Black Cauldron, The

Story

In the land of Prydain, lowly pig herder Taran (voiced by Grant Bardsley) dreams of becoming a gallant knight. Instead, he’s charged with making sure that prophesying pig, Hen Wen, doesn’t fall into the hands of the evil Horned King (voiced by John Hurt). But the King ends up kidnapping Hen Wen anyway. He wants her help to find a magical black cauldron, which he plans to use to summon an army of the undead.

With the help of Princess Eilonwy (voiced by Susan Sheridan), Fflewddur Fflam the Bard (voiced by Nigel Hawthorne), and a gopher wood troll called Gurgi (voiced by John Byner), Taran must find the black cauldron and save the day.

Themes

Magic; friendship; harm to animals

Violence

The Black Cauldron has some violence. For example:

Taran threatens to hit Gurgi with a stick if he doesn’t return Taran’s apple.
The Horned King grabs Creeper by the throat after he disappoints him.
Creeper threatens Hen Wen with a hot poker.
The Horned King’s men threaten Taran with swords.
A soldier of the Horned King backhands Taran across the face.

Sexual references

The Black Cauldron has some sexual references. For example, the Horned King’s men flirt with a female dancer and ask her for kisses.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

The Black Cauldron shows some use of substances. For example, the Horned King’s men drink alcohol.

Nudity and sexual activity

The Black Cauldron has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:

A witch falls in love with the Bard and tries to kiss and cuddle him. When he turns into a frog, he gets stuck between her breasts.
Princess Eilonwy kisses Taran.

Product placement

There’s no product placement in The Black Cauldron.

Coarse language

There’s no coarse language in The Black Cauldron.

Ideas to discuss with your children

The Black Cauldron is an animated movie based on the book of the same name. An old-school Disney movie, it features a King Arthur-esque story, magical creatures and a simple plot.

The Black Cauldron is likely to entertain children under 12 years, although it isn’t suitable for children under 8 years. We also recommend parental guidance for children aged 8-10 years because of the movie’s animated action violence and frightening scenes.

The main message from The Black Cauldron is that when you work together, you can achieve anything.

Values in The Black Cauldron that you could reinforce with your children include self-belief and friendship.

The Black Cauldron could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like attitudes toward girls and women. For example, Taran speaks disparagingly to the Princess about being a girl.