Disney's worst fantasy movie deserves a remake

The author Jonathan Klotz
| Updated 1 hour ago

Disney is rolling out its entire roster of animated classics by bringing us live-action versions Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaidand even Moanabut all these movies were record hits. If Disney had the guts, they would go in the opposite direction and make a live action remake of the movie The black cauldron. The 1985 film is terrible, but the source material, Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain, is filled with untapped potential, and the five-book series should have been adapted years ago.

Chronicles of Preyden

In the 1960s, Lloyd Alexander over five years, between The Book of Three in 1964 and High King in 1968. Joined The black cauldron (1965), The palace is full (1966) and Taran the tramp (1967), the saga follows Taran, a pig keeper's assistant in charge of Hen-Wen, a pig who can tell the future, on his journey to save the land from the Lord of Death and his right-hand man, the Horned King. Being written for children, The Chronicles of Prydain is one of the best entry points into high fantasy, so it's a shame that Disney butchered it so much.

The black cauldron adapts the first two novels, but calling it a loose adaptation is going too far, it's more like a hatchet job. While the film includes most of the same characters, the subtle but fierce Eilonwy, the bard Fflddur Fflam, and Gurgi, the strange ape-like human/animal hybrid, it also adds The Horned King while omitting the novel's villain. Morganth the Dark Warrior. Worse is the ending, which eschews the novel's theme of sacrifice for a more optimistic victory.

The movie that almost killed Disney

Despite the changes from the novel, The black cauldron was considered too dark for a children's film, especially a Disney animation. The first PG cartoon from Disney and the first to incorporate CGI, it was also the most expensive animated feature ever made ($44 million). Of course, it was also a box office failure, losing the company so much money that it nearly wiped out Disney's before The Little Mermaid started Disney's renaissance and saved the company.

Ambitious but flawed, The black cauldron The film may have failed, but the richness of Lloyd Alexander's world-building manages to reach its highest point. If every book was adapted as a live-action film, Taran's rise would be a hit, starting with the world The Book of Three to explore your past Taran the trampopportunities for the next big fantasy franchise are right there. However, after Disney's failure, no property was touched for nearly 40 years.

It's not fair, especially not in a world of multiple adaptations The Chronicles of Narniaanother series Hollywood can never seem to get its head around, so why not give The Chronicles of Prydain a second chance? No one ever asked for a Mufasa or live action Lion King prequel Moanabut a new all-ages fantasy franchise reviving some of the underrated novels, why not? The black cauldron was a historic failure, but The Chronicles of Prydain is a hit waiting to be discovered.