The Hobbit

Rating:
Summary: Better than Remember
Review: I watched the Hobbit for the first time whe I was seven, and I have to admit that I hadn't liked it very much. But I recently finished reading the Hobbit for the first time and right afterwards I rented the movie; I was surprised at how well it stayed true to that book!

Now, singing in cartoons has always makes me uncomfortable and annoyed. I was shocked that this music didn't. Maybe it's because I'm sure Tolkien intended it this way.

Some Tolkien fans want to ommit the muusic if they make a live-action Hobbit, and they probably will. But I can't help but feel like some of you are missing an important point; Whatever else Tolkien is, he is also a person who writes sappy songs and has the elves singing Tra la la la lally. And probably enjoys it. And I'm frankly surprised that they managed to get so many songs in that cartoon, you cant GET more faithful that that!

The voices, as so many have pointed out, are most probaby the high point of this movie. Smaug's voice just blew me away when I first heard it. It was better than I could have imagined.

Can I complain a little now that I've given it all this praise? M'kay. Well, I would have liked to see Rivendell looking a bit more impressive, but I have high expectations for that so I'm being unreasonable beyond a doubt.

My biggest problem with this movie(which is still small, remember that I'm giving this movie five stars) is the wood elves. They're short and greenish. The only thing I can say for them is that their movements look more smoother than the movements of the other characers. My niece, Nicole, will probably flip out about the wood elves. But as I said, I don't think it's a big deal.

Now, I'm going to teeter totter and tell you another thing that I admire about this movie. Elrond. He looks older than I pictured him, somehow, is unlike any illustrations of him I've ever seen. And yet he looked quite like Elrond, more so, I think than in LOTR.

Some say the animation is a bit sloppy, and I'd have trouble disagreeing, but I rather admired that look. It fit the story somehow. And you want to know my favorate thing about this whole movie? My absolute favorate thing? I don't even cringe when the elves sing Tra la la lally, because it's darned good singing, and THAT was a pleasant surprise.

So, in conclusion, this is a good movie worth buying. My brothers, probably the hardest to please people I know, movie-wise, are watching it in the other room just now. So go buy the hobbit, you wont regrett it.

Rating:
Summary: Cute, light-hearted look back to pre-Jackson
Review: Monday, February 07, 2005 / 4 of 5 / Cute, light-hearted look back to pre-Jackson
Like many, this was my introduction to Tolkien back when it aired on TV in the late 70's. In light of Jackson's epic Lord of the Rings Trilogy, this cartoon certainly shows its age and target demographic. Light and breezy throughout with songs and music aplenty, it rarely elevates beyond the G type rating. The animation was always attractive and to this day its version of Gollum is still my favorite, the mutant Kermit the Frog.

Rating:
Summary: The Hobbit
Review: The other day I heard someone express sadness over the fact that there has never been a solid version of The Hobbit to place alongside Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings. I corrected them by mentioning this cartoon production. As a boy, I fell in love with it and bought the DVD on Amazon last year. I still enjoy it to this day.

I admit that the artistry is mundane but, frankly, I find its campiness endearing. As far as the vocal talent is concerned, there is no greater voice than John Huston's (God rest his soul). His Gandalf is so authoritative and perfect that I'm sure Ian McKellen felt slightly intimidated before taking up the role in 1999. Yet, the best thing about the film is its music. The songs are enchanting. To quote Gandalf and Bilbo, "There's a magic in that music...and it moves through me." This is one of the most underrated movies in history. I highly, and sentimentallly, recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Masterful story
Review: This is a great film for kids, one that I loved as a kid. In fact, my favorite t-shirt as a kid was a light blue Gollum shirt from the movie. Everything about this movie (sound, songs, voices, artwork) reminds me of being a kid in the 70's.

For purists, the story sticks fairly close to the book, but the artwork deviates from my expectations, at least. Examples include the elves being shorter than men and weasely-looking (and French sounding) and Goblins being these rotund creatures. Elves are supposed to be fairer and taller than men.

But all-in-all, its great to just see this story come to life. Its fun, and a family treat.

Rating:
Summary: Chock full of childhood memories, but not for the purist.
Review: This movie is scorned by many big time Tolkien fans, but not by me, I feel it serves its purpose very nicely. When first viewing this film, one must realize that it is not made for the die-hard Tolkien fan. Rather, that it is made for children, to introduce them to Tolkien's magic, and make yet another generation of die-hard Tolkien fans to come! This animated masterpiece is filled with wonderful artwork, beautiful music, (both vocal and instrumental are equally appealing) and marvelous voice talent.

John Huston, famed director and actor, provides the voice for Gandalf, and in my mind, when I read Gandalf text, it is him speaking the lines. He is perfect.

Orson Bean, another somewhat famous actor, provides the voice of Bilbo, and also does a thoroughly excellent job.

Theodore, a dark comedian and horror actor, provides the voice of Gollum, and I must say, it is the best voice job in the entire movie.

Richard Boone, who played in hundreds of old westerns, gives a commanding performance as Smaug.

Hans Conried, probably most remembered for providing the voice of Snidely Whiplash in the Dudley Doright cartoon, also does a magnificent job as Thorin.

Glen Yarborough does a great job of taking Tolkien's songs and putting them to music. His unusual singing style fits the movie perfectly.

Add all this to the wonderful animation provided by Rankin Bass studios, and you have a magical treasure that I am certain will be cherished by children and Tolkien fans for years to come!

Rating:
Summary: My opinion on the movie
Review: As soon as I had watched the LOTR trilogy (through the box set), I've always wanted to see a movie about its prequel really badly. Because Peter Jackson has not made "The Hobbit" yet, I had to buy this 1970's animated version instead. On most parts, it is very good except for the singing and the songs which I did not like much. I hope when Peter Jackson makes his version (if he does at all!) that the songs and singing dissappear and we get a proper movie version. I have read some of the other reviews of this movie. Some complain of a poor DVD transfer and badly transfered soundtrack and music. However my copy had no such problems at all, even though I had to buy a multi-zone (world-wide) DVD player just to play the movie as I live in Australia! I will use my newly aquired multi-zone DVD player to buy many more DVD's from amazon.com, but "The Hobbit" will be the only animated LOTR movie I will buy. I will agree with most people as the LOTR movies done by Peter Jackson is far better than the animated ones!

Rating:
Summary: Just as I remembered!
Review: I have seen this movie more times than I can recall, and still enjoy it every single time! The quality on this DVD is very good, and although you can see that it is obviously copied from the original tapes they did an excellent job of cleaning it up.

Seeing this movie after having seen the new LOTR trillogy really helps put the whole thing together - especially for those who have never read the books. Knowing Bilbo's part in the whole story really helps to "fill in the blanks."

Also, this movie is A LOT less violent than the rest of the LOTR films and so is much more child-friendly.

Overall, I highly recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: Great movie - bad DVD
Review: I have loved this movie and seen in countless times on TV and VHS since I was a kid. The picture on this DVD is great.

However, there are HUGE problems with the soundtrack. Large portions of the sound effects (and some dialog and music) are completely MISSING. Often there will be action on screen with no sound effects at all, just music or silence. These effect have been in every previous release I have seen. Somehow, Warner Bros. Home Video messed up and used the wrong track or else remixed the sound and somehow left out a few tracks. Apparently the newer VHS copies also have the botched soundtrack.

Unfortunately, this ruins the movie for me and I am forced to watch my old VHS copy with its inferior picture.

Hopefully sometime soon Warner will release a corrected version. Until then, buy a used VHS copy if you want to see the movie properly.