie or Hades who was a god and just wanted to be god of gods. With the Horned King, there was so much to him. From his castle to death is just scary as hell, there is just no doubt that the Horned King and Maleficent are two of the greatest villains in Disney history.

Princess Eilonwy is not considered by Disney to have the title “Disney Princess” (there are jokes about it) and again this is because the film did so badly in theaters. I like to think it was because Disney was not ready for her yet. If Walt himself had handled the movie, I think she might have been better. She isn’t like Snow White or the others, she doesn’t scare or break or have anything to go off of. In the book, the witch Achren is her aunt and she holds her in castle. When Taran first meets her in the Horned Kings dungeon she really does not seem real as a character, she is very independent and smart to the point that while captive in the dungeon she is exploring most of the castle. She treats it more like she’s lost in a store with bad service. She is also more down to earth and realistic than the other Princesses. She has no dreams about romance, or princes and like her book counterpart does take offense when people play the girl card. I would say she is like a combo of Alice and Belle. She reminds me a bit of Hermione, wise beyond her years and would probably be taking advanced classes.

It is my personal opinion that Disney was too used to female characters that have things happen around or to them that they can’t control so when they went in the opposite direction, she just seemed off and not interesting because she dealt with everything in stride, which while admirable hurts her as a character. For this girl I am going to have to give her a C to a C+ as her highest grade. Sorry Eilonwy, I like you but you were just too early to be what you needed to be T_T. But that does not mean she is unimportant, she is the first of what would be a long line of strong interesting female characters.