Rating: 
Summary: My god! They killed Bilbo!
Review: I loved The Hobbit as a book, so I thought; Mabye the movie is, if not equally, then at least great. But I was dead wrong. Everything in this movie is wrong wrong wrong... From the opening with the visit of the dwarves, 'till gollum, 'till the feud between Bilbo and Thorin... They didn't even get the Goblins right... and I should think drawing a goblin/orc would be a task easy enough for people that haven't even read the book... And the way they just CUT OUT large parts of the book (like the visit at Beorn's place) is just not right. But I gave this movie 3 stars, because like I said earlier; I love the story, and I'll make sure my future kid's love it too. (But NO WAY I'm gona show'em this movie)
Rating: 
Summary: DVD version has VERY bad sound.
Review: I LOVE The Hobbit movie. I have it on VHS, and my daughter and i watch it quite often. As soon as i saw it on DVD, i purchased it, quite anxious for add-ons, or if nothing else, at least the higher quality one expects on DVD.
I was VERY disappointed. There is no additional footage. If that was the only problem, it would still be worth it. However, the sound is also changed. It is like they took off some of the sound tracks or something. It's hard to believe what a difference that makes, but it's pretty noticeable if you've seen the movie a few times on VHS. An example is when Smaug (the dragon) flies over the town and the archers hit it with many arrows. On the VHS version, you hear all the arrows hitting and deflecting off of him. On the DVD version, you hear NOTHING! About half of his "roars" are missing as well. ;< The whole movie is full of "missing" sounds. Compare by watching the VHS version, and you'll like the VHS version way better.
The Hobbit is a WONDERFUL movie and i highly recommend it. However, stick to VHS for the time being, until they get these glitches fixed on the DVD version.
Rating:
Summary: Not the book, but an OK condensation
Review: Fanatical Tolkien fans will surely be disappointed by The Hobbit, but it's not bad for what it is: a child-oriented musical adaptation. The movie condenses the books plot down to the bare bones, and yes, I did spend a lot of my viewing time thinking "But what about....". A lot is left out, but what is left in works well, and the story moves along briskly. The voice work is OK; nothing special, and the animation is decent. The DVD itself is pretty bare-bones- the movie, a few (brief) text features, chapter headings, and that's it. It's not a bad way to pass a few hours, especially for a nostalgic fan (like myself....) who hasn't seen it since the original CBS airing in 1977. (I liked it better when I was six...)
I would definitely recommend it for younger viewers, and it's a great way for parents to get their kids interested in reading; an interested child might want to move on to the books.
Rating:
Summary: Animation stinks
Review: The Hobbit is an OK adaptation of the book, but by today's standards (and even by 1970's standards), the animation is completely lame. I thought it was kind of weird how the film went completely out of its way not to show any kind of violence. For instance, when the spiders of Mirkwood forest get stabbed the screen spins. Or when the Battle of Five Armies is being shown, the image is shown from 10,000 feet up so all you see are a bunch of black dots. I realize that this was probably meant for kids (it was done by Rankin and Bass who brought us all those cheesy Christmas shows in the 60s and 70s), but...come on. Also, did the music drive anyone else insane? I realize the Tolkien books themselves have songs in them, but at least you can blow over them if you don't like 'em. In the movie, the songs are being played over the action (such as when Wargs and the Orcs are attacking the travelers before they get into Mirkwood). Die-hard Tolkien fans will be upset that a few things were left out as well. The shape-shifter, which I think was called Beorn (its been a while since I read the book), was completely left out. The seen at the end where Bilbo gives the jewel to Bard so that he can use it to bargin with the king dwarf (whose name is also is escaping me) is also missing.
Rating:
Summary: Good.....but could've definitely been better
Review: I used to love this movie........until I read the book. I know that that's always the case, and some people might call me picky, but Rankin/Bass didn't make a classic. Now don't get me wrong, the movie is still really good; the animation and voice casting are definitely 5 and a half stars. But it cut out SO much, including Beorn (which is one of my favorite parts). My dad hates this movie, but I don't. I've been meaning to see "The Lord of the Rings", which I've heard is better. Here's a tip: you want REAL fantasy entertainment, read the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Astounding....
Review: The excellent book by JRR Tolkien became a unit for 7th grade language arts at my school. After listening to a dramatization, we were showed the movie. To my surprise, it wasn't all that corny. The Hobbit was created at an expense high enough to easily gain the title of Most Expensive Television Animated Feature. It was originally shown on NBC as a 90-minute special in around 1977 and was made by the same people who brought us the stop-motion Christmas specials, Rankin/Bass. It isn't on the level of Disney animation, but a stellar job. I don't believe that the cartoon strayed away from the book at all, and its use of song helps advance the plot greatly, a trait most missed by Disney. The repetition of the Irish-styled folk song, however, annoyed me a bit. The voice acting is next to perfect, except that the dialogue, at times, was a bit too intelligible. It was also Americanized a lot. Orson Bean was the perfect choice for the title character Bilbo Baggins, since he could do an excellent "worried" voice that would be a necessity for the hobbit. John Huston does a good job with Gandalf, but the part should have been given to a British voice actor, preferably English or Scottish. Overall, this is great stuff and must be bought.
Rating: 
Summary: The sound is horrible
Review: This is a decent adaptation of my favorite book ever, however the sound got horribly edited for some reason. The best example is when the dragon Smaug is flying around, screaming, breathing fire, wreaking havoc...and all you hear is utter silence. Many times the mere background music overpowers the dialogue and some lines were cut making some scenes not make any sense (the escape in the barrels for example). The special features aren't worth mentioning, the characters on the front cover don't resemble how the appear in the film, the summary pretty much says The Hobbit is the first part in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (which is blatantly incorrect), and the case is so cheap it might as well have been an envelope. I'm returning my copy and I'd suggest that if you want to see this movie then dig in the closet and pull the old Beta version out cause you'll have a better experience.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic! start to finish.
Review: I love everything about this movie. I was a fan of the book before I saw the movie on TV. I was a rabid fan and therefore difficult to satisfy. Rankin/Bass pulled off a wonderful adaptation of a wonderful book. I think the screenplay choices were great (good choices of what to leave out, what to emphasize, etc), although I personally wish they had gone ahead and made it longer to include more (especially the meeting with Beorn). What I love best about how Rankin/Bass did the movie was the overall style. It is relatively simple, but it very nicely captures the feel of the book. The characters look like they should look; they sound like they should sound. I was especially pleased with the Goblins. The acting (and choices of actors for the characters) was superb. John Huston is totally awesome. He IS Gandalf. Absolutely perfect. He manages the arrogance and pride right alongside the gentleness and genuine affection for Bilbo and the dwarves. John Huston hits every mark just right. Richard Boone is fantastic as Smaug -- aggressive, arrogant, scary. Hans Conreid imbues Thorin with a lot of color and style; he does an excellent job. Orson Bean manages to convey Bilbo's trembling advance toward courage and his sense of whimsy even in dangerous times. The rest of the actors also do a wonderful job of bringing all of these characters to life. And I love the music. Instrumentally simple, it captures the fantasy setting far better than the overwrought, full symphony music most fantasy films seem to favor. I am especially fond of the Goblins' songs, "Fifteen Birds" in particular. I've watched The Hobbit more than a hundred times, and I absolutely love it every single time. I know every word and every note, and relish them every time.
Rating: 
Summary: This messed up the book
Review: This was an awsome book, almost as good as it's sequels but the movie messed it up. Read the book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If it was not for the book I would have rated this movie 1 star!!!!!!!!!! Don't Get the movie but definitely get the book!!!!!!!!! PS. I might not know where I live but this is a good book.
Rating:
Summary: Skips and Changes a bunch of the book
Review: As a kid I loved this animation, however, I had yet to read the book. Now that I have read the book, I find this rendition to be terribly lacking. It only hits the hilights and misses most of the key elements required to set up each scene. I was a little disappointed. I would strongly suggest seeing this rendition before reading the book, as you may be disappointed if you see it afterwards. Like I said, I loved it as a kid (before I had read the real story) and probably would love it now if I didn't know how it was supposed to be.
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