Product: The Hobbit [VHS] (1977)
Rating: 5.0
Positively Enchanting
Before I ever read The Hobbit (or The Lord of the Rings for that matter), I saw this gem on television and was completely entranced. I'd seen Disney movies, but never anything like this. Here was animation - and animation appropriate for all ages at that - but with a different aesthetic and a little bit of an edge to it. Here is a tale of dragons, elves, wizards, goblins, giant spiders, valiant dwarves, and a little hobbit who is more than meets the eye.The plot is well-known, but for those unfamiliar with it: One day, Bilbo Baggins, a mild-mannered hobbit, receives a visit from a wily wizard named Gandalf and a group of 13 dwarves who enlist him in a mad adventure - to rescue the dwarves' rightful fortune from the dreaded clutches of the great dragon Smaug. Reluctantly accepting, Bilbo travels with his companions through dark forests, goblin-haunted mountains, the nests of great spiders, and worse, engaging in a battle of wits with a dragon and fighting a war between elves and men and dwarves and goblins. However, Bilbo finds that he learns a great deal about himself in the process.Rankin and Bass, who also produced the great stop-motion animation Christmas specials we've all come to love, did an excellent job with this show. The characters are relatable, the voices excellent (Gandalf, for instance, was voiced by the incomparable John Huston) and the music fun - all of the great songs of the Hobbit novel are in this jaunt, set to music and range from hauntingly beautiful to just plain fun. Adults and children alike will be enchanted and entranced by this film. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Enjoy.