Product: The Hobbit [VHS] (1977)
Rating: 5.0
Better than Remember
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.