- “Taran has many friends. Gurgi has no friends.”
- ―Gurgi
Gurgi is a supporting character in Disney's 1985 feature film The Black Cauldron. He is portrayed as a gopher wood troll creature, whose speech distortions somewhat resemble those of Donald Duck.
Background
Personality
- “Ooh, great fruits! Great fruits! Munchings and crunchings! Nice apple! Gurgi's lucky day! La la la la la [...] Gurgi not know where apple is - uh-oh...”
- ―Gurgi's love of apples
Funny and clever to a fault, Gurgi is portrayed to be very cowardly throughout most of the film but surprises viewers by sacrificing himself into the Cauldron to stop its evil power. He, however, is revived by the Witches of Morva. He has a huge love for apples, which he refers to as "munchings and crunchings".
Physical appearance
Gurgi appears as a small, gopher-like creature with blue eyes and shaggy, light brown fur.
Appearances
The Black Cauldron
- “Gurgi has come to be your friend.”
- ―Gurgi
Gurgi first appears when Taran is off searching for Hen Wen. When Taran tries to flush out the pig with an apple, Gurgi leaps down from a tree and snatches the apple out of Taran's outstretched hand. Gurgi follows Taran for a while, hoping to steal the apple, though the boy doesn't want Gurgi around. The two finally split ways when Taran intends to enter the Horned King's castle. Gurgi insists neither of them should go, infuriating Taran further. Taran ultimately deems Gurgi to be a coward in addition to being a thief and sends him away. He also gives Gurgi the apple, claiming it was all he wanted.
When Taran escapes from the castle with Eilonwy and Fflam, Gurgi meets up with Taran again and befriends Eilonwy. They journey into the underground realm of the Fair Folk and to Morva, by which time he had eaten the apple, but when the heroes are taken captive by the Horned King's forces, Gurgi runs away again. Eventually, Gurgi musters up the courage to go and help his friends and sacrifices himself and jumps into the Cauldron, destroying its powers and the Horned King with it. When the Witches of Morva offer another exchange deal, Taran trades the Cauldron for Gurgi's life, not bothering to get the magic sword back because he now considers his friends more important than being a great warrior. When Gurgi does awaken, he happily departs with his friends.
Disney Parks
When the film was first released, a quick-service eatery at the Magic Kingdom was named Gurgi's Munchings and Crunchings though the name would be changed in 1993.
Trivia
- Gurgi bears several similarities to Dobby the House-Elf from "Harry Potter." Both of them emerge causing problems for the protagonist. Both are seen much later causing trouble again, to the extent of violence (Dobby bewitches the "Rogue Bludger", and Gurgi assaults Fflam). Both have their own defining moment of self-sacrifice (Dobby Apparates into Malfoy Manor, Gurgi returns to the Horned King's castle). Dobby and Gurgi are both killed off near the end of the film (though Gurgi comes back to life, and Dobby does not). The two of them have mixed grammar that ends up in them using their own names instead of "I." Both of their voices are odd and high-pitched. Both are short, about half the size of the protagonist.
Gallery
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