Legendary Pictures: The Parallels Between Disney’s The Black Cauldron and The Legend of Zelda

I like to consider myself a Disney enthusiast, and I’m happy to say that I’ve seen every animated classic that Disney has under its belt. Disney has many major franchises under its umbrella of influence, but the thing that puts Disney on top was its animation. Everyone knows the classics: Snow White, Cinderella, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, and the list goes on. Many of these classics we’ve watched since childhood, but there are a few of Disney’s animated features that seem to have been forgotten by the masses, with one such movie being 1985’s The Black Cauldron.

The Black Cauldron was very dark in comparison to other Disney movies up to that point; films that the studio was known for were very bright, colorful, and more musical. Significant in the halls of Disney history, The Black Cauldron was the studio’s first movie to receive a PG rating, the first to use computer animation, and the most expensive animated feature of its time. Despite all of that, the movie was considered a box office flop and was not released on home video until the late 90’s. To hammer the point home, the film has since garnered the nickname of “the film that almost killed Disney.”

When the Disney+ streaming service first released, my husband and I started watching all of the classic Disney movies in order of release. And once we reached The Black Cauldron, I was really excited. I had only ever seen it a handful of times, and I had once heard rumors that The Legend of Zelda was in some way inspired by The Black Cauldron. (The movie was released in 1985, and the first Zelda game was released in 1986; it would only make sense, right?) Well, while watching the movie, I certainly felt that its plot and story design were right in line with the stories of The Legend of Zelda.

The Black Cauldron is loosely based on the The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, which are in turn loosely based on Welsh mythology. The movie is set in the mythical land of Prydain during the Early Middle Ages, with the plot centered around the evil Horned King who works on securing an ancient and magical cauldron in order to take over the world. The Horned King is opposed by a young pig keeper named Taran, who is later joined by the lovely and fiery Princess Eilonwy, the bard Fflewddur Fflam, and a wild creature named Gurgi. Taran is also owner of a pig named Hen Wen; this pig is unlike any others, as it has oracular powers.

Among the many parallels between Zelda and The Black Cauldron, the most obvious to me was between the characters, the protagonists and the antagonist. The sinister Horned King resembles Ganon / Ganondorf, the young hero Taran resembles Link, and the fiery princess Eilonwy resembles Zelda.

Let’s begin with the antagonist, who first triggers the film’s conflict. The Horned King, looking most like Beast Ganon from Ocarina of Time, seeks The Black Cauldron much like how Ganon seeks to posses the Triforce. Likewise, because the pig Hen Wen acts as an oracle that knows where the black cauldron is located, The Horned King and his evil forces target the pig as well. This is quite similar to how Ganon targets Princess Zelda, possessor the Trifoce of Wisdom and a Sage of Hyrule. And beyond just his goals and motivations, The Horned King commands an army of monsters much like Zelda‘s Dark King of Evil.

And then there’s the hero, the protagonist. Taran is a pig keeper; in terms of his role in the world, he is simply a nobody. This mirrors Link’s backstory in many Zelda games. In most games, Link is not a knight or a person of importance; he is simply a farm boy or a child of the forest. However, when evil threatens their homes and loved ones, both Taran and Link rise up to meet it. Upon learning of Hen Wen’s mystical abilities at the beginning of The Black Cauldron, Taran fears that she will be targeted by the Horned King and he sets out on a quest to take the pig to safety. But in a strange twist of fate, the hero is captured and comes face to face with the antagonist, not unlike Link’s encounter with Ganondorf early in Ocarina of Time.

When Taran finds himself imprisoned, he meets Princess Eilonwy, who has been taken captive much like many instances of Princess Zelda have. But like with the partnership between Link and Zelda, the hero and princess of The Black Cauldron are charged with saving the world from utter destruction and work together to do so. While Eilowny does not have magical ability like Princess Zelda, who is traditionally full of magical power, both characters are defined by bravery and both stand alongside the hero in carrying out their quest.

The Black Cauldron‘s magical adventure also shares key story moments with the Legend of Zelda series. In order to escape captivity, Taran and Eilonwy find themselves traversing dangerous catacombs — or dungeons — in search of Hen Wen and a way to freedom. In the depths, Taran finds the tomb of an old king and a sword imbued with magic, which helps him fight against the Horned King’s minions. This magical sword parallels the Sword that Seals the Darkness, The Master Sword. And like Link, Taran’s acquisition of the sword gives him the power to assume the role of the hero.

After escaping the Horned King’s castle, our heroes meet the bard Fflewddur Fflam and the beast Gurgi. The introduction of two more additional characters highlights one major difference between The Black Cauldron and The Legend of Zelda. The Zelda series has featured many minor characters, but its central conflicts rarely involve anyone other than Link, Zelda, and Ganon, especially in games that feature all three of those characters. The Black Cauldron instead focuses on more than just Taran, Eilonw1y, and The Horned King, sharing the spotlight with comic relief characters like Fflewddur Fflam and Gurgi. The movie definitely needed a lighter air since it was so dark anyhow.

Upon learning the location of the black cauldron, Taran, ever the hero, decides that it must be destroyed, and the protagonists carry on. We learn that the cauldron is in the possession of three witches, which in many ways parallel the twin witches from Ocarina of Time, Twinrova. These witches do not seem to harbor any ill will towards the heroes and bargain with Taran, offering to trade his magical sword for the cauldron. Taran, knowing that it will likely cost him his chance at being a true hero, is hesitant but ultimately accepts the sacrifice. It is also revealed that the black cauldron is indestructible and can only be destroyed if one climbs inside of their own free will, which would kill them.

Just as things start to take a positive turn, the Horned King arrives and the final confrontation begins to play out. The Horned King summons an army of undead, the Cauldron Born, and begins to flood the world with the demons. Taran chooses to jump into the cauldron himself and stop the destruction, but he his stopped by Gurgi, who sacrifices himself for his friend. Anyone that has played The Wind Waker or Breath of the Wild knows that selfless acts and sacrifice are aspects of The Legend of Zelda as well.

The undead army falls, and The Horned King faces off with Taran in a manner very similar to confrontations between Link and Ganon. Before the two can go head to head however, the black cauldrons’s magic sucks up the Horned King in a fiery vortex, destroying him and the surrounding castle before fully extinguishing its power. The witches return for the cauldron, and Taran and his friends mourn the loss of Gurgi. Taran, willing to make the sacrifice of his magical sword forever, asks the witches to ressurect Gurgi. The witches honor the request, and Gurgi is revived and pushes Taran and Eilowny into a kiss. The movie ends in very “happily ever after,” Disney-esque fashion.

Now that we have the parallels between the characters and plot hashed out, what shall we say about the movie allegedly being inspired The Legend of Zelda? Well, while there are no hard facts that the movie inspired the game, there is an eerie resemblance between the two and the time frame does add up. I imagine that the original The Legend of Zelda began development long before the movie ever hit theaters, but the fact that there are so many shared elements means such rumors may never be put to rest.

Despite The Black Cauldron being one of Disney’s largest flops, it does still have its merits. It’s not your typical Disney movie; it’s a dark animated film with a story that holds up. Any Zelda fan should give this classic a watch and see the shared elements between it and the games for themselves.

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Heather Beard is associate editor for Zelda Dungeon. She’s a (crazy) cat lady with a passion for Zelda lore, and really cheesy pizza. You can follow her adventures on Instagram and Twitter!