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The Return Of The King

The Return Of The King

List Price: $12.98
Your Price: $7.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Lord of the Rings... With Musical Interludes?
Review: Ok, I'll admit it. This low budget film wasn't very violent or action filled. Thats what everyone is looking for now a days isnt it? I mean what is a movie with out someone killing something else? Nothing. That is how society now works, thats crap. This DVD takes a look at the real version of Lord of the Rings. Yes, this movie has action. It isnt a gore fest but it's action. This animated version of the book actually follows the book step by step, everything the book has, except for the beginning with the flash-backs. This movie is sort of like a musical with songs, and war songs that fit the story line. My personal favorite from this movie is "Where there is a whip" I like it because of the well, beat that it moves at. At a slow disgruntled pace just like the way the orc's sing it.

The movie begins with a party, with Elrond, Gandalf, Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin and good old uncle Bilbo. It's Bilbo's birthday party, and they are about to cut the cake but everytime Bilbo is about to cut it he falls asleep. "Will he ever cut the cake?" says Merry. Very funny childly humor, so during this time Bilbo notice's that Frodo is missing a finger. So Gandalf brings in a minstrel who has written a ballad of Frodo's adventure. So he begins to sing his song, about Frodo.

The ballad begins when Frodo was captured in the tower (like in the book, some of you think that it doesn't on account of Peter Jacksons films but they're wrong) Sam is trying to save Frodo, but runs into obstacles on the way, like an invisble wall. The true power of the ring and its mind bending torture and Orcs. Meanwhile at Minas Tirith, Gandalf is prepping for battle with Gondor. Mostly everything that happens in the book happens during the Minas Tirith parts, well all of the movie is accurate to the book. If you watch the Peter Jackson films and think that everything is accurate your wrong. I'm not saying the Peter Jackson films are bad. I'm definately not saying that, they're superb.

If you are a "Rings" fans, I strongly suggest you watch this Musical version of "Return of the King" it features the voice of Orson Bean the voice of Frodo and Bilbo from the Hobbit Feature. I'll will be writing a review on the Hobbit movie and book soon.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Coff coff
Review: I guess its alright it would probably be more reccomended if it was exactly like the book. Aragorn looks like i hippie in this oh well go for peter jacksons movie its much better.
Elessars Verdict: 49%

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Just Plain Dumb
Review: This animated version of "The Return of the King" is very badly presented. Rankin/Bass (the makers of this film) also made the television special "The Hobbit," which was okay. After "The Hobbit" came Ralph Bakshi's "The Lord of the Rings," which I thought was a great movie. Now, after I watched Bakshi's "Rings," I found that the story wasn't finished. Well, I had to get "Return of the King" out of the library and watch it, so I did.

First of all, this film, which was also a television special, has very bad animation. The character voices drone on and on, making the film also very, very boring. It is also a bit of a musical. Now, it is probably a good idea to never make a musical of J. R. R. Tolkien's masterpiece. Some songs in "The Return of the King" are "Frodo of the Nine Fingers" and "Where There's a Whip, There's a Way." What were these people thinking? The song makes it sound like getting your finger bitten off by some ring-craving maniac is cool and that orcs march very much like the Seven Dwarves, while singing. AHHHH!

In fact, this film has nothing to do with the Return of the King, Aragorn. Aragorn is hardly in it. There is just a little tiny song at the end (ARGH, again with the songs) titled "The Return of the King" and that's it. It focuses mostly around the Hobbits.

In my opinion, Rankin/Bass should have just let Ralph Bakshi finish the story with his own "Return of the King." So, you can see, I didn't enjoy this film AT ALL.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not nearly as entertaining as Peter Jackson's version.
Review: This movie isnt bad,but its not near as good as the people version that is currently playing in theaters! I own The fellowship of the ring,and the two towers(the Peter Jackson versions of course),and this. This is a good film,and worth watching,but still I like the other version better.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Two things worth looking at
Review: As a film, not terribly good, but it has two shining features:

1. The best Sam of any filmic adaptation I've seen yet. He's brave and loyal, and saves the day. He does not come off as totally dependent on Frodo.
2. The goblin marching song, "Where There's a Whip There's a Way." Catchy and funny, sung by a male choir.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Attention bad reviewers: This is a cartoon!
Review: First, let me say that it has been a few years since I last saw this movie. I have read several of the other reviews on this film, most of which comment on the missing parts or thechnical insufficiencies, and have but one thing to say:
This is a cartoon, people. This film was intended for children. No movie has ever been made that was 100% of the book. You can't expect miracles in 97 minutes.
I remember this movie as entertaining. I was probably 11 the last time I saw it. It got me interested in the books and made me greatly anticipate the current film versions. When i first heard that the LOTR trilogy was being redone, the first words that ran through my mind were, "Frodo of the nine fingers, and the ring of doom". I was thrilled. I couldn't believe it.
Those of you who had to, "force yourselves to finish watching", should be ashamed. I couldn't believe anyone could be so literal.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great soundtrack 80%of the time,and great animation style
Review: I like the style,sound,and feel of this cartoon.The music reminds me of the Majestic metal band Blind Guardian and the fantasy power metal band Rhapsody.Band's that should of been on any of the Peter Jackson film's,but aren't.Instead we get enya.I'm sorry, but a women that writes songs about africa, don't make me think fantasy.Plus her background music sounds like wind chimes.Unlike Blind guardians album Nightfall in Middle earth,and Rhapsody's Power of the dragon flame album's.I mean come on,do I have to show Peter Jackson what good fantasy music sound's like.Although his big budget movie's aren't horrible,I only read half of the Fellowship of the ring's,and noticed he left out a bunch of really importent stuff.Like the part when farmer Magget was going to feed Frodo to his viscious dog's.And the dog's weren't the least bit afraid of Frodo, but ran totally in fear from the Ring Wraith's,that's makes for good contrast.Plus the Black Forest, and all of the part's with Tom Bombadil were taken out.Plus I think the colars in his movie's are dark,and dull.Unlike the cartoons,where the hole style seems fantasy.For a book that has plenty of singing,colars and some lite heartedness.The big motion picture had none of these thing's.It felt like I was watching the Matrix with sword's,the way their outfit's were so dark.And I like the Matrix,but that's not J.R.R.Tolkien.And I admit some of the stuff in this cartoon is a bit to litehearted at times maybe even cheesy,but at least they got the feel right."Plus it's a cartoon".The first big movie was a snooser to me,a total bore.But the second ones not bad.It still has a sorry sound track,a little bit briter outfit's,except for Aragorn's his outfit is dark and boring,and his hair alway's looks oily,I think the lush landscapes and special effects keep you'r mind off some of their really drabby outfit's.Anyway's, I grew up on this cartoon, I liked it then,and I like it now, before I even read the book.I guess some of J.R.R. Tolkien's lite hearted stuff isn't edgy enough for the ever so complaining pop cult phenomina,but in alot of way's I think he might of liked this cartoon better than some of the movie's.Anyway I highly recommend this classic cartoon, along with the Hobbit...

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Poor Movie.
Review: This really is a poor movie. The REAL version with Elijah Wood that comes out soon will be much better!

Rated: PG for No Paticular Reason.

Running Time: Approx. 96 Minutes

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: No Title can describe this(grammar corrected)
Review: I watched this movie again for the first time since I was a child. Having read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Several times since then, I can only use one word to describe how watching this movie now that I am an adult made me feel: aghast. The movie starts off with Bilbo's final birthday before he leaves Middle-Earth, the number of which they promptly got wrong, and Bilbo cannot remember why Frodo no longer had the Ring. Then they bring a minstrel out to tell him why. The tale they tell from that point is very much disjointed and far removed from the story that the Professor created, touching it and coming back to it only when whatever demagogue who controlled this production's direction felt like a little veracity. The whole story is given as a narrative from the point of view of Gandalf, and Gandalf in this story is not even a shadow of the one in the books.

The specific points that make this production so horrid are:
Aragorn is portrayed as a lord driven into exile, as opposed to the heir of a line of kings who have stopped claiming the title of king because they are too busy trying to rebuild their kingdom in the North, as well as supporting the kingdom in the South;
the whole story is supposed to take place according to a Prophecy, when in fact the Lord of the Rings had nothing to do with prophecy and the only foretelling in it was about the paths of the dead;
the voices, while all talented, were miscast, particularly the Lord of the Nazghul and Meriadoc(Kasey Kasem just does NOT work as a hobbit);
they had to throw in the element that this was a proto-history that took place in our world which was exactly not what the Professor intended(Gandalf's disertation and ascertation that hobbits were going to evolve into men at the end of the movie was really, really too much);
the dialogue of the hobbits was almost completely made out of anything other than what the Professor wrote,the dialogue of the other characters being not much better;
they cut out all mention of the quest, the fellowship, the dwarves, and stripped out of it all the background history that makes this such a rich story. To sum-up, they raped this story, and raped perfectly describes it. I see no merit in any adult watching this production.
As to why this production is so bad, I can only speculate. My hypotheses are as follows:
they could not finish it before they ran out of money;
they needed a quick influx of cash to keep from going out of business;
they thought that nothing could be worse than Ralph Bakshi's production( they could not be more wrong:this production's existence makes that production five star by comparison/at least he tried to not mess anything up);
they thought they were untouchable;
mass-insanity;
someone influential in the production had an attack of megalomania;
several people important to the production died or were lost in a contract dispute and they had to go with an out-line;
or they simply wanted to anger the family of the Professor to such a degree that they would never give permission to cinema-ize the works again.

I have tried to keep my possible explanations from being too far-fetched, but this is the worst adaptation of any book that I have encountered. The best thing about it is the animation, and the best thing that can be said about that was that it was a knife taken to a gunfight. It is written as propaganda that has no ideal to uphold, and I had to force myself to finish watching it, several hours later than I started it. I would give it no stars if the option were availible, and if this production were a book, the publishing house would have burned it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: AFTER ALL IT"S A GOOD CARTOON! better than like ATLANTIS....
Review: It still shows Minas Tirith in a grand way.I hope Peter Jackson does as good a job on his model of Minas Tirith for HIS BILLION DOLLAR BLOCK BUSTER!(Idon't want a dumb bust of a city.)
Now the the battles are not at all comparable to P.J. Battles.Slashing heads,volleys of arrows,terrible screamsfrom Orcs,Ringwraiths ect.Clanging swords,great horse battles.......It's unbeatable almost.So Why do You have to think that this cartoon has to be as good. After all it's less violent,gruesome for Kids.It would realy not be wise to take a five year old to Petes Epic.This one is a lot less scary for one thing too.....except Gollum is still creepy and can stand up a bit to the other Gollum of Jackie computer serkis guy.
This is a good way to introduce your Children to the grand world of Tolkien.It still has a Myth in the air feeling about it.Like Lord of the Rings books.
Now the story is strong on Frodo and Sam's journey to mount doom.It shows it pretty well.
Some characters like Aragorn,Gimli,Legolas,Faramir,Arwen,Eomer and Bergrond don't appear at all or just briefly.Aragorn is just a hero King who is coming back to help Gondor and become King.You never now much about him,Ranger in the north or that he helped Frodo on the Fellowship or anything. P.J. Aragorn is so much more of a character.
Eowyn slays the witch king and does her role well but you never see her in any scene else untill the end when she's watching the parade of King Aragorn.A Man is beside her who is probaly Faramir.
I think the songs were ok at least.Though older people would love P.J. version much better of Lord of the Rings,This one still stands on it's own two feet.


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