The Hobbit

TV Movie
19771977
TV-PGTV-PG
1h 30min

John Huston, Orson Bean, Jack DeLeon, Paul Frees, Don Messick, and John Stephenson in The Hobbit (1977)

Animation Adventure Family

A homebody hobbit in Middle Earth gets talked into joining a quest with a group of dwarves to recover their treasure from a dragon.A homebody hobbit in Middle Earth gets talked into joining a quest with a group of dwarves to recover their treasure from a dragon.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(voice)
- John Huston(voice)
- Theodore Gottlieb(voice)

See production, box office & company info

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 2 nominations

John Huston, Orson Bean, and Richard Boone in The Hobbit (1977)

John Huston, Orson Bean, and Richard Boone in The Hobbit (1977)

John Huston, Orson Bean, and Richard Boone in The Hobbit (1977)

Orson Bean in The Hobbit (1977)

John Huston in The Hobbit (1977)

The Hobbit (1977)

Orson Bean in The Hobbit (1977)

Theodore Gottlieb in The Hobbit (1977)

Jack DeLeon, Paul Frees, and Don Messick in The Hobbit (1977)

The Hobbit (1977)

Orson Bean in The Hobbit (1977)

Orson Bean in The Hobbit (1977)

Bilbo Bagginsas Bilbo Baggins
(voice)

Gandalf The Greyas Gandalf The Grey
(voice)

Theodore Gottlieb

Gollumas Gollum
(voice)

Elrondas Elrond
(voice)

Smaugas Smaug
(voice)

Thorin Oakenshieldas Thorin Oakenshield
(voice)

The Elvenkingas The Elvenking
(voice)

Bomburas Bombur
(voice)
…

Dwalinas Dwalin
(voice)
(as Jack De Leon)
…

Balinas Balin
(voice)
…

John Stephenson

Dorias Dori
(voice)
…

Glenn Yarbrough

The Balladeeras The Balladeer
(voice)

Thurl Ravenscroft

Goblinas Goblin
(voice)
(uncredited)
…

Directors
- Jules Bass
- Arthur Rankin Jr.
Writers
- J.R.R. Tolkien(novel)
- Romeo Muller(adapted for the screen by)
All cast & crew
See more cast details at IMDbPro

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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.... —Murray Chapman <muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au>

treasure middle earth butterfly chorus cheer 104 more

Taglines
- Based on the original version of the Hobbit.
Genres
Certificate
- TV-PG
Parents guide

Trivia
In the book, Bilbo is knocked unconscious by a falling rock during the Battle of Five Armies immediately after seeing the eagles arrive to help. In the movie, perhaps due to an anti-war bias at the time of filming, Bilbo states that he "simply doesn't understand war" and then hides behind a stone, using the ring to become invisible and watching the entire battle. When asked about his whereabouts Bilbo lies and says that he had "a bump to the head" and was "out for hours".

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.

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?

Crazy credits
In the closing credits, an illustration of Bilbo residing in his house is shown as the background.

Alternate versions
The 2001 DVD release by Warner Brothers omited a number of sound effects from the origianl Sony VHS release. The sound when characters die; when Sting attacks the Spiders in Mirkwood; Smaug's screams as he attacks Lake Town; the flapping of the Thrush's wings in all scenes; when the arrows bounce off of Smaug and when the Black Arrow pierces Smaug's belly; and the howling of the Wargs during the Battle of Five Armies.

Connections
Featured in Hewy's Animated Movie Reviews: The Top 10 Scariest Animated Monsters (2009)

Soundtracks
The Greatest Adventure
Composed and Performed by Glenn Yarbrough

Top review

9/10

Rankin-Bass's best ever production...

They pulled out all the stops on this one. A glorious ensemble of voices including the legendary John Huston and Otto Preminger gave life to Tolkien's creation while the outstanding folk and fantasy score illuminates the story.

You'll see why Frodo was supposed to be an actor in his 50's for the LOTR trilogy (though Peter Jackson's opus was well cast anyway in every position).

This will whet your appetite until "Hobbit" is a full-length feature in theatres (fingers crossed) and no doubt, Mr. Jackson and his screenwriters will pull visuals and more from this timeless adaptation.

The only shame of it is annually, Rankin-Bass's Christmas offerings are still aired while The Hobbit and its sister production of Return Of The King (starring Roddy McDowell as Samwise The Brave!) aren't.

Catch that feature too as it picks up where the Ralph Bakshi stab at The Fellowship Of The Rings/Two Towers left off. -Matt Sherman

helpful•25

2

ms-34
Jan 30, 2005

What was Durin's Day?

Release date
- November 27, 1977 (United States)
Countries of origin
- United States
- Japan
Language
- English
Also known as
- Hobit
Filming locations
- Topcraft studios, Tokyo, Japan
Production companies
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Budget
- $3,000,000 (estimated)

See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

Runtime
- 1h 30min
Color
- Color
Sound mix
- Dolby
Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1

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