Product: The Hobbit [VHS] (1977)
Rating: 5.0
The Greatest Animated Moive is What Lies Ahead...
MOVIE:That about sums it up. This is a beautiful and stunning adaptation of the book. Who would guess the geniuses behind "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" made this? The only complaint that I have is that they showed the dwarves arrive at Bilbo's place all at once. Didn't they arrive one by one?SONGS:The songs are all wonderful, and almost all of them come from the book (with the esception of "The Greatest Adventure"). My personal favorite is the goblins' song ("Down, down to Goblin Town...")CHARACTERS:The characters are absolutely beautiful. They are exactly what I pictured them to be when I read the book. They fit Tolkien's descriptions perfectly (with the possible execptions of Dori, Nori, and Ori's hood colors being different, changing Oin and Gloin to Oincer and Doincer and their hood colors, changing Bifur and Bofur to Biffer and Boffer, and making Dwalin have a white beard instead of a blue one).VOICES:The voice talents are superb. Personally, I think John Huston is a better Gandalf than Ian McKellen and Orson Bean is better at Bilbo than Ian Holm is (no offense to them; they're great, too). Gollum is absolutely creepy. Richard Boone is a perfect Smaug.OVERALL SUMMARY:Great movie. Show it to the kids and introduce them to the world of Tolkien. After your kids have seen this one, show them the animated "The Return of the King" and, when they're older, really stun them with Peter Jackson's Trilogy.