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The Return of the King (1980) (TV) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
5.5/10   1,409 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

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Writers:

J.R.R. Tolkien (novel)
Romeo Muller (writer)

Contact:

View company contact information for The Return of the King on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

11 May 1980 (USA) more

Plot:

Two Hobbits struggle to destroy the Ring in Mount Doom while their friends desperately fight evil Lord Sauron's forces in a final battle. full summary | add synopsis

Plot Keywords:

more

User Comments:

It's So Easy Not To Try more (45 total)


Cast

  (Credited cast)

Orson Bean ... Frodo Baggins / King Bilbo Baggins (voice)

Theodore Bikel ... Aragorn (voice)

William Conrad ... Lord Denethor (voice)

John Huston ... Gandalf (voice)

Roddy McDowall ... Samwise Gamgee (voice)
Brother Theodore ... Gollum / Smeagol (voice) (as Theodore)
Paul Frees ... Orc / Goblin / Uruk-Hai / Lord Elrond (voice)
Don Messick ... King Theoden / Easterling / The Mouth of Sauron (voice)
John Stephenson ... Gondorian Guard / Dwimmerlaik - The Witch-King of Angmar

Casey Kasem ... Meriadoc 'Merry' Brandybuck (voice)
Sonny Melendrez ... Peregrin 'Pippin' Took (voice)
Nellie Bellflower ... Eowyn / Dernhelm
Glenn Yarbrough ... The Minstrel (voice)
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Additional Details

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | Canada:G (Manitoba/Quebec)

Company:

Topcraft more


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

Many Tolkien fans were disappointed when Ralph Bakshi's 1978 adaptation of "Lord of the Rings" covered only the first two books of Tolkien's trilogy. When it became clear that Bakshi would not produce a sequel, Rankin and Bass finished the story for him with this TV movie, disappointing fans even more due to its poor, rushed quality. This TV movie is considered by many fans to be vastly inferior to Bakshi's 1978 movie. more

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): "Sauron" is mispronounced as "Sore-on" rather than "Sow-ron". more

Quotes:

Pippin: Fine time to fall asleep!
Bilbo Baggins: Who's asleep? Just resting my eyes.
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Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ringers: Lord of the Fans (2005) more


FAQ

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful.
It's So Easy Not To Try, 6 January 2008
Author: parkerr86302 from arizona

Having recently seen this version for the first time in a number of years, I can see its faults, but many of the reviewers here are way too hard on it. Tolkien's masterful trilogy was unfilmable in live action before the advent of CGI, but fans were clamoring for film versions anyway, and then hated them when they arrived. Oy veh! While this Rankin/Bass version was not as good as their THE HOBBIT, I still found it to be quite entertaining on its own level, as long as you don't compare it to Peter Jackson's impeccable epics. The voice cast was great, and it was quite ambitious for Rankin/Bass, known chiefly for their animated Christmas specials.

This film's haters should listen to the lyrics of one of Glenn Yarbrough's---It Is So Easy Not To Try. Rankin/Bass tried, and Tolkien fans who have expressed outrage over this would have been angrier if no one had tried back then. Everyone here needs to take a chill pill.

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Pro's and Con's sneakyclevermongols
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Awesome movie. missheatherness
Orc Who Fell Off The Stairs westvirginia
Anyone else discover tolkien because of these? misterpianoman
Why were the movies so different treehugger1964
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