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[[Image:RankinBass' The Return of the King.png|right|thumb|The cover of the DVD release.]]
{{disambig-more|The Return of the King|[[The Return of the King (disambiguation)]]}}{{film infobox
| image=[[Image:RankinBass' The Return of the King.png|250px]]
| name=The Return of the King
| director=[[Arthur Rankin, Jr.]], [[Jules Bass]]
| producer=[[Arthur Rankin, Jr.]], [[Jules Bass]]
| writer=[[Romeo Muller]]
| narrator=
| starring=[[Orson Bean]], [[Theodore Bikel]], [[William Conrad]], [[Roddy McDowall]], [[Casey Kasem]]
| music=[[Maury Laws]]
| cinematography=
| editing=
| distributor=[[Warner Bros.]]
| released=[[11 May|May 11]], [[1980]]
| runtime=98 minutes
| country=United States
| language=English
| budget=
| website=
| imdb_id=0079802
}}'''''The Return of the King''''' is an animated adaptation of the [[The Lord of the Rings|novel]] by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] which was released by [[Rankin/Bass]] as a TV special in 1980. It has since been released on VHS and DVD.


'''''The Return of the King''''' is an animated adaptation of the [[The Lord of the Rings|novel]] by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] which was released by [[Rankin/Bass]] as a TV special in 1980. It has since been released on VHS and DVD.
The film was created by the same team which had worked on the 1977 [[The Hobbit (1977 film)|animated version of ''The Hobbit'']].  


The film was created by the same team which had worked on the 1977 [[Rankin/Bass' The Hobbit|animated version of ''The Hobbit'']].
==Cast==
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"
! Actor !! Role
|-
| [[Orson Bean]] || [[Frodo Baggins]], [[Bilbo Baggins]]
|-
| [[Nellie Bellflower]] || [[Éowyn]]
|-
| [[Theodore Bikel]] || [[Aragorn]]
|-
| [[Brother Theodore]] || [[Gollum]]
|-
| [[William Conrad]] || [[Denethor]]
|-
| [[Paul Frees]] || [[Elrond]], Whip Orc
|-
| [[John Huston]] || [[Gandalf|Gandalf the Grey]]
|-
| [[Casey Kasem]] || [[Meriadoc Brandybuck]]
|-
| [[Roddy McDowall]] || [[Samwise Gamgee]]
|-
| [[Sonny Melendrez]] || [[Peregrin Took]]
|-
| [[Don Messick]] || [[Théoden|Theoden]], [[Mouth of Sauron]], [[Easterlings|Easterling]]
|-
| [[John Stephenson]] || [[Witch-king|Witch-king of Angmar]], Gondorian Guard
|-
| [[Glenn Yarbrough]] || Minstrel of Gondor
|-
|}


[[Orson Bean]] returned as the voice of the older [[Bilbo Baggins]], as well as that of the story's hero, [[Frodo Baggins]].
==Synopsis==
[[John Huston]] was back as well, as the beloved wizard [[Gandalf]], and co-starring with them were: [[William Conrad]] as [[Denethor]], [[Roddy McDowall]] as [[Samwise Gamgee]], [[Theodore Bikel]] as [[Aragorn]] the King himself, and reprising his darkly spoken role of [[Gollum]] was the grumpily dangerous [[Brother Theodore]]. Rankin/Bass stalwart [[Paul Frees]] replaced Cyril Ritchard as the voice of [[Elrond]]; [[Casey Kasem]], best known for his role as Shaggy in Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo, was [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]] with Sonny Melendrez as [[Peregrin Took|Pippin]]; Nellie Bellflower as [[Eowyn]]; and [[Glenn Yarborough]] returned as principal vocalist, billed here as simply "the Minstrel of Gondor".
Rather than picking up where [[Ralph Bakshi]]'s [[The Lord of the Rings (1978 film)|animated adaptation of ''The Lord of the Rings'']] had left off in 1978, Rankin-Bass present ''The Return of the King'' as a sequel to their 1977 adaptation of ''The Hobbit'' — giving the audience a brief recap of the events, and adapting a few story events from ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' and ''The Two Towers,'' while leaving out some major details. The visual style of ''The Return of the King'' is largely shared with the 1977 ''Hobbit''.


Rather than picking up where [[Ralph Bakshi]]'s [[Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings|animated adaptation of ''The Lord of the Rings'']] had left off in 1978, Rankin-Bass present ''The Return of the King'' as a sequel to their 1977 adaptation of ''The Hobbit'' — giving the audience a brief recap of the events, and adapting a few story events from ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' and ''The Two Towers,'' while leaving out some major details. The visual style of ''The Return of the King'' is largely shared with the 1977 ''Hobbit''.
===Scenes===
# "[[Prologue: A Ring's Tale (1980 scene)|Prologue: A Ring's Tale]]"
# "[[Frodo of the Nine Fingers (scene)|Frodo of the Nine Fingers]]"
# "Credits"
# "[[Crossing into Mordor]]"
# "[[The Bearer of the Ring (scene)|The Bearer of the Ring]]"
# "[[Samwise the Strong]]"
# "[[Less Can Be More (scene)|Less Can Be More]]"
# "[[Under Siege]]"
# "[[Denethor's Black Vision]]"
# "[[The Two Watchers]]"
# "[[Great Elf Warrior]]"
# "[[Rescuing Frodo]]"
# "[[The Power]]"
# "[[Team Magic]]"
# "[[Weary Fugitives]]"
# "[[Vale of Gorgoroth]]"
# "[[Where There's a Whip]]"
# "[[Enemy At The Gates]]"
# "[[Leave Tomorrow Till It Comes (scene)|Leave Tomorrow Till It Comes]]"
# "[[Mount Doom (1980 scene)|Mount Doom]]"
# "[[The Gollum]]"
# "[[Theoden Falls]]"
# "[[Claimed By the Ring]]"
# "[[Eowyn Triumphs]]"
# "[[Choice of Evils (scene)|Choice of Evils]]"
# "[[End of the Ring]]"
# "[[On Eagles' Wings]]"
# "[[The Return of the King (scene)|The Return of the King]]"
# "[[Farewells]]"
# "End Credits"


Reception for the animated TV special is varied.  Some commentators view it affectionately as an adaptation which children and parents can enjoy together [http://www.toxicuniverse.com/review.php?rid=10000654]. However, others regard it with disdain, comparing it unfavorably to Ralph Bakshi's earlier animated film and [[Peter Jackson]]'s later [[Peter Jackson's The Return of the King|live-action film]] [http://www.stomptokyo.com/movies/r/return-of-the-king.html], [http://decentfilms.com/sections/reviews/1989].  Glenn Yarborough's songs are widely derided, although some admit to a campy affection for the surprisingly tuneful Orc marching song "Where There's a Whip, There's a Way" or the ballad "Frodo of the Nine Fingers" [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079802/usercomments].
==Reception==
Reception for the animated TV special is varied.  Some commentators view it affectionately as an adaptation which children and parents can enjoy together .<sup>[http://www.toxicuniverse.com/review.php?rid=10000654]</sup> However, others regard it with disdain, comparing it unfavorably to Ralph Bakshi's earlier animated film and [[Peter Jackson]]'s later [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King|live-action film]].<sup>[http://www.stomptokyo.com/movies/r/return-of-the-king.html][http://decentfilms.com/sections/reviews/1989]</sup> Glenn Yarborough's songs are widely derided, although some admit to a campy affection for the surprisingly tuneful Orc marching song "[[Where There's a Whip, There's a Way]]" or the ballad "[[Frodo of the Nine Fingers]]".<sup> [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079802/usercomments]</sup>


The animated ''Return of the King'' is available on DVD from [[Warner Bros.]], both individually and as a "boxed trilogy" with the Rankin/Bass ''Hobbit'' and Bakshi's ''Lord of the Rings''.
The animated ''Return of the King'' is available on DVD from [[Warner Bros.]], both individually and as a "boxed trilogy" with the Rankin/Bass ''The Hobbit'' and Bakshi's ''The Lord of the Rings''.
 
== External link ==
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079802/ IMDB.com Information]
* [http://www.cedmagic.com/featured/tolkien/return-of-the-king.html Screen captures from the laserdisc edition.] Also features links to galleries of screen captures from other Tolkien animated films.


== External links ==
* {{WP|The Return of the King (1980 film)}}


{{films}}
{{films}}
{{title|italics}}
[[Category:The Return of the King (1980 film)| ]]

Revision as of 12:26, 19 October 2012

The name The Return of the King refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see The Return of the King (disambiguation).

The Return of the King is an animated adaptation of the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien which was released by Rankin/Bass as a TV special in 1980. It has since been released on VHS and DVD.

The film was created by the same team which had worked on the 1977 animated version of The Hobbit.

Cast

Actor Role
Orson Bean Frodo Baggins, Bilbo Baggins
Nellie Bellflower Éowyn
Theodore Bikel Aragorn
Brother Theodore Gollum
William Conrad Denethor
Paul Frees Elrond, Whip Orc
John Huston Gandalf the Grey
Casey Kasem Meriadoc Brandybuck
Roddy McDowall Samwise Gamgee
Sonny Melendrez Peregrin Took
Don Messick Theoden, Mouth of Sauron, Easterling
John Stephenson Witch-king of Angmar, Gondorian Guard
Glenn Yarbrough Minstrel of Gondor

Synopsis

Rather than picking up where Ralph Bakshi's animated adaptation of The Lord of the Rings had left off in 1978, Rankin-Bass present The Return of the King as a sequel to their 1977 adaptation of The Hobbit — giving the audience a brief recap of the events, and adapting a few story events from The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, while leaving out some major details. The visual style of The Return of the King is largely shared with the 1977 Hobbit.

Scenes

  1. "Prologue: A Ring's Tale"
  2. "Frodo of the Nine Fingers"
  3. "Credits"
  4. "Crossing into Mordor"
  5. "The Bearer of the Ring"
  6. "Samwise the Strong"
  7. "Less Can Be More"
  8. "Under Siege"
  9. "Denethor's Black Vision"
  10. "The Two Watchers"
  11. "Great Elf Warrior"
  12. "Rescuing Frodo"
  13. "The Power"
  14. "Team Magic"
  15. "Weary Fugitives"
  16. "Vale of Gorgoroth"
  17. "Where There's a Whip"
  18. "Enemy At The Gates"
  19. "Leave Tomorrow Till It Comes"
  20. "Mount Doom"
  21. "The Gollum"
  22. "Theoden Falls"
  23. "Claimed By the Ring"
  24. "Eowyn Triumphs"
  25. "Choice of Evils"
  26. "End of the Ring"
  27. "On Eagles' Wings"
  28. "The Return of the King"
  29. "Farewells"
  30. "End Credits"

Reception

Reception for the animated TV special is varied. Some commentators view it affectionately as an adaptation which children and parents can enjoy together .[1] However, others regard it with disdain, comparing it unfavorably to Ralph Bakshi's earlier animated film and Peter Jackson's later live-action film.[2][3] Glenn Yarborough's songs are widely derided, although some admit to a campy affection for the surprisingly tuneful Orc marching song "Where There's a Whip, There's a Way" or the ballad "Frodo of the Nine Fingers". [4]

The animated Return of the King is available on DVD from Warner Bros., both individually and as a "boxed trilogy" with the Rankin/Bass The Hobbit and Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings.

External links

Template:Films

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