Review of The Hobbit (1977) by Blais E — 24 Apr 2011

I think Professor Tolkien would be greatly pleased with this faithful & superb animated rendition of his classic children's tale of mild-mannered Hobbit Bilbo Baggins and his wild-&-woolly adventures as envisioned by Rudolph & Frosty's creators, Rankin/Bass Studios.

While the animation is not up to par with Walt Disney's, the actual artwork is stunning (With beautifully-detailed character design-), as are the songs heard throughout, and the voice talent in partiular, featuring a cast of very accomplished actors (Orson Bean, John Huston, Richard Boone, Hans Conried, Cyril Ritchard-).

The sequences featuring the dangerously-insane Gollum (Here very memorably depicted as a large, sinister amphibian and performed by comically-ghoulish monologist and David Letterman fave Brother Theodore-), the vicious Spiders of Mirkwood, and the magestically-formidable Dragon Smaug are outstanding.

Heads and shoulders above R/B's later "Return of the King" adaptation.