The Lord of the Rings

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The Lord of the Rings

PG

1978

2h 11m

Fantasy

Adventure

Animation

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Popcornmeter

48%

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46 Reviews

64%

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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, entrusts the young hobbit, Frodo, 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 and other heroic allies.

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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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Paul Gray

TIME Magazine

Mar 26, 2019

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.

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William Thomas

Empire Magazine

Dec 3, 2012

4/5

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.

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Dec 3, 2012

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.

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Jeff Beck

The Blu Spot

Jul 17, 2025

2.5/5

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.

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John Lapsley

The Sun-Herald (Australia)

Nov 16, 2023

2/5

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.

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

Dec 1, 2022

D

Sheer tedium from start to finish.

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Paul Z

@Soprano1927 Aug 19, 2026

I got this for free, and honestly, for me, the main problem is the character designs, Sam is fat, treebead looks like a beetroot, and the orcs are wearing some turban things. However,the animation itself is pretty good, as well as the retroscooping. In conclusion, it’s good for a free movie but I wouldn’t pay for it.

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Alexios B

@Alexios-Barnabas Jul 7, 2026

I love this film adaptation, and not just because it was my first introduction to Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings. Yes, it seems a bit quirky by today's standards, but it's a loving adaptation that stays quite faithful to the book.

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Alex T

@Alex26465 Jun 19, 2026

ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE

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Ricky L.

@ricky707 Mar 22, 2026

When it comes to the adaptation of the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit I'm sadden that no one talks about this version

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Ian A

@TheGreatScot Mar 12, 2026

Everyone remembers this film's use of rotoscoping, and for good reason, it is very stylistically inconsistent. It is worth mentioning however that this film does do a very good job at what it does well, the film ends with The Two Towers and never received a sequel. It cannot be argued that this film is better than Peter Jackson's, but it did indeed inspire much of his, that much is obvious in framing and minor aspects in storytelling. It is too worth mentioning that there are (rather rare) instances where this film does a better job than Peter Jackson's. Sam's return to Frodo after the Fellowship breaks is, in my own humble opinion, both more faithful to the books and slightly better overall. This film is most definitely worth a watch, though do not expect it to be better than Peter Jackson's adaptation.

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Dustin B.

@DustinBalacio Feb 11, 2026

While it pales compared to Jackson’s films, while also having inconsistent animation and a disappointing ending, Ralph Bakshi’s lord of the rings balances out with its spectacular acting, faithful accuracy, and an arguably better portrayal of Frodo in the film as opposed to the Jackson movies.

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Ralph Bakshi

Director

Christopher Guard

Frodo

William Squire

Gandalf

Michael Scholes

Sam

John Hurt

Aragorn

Simon Chandler

Merry

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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, entrusts the young hobbit, Frodo, 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 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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