Show #86: Oh No! A Lovely Garden!

It's the most wonderful time of the year; another Hobbit movie means another Hobbit cartoon movie, The Return of the King!

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The live action Hobbit trilogy has finally come to a close and with it we must also round out our experiences with the animated J.R.R. Tolkien works, which we have covered previously. This final chapter brings back Rankin Bass and Topcraft who brought us the quite enjoyable 1977 Hobbit, taking a similar approach from that film which doesn't quite gel with the scale of this saga of war between good and evil. An imbalance of focus, difficulties with compressing the narrative and some non sequitur musical interludes make for a bizarre and frustrating viewing experience.

THE SHORT VERSION

You're late pal.

Skeletor?

"THIS IS THE SONG OF THE THIRD BLOGPOST PICTURE"

Show #61: Baywatch Orcs

Bound in the darkness no more it's time to shed a little light on Ralph Bakshi's Lord Of The Rings!

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We live in an era of privilege where JRR Tolkien's fantasy saga has received the blockbuster film treatment so it may be a tad unfair to compare it against this 1978 effort from Ralph Bakshi of Fritz The Cat and Fire & Ice fame. That aside numerous problems exist in the way it handles its narrative and that's before we get to the visuals which certainly don't hold up with age. An ambitious effort for its time but which ultimately leaves you wanting.

THE SHORT VERSION

Seamless visuals (and is that John Belushi on the left?)

MC Saru The Man exits the stage

GO BALROGS!

Show #30: Sadsack Potato Men

We're being obnoxiously topical for a change! In light of the release of Peter Jackson's blockbuster movie it seems high time for a viewing of Rankin Bass's 1977 adaptation of The Hobbit.

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Daunted by the length of the recent live action film? Baffled by the knowledge it's only one third of the story? Never fear! This animated feature races through the plot of the book, hitting all the major story points in a trim 77 minutes. It may not be as action packed but it has possibly more detailed visuals and a lot more singing!

THE SHORT VERSION

Starring (not) Martin Freeman!

Filmed at 48 FPS!

All your favourite characters! Including Bunny-Eared Spider!