Product: The Hobbit [VHS] (1977)
Rating: 5.0
The best LOTR movie.
If you have not seen a LOTR movie, then I highly recommend this movie. I do not recommend this for children only; I recommend this for everyone.The story, characters, and music show great depth and evoke strong emotions. As many other reviewers have written, the voices are excellent. Gandalf is wise and authoritative; Bilbo is innocent and genuine; Thorin is deceptive and petty (until the fantastic and emotional end); and Gollum is twisted and deranged. The rest of the cast are equally excellent. The music flows seemlessly with the visuals, and the songs are beautiful.I consider this movie better than the two animated sequels and the Peter Jackson trilogy. You all may be thinking that I've lost it. But the character development in this 90-minute cartoon is superior to the 9+ hours of the PJ trilogy. The character interaction and conversation were more natural and involving and amusing. This cartoon doesn't have the melodrama and pathos of PJ. No dramatic faces during battle; no fake British accents from its cast, unlike PJ's Wood, Astin, Mortensen, and Tyler. Gollum was visually superior in the PJ trilogy, but the actual character was much more effective and amusing in The Hobbit.I like the PJ trilogy overall, but it falls short when compared to this little cartoon. If you watch it with an open mind and an open heart, then this movie will touch you more deeply than the PJ trilogy, whether you are 7 or 70. It did for this 35-year-old. Thanks.