Top 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsMost Popular Video GamesMost Popular Music VideosMost Popular Podcasts
    Release CalendarBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersSundance Film FestivalIndependent Spirit AwardsBlack History MonthSXSWSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Return of the King

  • TV Movie
  • 19801980
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 38m
IMDb RATING
5.6/10
4.2K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,870
234
The Return of the King (1980)
AnimationAdventureFamily
Two Hobbits struggle to destroy the Ring in Mount Doom while their friends desperately fight evil Lord Sauron's forces in a final battle.Two Hobbits struggle to destroy the Ring in Mount Doom while their friends desperately fight evil Lord Sauron's forces in a final battle.Two Hobbits struggle to destroy the Ring in Mount Doom while their friends desperately fight evil Lord Sauron's forces in a final battle.
IMDb RATING
5.6/10
4.2K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,870
234
    • Jules Bass
    • Arthur Rankin Jr.
    • J.R.R. Tolkien(novels "The Hobbit" and "The Return of the King")
    • Romeo Muller(adapted for the screen)
  • Stars
    • Orson Bean(voice)
    • John Huston(voice)
    • Theodore Bikel(voice)
    • Jules Bass
    • Arthur Rankin Jr.
    • J.R.R. Tolkien(novels "The Hobbit" and "The Return of the King")
    • Romeo Muller(adapted for the screen)
  • Stars
    • Orson Bean(voice)
    • John Huston(voice)
    • Theodore Bikel(voice)
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 62User reviews
    • 16Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos131

    John Huston, Orson Bean, and Richard Boone in The Hobbit (1977)
    John Huston, Orson Bean, and Richard Boone in The Hobbit (1977)
    The Return of the King (1980)
    The Return of the King (1980)
    The Return of the King (1980)
    The Return of the King (1980)
    The Return of the King (1980)
    The Return of the King (1980)
    The Return of the King (1980)
    The Return of the King (1980)
    The Return of the King (1980)
    The Return of the King (1980)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Orson Bean
    Orson Bean
    • Frodo Baggins
    • (voice)
    • …
    John Huston
    John Huston
    • Gandalf
    • (voice)
    Theodore Bikel
    Theodore Bikel
    • Aragorn
    • (voice)
    William Conrad
    William Conrad
    • Lord Denethor
    • (voice)
    Roddy McDowall
    Roddy McDowall
    • Samwise Gamgee
    • (voice)
    Theodore Gottlieb
    Theodore Gottlieb
    • Gollum
    • (voice)
    • (as Theodore)
    • …
    Paul Frees
    Paul Frees
    • Orc
    • (voice)
    • …
    Don Messick
    • King Theoden
    • (voice)
    • …
    John Stephenson
    John Stephenson
    • Gondorian Guard
    • (voice)
    • …
    Casey Kasem
    Casey Kasem
    • Meriadoc 'Merry' Brandybuck
    • (voice)
    Sonny Melendrez
    Sonny Melendrez
    • Peregrin 'Pippin' Took
    • (voice)
    Nellie Bellflower
    Nellie Bellflower
    • Eowyn
    • (voice)
    • …
    Glenn Yarbrough
    Glenn Yarbrough
    • The Minstrel
    • (voice)
      • Jules Bass
      • Arthur Rankin Jr.
      • J.R.R. Tolkien(novels "The Hobbit" and "The Return of the King")
      • Romeo Muller(adapted for the screen)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    The Hobbit
    6.7
    The Hobbit
    The Flight of Dragons
    7.6
    The Flight of Dragons
    The Last Unicorn
    7.3
    The Last Unicorn
    The Secret of NIMH
    7.5
    The Secret of NIMH
    Here Comes Peter Cottontail
    7.4
    Here Comes Peter Cottontail
    Hobitit
    6.0
    Hobitit
    Godzilla
    6.2
    Godzilla
    The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus
    7.3
    The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus
    The Black Cauldron
    6.3
    The Black Cauldron
    He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
    7.5
    He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
    Star Wars: Forces of Destiny
    5.3
    Star Wars: Forces of Destiny
    The Chipmunk Adventure
    7.1
    The Chipmunk Adventure

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • 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. Many Tolkien fans agree that Bakshi's film was a more mature and detailed adaptation of Tolkien's stories.
    • Goofs
      Many names of locations and characters are mispronounced: Gorgoroth as Gorogoroth, Minas Tirith as Mine-as Tirith (instead of Me-nas), Cirith Ungol as Sirith Ungol (insteaf of Kirith), Smaug as Smog (instead of Sma-ug), Sauron as Soron (instead of Sow-ron), Lebennin as LebEnnin (instead of LEbennin).
    • Quotes

      Meriadoc Brandybuck: Nay, Pippin. Not till Bilbo has cut the cake.

    • Crazy credits
      The end credits feature illustrations of landscapes from the film.
    • Connections
      Featured in Ringers: Lord of the Fans (2005)

    User reviews62

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Laughing out loud
    the mistake some people make with this movie is to take it seriously. i don't know if it was meant to be, but it's quite impossible to do so. it's more the statement of a director and scriptwriter totaly gone ape and providing the viewer with plenty of hilarious scenes, especially when you've read the books:

    some of the most cheesy and silly music ever used in a movie and also much too often, making it seem like some odd musical, that aside they even didn't take some of tolkiens original songs from the book, but made up some lew lyrics with hilarious outcome(the bearer of the ring...)

    gollum looking like a frog with ears

    elrond with a goatee

    bilbo looking like granny from little red riding hood

    orcs looking like...ehh how describe them, maybe something like frogs with fangs and horned helmets? however they like to sing "funny" marching songs("where's a whip there's a way")

    pippin having an annoyingly thick american accent, making him sound like some baseball commentator

    the nazgul on horses with wings and looking like sceletor with a wig

    olifants looking like mammoths

    denethor beyond description

    sting does not only look like a lasersword it also SOUNDS a little alike

    samwise the faithful praying "to the lord above" and often utters things like "heaven" and "god help us". got to be the first christian in middle-earth

    add to this a plot that makes no sense with huge gaps and in return lot of nonsense and unnecessary parts added

    however the scene that really cracked me up was this dream sequence where he and sam are lying in the grass in the shire and some orcs pass them by peacefully and wave them with some melancholic expression. see it, if you want to have a good laugh!
    helpful•5
    5
    • fleischwolf
    • Feb 23, 2003

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 11, 1980 (United States)
      • United States
      • Japan
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Production companies
      • Topcraft
      • Rankin/Bass Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 38 minutes
      • Color
      • Mono

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    The Return of the King (1980)
    Top Gap
    By what name was The Return of the King (1980) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.