Product: The Hobbit [VHS] (1977)
Rating: 4.0
dated but respectful animated adaptation of Tolkien classic
In watching any of Ralph Bakshi's animated trilogy of Tolkien's classics you can see that the team who worked on them had real affection and respect for the books. But there's no arguing that technology has come a lo-o-o-o-o-ong way since then. Long and frequent songs, on the other hand, are faithful to the spirit of the books but are really too dated to be entertaining. The movie's voice talent is superb -- Orson Bean as Bilbo, Richard Boone as Smaug, John Huston as Gandalf, Hans Conried as Thorin and Otto Preminger as the Elvenking. Romeo Muller's script is loyal to the book though some arcs, such as the visit with Beorn, are omitted.Special features are not spectacular: cast and crew credits, Tolkien facts and trivia, and hobbit facts. Subtitles are in English, French or Spanish.