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The Animal Shelf


            As the film starts, a voice-over explains the legend of the Black Cauldron:"Legend has it, in the mystic land of Prydain, there was once a king so cruel and so evil that even the Gods feared him. Since no prison could hold him, he was thrown alive into a crucible of molten iron. There his demonic spirit was captured in the form of a great, black cauldron. For uncounted centuries, the black cauldron lay hidden, waiting, while evil men searched for it, knowing whoever possessed it would have the power to resurrect an army of deathless warriors... and with them, rule the world..."On the small farm of Caer Dallben, Taran, a young boy relegated to the life of an "assistant pig keeper", longs for joining the war against the evil Horned King and becoming a hero despite the insistence of Dallben, his guardian, that "war is no game". On a nondescript morning, Hen Wen, the pig Taran looks after, seems to go crazy. Dallben explains that Hen Wen is a magical pig who can create visions using water, which Taran was previously unaware of. Using Hen Wen's powers, Dallben discovers that the Horned King is after the Black Cauldron and that he seeks to capture Hen Wen, and use her to find it. Realizing that Hen Wen simply cannot fall into the hands of the Horned King, Dallben orders Taran to leave the farm and take Hen Wen into hiding. The scene, then, shifts to the Horned King, who plans to resurrect a number of fallen warriors as an army of zombies known as the "Cauldron Born" in a plot to capture the Black Cauldron.Meanwhile, Taran starts daydreaming about being a warrior, but is shaken out of it when he sees that Hen Wen is gone. Taran looks for her in the forest, instead encountering a strange creature named Gurgi, who likes apples. Gurgi insists on being Taran's friend, but Taran is annoyed by Gurgi's mischievous behavior. In the midst of their confrontation, Taran hears a squeal and finds that Hen Wen is being chased by the Gwythaints, dragon-like creatures that serve the Horned King. Taran attempts to rescue her, but the Gwythaints carry her off. He follows them to the Horned King's dark castle. Determined to save Hen Wen, Taran heads for the castle, but the cowardly Gurgi elects to remain behind.Taran sneaks into the castle and finds his way to a banquet hall filled with the King's partying henchmen, apparently celebrating the capture of the pig. The festivity ends abruptly when the Horned King appears and Creeper, a creature that serves the King, order Hen Wen to be brought out. Creeper orders the pig to reveal the location of the Black Cauldron, but she refuses. Taran stumbles onto the scene and the King, realizing Taran is the owner of the pig, orders him to make Hen Wen reveal the location of the Black Cauldron. Taran refuses, but when the King orders for Hen Wen to be beheaded, he relents. Taran ends up spooked by the Horned King's appearance, and helps Hen Wen escape before being captured. Thrown into the dungeons, Taran is left to brood over his failure. Just then, a piece of the floor opens and a magic bauble pops out, followed by a princess. She introduces herself as Princess Eilonwy, and is disappointed when she finds out that Taran isn't a warrior. Nevertheless, they team up to escape the castle.While exploring the dungeon, they share their stories about how they got thrown in the dungeon. Eilonwy was captured because the Horned King thought her bauble could tell him where the Cauldron was, and like Taran, she was thrown into the dungeons when his plan failed. They come across a burial chamber, where Taran obtains a sword. They then enter a room where a minstrel is being chained by another henchman. The minstrel, Fflewddur Fflam, tries to convince the henchman to let him go. But everything he says is a lie: he is cursed, and every time he lies, one of the strings on his harp snaps. Taran and Eilonwy attempt to set him free, but then they hear more henchmen coming. They run for it, while Fflewddur tries to save himself. Taran and Eilonwy get separated. Suddenly, Taran runs into a guard wielding an axe. The guard attempts to kill Taran, but before he can strike, Taran pulls out his sword, Dyrnwyn, and uses it to block the axe. The sword magically damages the axe, and the horrified guard runs away. Excited over the magic sword, Taran plays with it for a while, but then Eilonwy shows up, and they continue onward. They run into more guards, and Taran deflects them with the magic sword. Meanwhile, Fflewddur has escaped the dungeon, but is being chased by a dog. Taran slows down the guards by slashing some wine barrels with the sword. Taran and Eilonwy finally make it to the entrance of the castle, only to find the drawbridge closed. Creeper and the other henchmen have them cornered, but then Taran uses the sword to cut the chain to the drawbridge, allowing it to fall down. Creeper and the guards stand back in fright, while Fflewddur bowls past them. Taran and Eilonwy make it past the closing gate, but Fflewddur barely makes it with his pants ripped, and together they escape into the forest.Back in the castle, Creeper nervously goes to the Horned King's throne room and informs his master of the pig-keeper's escape. He attempts to choke himself as punishment, but is surprised to find out his master likes the news: if Taran has escaped, he will find his pig, and then he can capture them both again. The King orders him to send the Gwythaints to follow the boy, which Creeper thankfully does. In the forest, Fflewddur is singing to the heroes (the only song in the film), while Eilonwy is sewing his pants. They are all very thankful that they made it out of the castle alive. But Taran starts to become arrogant and say that he wasn't afraid. He and Eilonwy get into an argument, wherein the Princess runs off crying. Taran storms off in the oppsite direction, ignoring Fflewddur's attempts to make peace. Taran goes to apologize to her, and she forgives him immediately, because they all need to work together to find the Cauldron before the Horned King does. Just then they hear Fflewddur yell for help. Taran draws his sword in case of danger, but sheaths it when he realizes that Fflewddur's assailant is none other than Gurgi.After an argument, Gurgi reveals that he knows where Hen Wen is, and the others follow him. They come to an enchanted whirlpool, and are sucked down. They find themselves in an underground universe peopled by pixies, and ruled by the kindly King Eidilleg. He does not like humans in his home; the whirlpool, maintained by the bad-tempered court workman Doli, is supposed to keep them out. Nevertheless, he helps them. He knows where the Black Cauldron is, and instructs Doli to take them to Morva, the land where it is hidden. He also has Hen Wen, and she and Taran are reunited. But Taran is afraid to take her to Morva; the King says that he will send her back to Dalban's farm. He then conjures up magic clouds to transport Doli and the travellers to Morva.The Cauldron, it turns out, is in a cottage governed by three witches: Orddu, Orgoch, and Orwen. They have a larder full of frogs. There is strong implication that they are humans who stole from the witches in the past, which are to be eaten. Orwen takes a fancy to Fflewddur, and will not allow him to be turned into a frog. The witches reveal that they never give anything away; they trade. Taran, seeing that they have nothing else of value to offer, trades his sword for the Cauldron. A storm blows up, and the heroes are transported outside. The earth shakes, and the Black Cauldron emerges from it.The witches, now in the form of clouds, inform the heroes that the Black Cauldron can never be destroyed, but only its evil powers can be stopped. A living being must climb into the cauldron of his own free will, however the good person shall never climb out alive. They then disappear, saying they always keep a bargain... Gurgi, in a rare burst of bravery, had agreed to jump into the cauldron, but on hearing that he will die, his courage fails him.Later, the heroes are sitting around a fire trying to figure out what to do with the Cauldron. Doli gets frustrated and disappears. Taran blurts out that he's nothing without the sword, but Eilonwy assures him that he is somebody; he just needs to believe in himself. Taran is about to reply, while Fflewddur and Gurgi look on with happy eyes, seeing that the pair are attracted to each other. Then Taran turns to all of them, saying they've all been good friends thus far. Just then, a cry is heard. The Gwythaints circle above their heads; they have found them! Gurgi sneaks to safety, but when the others try to make a run for it, they're stopped in their tracks by the Horned King's henchmen. Gurgi looks sadly at his captured friends.Back at the Horned King's castle, Creeper orders another cart to be taken into the castle. He, then, taunts the three captured friends while preparing the Cauldron for his master. The Horned King, then, enters, acknowledges the three heroes for finding the Cauldron for him, then prepares them for "what fate has in store for you...". He picks up a dead warrior, puts it in the Cauldron, and begins his great spell. The cauldron brings to life all the dead warriors in the castle and transforms them into the "Cauldron Born". All the Horned King's henchmen run away in fear. The three heroes begin to despair as now all hope seems lost. Creeper takes his master to the tallest tower so they can get a better view of the undead leaving the castle. Meanwhile, Gurgi sneaks into the castle, evading the horrifying soldiers brought to life by the Cauldron. He reaches Taran and the others, and unties everyone. Remembering the witches' advice, Taran makes up his mind then and there that he'll sacrifice himself to destroy the black magic. Eilonwy begs him not to, but is unable to stop him. Gurgi jumps in front of him, however, and insists that he sacrifice himself instead. He walks toward the Cauldron and says his final, desolate words: "Taran has many friends...Gurgi has no friends..." Taran tries to stop him, but Gurgi jumps into the Cauldron and destroys the black magic. Outside, Creeper and the Horned King watch in shock as their undead army falls and dies. Blaming Creeper for the screw-up, the King chokes his slave and decides to throw him into the cauldron to start the spell working again. Taran tells Eilonwy and Fflewddur to leave the castle while he attempts to save Gurgi. As the King and Creeper enter the chamber, they see Taran is free. Creeper blames Taran for the incident, and the King drops him and turns his anger on the boy: "You have interfered for the last time. Now, pig-keeper, you shall die!". He attempts to throw Taran into the Cauldron, but suddenly, the wind issuing from the cauldron turns on him, and he cannot escape. He screams in anger as he is violently sucked in. Once he's gone, Creeper begins to mourn for his master, but then realizes he is now free and will never be throttled again, and starts laughing. The Cauldron sinks into the ground and the castle begins to crumble. Taran finds his friends waiting for him. They escape in a longboat as the castle explodes and falls into the water. Creeper, still laughing, flies away on a Gwythaint.Taran and his friends have just made it to shore when the Cauldron rises from the water. The witches reappear, again in the form of clouds, decide the heroes have no more use for the Cauldron, and prepare to take it back. But Fflewddur reminds them that they always keep a bargain by trade. Orddu doesn't want to give up the sword, but Orda and Orwen do. Orwen gives it to Taran. Taran no longer wants the sword, but will trade it instead for Gurgi's life. Orddu deems it impossible, but when Fflewddur starts goading them, they take away the Cauldron and the sword and leave a lifeless Gurgi in the cauldron's place. The heroes look tearfully at Gurgi, and Taran picks him up to hold him. But suddenly, Gurgi reaches for munchies and crunchies, and everyone is ecstatic to see him alive again. Furthermore, he pushes Taran and Princess Eilonwy's heads together when they are staring at each other, and they share a kiss. They all head home together. Back at the farm, Dallben, Doli, and Hen Wen are all watching the heroes through a vision. They all agree that Taran did very well on his first adventure.
    

Susan Sheridan

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