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, 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 / 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 | 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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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 November 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hobit

Filming Locations:

Topcraft studios, Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,000,000,000, 10 April 1978

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 goblins' song as they capture the dwarfs and Bilbo is adapted from the version written in the book.

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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

Gandalf the Grey: Surely you don't disbelieve the prophecies because you helped bring them about? You don't really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit? You're a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I'm very fond of you, but you're only quite a little fellow in a wide world, after all.
Bilbo Baggins: Thank goodness!

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Connections

Version of The Hobbit (1966)

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Soundtracks

Old Fat Spider
Performed by Glenn Yarbrough

User Reviews

favorite childhood movie

It seems that everyone who gives this movie a low rating comments on the same problems, poor animation, poor adaption from the book, etc. However it seems to me that they are forgetting three very important things: 1. This movie was made for TV, so it had a lower budget than it would have in Hollywood, 2. It was made in 1977, so it has a lower quality animation than we are now used to now, and 3. It is a children's movie, they had to make it child friendly.

I remember spending a whole summer of my childhood watching this movie over and over again, nearly wearing out the tape. I have since read the book and still love and own the movie. In fact, to this day every time the subject of LOTR comes up I start humming "the greatest adventure...".