Rating: 
Summary: For Animation from 1977, this is top notch
Review: This is obviously just an opinion, but I think that anyone who feels the urge to give this feature 1 star or less is just a biased Tolkien fan that will never be happy with any representation of his work. That said, Rankin and Bass pull off a great adaptation, with great vocal casting and solid realization of Middle Earth. I grew up watching this cartoon, and while it scared me a bit, it really captured my imagination, and got me interested in Tolkien's work. I can't wait for the movies 2001
Rating: 
Summary: Not exactly a children's film
Review: I saw this movie for the first time when I was about 5 years old. I am 21 now, and seeing this movie even today makes me feel great anxiety. I think this film may be a little too frightening for young children--after all, some scary creature is trying to kill our heroes at every turn. I would hate for any young child to believe any world, even a mythical one, could ever be as scary as Bilbo's! While I believe this is a good video for older children, instead I recommend they read the book when they are a little older.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for Tolkien readers...
Review: I would recommend this video to Tolkien readers who have read The Hobbit, so that you can get the audio-visual feel of the book. But if you're just some kid looking for a good cartoon, this isn't a good choice. I found it interesting to read the book and then watch the tape, but this video doesn't even compare to the detail and feeling of reading the actual novel. And if you have to read this for school, don't even take a chance on the video without reading the book, you'll just flat out fail, because the video leaves out so many important events its ridiculous. The way that they conveyed the characters to be was not good either. I found that they stressed too many character traits, like the nose on the dwarves, what happened did they lie too much or something, because their noses were humongous and just the overall characters in the video were not what I imagined. Overall, I give this one a 3 for being average. If you would like to talk about any of Tolkien's works, feel free to e-mail me at MrtinezM@Yahoo.com - "Farewell, wherever you fare" As the eagles would say!
Rating:
Summary: Why "dumb down" a children's story?
Review: People have written reviews here that suggest that this movie should be viewed as a movie for "kids" and should take it's departure from the book with a grain of salt. However, JRR Tolkien initially wrote this novel for children, and NOT for mature adults. (That came later with The Lord of the Rings.)So why in the world would you take a story that was ORIGINALLY written for children and further "adapt" it for children again? Are they "adapting" for dumber children? I think Tolkien had a good idea of what children enjoy; Rankin/Bass' production, however, is just another example of what adults THINK children want to see. I would not recommend this for all but the very smallest of children.
Rating:
Summary: Good effort
Review: Perhaps my opinion of this as a mediocre film is aided by the fact that no video can do Tolkien justice, but, nevertheless, I found Hobbit to be different from the book in that fleeting "feel" quality: it's too cartoony. The songs, the voices, everything is great and true to the book, but the characters are either intolerably rounded off to make them look cute (as in the Hobbits), thinned off nearly to stick-figurehood (as in the elves), or dried out and parched ( as in the dwarves, who looked rather like pieces of firewood). This is not epic or enthralling, partly because you know what is going to happen and partly because it's botched.
Rating: 
Summary: The funniest movie ever
Review: This movie is a laugh riot. Just one joke after another. I still stagger over to my roommate Andrea and giggle "my precious" or "Dear Lord what is that horrid hobbit doing to the goblin". We can't stop laughing over the lines in this movie, in which each one is funnier than the last. Gandalf should open a comedy club.
Rating:
Summary: Dazzlingly Marvellous, Perfect, Flawless, Staggering :-)
Review: I have read LOTR every single year since I turned 14, and every year I get something new out of it. But when I saw this video, it added an entirely new aspect to my enjoyment! Thanks to this wonderful video, I now hear very distinct voices for each of the characters. What a wonderful way to enjoy this "Dazzlingly marvellous, Perfect, Flawless, Staggering" (From the mouth of Bilbo), story! Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: fun for the whole family
Review: This video representation of the hobbit is excellent. I am playing Gollum in my school play, and the move keeps up wonderfully with the original diologue. The whole family can enjoy this movie whether they are familiar with the book or not.
Rating:
Summary: The Hobbit -there and back agin
Review: Im 12 years of age and by FAR this is my favorite book/movie of my time (which is a short period so far). But when i read the other books i alwasys stop and fell an urge to read this one agin it is a terrific book and a hartfelt taleof courage and friendship.
Rating:
Summary: Of course it isn't as good as the Book, but.....
Review: The hobbit was one of my favorite books since a very young age. When I first saw the movie, I thought it was great. I probably watched it a hundred times. However, as I got older I viewed it more critically and it wasn't as accurate as I would have liked. It is still a great movie though.
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