History Trivia / TheBlackCauldron

* PostReleaseRetitle: In 1990, ''The Black Cauldron'' got [[http://platypuscomix.com/hollywood/magiccauldron.html was theatrically re-released]] as ''Taran and the Magic Cauldron'' to try to get more ticket sales and hide the DarkerAndEdgier elements of the film that caused it to be a BoxOfficeBomb during its initial release. It didn't work, and the next release of the film (a DirectToVideo one in 1998) kept the original title. 1990 Newspaper clippings from [[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ctc9AAAAIBAJ&pg=PA3&dq=taran+and+the+magic+cauldron&article_id=4441,4206241&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiz4YvfgcfdAhWsxYMKHQTCDuk4FBDoATAGegQIARAb#v=onepage&q=taran%20and%20the%20magic%20cauldron&f=false Bend, Oregon]] and [[http://platypuscomix.com/hollywood/magiccauldron8.jpg Portland, Oregon]] provide evidence that it was shown in theaters in that state (possibly as a trial run), and 35mm prints with this title are in circulation even if a wide release didn't occur. The only other [[http://platypuscomix.com/hollywood/magiccauldron.html evidence]] are posters under multiple languages, children's tie-ins (picture books and puzzles), and a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc0NSamJlME Portuguese TV spot]] (with English audio), all bearing this new title.

** Creator/TimBurton drew up some concept art for the film, not a single piece of which was used.[[note]]He would later claim that his drawings were never going to be used anyway. The studio just wanted to give him something to do until his contract ran out. He ended up getting fired, however, when he was commissioned to make a couple of short films and turned in the incredibly bleak ''Frankenweenie'' short. He [[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas eventually]] [[Film/AliceInWonderland2010 came]] [[WesternAnimation/{{Frankenweenie}} back]].[[/note]]
*** Animator Andreas Deja stated once that most of the designs Burton made would have been too difficult to animate anyway, and the film was already having enough production troubles as it was. [[HostilityOnTheSet Deja and Burton had numerous arguments regarding this.]]

*** In this same treatment, Taran's meeting with the Horned King would have had the King act FauxAffablyEvil, trying to coerce Taran into having Hen Wen use her powers. When Taran hesitates, the King starts getting angry and quickly regains his cool with a LastSecondWordSwap.
** An earlier version of the Fair Folk sequence shows King Eiddileg with a design similar to King Hubert. The animation for the sequence also shows Fflewdurr with a design closer to his appearance in the books as well as an earlier rendition of his voice, still provided by Nigel Hawthorne.
*** A painted cel for the sequence shows that Eiddileg was to be blonde.

** Disney opened a ''Black Cauldron''-themed restaurant, called "Gurgi's Munchies and Crunchies", at Disney World in anticipation of the film's release. Once the film bombed, they closed this restaurant down and later remodeled it into a ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' themed establishment (which since has been replaced with a ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood1973'' establishment).

** [[https://iftheglassslipperfitsblog.wordpress.com/2017/03/06/a-black-cauldron-masterpeice-monday Early concept drawings of Eilonwy]] are more akin to the books' portrayal of her, with red-gold hair, [[DoesNotLikeShoes bare feet]], a ragged scullery maid's dress, and a distinct CloudCuckooLander vibe.

** ''Wondrous Journeys'' at Ride/{{Disneyland}} omits this film entirely and features no references to it. This wouldn't be so noteworthy if the show didn't feature references to nearly all the other films in the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon, including other less successful films like ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'', ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'', ''WesternAnimation/HomeOnTheRange'', and ''WesternAnimation/ChickenLittle''.

* DuelingWorks: This movie, ''Film/{{Legend|1985}}'', and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'' all feature the same three main characters: a young man in green clothes with a magic sword, a beautiful princess, and a fearsome demon-king. All three came out within a year of each other, meaning that all three were in development at the same time, and couldn't have influenced each other's development. One can only imagine Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s, Creator/{{Disney}}'s, and Creator/RidleyScott's reactions when they discovered what the other two had done.

* FranchiseKiller: Disney secured the rights to the entire ''[[Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain Chronicles of Prydain]]'', but the film flopped so hard, it killed off any future plans of continuing the series for three decades. The film was also nearly this for the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon. In 2016, Disney would announce [[http://variety.com/2016/film/news/chronicles-of-prydain-movie-disney-1201733058/ a live-action adaptation of the original books]], but [[DevelopmentHell nothing has come out of it since]].

* StillbornFranchise: Disney actually had the rights to the entire book series. When the movie imploded, plans for any sequels and any more adaptations of the books by Hollywood were sunk for 30 years; Disney reobtained the rights and began plans to try the series again in 2016, this time as live action.

** ''Wondrous Journeys'' at Ride/{{Disneyland}} omits this film entirely and features no references to it. This wouldn't be so noteworthy if the show didn't feature references to nearly all the other films in the Disney Animated Canon, including other less successful films like ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'', ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'', ''WesternAnimation/HomeOnTheRange'', and ''WesternAnimation/ChickenLittle''.

** Wondrous Journeys at Disneyland omits this film entirely and features no references to it. This wouldn't be so noteworthy if the show didn't feature references to nearly all the other films in the Disney Animated Canon, including other less successful films like ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'', ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'', ''WesternAnimation/HomeOnTheRange'', and ''WesternAnimation/ChickenLittle''.

** One rumor claims it was because of ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid|1989}}'' that ''The Black Cauldron'' didn't come to home media sooner. Disney was all set to release it when the latter film became a smash hit and they were pressured to get it on video ASAP.
** The 100th anniversary show at Ride/{{Disneyland}}, Wondrous Journeys, which otherwise features references to nearly all of the films in the Disney Animated Canon, including less successful films like ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'', ''WesternAnimation/HomeOnTheRange'', ''WesternAnimation/ChickenLittle'', and ''WesternAnimation/{{Bolt}}'', lacks any references to this film.

* FranchiseKiller: Disney secured the rights to the entire ''[[Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain Chronicles of Prydain]]'', but the film flopped so hard, it killed off any future plans of continuing the series for three decades. The film was also nearly this for the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon. Luckily this has been ultimately averted, as Disney is, as of the 2010's, planning on [[http://variety.com/2016/film/news/chronicles-of-prydain-movie-disney-1201733058/ a live-action adaptation of the original books]]. It may not be ''The Black Cauldron'' itself, but it has the potential to be even better.

* NoExportForYou: Due to the film being a BoxOfficeBomb [[note]]or for content reasons, as those countries do treat animated pieces like children's fare[[/note]], it has never been dubbed in certain languages.
* OldShame: Disney went to great lengths to disassociate themselves from the film. For example:
** Disney opened a ''Black Cauldron''-themed restaurant, called "Gurgi's Munchies and Crunchies", at Disney World in anticipation of the film's release. Once the film bombed, they closed this restaurant down and later remodeled it into a ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' themed establishment (which since has been replaced with a ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood1973'' establishment).
** Because this movie was both atypical and unpopular, it wasn't released domestically on home video until 1998, 13 years after its theatrical run. It also didn't come to Blu-ray until it received a Disney Movie Club-exclusive disc in 2021, marking the last of Canon's post-Walt traditionally-animated movies to reach the format.
** One rumor claims it was because of ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid|1989}}'' that ''The Black Cauldron'' didn't come to home media sooner. Disney was all set to release it when the latter film became a smash hit and they were pressured to get it on video ASAP.

* RelationshipVoiceActor: Unsurprisingly enough, in the Latin American Spanish dub Taran and Eilonwy are voiced by Raul Aldana and Diana Santos respectively, who previously voiced Cavin and Princess Calla, their respective [[{{Expy}} expies]], from the dub of ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGummiBears''.

* DuelingWorks: This movie, ''Film/{{Legend|1985}}'', and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'' all feature the same three main characters: a young man in green clothes with a magic sword, a beautiful princess, and a fearsome demon-king. All three came out within a year of each other, meaning that all three were in development at the same time, and couldn't have influenced each other's development. One can only imagine Nintendo's, Disney's, and Ridley Scott's reactions when they discovered what the other two had done.

** Because this movie was both atypical and unpopular, it wasn't released on home video until 1998, 13 years after its theatrical run. It also didn't come to Blu-ray until it received a Disney Movie Club-exclusive disc in 2021, marking the last of Canon's post-Walt traditionally-animated movies to reach the format.

* PostReleaseRetitle: In 1990, ''The Black Cauldron'' got [[http://platypuscomix.com/hollywood/magiccauldron.html was theatrically re-released]] as ''Taran and the Magic Cauldron'' to try to get more ticket sales and hide the DarkerAndEdgier elements of the film that caused it to be a BoxOfficeBomb during its' initial release. It didn't work, and the next release of the film (a DirectToVideo one in 1998) kept the original title. 1990 Newspaper clippings from [[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ctc9AAAAIBAJ&pg=PA3&dq=taran+and+the+magic+cauldron&article_id=4441,4206241&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiz4YvfgcfdAhWsxYMKHQTCDuk4FBDoATAGegQIARAb#v=onepage&q=taran%20and%20the%20magic%20cauldron&f=false Bend, Oregon]] and [[http://platypuscomix.com/hollywood/magiccauldron8.jpg Portland, Oregon]] provide evidence that it was shown in theaters in that state (possibly as a trial run), and 35mm prints with this title are in circulation even if a wide release didn't occur. The only other [[http://platypuscomix.com/hollywood/magiccauldron.html evidence]] are posters under multiple languages, children's tie-ins (picture books and puzzles), and a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc0NSamJlME Portuguese TV spot]] (with English audio), all bearing this new title.

* NoExportForYou: Due to the film being a BoxOfficeBomb [[note]]or for content reasons, as those countries do treat animated pieces like children's fare[[/note]], it has never been dubbed in certain languages, such as Hungarian.

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: ''Taran and the Magic Cauldron'' in France, Spain,Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium.

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: ''Taran and the Magic Cauldron'' in France, Spain, The Netherlands and Belgium.

* BoxOfficeBomb: The film only returned 85% of its $25 million budget. It remains one of Disney's poorest-performing theatrical releases. Adding insult to injury, it was also outgrossed by ''WesternAnimation/TheCareBearsMovie'', which had been in theaters for three ''fewer'' months, and had a ''much'' smaller budget.

* BoxOfficeBomb: The film only returned 85% of its $25 million budget. It remains one of Disney's poorest-performing theatrical releases. Adding insult to injury, it was beaten at the box office by ''WesternAnimation/TheCareBearsMovie'', which had been in theaters for three ''fewer'' months.

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: According to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIuK4OZCWbU Yesterworld's video on the movie]], many of the deleted scenes were overall much tamer than rumors suggested. While some of the grisliest scenes of the "Cauldron Born" sequence were indeed cut, few other deleted scenes had that level of violent or otherwise family-unfriendly content. One of the biggest casualties was Fflewddur Fflam, who had several incidental lines and even a few plot-relevant scenes deleted.

----

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: "Taran and the Magic Cauldron" in France, Spain, The Netherlands and Belgium.

** Co-directors Ted Berman and Creator/RichardRich and producer Joe Hale were fired from Disney in the wake of the film's release [[note]]-- Berman had technically retired, but Hale and Rich also allegedly took an antagonistic attitude towards both Jeffrey Katzenberg and deputy Peter Schneider, which was the other half of why they got the ax --[[/note]]; Berman and Hale never worked in animation again. Rich ended up being recruited by Utah entrepreneurs to produce videos based on the Bible and American History, leading to the creation of a new animation studio. Rich is still working, but his career is now built on low-budget, direct-to-video franchises based on ''WesternAnimation/TheSwanPrincess'' and ''WesternAnimation/AlphaAndOmega'', the only two (minor) successes he has had post-Disney.

** Disney opened a ''Black Cauldron''-themed restaurant, called "Gurgi's Munchies and Crunchies", at Disney World in anticipation of the film's release. Once the film bombed, they closed this restaurant down and later remodeled it into a ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' themed establishment (which since has been replaced with a ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood'' establishment).

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: "Taran and the Magic Cauldron" in France, The Netherlands and Belgium.

* ImageSource:
** VileVillainLaughableLackey

* RelationshipVoiceActor: Unsurprisingly enough, in the Latin American Spanish dub Taron and Eilonwy are voiced by Raul Aldana and Diana Santos respectively, who previously voiced Cavin and Princess Calla, their respective [[{{Expy}} expies]], from the dub of ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGummiBears''.

** Inverted with Jeffrey Katzenberg, who ended up becoming ''more'' influential within Disney as a result of this film's failure; he was able to utilize his "I told you this would flop" position on the movie over the older executives who had believed in it, painting their tastes as out of touch with what then-current moviegoers wanted to see.

* BoxOfficeBomb: The film only returned 85% of its $25 million budget. It remains one of Disney's poorest-performing theatrical releases. Adding insult to injury, it was beaten at the box office by ''WesternAnimation/TheCareBearsMovie'', which in theaters for three ''fewer'' months.

** Co-directors Ted Berman and Creator/RichardRich and producer Joe Hale were fired from Disney in the wake of the film's release [[note]]-- Berman had technically retired, but Hale and Rich also allegedly took an antagonistic attitude towards both Jeffrey Katzenberg and deputy Peter Schneider, which was the other half of why they got the ax --[[/note]]; Berman and Hale never worked in animation again. Rich ended up being recruited by Utah entrepreneurs to produce videos based on the Bible and American History, leading to the creation of a new animation studio. Rich is still working, but his career is now built on franchises based on ''WesternAnimation/TheSwanPrincess'' and ''WesternAnimation/AlphaAndOmega'', the only two successes he has had post-Disney.

** Eventually mildly averted: along with ''WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone'', it's the first first film outside the Disney Renaissance era to get remastered in 4K, debuting on Creator/DisneyPlus.