The Black Cauldron opened on this day 40 years ago. Easily the most ambitious movie Disney had ever made at that point, it was also their darkest, becoming the first animated feature from the studio to get a PG rating (back when that, you know, actually mattered, since fucking Smurfs has the same rating). In fact, due to a deleted scene in which a character’s flesh melted off, some sources claim The Black Cauldron initially got slapped with an R rating (although I can’t find anything officially proving this). In all, it’s been reported that some 12-15 minutes of the film were cut, and the Mouse House has yet to release any of the unseen footage. #ReleaseTheFleshMeltingCut
As you are no doubt aware, The Black Cauldron flopped in a big way. It cost a then-extremely expensive $25 million to produce (for comparison, Return of the Jedi cost $37 million), and was considered far too scary for children. Although they of course hoped to please families, Disney’s main target audience for the movie was adults (I mean, look no further than the trailer’s tagline of “Escape into a world of DARKNESS!!!”), which sadly didn’t pay off. Still, as is often the case with such stories, The Black Cauldron has become a huge cult classic with a fan base that grows larger every year. So that kind of gives it a happy ending (and also, back on the subject of taglines, this trailer also advertises The Black Cauldron as “The newest Disney spectacle of them all!” This was immediately dated the next time the company released a movie).
But…what if I were to tell you Disney attempted to give it a second chance. Sort of. You see, after The Black Cauldron tanked, the Mouse House had a string of big hits with Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Oliver and Company, and The Little Mermaid. So in 1990, they thought that maybe, just maybe, they could give it another shot. Sort of.
Ladies, gentlemen, and non-binaries, let me introduce you to Taran and the Magic Cauldron. Not to be confused with Taran and the Magic Sword, as it was known in some international territories. No, this was an attempt at a rebrand. A shot at making The Black Cauldron seem more like a typical Disney movie. Now, contrary to some reports, it was still the exact same film. No trims were made to get it a G rating. But the marketing hid all of the scary stuff. The Horned King, possibly the most frightening Disney villain of all time, was kept hidden. An emphasis was placed on cuddly sidekick Gurgi. And it was called “The MAGIC Cauldron” now. That sounds less scary, I guess.
Now, if you don’t remember Taran and the Magic Cauldron, it’s because this attempt at a reissue had an extremely limited run. Disney only tested it in a handful of territories and then didn’t bother expanding from there. Finding any information on the box office returns from these screenings is essentially impossible. I’ve tried, and no such date seems to be available anywhere, but it must not have done particularly well or else you probably wouldn’t be hearing about this for the first time from me.
Ultimately, The Black Cauldron wouldn’t achieve financial success in the states until it was finally released on home video in 1998, when it enjoyed surprisingly strong sales. Also, this would lead to the existence of the only Black Cauldron Happy Meal toy, as Gurgi would be given his own premium in a promotion for various Disney VHS tapes that fall.
Have a MAGIC day, y’all!