Rating: 
Summary: Fun for the Family
Review: A fun adaption for all of the family. I saw this film when it was first broadcast and it hooked me into the work of Tolkien, so that's a good thing. I love the scene with Bilbo and Gollum and I think this Gollum with his appearance and voice charaterization is the definitive Gollum. I wish Rankin Bass would have done all 4 books instead of just 1 and 4. Sure they are simplified, but they are far better than the aborted version of Lord of the Rings done by Bakshi.
Rating: 
Summary: The hobbit is a great parent/child movie
Review: I highly recommend this movie to any parent/child(7+) with an imagination for adventure. This movie has much to offer.
Rating:
Summary: Classic
Review: This is a classic cartoon for children of all ages. I was just as enchanted this time around watching it with my daughter, as I was as a child. The best part is that this time there are no commercials.A timeless classic.
Rating:
Summary: Oh wow!
Review: I have a very special relationship with the book version of The Hobbit. When I was growing up, my mother must have read the children's version to me like 500 times. I loved it to death. I was born in 1981. When I was like 4 or 5 I saw the movie and fell in love with it. Now, I own the DVD. I must agree, though, many of the sound effects have been changed. I've grown used to it though. The DVD quality is outstanding. I'm glad they finally put this out.
Rating: 
Summary: What happened??
Review: Based on another review, I have to agree that the sound to this DVD is terrible! MANY sounds are missing! And I thought I just had a bad transfer. Why did Warner Brothers do that? I do love this movie, but the little details of sound that are missing does destroy the integrity of the movie as I remember it as a kid. You may want to just keep you VHS copies...
Rating:
Summary: Real good classic about how the good guy uses his brains
Review: To anyone who likes a good cartoon classic this would be one of them. Practically a Ralph Bakshi type movie only without the rated R contents.
Rating:
Summary: "The Hobbit": Enjoyable Family Entertainment!
Review: "The Hobbit", taken from the book "The Hobbit" written by J.R.R. Tolkien, is loads of family enjoyment!
The story begins introducing a small hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, who is the same as almost every hobbit; he loves peace and calm, and doesn't even have the slightest wish to have an adventure. But when the wizard Gandalf appears at his home, his life is turned topsy-turvey along with the arrival of Thorin and Co., 13 homeless dwarfs. They are in search of a 'burglar' to help them take back what is rightfully theirs, the treasure stolen from them by the evil dragon, Smaug. Bilbo of course refuses to have any part of them but very much against his will is pulled into their adventure. But it won't be easy. They must cross over the Edge of the Wild, go over the Misty Mountains, then go through the dark Mirkwoods. Along they way they must also fight against trolls, goblins, the savage Warfs, giant spiders, and other unknown dangers. Will they be able to make it to the Lonely Mountains? But Bilbo is thinking, even if they make it there, will they be able to defeat the dragon who awaits them there? Terrific tale, and if you haven't read the book, I truly recommend you that you read it. But I can give this movie only 4 stars. This movie does have its good points. I love it how it is close to the book, the people who did the voices of all the characters were perfect for the parts, and it's enjoyable for people all ages. I love it also the music, and they used Tolkien's words and lines from the book. But it does has some weak points. One, as most people pointed out, many major events were taken out of the movie. Most noticeably is there is no mention of one of my favorite characters in the book, Beorn the man/bear and the end was a little different, too. Also, the animation isn't that good, not at all like the newer computer animated movies. This may dissapoint many people and teenagers especially if they're not patient enough to watch it through. Still, it is good family fun and I recommend this movie. I haven't seen next of the animated "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings", but I have seen "The Return of the King". I did not think much of that at all. I think I'll wait for the movie "Lord of the Rings" to come out. I'm so excited to see it! It looks like it might be very close to the book!
Rating: 
Summary: Stick to the Book
Review: While it is difficult to transpose succesfully most books to film, this version fails completely on at least three counts. First, this rendition fails to capture the richness of Tolkien's images a with the use of 2-D animation and pale, washed out colors.
Second, the interjection of songs that are sophomoric belies the scope of the potnetial audience and misses the essence of the characters.
Third, stick to the story, why do movies change the plot whether it be Dune or Harry Potter? Separelty, The Lord of the Rings is often erroneously called a trilogy, when it is in fact a single novel, consisting of six books plus appendices, someime published in three volumes. The Hobit was written in 1937. Giving into a desire for more information about hobbits The Lord of the Rings was written in inervals between 1936 to 1949.
Read the book, it much better.
Rating: 
Summary: Four stars for story, minus one for quality...
Review: Any fantasy fan worth his or her salt has read Tolkien's masterpiece, starting with "The Hobbit." Rankin-Bass does a passable movie adaptation, but I'm also doing a review of the DVD as well. Bilbo Baggins is a mild-mannered little hobbit living unobtrusively in Bag End, a conventional hobbit-hole in the comfortably boring Shire. His life is abruptly turned upside-down when the mysterious wizard Gandalf arrives, along with thirteen dwarves (who proceed to take over Bilbo's home). That evening, they reveal their reason for coming: They are seeking a "burglar" to help them retake back Lonely Mountain, a dwarf stronghold taken over by the dragon Smaug. Whether he likes it or not, Bilbo soon ends up the burglar. The dangerous road ahead of him draws out reserves of courage and intelligence that few knew he had, and brings him to a fateful meeting that will later help shape the future of Middle-Earth. It's a pretty good adaptation, if you don't mind the omission of such things as the Arkenstone and Beorn the bear-man. Most of the essentials are here: goblins (orcs), eagles, hobbits, dwarves, treasure, Gollum and his precious, elves and wood-elves, the men of Dale, the gray wizard Gandalf, and many, many more. There are definite flaws, aside from the few omissions. For example, Rankin-Bass don't seem to like non-human-non-hobbit species: The only good elf we see is Elrond, and the other elves in Rivendell are reduced to singing voices. Similarly, we hear that Thorin's cousin Dain has arrived with a dwarf army to combat the wood-elves and men -- but we never see Dain, or any other dwarves except the thirteen. In addition, the sound for this DVD is TERRIBLE. They have cleaned it up in places, but in other areas they have inserted gratuitous screams and mutters. They have also pulled out sounds: barrels rolling, arrows striking, Smaug roaring and breathing fire, the dwarves wailing from inside their barrels, the clash of gates - you get the idea. It's little details that makes it feel more real, but these are all removed from the DVD version. There is also an annoying crackling sound that pops up every now and then, obscuring some of the dialogue. The animation is pretty odd-looking, but you grow used to it. It was also slightly strange that we see almost nothing of the battle or of anyone being wounded - we see strange facial expressions and schizophrenic spinning motions, but nothing else; we are also treated to the weird sight of the Elf-King, Bard, and Thorin all gushing over each other, ten seconds after they were trying to kill each other. On the flipside, the soundtrack is excellent, drawing sometimes from Tolkien's songs or dialogue. Anyhow, you may wish to watch this movie in preparation for the start of Peter Jackson's stellar live-action trilogy. Obviously it isn't as high-quality, but it gives the necessary backstory into Bilbo and the Ring, and is a pleasant movie to watch.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent DVD
Review: This is a wonderful Rankin Bass version of the Hobbit, done in true Rankin/Bass style. Some Tolkien fans dislike it because it moves too quickly or due to the childish portrayal of the story in some respects (it was marketted more to children after all) it is a wonderfully done animated movie. The DVD version actually surprised me a good deal. The video transfer was much better then I had anticipated, especially for a 30 year-old movie. The quality of the video and audio is top-notch and should be a noticeable improvement over the VHS edition. If you're a Tolkien fan this DVD is an excellent addition to any DVD library even if you already own the VHS edition. The extra features are a bit dissapointing because they are only trivia tidbits it is still an excellent DVD for it's price.
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