Letter 198

Letter 198 is a letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien and published in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Summary

This fragment of a letter, dated June 19, 1957, was sent to Rayner Unwin. An (unidentified) American filmmaker had expressed interest in making a cartoon film of The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien welcomes the idea of an animated motion picture, even with the possibility of vulgarization. On the brink of his retirement, extra money would be welcome too. Tolkien concludes with the remark that he finds vulgarization less painful than the sillification, achieved by the BBC in their radio series.