Hobbit (1977)

A homebody hobbit in Middle Earth gets talked into joining a quest with a group of dwarves to recover their treasure from a dragon.

Directors:

Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.

Writers:

J.R.R. Tolkien (novel), Romeo Muller (adapted for the screen by)

Stars:

Orson Bean, John Huston, Brother Theodore

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Orson Bean	...	Bilbo Baggins (voice)
Richard Boone	...	Smaug (voice)
Hans Conried	...	Thorin Oakenshield (voice)
John Huston	...	Gandalf The Grey (voice)
Otto Preminger	...	The Elvenking (voice)
Cyril Ritchard	...	Elrond (voice)
Brother Theodore	...	Gollum (voice) (as Theodore)
Paul Frees	...	Bombur / Bill Huggins - Troll Leader (voice)
Jack DeLeon	...	Dwalin / Fíli / Kíli / Óin / Glóin / Ori / Nori / Bifur / Bofur / Bert - Troll #2 / Goblin / Spiders / Wood Elves / Lake People (voice) (as Jack De Leon)
Don Messick	...	Balin / Tom - Troll #3 / Goblin / Orc / Gwaihir - Lord of the Eagles (voice)
John Stephenson	...	Dori / Bard / Great Goblin (voice)
Glenn Yarbrough	...	The Balladeer (voice)

Storyline

Bilbo Baggins the Hobbit was just minding his own business, when his occasional visitor Gandalf the Wizard drops in one evening . One by one, a whole group of dwarves drop in, and before he knows it, Bilbo has joined their quest to reclaim their kingdom, taken from them by an evil dragon named Smaug. The only problem is that Gandalf has told the dwarves that Bilbo is an expert burglar, but he isn't....

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Plot Keywords:

treasure | butterfly | band leader | chorus | cheer | 

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Taglines:

Based on the original version of the Hobbit.

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 November 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hobbit

Filming Locations:

Topcraft studios, Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

ABC Video Enterprises, Rankin/Bass Productions, Topcraft

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The dwarves' map and runes upon it are an exact copy of the version included in the book, although the phrase indicated as written in the moon runes is incorrect. When Elrond holds the map of Lonely Mountain up to the moon and reads; "Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks and the setting sun will shine upon the keyhole," the runes shown actually read; "Five feet high the door, and three may walk abreast," the part of the map that was already visible, hence Gandalf's comment about the door being too small for Smaug to notice it.

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Goofs

Bilbo tells the dwarves to "run back to the wood-elf clearing" while he fights a rearguard action against the Mirkwood spiders. However, the company has not yet met the wood-elves. When they reach the clearing, Bilbo notes that the wood-elves "had returned, armed for battle". This is the first time we see the wood-elves. There is a scene from the book which was clearly scripted but is missing from the animation, where the starving dwarves attempt to gate-crash a gathering of wood-elves in a clearing.

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Quotes

Smaug: Be done with your riddles. What else brought you, lake man?
Bilbo Baggins: Revenge!
Smaug: Revenge?
Bilbo Baggins: Surely you must realize that your success has made you some bitter enemies.
Smaug: [evil chuckling] Revenge? You? HA! I am SMAUG! I kill when I wish! I am strong, strong, STRONG! My armor is like tenfold shields! My teeth are like swords! My claws, spears! The shock of my tail, a thunderbolt! My wings, a hurricane! And my breath... DEATH! Well? Where are your riddles now?

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Connections

Referenced in The Nostalgia Critic: Suburban Knights: DVD (2013)

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Soundtracks

Old Fat Spider
Performed by Glenn Yarbrough

User Reviews

Great for small children.

First - it's a wonderful introduction to full scale Fantasy, for anyone. But, for small children it's truly a gift. This is the Gateway for reading that most parents would die for. Children that watch this cry for more because it's usually the first thing in their lives that is not so dumbed down that they realize they've been had.

Second - for all those that love a quality story, this is the Grand-daddy of them all for modern times. Sure the story is told from a more artistic viewpoint than the Book is, but that just adds to the enjoyment. * read the Book.

Third - Since the current (wonderful) movies are coming out, this provides a foundation that makes them even more enjoyable.

Finally - Even in this animated version, one can tell why J.R.R. Tolkien is celebrated as one of the finest writers of the 20th century. These books provided the foundation of nearly all quality Fantasy/Sc-Fi books and movies for the last 75 years and will continue to inspire writers and moviemakers for a long long time to come.