The Hobbit (1977)
C – 90m / 77m
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 – Fullscreen – Animated
Novel By: J.R.R. Tolkien
Pro. – Co – Dir.: Jules Bass
Starring: Orson Bean, Richard Boone, Hans Conried, John Huston, Otto Preminger, Brother Theodore and Paul Frees.
A hobbit gets talked into taking a journey with dwarfs to recover their treasure from a dragon. Thankless adaption of Tolkien’s classic novel(s) botches the time line a bit. The characters are for the most part goofy looking. Okay for young viewers to get them started on the Tolkien works but very little else to recommend it.
Out Of Print on VHS but Available on Blu–ray, DVD & Digital Copy
The Lord Of The Rings (1978)
C – 132m
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 – Widescreen – Animated
A.K.A.: J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings
Starring: John Hurt and Simon Chandler.
The Fellowship Of The Ring embarks on their journey to destroy the ring and end the rule of Sauron. A wonderfully animated film suffers greatly from using a heavy portion of The Hobbit and very little of The Fellowship Of The Ring and The Two Towers. The uselessly jumbled timeline of events may annoy purists, such as this reviewer, but the visuals are enough to hold one for the duration of the film.
Two little trivia notes: Tim Burton did his first film work on this film, he was an uncredited “in between” artist. And: Peter Jackson first discovered Tolkien’s works through this film. Some speculate that he had some shots in his versions of the stories that were inspired by this film.
Rated: [PG]
Out Of Print on VHS but Available on Blu–ray, DVD & Digital Copy
The Return Of The King (1980)
C – 98m
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 – Fullscreen - Animated
Novels By: J.R.R. Tolkien
Pro. – Co–Dir.: Jules Bass
Starring: Orson Bean, John Huston, Theodore Bikel, William Conrad, Roddy McDowall, Brother Theodore, Paul Frees and Casey Kasem.
The final push to Mount Doom to destroy the ring and the battle along the way. The masterful drawings of the first two films are toned down to goofy looking characters. The fact that this, like the other animated adaptions, shuffles events in the books for no apparent reason just further frustrates this reviewer. Still if you want to start young kids on the series early, this is the conclusion of the way to do so.
Out Of Print on VHS but Available on DVD & Digital Copy