Posted by Jonathan Klotz | Updated
Disney is working on all of their animated classics, giving us live versions of Good and bad, Aladdin, The Little Mermaidand even Moanabut all those films were blockbusters. If Disney had guts, they could go in the other direction and make a live action remake The Black Cauldron. The 1985 film is terrible, but the source, The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, is full of untapped potential, and the five book series should have been adapted years ago.
The Chronicles of Prydain
During the 60s, Lloyd Alexander was able to release the entire pentalogy in five years, in between The Third Book in 1964 again The King of the Heights in 1968. Compiled by The Black Cauldron (1965), Castle Llyr (1966), and Taran Wanderer (1967), the saga tells the story of Taran, the Assistant Pig-Keeper who manages Hen-Wen, a pig who can tell the future, on his journey to save the world from the Death-Lord and his right-hand man, The Horned King. Because it was written for children, The Chronicles of Prydain is one of the best entryways into high fantasy, which is why it’s a shame Disney killed it off so badly.
The Black Cauldron it adapts the first two novels, but to call it a loose adaptation is going too far, it’s like hatchet job. Although the film includes most of the same characters, the gentle but fierce Eilonwy, the bard Fflewddur Fflam, and Gurgi, a strange ape-like human/animal hybrid, also adds to The Horned King, while leaving out the novel’s villain, Morgant the Dark Warrior. Worst is the ending, which avoids the novel’s theme of sacrifice for greater victory.
The Movie That Almost Killed Disney
Despite the change from this novel, The Black Cauldron considered the darkest for a children’s film, especially for an animation from Disney. The first PG cartoon from Disney and the first to feature CGI, it was also the most expensive animated film ever made, at $44 million. Of course, it was also a failure at the box office, losing the company so much money that it almost destroyed Disney bef.an instrument The Little Mermaid it started the Disney Renaissance and saved the company.
Desire but flawed, The Black Cauldron it may have failed as a film, but the richness of Lloyd Alexander’s world-building manages to shine through the edges. If each book was adapted as a live-action film, then the rise of Taran would be a hit, from exploring the world The Third Book to check his future on Taran Wandererthe making of the next big fantasy franchise is out there. However, following the failure of Disney, no one has touched the place for almost 40 years.
That’s not fair, especially in a world with so many Chronicles of Narnia adaptations, another Hollywood series wouldn’t seem right, so why not give The Chronicles of Prydain a second chance? No one ever asked for a Lion King prequel about Mufasa or live action Moanabut a new fantasy franchise suitable for all ages that brings other underrated novels to life, why not? The Black Cauldron it was a historical failure, but Chronicles of Prydain is a newly discovered hit.
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