The Hobbit (1977 film)
The Hobbit | |
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Warner Home Video | |
Genre | Fantasy |
Based on | The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien |
Written by | Romeo Muller |
Directed by |
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Starring | |
Theme music composer | Glenn Yarbrough |
Composer | Maury Laws |
Country of origin |
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Original language | English |
Production | |
Producers | |
Running time | 78 minutes[a] |
Production companies | |
Budget | $3,000,000 |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | November 27, 1977 |
Related | |
The Return of the King |
The Hobbit is a 1977 American
The New York Times found the film "curiously eclectic", but felt that whatever its failings, it warranted attention.[2] The Tolkien scholar Douglas A. Anderson called the adaptation "execrable";[3] the author Baird Searles called it an "abomination" and an attempt that had "failed miserably", regretting the quality of the animation and of the soundtrack, and the omission of key plot points.[4]
Plot
A
Thorin explains Bilbo is to be a lucky number fourteen for them, and tells how his dwarves were driven out of the Lonely Mountain by the dragon Smaug, who stole their treasure. Gandalf accepts the mission before the Hobbit can speak.
The company discovers a camp of three
Travelling through the
The goblins, riding
The people of Laketown nurse the company back to health. The fourteen reach the Lonely Mountain, and follow the map's instructions to enter. Bilbo goes in first, and meets Smaug, using the ring to hide. He and Smaug converse; the dragon assumes Bilbo must be a Laketowner. Bilbo discovers a patch of skin on Smaug not covered by protective scales. When Smaug attacks him for stealing, he escapes, mocking the dragon. In a rage, Smaug flies off to take revenge on Laketown. Bilbo sends a thrush to tell Bard about the bare patch, and Bard shoots Smaug with his family's black arrow. Smaug destroys Laketown in his death throes.
The Dwarves reclaim their treasure, only to find that the Lakemen and the Elves have arrived, wanting recompense for Smaug's many damages over the years. Thorin refuses to share, and declares war. Bilbo rebukes him, as they are outnumbered; Thorin is angered. Thorin's cousin, Dain, brings more dwarves. Gandalf arrives, warning that the Goblins are coming. Men, elves, and dwarves unite, and Bilbo uses his ring to hide as
Bilbo finds a wounded
Voice cast
The voice actors for the characters were:[5]
- Orson Bean – Bilbo Baggins
- Richard Boone – Smaug
- Hans Conried – Thorin Oakenshield
- John Huston – Gandalf / Narrator
- Otto Preminger – The Elvenking
- Cyril Ritchard – Elrond
- Brother Theodore – Gollum
- Bombur, Troll #1
- Bofur, Troll #2
- Lord of the Eagles, Troll #3
- Dori, Bard, Great Goblin
- Glenn Yarbrough – The Balladeer
- Thurl Ravenscroft – Goblin (singing voice), Background voice
Production
The film was produced and directed by
The story's protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is voiced by Orson Bean, backed up by Hollywood director and actor John Huston as the voice of Gandalf.[8] In supporting roles, the comedian and performance artist Brother Theodore voiced Gollum, and Thurl Ravenscroft performed the baritone singing voices of the goblins. The gravelly voice of the dragon Smaug was provided by Richard Boone, with Hans Conried as Thorin Oakenshield. The film was the final Rankin/Bass project to star the Australian actor Cyril Ritchard, here playing the voice of Elrond.[citation needed]
The Hobbit was animated by
While Topcraft produced the animation overseas, the concept artwork was completed at the Rankin/Bass studio under Rankin's direction.[6] Rhode Island artist Lester Abrams did the initial designs for most of the characters; Rankin had seen Abrams' illustrations to an excerpt from The Hobbit in Children's Digest.[9] Principal artists included coordinating animator Toru Hara; supervising animator/character designer Tsuguyuki Kubo; character and effects animators Hidetoshi Kaneko and Kazuko Ito; and background designer Minoru Nishida. The same studio and crew members worked on The Return of the King.[citation needed]
Critical reception
In 1978,
A few days before its first airing, John J. O'Connor wrote in
Criticism primarily focused on adaptation issues, including the unfamiliar style of artwork used by the Japanese-American co-production team. Some Tolkien fans questioned the appropriateness of repackaging the material as a family film for a very young audience. The scholar Douglas A. Anderson called the adaptation "execrable" in the introduction to his book The Annotated Hobbit, although he did not elaborate;[3] and a few critics said it was confusing for those not already familiar with the plot.[12] The science fiction author Baird Searles criticized the adaptation, calling it an "abomination" and an attempt that had "failed miserably". He singled out the quality of animation, the omission of key plot points such as Beorn and the Arkenstone, and the soundtrack.[4]
IGN gave the film 7 out of 10, recommending it to fans of the novel.[13] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 71% of 17 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.70/10.[14]
Release
Before The Hobbit aired on NBC, Rankin/Bass and its partner animation houses began preparing a sequel.[6] Meanwhile, United Artists released J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in 1978, an animated adaptation directed by Ralph Bakshi, originally intended as the first part in a two-part film. United Artists's sequel would soon be cancelled after a disagreement with Bakshi.[citation needed] The Hobbit first aired as an animated television special in 1977.[2]
Disney released The Hobbit on
The Hobbit was released by
The film was released on DVD by Warner Bros. as part of a DVD trilogy boxed set, which includes Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings and the Rankin/Bass production of The Return of the King. A remastered deluxe edition DVD was released in 2014.[citation needed]
See also
- The Hobbit film series (live action)
- The Last Unicorn (film)
- List of animated feature films
- The Hobbit (1967 film) a short film by Gene Deitch
- The Hobbit (1985 film) a USSR film
Notes
References
- ^ "Rankin/Bass 'The Hobbit' Follow Up". The One Ring.net (archive). Archived from the original on April 11, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
- ^ a b c O'Connor, John J. (25 November 1977). "TV Weekend: "The Hobbit"". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-395-47690-1.
- ^ The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. No. April 1978.
- Buena Vista Records. 1977. 103.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Culhan, John. Will the Video Version of Tolkien Be Hobbit Forming? Archived 2016-01-10 at the Wayback Machine The New York Times, Nov 27, 1977.
- ^ Arthur Rankin Jr., Interview at the Museum of Television & Radio (video). YouTube. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ Tracy, Lisa (November 27, 1977). "Orson Bean finds adventure in a 'Hobbit' hole". The Herald-News.
- ^ Potter, Russell (2015). "A Tolkien Effort: The Story of the 1977 Hobbit Cartoon". Hogan's Alley. Vol. 20.
- ^ Croft, Janet Brennan (2015). "Barrel-rides and She-elves: Audience and "Anticipation" in Peter Jackson's Hobbit Trilogy". Rutgers University Libraries.
- ^ "1978 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. 26 July 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-05-07. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
- ^ Kask, T.J. (December 1977). "NBC's The Hobbit". Dragon Magazine.
- ^ Conrad, Jeremy (13 September 2001). "Hobbit". Archived from the original on 17 May 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^ "The Hobbit". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
- ^ "Rankin/Bass-historian".
- ^ a b "The Hobbit" (review). Hoboes. Archived from the original on 2010-12-26. Retrieved 2010-12-05.
External links
- The Hobbit at IMDb