Middle Earth PBM Games wrote:
Wow - we never saw these, Stu says there was a 3rd part done in cartoon as
well. Cool. Anyone in the UK seen that? How could we get them?
Clint
Dunno about what's available in the UK, but FWIW here's what I can tell
you from this side of the pond, speaking as a 'Merkin who has seen all
three several times:
Two 'cartoon' movies [1] - 'The Hobbit' and 'Return of the King' - were
made by the team of Rankin & Bass, who are known, among other things,
for producing a number of literary interpretations in anime. Copies are
still readily available in most good video stores and online; at this
time yours truly has both on the shelf.
The third, entitiled 'Lord of the Rings' was produced by Ralph Baksche
(not sure of the spelling), sort of the Stanley Kubrick of animation,
and covers roughly the first half of the trilogy. AFAIK it is out of
print and copies are very hard to find; most video stores have a copy
for rent but rarely for sale. The most accessible source for most folks
would be EBay (no I'm not kidding).
Following are reviews by yours truly; skip to the next message if you
like...
"The Hobbit" - Rankin & Bass do a credible job of bringing the story to
the screen, which for many people was their first visual encounter with
Tolkein. The images of Gandalf and Bilbo in particular for many
Americans are 'the' way these characters are supposed to look, though in
retrospect the hobbits look more like dewey-eyed troll dolls than little
people. The production stays true to story and dialogue, but much
detail is lost in the need to compress the story to 78 minutes. Best
scenes include those with Smaug, which are much too short IMHO.
Featured voices include Orson Bean, John Huston, and Richard Boone.
2 1/2 stars out of 4 - nicely made but too short
"Lord of the Rings" - In this production Ralph Baksche makes use of one
of his famous techniques - animation traced from film of live actors.
On some occasions the effect is startling, but for the most part it's
merely distracting. Much of Tolkein's exposition is lost, making the
story exceedingly difficult to follow if you're not a Tolkein buff to
start with. Galadriel and the Balrog are rendered with credible care,
but other scenes are rather disappointing; Gandalf at Saruman's tower (a
scene referred to but not actually depicted in the book) looks like a
bad case of Parkinson's, and the Nazgul generally come off more like
hunchbacks in dark sheets than genuinely frightening. There is a
particular scene of orcs marching which consists of a bizarre montage of
animation and high-contrast live-action film in garish colors which
embodies the weakness of this film - all sound and fury in a confusing
swirl with no particular point to make.
1 star out of 4 - Just for being daring, though it fails miserably.
"Return of the King" - The second Rankin & Bass production covers
roughly the last book of the trilogy - that's right, there is a gap
between this and the previous movie, and once again no effort is made to
update those who don't already know the story. The main flaw of this
film, IMHO, is that they let the Japanese animators at the storyboards
way too often, with the introduction of some elements that just don't
work. For example, the cofrontation between Eowyn and the Witch-King is
rendered in stunning detail and very true to the original, fell beast
and all. Later, however, the Nazgul are depicted as laughing skeletons
riding black pegasi - very very different, and completely wrong. Sam's
temptation to claim the ring is grossly overdone, complete with a
five-minute musical piece wherein the whole of Mordor is transformed
into a garden paradise and the orcs into cute fuzzy animals - totally
unnecessary, distracting, and, well, a little fruity. At the end,
Gandalf expounds on how Merry and Pippin are taller then Frodo, who is
taller then Bilbo; the idea is that the hobbits are turning into
humans. Gandalf then turns to the camera and solemnly intones, "Is
there any hobbit in you? Is there?" It's enough to make Elrond puke.
Featured voices include Orson Bean, John Huston, William Conrad, Roddy
McDowell, and Glenn Yarborough [2]
0 stars - for f***ing with a good story
-ED \1/
[1] There are those who prefer the term 'animation' or 'anime' since the
word 'cartoon' implies funny stufff for kids, which some animation
decidedly is not.
[2] A well-known if not always respected 'Merkin folk singer, known for
a peculiar warble. Those who have seen the film often break into a
rendition of "Fro-o-do-o of the ni-i-i-ne fingers, and the Ri-i-ng of
Dooo-ooo-oooooommmm!!!!"
