#Chronicles of Prydain

[disneysnowprincess]

THE BLACK CAULDRON WAS HEAVILY FEATURED IN ONCE UPON A STUDIO!!!

I swear, there is a disney exec out there that secretly loves this movie and wants to give us crumbs whenever possible. Either that or they're trying to us the IP enough that people don't riot for them to relinquish their rights.

But Gurgi was sung to by Pocahontas, Eilonwy was included in the same shot as Snow White, Mulan and Asha!

In the final photo we can see Taran holding Hen, with Eilonwy and Fflewdur, then with the Horned King in the back. Gurgi is on the plane's wing and I believe the character to the right of him is in fact Creature. Like... WHAT. Y'all this is insane. So, so happy they are using this amazing series for what it's worth.

#the black cauldron #princess eilonwy #eilonwy #horned king #the horned king #once upon a studio #disney short #disney #disney100 #taran #prydain #chronicles of prydain

[the-hearth-and-the-wild]

We don't need to have just one favorite. We keep adding favorites. Our favorite book is always the book that speaks most directly to us at a particular stage in our lives. And our lives change. We have other favorites that give us what we most need at that particular time. But we never lose the old favorites. They're always with us. We just sort of accumulate them.

Lloyd Alexander

#book quotes #books and libraries #lloyd alexander #books and reading #books and literature #books #favorite books #chronicles of prydain

[best-childhood-book]

#best childhood book #poll #preliminary round #amulet #the war that saved my life #ascendance #the girl who drank the moon #the spiderwick chronicles #dragon rider #wings #the immortals quartet #chronicles of prydain

[gravewilt]

✦ princess eilonwy ✧

posting this cuz i decided ill drop it 😭😭 school's abt to start resulting to a decline in my motivation to finish any of my wips so :'D

#the black cauldron #LITERALLY SO UNDERRATED??? #i barely know anyone who knows of her and her movie #shes gotta be one of my fave disney princesses #eilonwy #chronicles of prydain #princess eilonwy #disney #disney fanart #fanart #old disney #artists on tumblr #art #clip studio paint #dont you just miss disney's 2d animation #or old disney in general #so many classics back then aaaahhh #any thoughts on this movie tho??

[welshoot]

Twisted Wonderland and The Black Cauldron

This theory honestly seemed so far-fetched when I first came up with it before Twisted Wonderland got localized, but I felt like writing this so here we are.

There might just be a connection between Twisted Wonderland and  The Black Cauldron (film or novel). Before I get into the wild theorizing/analysis I would like to say that this post will contain major spoilers for the book and film of The Black Cauldron as well as for Twisted Wonderland, so proceed at your own risk. Also, this is going to be very long, so be forewarned

This entire theory comes completely from this image:

This is the mirror chamber from Twisted Wonderland, a room we seem to keep coming back to in terms of potential lore importance. I don’t really know why, but when I saw this image for the first time my mind immediately flew back to this:

I guess it’s something about the green stuff coming out the thing up top that reminds me of the titular black cauldron from one of Disney’s worst performing films, The Black Cauldron (1985). 

Now, The Black Cauldron (1985) is a bit of a dark spot on the history of Disney’s animated movies. All in all, it is generally forgotten and most everyone likes to pretend it doesn’t exist because of how poorly it performed when it came out compared to the amount of money Disney sank into it (at a $44 million it cost more than $40 million budget of The Little Mermaid [1989]). But, notably, The Black Cauldron (1985) also contains one of Disney’s most terrifying villains. The Horned King. 

Now, if you’ve never seen the movie or read the book, the Horned King intended to use the titular black cauldron to unleash an undead, immortal army and intends to become “A god between mortal men” (quote from the disney wiki page for the man himself). Interestingly, considering he’s wanting to amass an undead army, the Horned King is quite skeletal himself. Outside of that, there is very little known about this character. He is very mysterious, very evil, and is implied to have magical powers though he hardly ever uses them. An additional point of interest for the sake of this theory is the fact that the castle of the Horned King is in horrible shape. Sort of ramshackle if you will.

The film version of this villain is very different from the book version. The book version is not the primary antagonist, rather he is the antagonist's champion warrior until death. With that said though, he is still quite ominous. No one knows his name and his title comes from the horned mask he wears. In the book he doesn’t seem quite human and is rather bestial. Another potentially interesting point is that, in the film, his goons are identical to Maleficent's and he is connected to dragons.

Now, for this theory, the Horned King may or may not come into play, but the black cauldron itself is important. In both the book and the movie, the only way to destroy the black cauldron (and it is evil and needs to be destroyed so that the undead/immortal army can’t be made) is for a willing sacrifice to go into it and die. While in the movie, the sacrifice is saved this is not the case in the book.

Now, the whole undead immortal army thing makes me wonder about the overblot monsters. We know from Ignihyde that the blot monsters can exist after the death of their host which makes them a sort of undead immortal monster. They also seem to be wholly obsessed with magic, and the magic mirror of NRC is suggested to be incredibly unique and very magical. So, if the green thingie under the mirror is the cauldron, it might be possible that the overblots are happening to form an undead/immortal army that will obey whoever holds that mirror simply because they themselves want the magical power of the mirror. In such a case, the only way to stop such an army would be to destroy the cauldron (i.e. give it a willing sacrifice). The only question is, who?

In the Disney film, the willing sacrifice (who was brought back to life because it is a kid’s move, albeit a sort of creepy one) was Gurgi. He sacrificed himself so that the protagonist (Taran) wouldn’t sacrifice himself to save his friends. Gurgi was, simply put, an ever hungry, greedy about food, cowardly, and cheerful but annoying sidekick to the lead. It’s never really explained what, exactly, Gurgi is but h had blue eyes and was small and fluffy. Here’s a picture:

Now, we have to consider Grim here. Small animal companion, constantly hungry and greedy for food, fairly cheerful but with a penchant for being annoying, has blue eyes, and we don’t really know what he is. If the theory that each character in Twisted Wonderland has two inspirations (one heroic and one villainous) is true, then Gurgi may very well be part of Grim’s inspiration. And if that’s the case he would be a likely candidate for the willing sacrifice. If that is the case, the situation would probably have something to do with stopping the Prefect from sacrificing themselves (or something).  

In the book version of things the sacrifice is the jerkish, second prince Ellidyr. He is not revived and he sacrifices himself as a way of making atonement. Character-wise, he is the edgy character for the book, though notably he is also a more complicated character for the series. He is also incredibly strong for unexplained reasons, has a deeply hidden sense of honor, and if he sets himself a goal he will see it through. And, as a final character note, he is the foil to the protagonist of the tale.

Now, Ellidyr’s character can match up with several different individuals in Twisted  Wonderland, making it hard to say who any other potential willing sacrifice candidates might be. It could be Leona, a rather jerkish second prince, but he would need a specific reason. It could also be a tie-in to whoever’s hand the player took at the start of the game. However, there is one final option who is present simply due to the virtue of their placement in the story. The Prefect.

While everyone else has shades of villainy, the Prefect is implied to be the most upstanding person at NRC, though they may manipulate others if they feel forced (Octavinelle Chapter and forcing Leona’s hand into helping). As such, their position as outsider in a world with no identifiable way home and resident nice person does unfortunately put them squarely on the chopping block as a sacrifice. Especially since it is implied that they are becoming friends with the various characters at NRC.

There is also the idea of: does someone even want to create any army of overblot monsters? And, to be honest, I really don't even want to consider the implications of such a thing or go into to trying to figuring the who and why of that question, plus this post is already pretty long.

In the end, this is just a wild theory that I thought was rather intriguing since I personally think it would be very amusing if Twisted Wonderland made use of Disney’s black sheep movie in such a pivotal way for the plot. With that said, I highly doubt such a thing will come to pass, though I would find it incredibly amusing.

#Twisted wonderland #The black cauldron #Twst #Twisted wonderland theory #analysis #The black cauldron (1985) #Disney movie #Disney #theory #mywritings #The Black Cauldron book #Chronicles of Prydain #disney tw #The Horned King #Gurgi #Prefect

[highqueenofprydain]

A color version for the phytoplankton nerds.

#prydain #eilonwy #chronicles of prydain #fanfiction #fanart #magic

[princess-ibri]

What would be your design for Arawn Death-Lord, and is there an Achren in your version of the Prydain mythos in the Disneyverse?

Ah, well I’d probably go off these concept art drawings for Aran from the Disney Wiki

And I do have an Achren design here!

#asks #DisneyVerse #Disney #the black cauldron #arawn death lord #achren #chronicles of prydain #Lloyd Alexander #Disney concept art

[fflewddur-feanorion]

I haven't read the Chronicles of Prydain in years, but I could never forget this guy! Fflewddur Fflam, everybody!

#prydain #chronicles of prydain #fflewddur fflam #I got an ask about a Tolkien/Prydain crossover like 5 months ago and accidentally deleted it #but it was a great idea and I think about it a lot #the man. the myth. the legend. the bard

[exordium-graphx]

Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander (a lovely request from @minutia-r ) (there is a full quote wallpaper and a partial quote)

#bookaholic #book blog #bookish #booklover #kindle books #books #books & libraries #booksarelife #booksbooksbooks #graphic art #lloyd alexander #chronicles of prydain #taran wanderer

[crudely-drawn-ben]

Continuing my "Book of Three as character design inspiration" exercise, I'm going to try drawing each character's introduction.

#chronicles of prydain #Prydain #The Book of Three #Coll ap Colfrewr #Taran #Hen wen #Assistant pig keeper

[verecunda]

All this old Welsh stuff made me decide that I was long overdue a reread of the Prydain books. Already charged through most of The Book of Three today, and it was the perfect choice to cosy up with on this most freezing cold of days. Joy. 🥰

#books what I'm reading #Chronicles of Prydain #Lloyd Alexander

[disneysnowprincess]

Some beautiful licensed art by Dave Perillo

#disney #the black cauldron #eilonwy #taran #princess eilonwy #horned king #prydain #chronicles of prydain #the horned king #Disney art

[lady-on-the-grey]

Design explorations for Princess Eilonwy from the Prydain Chronicles. I really love Eilonwy, she was definitely my favorite from the books. She’s such a little shit. I was initially gonna try to go for a more distinctly Welsh look for her clothing, but I wasn’t finding many good reference images, so I sort of just went for a faux medieval European look. I’m normally more into using lots of references for historical clothing design, but it’s fantasy Wales, not real Wales. So who really cares. My Achren design was far from historical as it is

#eilonwy #princess eilonwy #chronicles of prydain #prydain #the black cauldron #lloyd alexander #character design #art #sketch #my art #fanart

[serpenttailedangel]

I still think the absolute funniest thing that could happen to Disney right now is if they decided to do a live action Black Cauldron and it flopped so hard that they stopped doing live action.

Not that I want that to happen. I’m fine with all the Disney failures in the world after all the ways they’ve tried to get out of paying creators, but Chronicles of Prydain deserves a good adaptation. I almost wonder if Disney is still sitting on the rights just to ensure that no one else gets it right and, in so doing, shows off how incompetent Disney was with their last attempt.

#disney #the black cauldron #chronicles of prydain

[wildwoodsgames]

Playtest Sign-ups | Low Cantrefs

Playtest sign-ups have re-opened!

I’m re-opening the Tales from the Low Cantrefs mailing list in the lead-up to a new packet of playtest materials going out in January.

Low Cantrefs is inspired by classic works of young adult fantasy like Garth Nix’s Sabriel, A. A. Lloyd’s The Black Cauldron, and Emily Rodda’s Rowan of Rin.

It’s a Powered by the Apocalypse game that tells stories about young people dealing with the hope and struggle and messiness of adolescence while they hold on to their small corner of the world in the face of gathering darkness.

In addition to a new basic move, quality of life improvements, and new tools to support the Chronicler, the new playtest packet adds two new playbooks (the Hearth and the Staff) to bring the count up to 8:

The Bell: Caring, truthful, and sincere, with a real way with words. Will you work to be kind, or grow up clumsy with people's hearts?

The Blade: Bold, brash, and loyal, guardian to those you love. Will you strive to yield and gentle, or grow up careless of others?

The Book: Insightful, inquisitive, and studious, blessed by the Great Trees._ Will you learn to embrace doubt, or cling to the shelter of faith and books?_

The Cloak: Wary, cunning, and crafty, like a shadow in wild lands. Will you dare to let others close, or grow up cowering and alone like prey?

The Door: Staunch, steady, and resolute, guardian of thresholds. Will you deign to soften and unbend, or grow up rigid and brittle as iron?

The Hearth: Solid, certain, and dependable, carrying the legacy and good name of your family. Will you learn humility, or grow up to lord it over your neighbours?

The Loom: Prudent, practical, and discerning, with the gift of foresight. Will you accept you can't control it all, or grow up cold and calculating?

The Staff: Gentle, caring, and dreamy, with healing in their hands. Will you find your voice and footing, or grow up meek and ruled by others?

Sign up to receive the next packet of playtest materials if you like the sound of indie rpgs about petty village politics, childhood superstition, adults who just don’t understand, strange untame magics, wild and ruined landscapes, monsters out of old folktales, and the terrible responsibility of growing up.

#indie rpgs #indie ttrpgs #ttrpgs #tales from the low cantrefs #low cantrefs #old kingdom #chronicles of prydain #the black cauldron #rowan of rin #powered by the apocalypse

[readsalot1]

Revisiting the Prydain fancomic (by Saeriellyn), and I now have major brainrot. I know I’m not currently at a level to do character art, so here’s Dyrnwyn instead! The book 1 translation is on the blade and the real inscription is behind (you gave it a good shot, Eilonwy, but your translation could’ve been better).

#chronicles of prydain #dyrnwyn #eilonwy