Product Description

A wonderous animated version of J.R.R. Tolkein's classic about the magical world of Middle Earth and the adventures of lovable Bilbo Baggins. Featuring the voices of Orson Bean and John Huston. Year: 1977 Director: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr. Starring: Orson Bean, John Huston

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3572 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2001-09-11
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.com
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 Conreid is Thorin, and Brother Theodore is very effective as the weird Gollum. Terrific for kids and adults alike. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

DO NOT BUY THIS DVD!!!
I have grown up with this story of The Hobbit, its one of my favorites. I have always had this movie in my collection and know the lines by heart. I have bought this DVD and the DVD stinks! Warner Brothers ruined this story on DVD. How? The sound was re-mastered for the DVD and there are sound effects MISSING! They used an old copy of the soundtrack that was used on a four record set that issued in 1978. If you want the complete soundtrack I recomend you buy the VHS tape. (The older the copy the better) They have also added new sound effects and lines that are NOT in the the original soundtrack! There are also problems with their DVD's of The Lord of the Rings and The Return of the King. (See my reviews for those DVDs under there listings) If Waner Brothers really cares they will re-issue These 3 DVDs after correcting their problems. ~Rob~

Somewhat Simplified, but not bad.
I saw this movie for the first time as a pre-schooler, and loved it. Believe it or not, I actually saw this movie before I read the book. In retrospect, I realize that my mother introduced me to this movie to prepare me for the book, which she later read to me as a bedtime story. Anyway, I still like the movie, which now holds additional nostalgic value. In my opinion, this movie is a better adaptation than the other attempts to translate Tolkein's work into animation. Part of this is probably due to the fact that The Hobbit actually was a simpler book, and was made to please younger children, as well as older kids and adults. Even though the encounter with Beorn was left out, this movie is an excellent adaptation of the novel, covering all significant plot points, and making excellent use of Tolkein's songs and poetry in the soundtrack. I still think of the melodies in this film when I read the musical sections of the book. The vocal acting was done brilliantly, with Orson Bean making Bilbo simultaneously mild-mannered and courageous; John Huston giving Gandalf a vigourous personality and resonant voice to match; and Hans Conreid making Thorin suitably proud and surly. The animation, which some people call "dated" is perfectly adequate, is not so spectacular that it takes one's attention away from the story, and has a feel that I have never found outside of a Rankin-Bass film. In fact, it actually resembles a moving illustration. This film has survived the test of time, and remains an excellent way to get someone (child or adult) interested enough in Middle Earth to read the books, at which point they are firmly hooked.

Four stars for story, minus one for quality...
Any fantasy fan worth his or her salt has read Tolkien's masterpiece, starting with "The Hobbit." Rankin-Bass does a passable movie adaptation, but I'm also doing a review of the DVD as well.

Bilbo Baggins is a mild-mannered little hobbit living unobtrusively in Bag End, a conventional hobbit-hole in the comfortably boring Shire. His life is abruptly turned upside-down when the mysterious wizard Gandalf arrives, along with thirteen dwarves (who proceed to take over Bilbo's home). That evening, they reveal their reason for coming: They are seeking a "burglar" to help them retake back Lonely Mountain, a dwarf stronghold taken over by the dragon Smaug.

Whether he likes it or not, Bilbo soon ends up the burglar. The dangerous road ahead of him draws out reserves of courage and intelligence that few knew he had, and brings him to a fateful meeting that will later help shape the future of Middle-Earth.

It's a pretty good adaptation, if you don't mind the omission of such things as the Arkenstone and Beorn the bear-man. Most of the essentials are here: goblins (orcs), eagles, hobbits, dwarves, treasure, Gollum and his precious, elves and wood-elves, the men of Dale, the gray wizard Gandalf, and many, many more.

There are definite flaws, aside from the few omissions. For example, Rankin-Bass don't seem to like non-human-non-hobbit species: The only good elf we see is Elrond, and the other elves in Rivendell are reduced to singing voices. Similarly, we hear that Thorin's cousin Dain has arrived with a dwarf army to combat the wood-elves and men -- but we never see Dain, or any other dwarves except the thirteen.

In addition, the sound for this DVD is TERRIBLE. They have cleaned it up in places, but in other areas they have inserted gratuitous screams and mutters. They have also pulled out sounds: barrels rolling, arrows striking, Smaug roaring and breathing fire, the dwarves wailing from inside their barrels, the clash of gates - you get the idea. It's little details that makes it feel more real, but these are all removed from the DVD version. There is also an annoying crackling sound that pops up every now and then, obscuring some of the dialogue.

The animation is pretty odd-looking, but you grow used to it. It was also slightly strange that we see almost nothing of the battle or of anyone being wounded - we see strange facial expressions and schizophrenic spinning motions, but nothing else; we are also treated to the weird sight of the Elf-King, Bard, and Thorin all gushing over each other, ten seconds after they were trying to kill each other. On the flipside, the soundtrack is excellent, drawing sometimes from Tolkien's songs or dialogue.

Anyhow, you may wish to watch this movie in preparation for the start of Peter Jackson's stellar live-action trilogy. Obviously it isn't as high-quality, but it gives the necessary backstory into Bilbo and the Ring, and is a pleasant movie to watch.