The 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, Theodore Gottlieb

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)
Theodore Gottlieb	...	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 / Orc / Spiders / Wood Elves / Lake People (voice) (as Jack De Leon)
Don Messick	...	Balin / Tom - Troll #3 / Grinnah - The Goblin / 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 | chorus | cheer | baritone | 

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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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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song sung when Bilbo and the dwarfs arrive in Lake-town ("The streams shall run in gladness...") is the last verse of the song from the book. The final two lines (sung under the ensuing dialogue) are the first lines of the song.

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Goofs

When Smaug attacks Lake-town a full moon is visible. However, as this is Durin's Day, the moon should be a thin crescent just past the phase of the new moon.

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Quotes

Bilbo Baggins: Oh, stop complaining! I never promised to burgle you first class accommodations.

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Crazy Credits

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

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in King of the Nerds: Angry Nerds (2014)

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Soundtracks

Old Fat Spider
Performed by Glenn Yarbrough

User Reviews

well..

This was what introduced me to the Lord of the Rings, back in '77, when I was in 6th grade, it got the kids in my class to reading the trilogy and etc. Personally, I was all up for watching this, in the fall of '77, then the local TV station ran something else(MULLIGANS' STEW?!?) in its place. We were crushed in my family. I DID buy the record/sound track instead and listened to it to Death. Loved it-the voices and artwork both.

Didn't actually See this til '85...though had caught parts here and there...my thinking then and now is the same--Rankin-Bass did a fine job with it. Yes its done by Japanese animators, and No it isn't outta Allen Lee or whomever else' kind of drawing. But they stuck some interesting spins on what elves, dwarves, Wizards, Dragons and Hobbits look like, along with trolls and whatever, personally I found it to be interesting.

And how can you knock the voices-I mean-John Huston? Hans Conried, Cyril Ritchard, Theodore Bikel, Richard Boone, Don Messick, Orson Bean-and last but not least-Otto Preminger. Some legends here guys, esp. Otto and JHuston. I loved it! Rankin-Bass did make it more for kids, definately, and took some cuts here and there-Beorn and the Arkenstone bye-bye, for example, and no one is claiming the animation is up to, say, 'Aladdin' standards, but on its own, it works fine.

*** outta ****, pretty good, actually.

And Where is Leonard Maltin's review? somehow he missed this one...

Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 November 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

The 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