The Return of the King (1980 film): Difference between revisions

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The film was created by the same team which had worked on the 1977 [[Rankin/Bass' The Hobbit|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'']].  


[[Orson Bean]] returned as the voice of the older [[Bilbo Baggins]], as well as that of the story's hero, [[Frodo Baggins]].
==Cast==
[[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".
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"
! Role !! Actor
|-
| [[Frodo Baggins]] || [[Orson Bean]]
|-
| [[Bilbo Baggins]] || Orson Bean
|-
| [[Gandalf|Gandalf the Grey]] || [[John Huston]]
|-
| [[Aragorn II|Aragorn]] || [[Theodore Bikel]]
|-
| [[Denethor II|Denethor]] || [[William Conrad]]
|-
| [[Samwise Gamgee]] || [[Roddy McDowall]]
|-
| [[Gollum]] || [[Brother Theodore]]
|-
| [[Elrond]] || [[Paul Frees]]
|-
| [[Meriadoc Brandybuck]] || [[Casey Kasem]]
|-
| [[Peregrin Took]] || [[Sonny Melendrez]]
|-
| [[Éowyn]] || [[Nellie Bellflower]]  
|-
| Minstrel of Gondor || [[Glenn Yarbrough]]  
|}


==Story==
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''.
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''.


==Reception==
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 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].


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== External link ==
== External link ==
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079802/ IMDB.com Information]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079802/ IMDB Entry]
* [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.
* [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.


{{films}}
{{films}}

Revision as of 16:55, 1 May 2008

File:RankinBass' The Return of the King.png
The cover of the DVD release.

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

Role Actor
Frodo Baggins Orson Bean
Bilbo Baggins Orson Bean
Gandalf the Grey John Huston
Aragorn Theodore Bikel
Denethor William Conrad
Samwise Gamgee Roddy McDowall
Gollum Brother Theodore
Elrond Paul Frees
Meriadoc Brandybuck Casey Kasem
Peregrin Took Sonny Melendrez
Éowyn Nellie Bellflower
Minstrel of Gondor Glenn Yarbrough

Story

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.

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 Hobbit and Bakshi's Lord of the Rings.

External link

Template:Films

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