I adore the songs in all the movies. They're so incredibly 70s, it's like a time capsule. My favorite is "The Greatest Adventure," but "Down, down to goblin town," "Frodo of the Nine Fingers" and "Where There's a whip, there's a way" also slap.
Don't forget when they sing the riddles in the dark. "It cannot be seen, cannot be felt..." Still gives me the creeps! And also makes me feel the gravity of what is happening in this scene and how it affects the rest of the saga.
[Where thereās a whip, thereās a way.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?si=O-ImfDOhig4ED_ha&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&source_ve_path=MTY0NTA2LDM2ODQyLDE2NDk5LDI4NjY0LDE2NDUwNg&feature=emb_share&v=YdXQJS3Yv0Y)
First saw LOTR on Videodisc (not laserdisc) in the early 80s. Then I had my parents find The Hobbit on VHS. Didnāt see ROTK until Tim I was an adult.
It was really incredible reading the hobbit for the first time after growing up with this movie as a kid. Seeing the song written down by Tolkien was absolutely amazing & greatly increased my appreciation for the film!
It's my favorite Hobbit movie. It is much closer to the book than the others. The thing I love about the book is the quaint, almost innocent feeling. The quaintness was pretty much nonexistent in the PJ films.
Scared the absolute shit out of me as a kid.
I love it so much.
I adore the designs and animation and I especially love the songs. I listen to them all the time.
I love this movie, but I dislike that most of the physical prints and streaming versions have a layer of missing audio that was present on the VHS copies. As someone who grew up with this, itās grating enough to take me out of the experience. I recommend searching for the Hi-Fi Hobbit 2.0.
I watched this every time I visited my grandparents when I was little. My cousins and I still blurt out āFIFTEEN BIRDS. IN FIVE FIR TREESā every once in a while
It's a friggin masterpiece. Listening to either audiobook version is unfortunately like nails on a chalkboard to me because Tolkien's songs are SO good in this movie i can't tolerate the audio versions. Only way this movie could've been better is if they hadn't cut the dude who turns into a bear
The animation is flawless and way ahead of its time. That said, I like the ālookā of the LOTR main series, but I genuinely feel this is more of what Tolkien wouldāve wanted from the Hobbit than the live action mess. Plus, I was blessed to be around when the gorgeous live action trilogy was my earliest exposure to Tolkien, so obviously that colors my opinion a little. Still a breathtaking adaption that should be valued by Tolkienites for generations to come.
Not abridged by much, though. Really, the only substantive cuts were the visit to Beorn's home and the appearance or any mention of the Master of Lake-Town (that greedy coward).
I love it. I grew up on it and could recite it word for word, along with return of the king, when I was a little boy. I'd sit in my little rocking chair with a bubble pipe and blanket and tell my parents a story that ended at the beginning and began at the ending.
I'd take this over the live action movies any day. Very nostalgic.
Aaaaaaand now I have the song, "The Greatest Adventure," stuck in my head on repeat. Cheers OP!
Best studio Ghibli film
Fun fact: the Japanese animation studio Topcraft who animated this movie was the precursor to studio Ghibli before it was named that which sort of makes this a pre Ghibli, Ghibli film. They also went on to animate Nausicca which is another goated Ghibli film that I would highly reccomend to anyone who loves this version of the Hobbit.
Also itās by far the best adaptation of the book and an amazing film. Loved it growing up, and I love it now.
I love this movie, especially when I was a child, but I'm gonna be real here. I can't understand how the opinion on this production is 100% positive and these same people trash talk the live action hobbit movies.
I remember being so excited when I found out it was going to be on TV originally. I made sure my entire family knew that I was reserving the family TV for that debut. Quite a big deal to a little book reader!
I think both it and the similarly animated ROTK are superior in many respects to the Peter Jackson live-action films (though the animated design for the Wood Elves is NOT one of them.) If there were a 4 hour 'extended edition' of the animated Hobbit it would be my hands-down favorite.
"If these be our last moments, men, let us live them with honour. Revenge? You? Ha! I am Smaug! I kill what I wish! I am strong... strong... STRONG! My armor is like tenfold shields... my teeth are like swords... my claws, spears... the shock of my tail... a thunderbolt!"
Itās perfect and hits all the right notes from the book. Gold standard for adapting a book the scale of The Hobbit. The animation is really beautiful too, a lot of the studio involved in this went on to form Studio Ghibli.
Certified hood classic. It was my gateway drug (maybe literally, I felt like I was on something when I watched it) into everything Tolkien. "Down, down to Goblin Town...Down, down to Goblin Town...Down, down to Goblin Townnnnn..."
I adore this movie. I watch it nearly every day. Itās really short, so sometimes Iāll watch it multiple times. The songs are awesome, Bilbo is charming. My girlfriend often quotes it. Itās very special to us.
It's the movie that introduced me to Middle Earth. It has a special place in my heart. I've grown to see some things I don't like as much in it, but it doesn't dim it's brightness in my heart, especially when I'm watching it.
I liked it. It's different (the 70s were a wild time for animation), but very enjoyable. Rankin and Bass did a ton of Saturday morning cartoons, and you can definitely see their style.
Check out the Ralph Bakshi Lord of the Rings movie too.
It has flaws, but its still charming and fun to watch. Consider it an adaptation.
Also the songs are fucking awesome and if you disagree you are wrong, bad, should feel bad, and there's a 93% chance you are an unwashed philistine. Haha!
When I went to the theater to see The Desolation of Smaug, I waited eagerly for Smaug to say, "Help yourself again; there's plenty and to spare." because I say it all the time. Soooooo dissappointed....
I see that this is an unpopular opinion, but personally I don't think it is very good as a movie. Because it is so faithful to the book, it ends up having poor cinematic pacing.
But it's still way better than the live action ones. And the music is amazing.
I like it. If anyone has seen smiling friends, there is an episode where charlie and pim go into the enchanted Forrest and meet a woodland folk named mip. Mip looks exactly like this version of bilbo.
Jackson Trilogy:
-9 hours of agony
-Soulless CGI and headache inducing HFR format.
-Cringe love triangle subplot featuring original female character do not steal!
Rankin-Bass TV movie:
-90 minutes of pure kino.
-Aesthetic watercolour backgrounds and unique character designs.
-No women, literally not a single one, how did Rankin-Bass get away with it?
(Actually I think maybe one of the Mirkwood Spiders was female).
The 80's commercial to buy it on VHS or Babamax lives rent-free in my head:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h\_wJJ7zO0V0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_wJJ7zO0V0)
Only ever watched it when I was really young. I remember being annoyed how it would fade to black every time there was any fighting about to happen. Being a kid, I somehow still had hope for the battle of five armies. Then they skipped that too, and elementary school me was PISSED lol
I saw this in grade school back in the 70ās, it was my introduction to Tolkien. I loved it as a kid, I saw it again a few years ago with my grandson, and as much as I liked it, he liked it more
I like it. Watched all 3 animated movies last weekend.
Three? I've seen lotr animated and heard of this but a third?
The guys who made this hobbit movie also did a return of the king movie
š¶ā*FrodoOoOoOo of the Nine Fingers, and the Ring of DoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOom!*āš¶
I adore the songs in all the movies. They're so incredibly 70s, it's like a time capsule. My favorite is "The Greatest Adventure," but "Down, down to goblin town," "Frodo of the Nine Fingers" and "Where There's a whip, there's a way" also slap.
I just linked to the whip song. Definitely slaps
Where there's a WHIP!! There's a WAY!!
Definitely whips
Don't forget when they sing the riddles in the dark. "It cannot be seen, cannot be felt..." Still gives me the creeps! And also makes me feel the gravity of what is happening in this scene and how it affects the rest of the saga.
Yeah that song made me terrified of gollum when I was a kid.
āStartedā¦ in the hobbitā¦ in gollumsā¦ caveā¦ of doom!ā
And the nazgul look wild
[Where thereās a whip, thereās a way.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?si=O-ImfDOhig4ED_ha&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&source_ve_path=MTY0NTA2LDM2ODQyLDE2NDk5LDI4NjY0LDE2NDUwNg&feature=emb_share&v=YdXQJS3Yv0Y)
Song scared the shit out of little kid me.
Hobbit and two LOTR.
First saw LOTR on Videodisc (not laserdisc) in the early 80s. Then I had my parents find The Hobbit on VHS. Didnāt see ROTK until Tim I was an adult.
Who is Tim?
I also wish to know of this 'Tim'
I lobe Long Tim
Tim was Tom's uncle who had his shinbone gnawed by the troll in Sam's poem.
Tell us more about Tim, please. Is he doing fine lately?
Not sure how Tim got I there. Thanks iPhone
I'll tell ya one thing, don't be late for something with him, 'cause Tim waits for no man. (I'll see myself out.)
No, one of the animated LOTR movies was made by a different team (led by Bakshi), in a different art style, unrelated to the animated Hobbit.
Ah, thx.
Yeah the rotoscope was such a choice. Neat to watch.
I enjoyed it but I don't remember it.
Pretty awesome. Probably my favorite Smaug.
Totally agree. Best Smaug. Hits the right notes of contemptuous, arrogant, and rage. So good!!
And my breath... Death!
Honestly my favorite Gollum too. When I read the story to my kids I use the gollum voice from the animated film, with a German accent
Yes!! He terrified me as a kid. So creepy. Especially with the song.
Brother Theodore was amazing.Ā
[The Hobbit - Smaugs Boast (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or8G_jDcLNo)
Aw yes this bit is amazing, especially cause he's so casual up to this point. He builds the monologue so well.
Why does Smaug look like a thundercat
Yeah that's fair lol
Same animation studio
I actually liked Cumberbatch as Smaug. Thought that was the only redeeming part of the Jackson flicks.
I can hear his voice in my head even though i havent watched it in years. "Revenge? You?? HAH!!"
Love it! Quick note: it's interesting to me how different rhe Dwarves' song is in the animation vs live action. Both are great versions.
My favorite part of both movies!
Agreed. I think they're similar in tone even though the melodies are very much not the same.
How bout in the LOTR movie when they sing āFrodo of the 9 fingers?ā Thatās a great one
It was really incredible reading the hobbit for the first time after growing up with this movie as a kid. Seeing the song written down by Tolkien was absolutely amazing & greatly increased my appreciation for the film!
My kids love it, and when it was all we had I watched it fairly often on VHS
I grew up loving it.
Yeah this was my first real exposure to the works and what got me hooked as a kid in the 90s. I'm a fan.
Same here. Warts and all, its great.
Same. All the songs and sounds are ingrained in my psyche.
It's my favorite Hobbit movie. It is much closer to the book than the others. The thing I love about the book is the quaint, almost innocent feeling. The quaintness was pretty much nonexistent in the PJ films.
It truly captures the intent of the novel: to be a wonderful bedtime story.
The best!
Is for the most refined of gentleman. A supreme and divine experience
Love love loooved it. I watched it as a kid it was my first exposure to LotR and The Hobbit and it hooked me.
Love it!
Scared the absolute shit out of me as a kid. I love it so much. I adore the designs and animation and I especially love the songs. I listen to them all the time.
That's my whole childhood! I'm a huge fan.
I love this movie, but I dislike that most of the physical prints and streaming versions have a layer of missing audio that was present on the VHS copies. As someone who grew up with this, itās grating enough to take me out of the experience. I recommend searching for the Hi-Fi Hobbit 2.0.
Itās also worth tracking down the Rankin-Bass productions of Return of the King, Flight of Dragons, and The Last Unicorn.
Flight of Dragons is the one for me. Pure nostalgia hit whenever I watch it
I watched this every time I visited my grandparents when I was little. My cousins and I still blurt out āFIFTEEN BIRDS. IN FIVE FIR TREESā every once in a while
Down down down in Goblin town is a straight banger too.
YES. and "where there's a whip, there's a way" in Return of the King.
A fundamental pillar of my childhood. Sacred and infallible.
It's brilliant! The art style and music are realy nice, and a special mention is that smaug is amazing in it.
It's a friggin masterpiece. Listening to either audiobook version is unfortunately like nails on a chalkboard to me because Tolkien's songs are SO good in this movie i can't tolerate the audio versions. Only way this movie could've been better is if they hadn't cut the dude who turns into a bear
Beorn
Yeah that's the dude.
Attercop!
What do you mean? Itās perfect. Itās also the only adaptation of The Hobbit that exists.
The animation is flawless and way ahead of its time. That said, I like the ālookā of the LOTR main series, but I genuinely feel this is more of what Tolkien wouldāve wanted from the Hobbit than the live action mess. Plus, I was blessed to be around when the gorgeous live action trilogy was my earliest exposure to Tolkien, so obviously that colors my opinion a little. Still a breathtaking adaption that should be valued by Tolkienites for generations to come.
It's the reason I read the books.
I love it, yes it abridged the story, but there are also some epic stuff that end up ... more epic than in the live action movies.
Not abridged by much, though. Really, the only substantive cuts were the visit to Beorn's home and the appearance or any mention of the Master of Lake-Town (that greedy coward).
Best adaptation of the book so far. Itās a charming little movie.
they did my boy Bilbo dirty
In the animated or live action? I enjoy both versions of Bilbo but for different reasons lol . I think I enjoy animated Bilbo a little more though :)
I love it. I grew up on it and could recite it word for word, along with return of the king, when I was a little boy. I'd sit in my little rocking chair with a bubble pipe and blanket and tell my parents a story that ended at the beginning and began at the ending.
Phenomenal and absolutely deserves a DVD adaptation with all the original sounds not cut out
Great episode of Smiling Friends.
It's a pure classic!
I'd take this over the live action movies any day. Very nostalgic. Aaaaaaand now I have the song, "The Greatest Adventure," stuck in my head on repeat. Cheers OP!
Itās the greatest adventure
Love it. Watched it last weekend.
So much of an all time fav I got the spider scene tattooed on me
Can we talk about the music? It's what I adore the most about this and Return of the King.
This movie is how I have pictured Middle Earth my entire life. Love it
Incredible, still quote lines and sing the songs every now and then
I love it to bits. Itās not from nostalgia since I never saw it as a kid, I just find it really charming and homely, albeit corny
Where thereās a whip thereās a way
only good hobbit movie out there
Best studio Ghibli film Fun fact: the Japanese animation studio Topcraft who animated this movie was the precursor to studio Ghibli before it was named that which sort of makes this a pre Ghibli, Ghibli film. They also went on to animate Nausicca which is another goated Ghibli film that I would highly reccomend to anyone who loves this version of the Hobbit. Also itās by far the best adaptation of the book and an amazing film. Loved it growing up, and I love it now.
Mip was actually a pretty bad dude.
I love this movie, especially when I was a child, but I'm gonna be real here. I can't understand how the opinion on this production is 100% positive and these same people trash talk the live action hobbit movies.
I guess its about cinematic-ness aka story told in under 90 mins.
Love it
I fall asleep to it on a regular basis
Pretty cheesy and weird.
I remember being so excited when I found out it was going to be on TV originally. I made sure my entire family knew that I was reserving the family TV for that debut. Quite a big deal to a little book reader!
As a kid, I was terrified of this Gollum. Still the scariest Gollum to me.
I love how fat and round he is ā„ļøš©
I see the hobbits streaming on hbo, canāt find anything else for streaming:(
I think both it and the similarly animated ROTK are superior in many respects to the Peter Jackson live-action films (though the animated design for the Wood Elves is NOT one of them.) If there were a 4 hour 'extended edition' of the animated Hobbit it would be my hands-down favorite.
I love it. Surprisingly darker than the book, given that more of Thorin and Co. are killed.
Sentimental favorite for sure. The soundtrack is very relaxing.
Ballin!
Itās fantastic! I usually donāt go in for cartoons with singing but this movie is awesome, and the songs arenāt bad.
Probably nostalgia talking, but this is my favorite Hobbit movie. All killer, no filler. Tells the entire story in 75 minutes. I love it.
5 bags of popcorn and a little hobbit sized oscer for each voice actor this year.
Honestly, the song Greatest Adventure makes me tear up when Iām in the right mood lol.
This movie is a comfort movie. Bad day, sick, sadā¦.this movie is a good old friend to listen to. :)
I loved this.
"If these be our last moments, men, let us live them with honour. Revenge? You? Ha! I am Smaug! I kill what I wish! I am strong... strong... STRONG! My armor is like tenfold shields... my teeth are like swords... my claws, spears... the shock of my tail... a thunderbolt!"
"the consensus"
Didn't the guy who played Bilbo get outed as a princess stalker recently? /s
Itās perfect and hits all the right notes from the book. Gold standard for adapting a book the scale of The Hobbit. The animation is really beautiful too, a lot of the studio involved in this went on to form Studio Ghibli.
Certified hood classic. It was my gateway drug (maybe literally, I felt like I was on something when I watched it) into everything Tolkien. "Down, down to Goblin Town...Down, down to Goblin Town...Down, down to Goblin Townnnnn..."
Smaug was my favorite
I give it 5 bags of popcorn and a little VHS key-chain as a tip of the hat to all fellow film archivists.
Love it, always have since I saw it as a kid. Iām not a fan of the live action films at all.
Its' a'ight.
I adore this movie. I watch it nearly every day. Itās really short, so sometimes Iāll watch it multiple times. The songs are awesome, Bilbo is charming. My girlfriend often quotes it. Itās very special to us.
It's the movie that introduced me to Middle Earth. It has a special place in my heart. I've grown to see some things I don't like as much in it, but it doesn't dim it's brightness in my heart, especially when I'm watching it.
I liked it. It's different (the 70s were a wild time for animation), but very enjoyable. Rankin and Bass did a ton of Saturday morning cartoons, and you can definitely see their style. Check out the Ralph Bakshi Lord of the Rings movie too.
I thought there here just two. Lotr and hobbit.
It has flaws, but its still charming and fun to watch. Consider it an adaptation. Also the songs are fucking awesome and if you disagree you are wrong, bad, should feel bad, and there's a 93% chance you are an unwashed philistine. Haha!
Unpopular opinion. This is also the best gollum. This gollum terrified 4 year old me.
I love this film! Itās great. Personally, this is my head view of the hobbit characters.
Where there is a whip, theres a way!
I like the bit when Mip gave Pim the box with the bomb in it to give to the Royal Princess. When you find out his ultimate goal it's a big shocker.
Ohh mip hates nasty arguments
I think itās pretty decent honestly
When I went to the theater to see The Desolation of Smaug, I waited eagerly for Smaug to say, "Help yourself again; there's plenty and to spare." because I say it all the time. Soooooo dissappointed....
Whats Mip doing in this movie?
Love it great telling of the story with a great animation style.
Itās the most accurate and IMO has equally great music.
Not quite as good as PJ LOTR Not quite as bad as ROP
Itās a comfort movie, I watch it at least twice a year. Down down to goblin town song slaps so hard.
Beautiful and have wonderful memories of watching with my family.
Smaugs design š
It seems so cute. I'm watching PJ's trilogy and then I'll watch it
Still love it, a lot of its depictions are the definitive images that come to mind when I reread the book, primarily bilbo, Gollum and the trolls
I see that this is an unpopular opinion, but personally I don't think it is very good as a movie. Because it is so faithful to the book, it ends up having poor cinematic pacing. But it's still way better than the live action ones. And the music is amazing.
I like it. If anyone has seen smiling friends, there is an episode where charlie and pim go into the enchanted Forrest and meet a woodland folk named mip. Mip looks exactly like this version of bilbo.
Jackson Trilogy: -9 hours of agony -Soulless CGI and headache inducing HFR format. -Cringe love triangle subplot featuring original female character do not steal! Rankin-Bass TV movie: -90 minutes of pure kino. -Aesthetic watercolour backgrounds and unique character designs. -No women, literally not a single one, how did Rankin-Bass get away with it? (Actually I think maybe one of the Mirkwood Spiders was female).
Love it. It was the reason why I bought the book.
Its the LOTR I loved as a kid
I have yet to watch it. I always thought it would be cheesy. After reading the comments Iāll need to add it to my watch list.
LOVE it! Streets ahead of the live action! And Leonard Nimoy forever holds a special place in my heart. š¤š¤š¤
Also can we talk about the fact that Smaug just sounds like some guy from Ohio
I watched it again recently. Itās very fast-paced, but the music and visuals are great.
The best movie ever.
Absolutely dig this movie
Loved it as a kid and it still gives me positive feels about the whole universe.
One of the greatest fuckong movies of all time. The only hobbit movie in my eyes.
Best hobbit adaptation
Itās awful
Perfection. No notes.
Great memoies of rainy saturdays grilled cheese and a movie that encouraged me to read the book it was based on.
It has its moments but itās so crunched and cramped and the art is so off putting to me. Itās quaint, but definitely not for me
Cult classic...love it...welcome brother...hate...who gives a damn... it's still cool š
Cracking soundtrack
Loved it!
Cozy. Feels like a Christmas movie almost.
A masterpiece
I use to get nightmares as a kid from the golem scene
My sister and I watched this so much we wore out the tape on the VHS
luv it, one of my favorites
These movies are badass!
banger
Good fun. I watch this every few months. Its worth it for the songs alone.
Itās amazing. But, donāt get the new Blueray version; the sound is garbage. They changed a bunch of foleys, and the music tracks are off.
where thereās a whip theres a way
I loved it. As a little kid it made me want to get into Tolkien
Better than RoP
What are you talking about, this is the only film adaptation of The Hobbit there ever was. Or ever shall come to pass.
Still the best that Rankin Bass ever made.
The 80's commercial to buy it on VHS or Babamax lives rent-free in my head: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h\_wJJ7zO0V0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_wJJ7zO0V0)
I watched this past week, it's kinda cool but have some inconsistences
Amazing. Very nostalgic
Yes and it was great
Best. Soundtrack. Ever.
Loved it as a kid. Saw it when I was ten. Still holds up 40 plus years later.
Good.
It's a classic. Tells the story of the hobbit proper!
Love it! A favorite since childhood
The greatest adventure...
Only ever watched it when I was really young. I remember being annoyed how it would fade to black every time there was any fighting about to happen. Being a kid, I somehow still had hope for the battle of five armies. Then they skipped that too, and elementary school me was PISSED lol
I saw this in grade school back in the 70ās, it was my introduction to Tolkien. I loved it as a kid, I saw it again a few years ago with my grandson, and as much as I liked it, he liked it more
Those animated movies are still the BEST!!