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The Lord of the Rings

Play trailer Poster for The Lord of the Rings PG 1978 2h 11m Fantasy Adventure Animation Play Trailer Watchlist
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49% Tomatometer 45 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.
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The Lord of the Rings

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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.

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Critics Reviews

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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 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 Alan Murdoch Starburst If it achieves nother more than causing those unfamiliar with the worlds of Tolkien to actually read the original books then it has not been a pointless exercise. Jul 22, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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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 matthias s Finally gave the *The Lord of the Rings* animated film a shot, and wow, it’s such a unique experience. As a Tolkien fan who adores the live-action films and the universe overall, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but that nostalgic animated style hooked me immediately. The accuracy to the book blew me away, especially how dark and eerie it feels—it really nails the tone. The voice acting? Phenomenal. And the rotoscoping technique? Loved it; it adds such a cool, almost haunting vibe. That said, the character designs didn’t sit well with me—some felt way off. But my biggest gripe? It ends right in the middle of the story, which is so frustrating! If it had wrapped things up better, I’d have bumped it to 3.5 stars. Still, this is clearly the blueprint for Peter Jackson’s trilogy, and I’m so glad I watched it. Definitely worth it for fans! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/06/25 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

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
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