J.R.R. Tolkien Animated Films Set (The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings/The Return of the King)
by Arthur Rankin Jr., Jules Bass

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Movie Reviews of J.R.R. Tolkien Animated Films Set (The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings/The Return of the King)

Movie Review: Classic trilogy
Summary: 3 Stars

Summary of J.R.R. Tolkien Animated Films Set (The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings/The Return of the King)

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

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