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The Return of the King

Play trailer Poster for The Return of the King 1980 1h 37m Kids & Family Fantasy Animation Play Trailer Watchlist
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67% Tomatometer 15 Reviews 39% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
A Hobbit faces the powers of darkness as he tries to destroy the Ring of Doom. Based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novels.
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The Return of the King

Critics Reviews

View All (15) Critics Reviews
Steven D. Greydanus Decent Films Works even less well than The Hobbit, which really is a children's story… overbearing folk-ballad soundtrack doesn't even gesture lyrically to Tolkien's poetry. Rated: C Jan 30, 2004 Full Review Tim Brayton Antagony & Ecstasy A joyless failure which has only the latent strength of Tolkien's fantastic imaginings to give it any merit whatsoever. Rated: 4/10 Dec 2, 2012 Full Review Charles Cassady Common Sense Media Cartoon tale is darker, more complex than others in series. Rated: 3/5 Dec 15, 2010 Full Review Caffeinated Clint Moviehole McDowall is terrific Rated: 3/5 Feb 3, 2009 Full Review Christopher Null Filmcritic.com Rated: 3/5 May 6, 2006 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Oct 14, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Doug D I've always held a soft spot in my heart for Rankin/Bass, so that's where the second star comes in. But this one pushes the limits of my loyalty. Who decided that a folk-singing troubadour was the missing element that would complete this film? The songs work against the movie and make it cumbersome to finish watching. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/23/25 Full Review Leprechaun K Animation wasn't great. The storytelling is intact but just too many songs along the way. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/11/25 Full Review Bobby B Not bad but... not good. Just kinda forgetful. But when a character says something and then a song starts playing with that sentence as the first line and im just like🙄 Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/21/25 Full Review matthias s **The Return of the King (Animated) - 2.5 Stars** As a Tolkien fan who adores the live-action trilogy and that entire universe, I decided to give the original animated *Return of the King* a shot. The nostalgic animation style is gorgeous, and I was impressed by how faithful it is to the book. The voice acting? Fantastic. But what truly shines is the music—those songs are weirdly charming and memorable. That said, this movie’s biggest flaw is its focus on *only* the final part of the story. If you haven’t read the books or seen the other films, good luck figuring out what’s going on. The incomplete narrative makes it feel disjointed and slow, even for fans. I can’t say I hated it—it’s got a certain old-school magic—but it’s not a movie I’d revisit unless you’re already invested in Middle-earth. For non-fans, this would be a hard pass. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/05/25 Full Review George B Not great, but since I love the story of the Return of the king so much, I'll give it a pass. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/27/23 Full Review Jason B I grew up watching this movie and loved it! I've recently purchased it again to add to my collection. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Return of the King

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Movie Info

Synopsis A Hobbit faces the powers of darkness as he tries to destroy the Ring of Doom. Based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novels.
Director
Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.
Genre
Kids & Family, Fantasy, Animation
Original Language
English
Release Date (TV)
May 11, 1980
Runtime
1h 37m
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