10 Animated Movies That Disney Should Adapt Into Live-Action
7. The Black Cauldron
Like this summer's Pete's Dragon, this is ripe for adaptation because it is far from a perfect film. It is the film that Pixar's Brave should have been. And most intriguingly, it is itself adapted from a series of 5 novels - could this be Disney's answer to Lord of the Rings? On top of superheroes and Star Wars, the House of Mouse could conquer the realm of fantasy if they plays their cards right.
As a lesser-known film, it's best to briefly recount the plot: The mythical land of Pyrdain is under threat from The Horned King, who is trying to secure a magic cauldron that will give him full control over the world.
A ragtag gang set out to destroy the cauldron of Pig-keeper Taran, Princess Eilonwy, a bard called Fflewddur Fflam (yes, really - this film and the books are inspired by Welsh mythology), and Taran's faithful company Gurgi:
Erm... yeah...
The 1985 film was the first Disney animated film to receive a PG rating from the MPAA for how violent and disturbing it was considered to be. Perhaps it was a film ahead of its time, and would go down a lot better with modern audiences.
The film was photographed in 70mm film. It's another example of how The Black Cauldron was an experiment that backfired, but that doesn't mean there's not serious untapped potential in giving it a second look.
We haven't really seen a huge, mythological epic inspired by British folklore, and set in the dark ages, in a very long time - and imagine it in IMAX...