The Lord of the Rings

Play trailer

The Lord of the Rings

PG

1978

2h 11m

Fantasy

Adventure

Animation

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

48%

Tomatometer

46 Reviews

64%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

This animated film by Ralph Bakshi presents the first part of J.R.R. Tolkien's renowned fantasy tale. The wise old wizard, Gandalf (William Squire), entrusts the young hobbit, Frodo (Christopher Guard), with a magical ring. Soon dark forces are after Frodo, so he must leave his peaceful home and travel to the ominous Mount Doom, where the ring must be destroyed. Accompanied by a trio of hobbit friends, Frodo is also aided by the mysterious Aragorn (John Hurt) and other heroic allies.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Ralph Bakshi's valiant attempt at rendering Tolkein's magnum opus in rotoscope never lives up to the grandeur of its source material, with a compressed running time that flattens the sweeping story and experimental animation that is more bizarre than magical.

Read Critics Reviews

Paul Gray

TIME Magazine

Lacking a firm center in Frodo's story, the film plays itself out as a bewildering parade of elves, dwarves, ores, trolls and talking trees.

Mar 26, 2019

Full Review

William Thomas

Empire Magazine

What most people remember is the mix of the live-action tracing within the traditional animation and just how effectively creepy it managed to be, but for the time this did a pretty good job of adapting the dense novels.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 3, 2012

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

It looked terrible then and it still does: cartoon characters move differently from live actors, and the attempt to duplicate natural movement ends in stylistic incoherence.

Dec 3, 2012

Full Review

Jeff Beck

The Blu Spot

While it is quite interesting to see an early attempt to bring this beloved classic to the screen, it simply has too many issues holding it back, primarily with its sloppy rotoscoping and the unbalanced nature of its adaptation.

Rated: 2.5/5

Jul 17, 2025

Full Review

John Lapsley

The Sun-Herald (Australia)

Bakshi's 2.5 hour animation epic has been drowned by its inability to breathe any real identity into the Hobbits, Orcs, Wizards, and Elves, that Tolkien created. The result is an ordeal for the backside.

Rated: 2/5

Nov 16, 2023

Full Review

Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

Sheer tedium from start to finish.

Rated: D

Dec 1, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

David R

Honestly not bad movie. Very underrated.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/19/25

Full Review

Audience Member

Underrated and Overhated and I think it’s better than the Peter Jackson films because this film does almost everything right with the source material and it doesn’t have any filler lines WHOO!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/22/25

Full Review

Emma F

While the movie isn’t as popular as Peter Jackson’s, Bakshi’s animation is mind-blowing!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/13/25

Full Review

Leprechaun K

A good effort retelling of the classic using rotoscoping animation. Bakshi took American animation to new heights but it also ended with him. This is no Fire and Ice but is still an enjoyable watch.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/11/25

Full Review

Bobby B

It might be nostalgia, but I enjoyed it. I liked the orcs and I thought that the orcs style so cool and unique- until the other characters randomly went into that style. But yeah, still fun.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/25

Full Review

alan g

A good story but the animation seems off. Almost like stop motion. The drawings a very "flat", almost lifeless. Characters have "goofy faces".

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Ralph Bakshi

Director

Christopher Guard

Frodo

William Squire

Gandalf

Michael Scholes

Sam

John Hurt

Aragorn

Simon Chandler

Merry

Dragonslayer

84%

63%

Dragonslayer

Watchlist

Krull

35%

52%

Krull

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Krull

Wizards

67%

69%

Wizards

Watchlist

Hercules

22%

28%

Hercules

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

This animated film by Ralph Bakshi presents the first part of J.R.R. Tolkien's renowned fantasy tale. The wise old wizard, Gandalf (William Squire), entrusts the young hobbit, Frodo (Christopher Guard), with a magical ring. Soon dark forces are after Frodo, so he must leave his peaceful home and travel to the ominous Mount Doom, where the ring must be destroyed. Accompanied by a trio of hobbit friends, Frodo is also aided by the mysterious Aragorn (John Hurt) and other heroic allies.

Director: Ralph Bakshi
Screenwriter: Chris Conkling, Peter S. Beagle
Rating: PG
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 1, 2014
Runtime: 2h 11m
Sound Mix: Surround

Most Popular at Home Now