The Hobbit

1977

1h 18m

Fantasy

Animation

List

71%

17 Reviews

Tomatometer

65%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

An animated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's tale of the adventures of a hobbit on a quest to regain a dwarf king's gold.

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Teddy B

Meandering in almost every aspect of production. It is a serviceable adaptation and its voicework is effectively executed but its animation, character designs, droning music that repeats the same song so often that I feel my brain going numb, and sound design and mixing are horrendous and really drag the experience down.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/14/24

Full Review

Tom R

Whimsical old school version of the hobbit. How can you not like this? Powerful tale and Rankin/Bass, the best in the biz making it happen. Legendary

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Over 45 years since its release and the late Jules Bass left his mark for generations This also came out 40 years since the book was first published I watched it way back at my second house on tv but barely remember it It first aired on NBC and would lay the foundation of pop culture in the days to come from Star Wars to Harry Potter to the Marvel Cinematic Universe Lovingly animated, good voice acting, and it zips by pretty fast Crazy they insert so many songs and I forgot the Eagles actually talk in this one The background paintings throughout the movie are gorgeous and seem to consciously adapt the look of Tolkien’s own drawings and paintings of Middle-earth, underscoring the storybook feel of the movie Making Smaug into a cat-dragon is brilliant Not only does it fit the character’s personality and Tolkien’s world, but it immediately conveys the particular menace of Smaug: Bilbo himself It's a shame the heart of the story and character development is absent, not the best scripted or executed adaptation that's for sure Somewhere in between there's an accurate depiction of Lord Elrond Stinks the Beorn character is entirely cut as was Tom Bobadil in the animated Lord of the Rings and live-action adaptations With the final battle of the five armies it's kinda disturbing with the Eagles picking up goblins and orcs dropping them from the sky; gotta wonder how much the disillusionment with the Vietnam War (and Tolkien’s own experience in World War I) played a role in how this battle was depicted Crazy that 35 years later we wouldn't see the Hobbit again on film until Peter Jackson would adapt his next Middle Earth trilogy The animated film has become a staple of elementary school Literature Arts movie days, and it’s likely been producing Gollum-themed nightmares in children for four solid decades (and still going strong!) Rankin/Bass’s take looks better and better every day Its idiosyncratic character designs are truly unique I believe the late Jules Bass would be proud how long the legacy of these movies have lasted Overall this is an interesting take on the first attempt to adapt JRR Tolkien's fantasy It truly was the first of its kind: A new take on what had already been an instant classic in 1937

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/28/23

Full Review

George B

It's fine. Not great but it does the job.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/26/23

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Jeffrey M

The Hobbit was an amazing movie. I watched it just know ( it's pretty short ) and I thought it was really good. I really liked The Hobbits animation, it was like story book characters coming to life. I have only watched one of the live action Hobbit movies, and this movie was better than that movie ( The movie was The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ). This movie was worse than the book, but it was still good. Like the book, The Hobbit was a very interesting movie. I thought Orson Bean did really good on Bilbo Baggins, so that's another reason why I like this movie. What a good movie. I give this a 74%.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/24

Full Review

Elling R

I absolutely loved this movie as a kid, I would watch this and The Land Before Time incessantly. For some reason the darker tone and animation style of both movies really resonated with me, which seems odd for a child haha. I will always have fond memories of this one. Highly recommend!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/14/23

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Jules Bass

Director

Arthur Rankin Jr.

Director

Orson Bean

Bilbo Baggins

John Huston

Gandalf the Grey

Otto Preminger

Elvenking

Cyril Ritchard

Elrond

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Steven D. Greydanus

Decent Films

Rankin-Bass bring their typically serviceable animation, strong voicework, and corny folk ballads to The Hobbit… worthwhile for kids and not too bad for parents.

Rated: C+

Jan 30, 2004

Full Review

Nell Minow

Movie Mom

Rated: 3/5

Dec 24, 2002

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Kevin Carr

Fat Guys at the Movies

Quick and breezy compared to the live-action films, this offers a good introduction to on-screen Tolkien lore.

Rated: 3/4

May 12, 2023

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Rachel Wagner

rachelsreviews.net

For a made for TV movie from the 70's I was impressed.

Rated: 6/10

Apr 18, 2019

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Tim Brayton

Antagony & Ecstasy

There is something undeniably fun about this kind of crisp, unfussy fantasy storytelling.

Rated: 7/10

Nov 24, 2012

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Charles Cassady

Common Sense Media

Cartoon adaptation of famous book is a great intro for kids.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 15, 2010

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Synopsis

An animated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's tale of the adventures of a hobbit on a quest to regain a dwarf king's gold.

Director: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.
Screenwriter: Romeo Muller
Genre: Fantasy, Animation
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 31, 2014
Runtime: 1h 18m

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