Rating: 
Summary: Yikes! Ouch!
Review: What a mess! Tolkien wrote 4 books -- The Hobbit and its sequel, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, made up of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King -- which together tell the story of the resurfacing and the destruction of the One Ring of Power wielded by Middle Earth's evil nemesis, Sauron. The animated trilogy consists of The Hobbit and two films that should divide the trilogy in half, Lord of the Rings and The Return of the King, though so much material and so many characters are written out that they bear scant resemblance to the source material. To further complicate matters, The Hobbit and The Return of the King are produced and directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass, the team that brought to television almost every holiday classic that concerns Santa Claus, Frosty, Rudolph or the Easter Bunny, while the second film, The Lord of the Rings, was directed by Raph Bakshi. Confused yet? It's important to remember these facts because, other than catering to your need to be comprehensive, you will most likely enjoy Bakshi's effort but should run from the other two as if hellhounds were on your tail.There is so much missing here (including dropping major characters that were in the second instament!) that you will never comprehend the story as written by Tolkien, and even more importantly, the ubiquitous songs are SO plentiful, SO saccharin and SO dated that you may damage your fingers trying to fast forward through them all. DVD extras are slim -- textual screens about Tolkien, Middle Earth and the cast & crew that were on the previous disks. Voice talent is good: John Huston narrates and plays Gandalf, Orson Bean repeats as Bilbo and Frodo, and Roddy McDowall comes on board as Sam. Also, the animation of scenery and sets is very good, though weaker with the characters. Great liberties are taken with Tolkien's material. Great honking abysmal liberties. The word 'travesty' may be a bit strong, but not by much. I am generally a forgiving Tolkien fan, and indeed I enjoyed the animated Lord of the Rings directed by Bakshi just fine, but this is drek by a team that treated Tolkien as if he were just Jack Frost with hobbits. For example, when he runs to Gandalf to let him know that Denethor is attempting suicide, Pippin yells, "He's gone loony I tell ya!" I don't think you have to be a Tolkien geek to think that's just wrong This film may appeal to the very young or the very deaf, but for anyone who has read the books, do yourself a favor and steer clear of this song-filled pillage of the 20th century's greatest work of literature.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow!
Review: This is a wonderful animated movie! It is packed with fantasy, adventure, and excitement. I am glad I own 'The Return of the King' on DVD because it is a great animated movie classic!
Rating: 
Summary: J.R.R. Tolkien is spinning in his grave!
Review: This is an absolutely terrible adaption of J.R.R. Tolkien's book. It was made by the same people who did a half-way decent job adapting Tolkien's novel "The Hobbit" in 1978. After watching "The Return of the King", I wondered if the writers of the movie actually read the book, or if they just read the short summary on the back. Most of the songs in the movie are bad, and all the flashbacks and flashforwards got in the way of the story. Some things in the movie contradict what Tolkien wrote. Especially Gandalf's little insight on hobbits at the end (which contradicts what Tolkien wrote about hobbits in the Prologue to the later editions of "The Lord of the Rings"). Also, the fact that there was not a cartoon version of "The Two Towers" (only part of "The Two Towers" was adapted in the 1979 cartoon of "The Lord of the Rings"), makes this movie very difficult to follow for people who are not familiar with the books. It is probably better that Tolkien was not alive to see this horrible adaption of his masterpiece, he would be extremely disappointed with this movie. Hopefully Peter Jackson's version of "The Return of the King" (which is due out by Christmas 2003) will be a lot better than this one.
Rating:
Summary: Where there's a WHIP there's a WAY
Review: Ha ha. Funny. Sure this version of an excursion in LOTR doesn't live up to all "critical" standards, but it is hobbit-loads of fun. The songs are first-rate.;) As a Tolkien aficionado who appreciates most creative interpretations of Middle Earth, I recommend for you get a copy and watch it. When it's over, watch it again, and when you aren't watching it, sing the songs to annoy one and all. Everyone will soon be singing the songs by him or herself and wondering where the heck they came from. You might not believe it, but this is the best movie ever made.
Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointing!
Review: After watching Baskhi's "The Lord Of The Rings" (which I enjoyed thoroughly) I was expecting "The Return Of The King" to be the sequel. It certainly was not!! What with the Glen Yarbrough music, the unfaithful story telling, the obvious breaks for commericals and the cost of the DVD, I was very disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Give this Rankin-Bass film an honest chance!
Review: Gosh. Do people actually watch this movie honestly before tearing it apart? Given the venomous vibs against this film, you would think it was a musical vaudeville remake of The Godfather. Sure, the animation is not up to Disney standards, but remember that this was a 1980s TV production, not a big budget theatrical release. The film focuses on the two hobbits, Frodo and Samwise, as they near the completion of their quest to destroy the One Ring; in its own way, the film is actually quite faithful to the spirit of the novel. Though the film may appear as a children's film, it is neither juvenile nor dumbed-down in its presentation. Yes, there are songs in this Middle-Earth tale (most all Rankin-Bass productions had songs), but have people actually listened to the lyrics? The songs are quite stirring and well-crafted; give them a chance. For instance, "Frodo of the Nine Fingers" starts the film on an immediate note of uncertainty and suspense and draws the audience quickly into the story, which is important considering that this film is a sequel to...nothing! (There were no prior Rankin-Bass productions of Fellowship or Two Towers, just an UNRELATED theatrical animated Lord of the Rings around this time). Other songs also impart some valuable lessons, of which my favorite is "It's So Easy Not to Try." This isn't a typical kiddie film where everything ends happily after ever. The film deals honestly with death, duty, and friendship. In many ways, these themes can be found also in Rankin-Bass' likewise mature, animated production of The Last Unicorn, a film with a massive cult following. Watch The Last Unicorn, then re-watch The Return of the King. Perhaps then you will see this film in a new light.
Rating: 
Summary: A "sequel" to "LOTR" done in the style of "The Hobbit"
Review: To be accurate, Ralph Bakshi's animated version of "The Lord of the Rings" only made it halfway through "The Two Towers" before suddenly concluding. My understanding was that because Bakshi did not get to "The Return of the King," the rights were available for Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr. to do their own version for television in 1980 in the same style they had employed for "The Hobbit." In fact, Orson Bean is back to do the voices of not only Bilbo but also Frodo, and John Huston returns to provide a perefect voice for the wizard Gandalf. "The Return of the King" certainly begins in the middle of things, with Sam (Roddy McDowell) trying to rescue the captive Frodo from the orcs and Gollum scrambling after his "precious" ring. Those who have read the trilogy will be able to pick up the narrative without any problem, but for the uninitated who have to try and enjoy this without some sort of "Previously on 'The Lord of the Ring,'" it is going to be quiet disconcerting. Clearly this version is geared for the kids, in the grand tradition of "The Hobbit," which was far and away the best of these three animated Tolkein films. Adults will undoubtedly cringe at some of these moments, as when the Orcs sing "Where There's a Whip There's a Way," but hopefully you will find a few small moments that you can enjoy. The chief charm of "The Return of the King" for me is that it does a decent job with my favorite scene of the Trilogy, when Éowyn, the shield maiden of Rohirrim engages the Lord of the Nazgul in mortal combat during the Battle of Pellennor Fields. Glenn Yarborough again does the music, as he did with "The Hobbit," but with notably less success. Except for the first little ditty about "Frodo of the Nine-Fingers and the Ring of Doom," the songs this time around add nothing to the telling of the tale. When you consider all the great moments from the book that were cut because of time constraints and then add to that list those that were jettisoned because of Yarborough's songs, it is the proverbial example of adding insult to injury. The best case scenario is to show young children "The Hobbit," and use that as a way of inspiring them to read the book and then move on to the Trilogy or the Peter Jackson film's. If your children got a kick out of Gollum in "The Hobbit," then they might be interested in seeing what finally happens to him, but it does give away the climax of the Trilogy. So I am back to my original position, that you should whet their young appetite's with "The Hobbit." "The Return of the King" is made with affection, but it lacks the time and money to make it a worthy presentation of Tolkien's story.
Rating:
Summary: okay, so lots of people hated it. . . .
Review: I wasn't expecting much when I bought this, but for some weird reason I really like it, songs and all. Sort of sweet and corny. "Where there's a whip, there's a way. . ."--that did make me laugh, I'm waiting for the extended dance version of that one. Also I did shudder every time Kasey Kasem said anything, but other than that I actually enjoyed it.
Rating:
Summary: Bad transfer, but the kids will like it...
Review: Not much to say here about the animated version of the final chapter in the classic series. While not entirely loyal to the book, this has its (few) moments, but they are hidden within some ghastly monsters, bad-looking fight scenes and very forgettable songs. Animated musicals are very rarely pulled off well outside of Disney and this is the prime example. The final encounter with Gollum is exciting, but by then everyone but the kiddies will be asleep.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: The Return Of The King is not such a bad film. Even though it did not go along that well with the book "The Return Of The King by J.R.R. Tolkien" its still a pretty good film because of the action , adventure , drama , and fantasy. It has an exciteing battle scene which is marvelous. But what did dissapoint me was that the Nazgul flew on flying horses instead of winged beasts. But even though the film took place of a minstrel telling the tale at Rivendell , which did not go that way in J.R.R. Tolkiens last book in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy The Return of The King , it was not a bad film. The Return Of The King animated film has many trolls , orcs and other beasts which are awsome. But there is a first sequel to this film , and that is The Hobbit which is a better animated film by Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass who are the directors of these two great films.
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