Product: The Hobbit [VHS] (1977)
Rating: 4.0
decent intro full of nostalgia
I remembered this from the multitude of films in my childhood and as a young adult decided to check it out to see how the whole differed from the bits in my memory. I actually saw the movie first then (tried) to read the book. If, for whatever reason, Tolkien's book didn't hold your interest all the way through or if you just want to visualize the story before reading the book (or seeing Jackson's upcoming adaptation), I highly recommend watching this movie. This can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike, especially if you are an adult who enjoyed the movie as a kid. The scenery is amazing and all the characters have that distinct Rankin/ Bass look to them. John Houston and Orson Bean have good voices for this story and one of the most enjoyable scenes (for myself at least) was when Bilbo finally met Smaug the Dragon, which is what the whole thing is leading up to. From what I understand, this is a pretty faithful adaptation of the book, although it does emit some events and characters or rushes through certain parts. A few downfalls would be the dwarves (especially Thorin), who are hard to root for when all they do is let other people do the work then take the spoils for themselves, some of the music can get annoying, and the wood elves might confuse some people based on the way they are drawn and the way they speak. You can tell this was made in the 70s as a TV special for kids, but it's a good way to visually introduce yourself and others to Middle Earth.