Product: The Hobbit [VHS] (1977)
Rating: 4.0
A Good Adventure, but not the Epic
Set long, long ago in Europe, when the world was green and when much that is now did not exist. Before Men inherited the world. . .there was a hobbit.This movie was well-made for its time, but seemed that it was geared to please small children and their parents. Tolkein loved to and was magnificent at commentating on battle scenes, but most of the violence in this film has been censored.Badly censored, with fuzzy, static pictures that look like a two-year-old drew them.I must, however, say that everyone in my family who has seen it loves it. My mother, who is around 50, my non-english-speaking grandparents, and myself, all enjoyed the Rivendell and Mirkwood elves scenes. The singing was fantastic! Bilbo's songs were also quite enjoyable.Not to be a pessimist, I must crack down on one more thing; the animation was not true to the book. The dwarves' hoods are of incorrect color, the elves resemble frogs, and they totally omit a delightful character, Beorn.Still, in closing, I must say that this movie is ideal for children or adults who do not mind watching a kiddie-style and do not own a DVD player.