This Rankin/Bass production lies in the netherworld between anime and American animation. Animated in Japan, but featuring American voice talent and producers, The Hobbit aniticipates The Last Unicorn by several years. An unusual film that pops up periodically on both home video and the Disney channel, The Hobbit is well-worth renting and is arguably the best film adaptation of Tolkein's work (admittedly, there isn't much competition).
The Hobbit was a children's story, described by Ballentine Books as "the enchanting prelude to The Lord of The Rings." As such, Rankin/Bass' decision to emphasise the fairy-tale aspects of the story is entirely appropriate. The more serious episodes in the book (such as the references to the Necromancer and Bilbo's acquired habit of lying to the dwarves about his ring) are omitted. The fantasy elements are highlighted, and several of Tolkein's evocative poems are either read by John Huston (as Gandalf) or turned into convincing quasi-Celtic ballads to beautiful effect. The violence in the film is highly stylized to avoid the showing of bloodshed, but on screen deaths do occur, which may distress some parents.
Anime styling is apparent throughout. It is in this way that The Hobbit parts company with other Western-produced/Asian-animated cartoons (such as virtually every cartoon shown on American TV today). Bilbo and several other characters have the oversized eyes with quivering pupils that are a common anime element. The landscapes evoke Japanese gardens and terrain instead of the British countryside. Fans of Thundercats (not really an example of anime but prized by many otaku) will see similarities between the villians of that show and the character designs of the goblins. Smaug's design was one of the more innovative dragon designs in film up to that point, and is worth close study. Whereas most fantasy films presented dragons that were thinly disguised lizards (even in Ray Harryhausen's movies), Smaug's design harkens back partly to drawings of winged dragons from the history of art. He possesses, like the dragon in Sleeping Beauty, a long neck and an almost swan-like grace. Indeed, the animation of Smaug is second only to the animation of the dragon in Sleeping Beauty.
Of course, the act of condensing The Hobbit to under ninety minutes means that not all of Tolkein's work is given equal treatment. The Wood Elves and Lake Men suffer from sketchiness, although the voice talent goes a long way to make those characters seem richer than the script alone would suggest. The incident with the Trolls is truncated, leaving the viewer bewildered at the incident's climax. Bilbo's mixed feelings towards his pushy neighbors and relatives isn't mentioned either, yet the book ends with Bilbo returning to Hobbiton to find that his relations are dividing up his belongs among themselves. This incident highlights how Bilbo is different from his fellow Hobbits, and its exclusion is unfortunate.
However, there is more than enough left to enjoy. Mirkwood in particular is a harrowing sequence, and the goblins are repeatedly evoke the anime style without explictly duplicating any anime scenes or characters.
The Hobbit is an unexpected jewel of late 1970s animation, and cannot be recommended more highly.
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