Amazon.com: The Hobbit The J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy classic set in Middle-earth was adapted into this excellent 1978 animated feature first broadcast on television. Codirectors Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr., working from a script by Romeo Muller, are faithful to Tolkien's story and for that alone they get big points. The vocal cast can't be improved upon: Orson Bean is perfect as Bilbo Baggins, the timorous hobbit who grows brave on his adventure with the wizard Gandalf (John Huston). Otto Preminger is the voice of Elvenking, Richard Boone is Smaug, Hans Conried is Thorin, and Brother Theodore is very effective as the weird Gollum. Terrific for kids and adults alike. --Tom Keogh
The Lord of the Rings Although it was ultimately overshadowed by Peter Jackson's live-action Lord of the Rings trilogy, Ralph Bakshi's animated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy classic is not without charms of its own. A target of derision from intolerant fans, this ambitious 1978 production is nevertheless a respectably loyal attempt to animate the first half of Tolkien's trilogy, beginning with the hobbit Frodo's inheritance of the One Ring of power from Bilbo Baggins, and ending with the wizard Gandalf's triumph over the evil army of Orcs. While the dialogue is literate and superbly voiced by a prestigious cast (including John Hurt as Aragorn), Leonard Roseman's accomplished score effectively matches the ominous atmosphere that Bakshi's animation creates and sustains. Bakshi's lamentable decision to combine traditional cel animation with "rotoscoped" (i.e., meticulously traced) live-action footage is jarringly distracting and aesthetically disastrous, but when judged by its narrative content, this Lord of the Rings deserves more credit than it typically receives. --Jeff Shannon
The Return of the King The creative team behind 1978's impressive animation feature based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit returns with this 1980 entry drawn from Tolkien's famous Lord of the Rings trilogy. It's good work all around, and not at all the kind of feature-length cartoon that reduces good books to treacle. Orson Bean returns as the voice of Bilbo Baggins as well as that of the trilogy's hero, Frodo. John Huston is commanding again as the voice of the wizard Gandalf, and also in the vocal cast are William Conrad, Paul Frees, and Roddy McDowall. --Tom Keogh
Description: Animated versions of three Tolkien classics: The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Return of the King.
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 0085392630035 Format: Animated, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC Label: Warner Home Video Languages:EnglishOriginal Language Manufacturer: Warner Home Video Number Of Items: 3 Publisher: Warner Home Video Release Date: November 06, 2001 Running Time: 308 minutes Studio: Warner Home Video Theatrical Release Date: November 27, 1977
Customer Reviews
O good companion for the motio picture!!!
This set contains 3 animated stories from Middle-Earth. The Hobbit, maa be considered as an introduction for the main story, The Lord of the Rings. This animated episode is very accurate, and depicts the book in a very interesting way. The second, The Lord of the Rings, is another animated version with good finishing and accurate plot. The weak point is that it finishes with the assault on Helm's Deep. The second part was never published. The third DVD, The Return of the King, tells the story in ... Read More