We can criticize these movies only so far, but we *always* have to keep in mind that they set the pace and tone for what would become the Peter Jackson trilogy. They were venturing into unknown territory and were the first of their kind. Rankin/Bass and Ralph Bakshi walked so Peter Jackson could run.
Could not agree more. The OP is a troll pup. "It is upon the shoulders of giants that we can see so far." RB & Bakshi were the giants upon whose shoulders Jackson's success was born.
Just because they provided the base for what Jackson would make does not exempt them from criticism. It's the same problem with TNG season 1. Sure, it walked so that seasons 2 and 3 onwards could run, but it doesn't mean they're the greatest thing ever written. Because they weren't. Being the first one to do it does not mean they did it better, or even good for that manner. "Concept vs. Execution" and all of that.
Exactly, and the Jackson trilogy is profoundly lacking in many aspects the animated version isn't. Also, there's his Hobbit movies which are, just awful.
I love "when there is a whip, there is a way" I have hummed or sung that song over the decades, through military service, school, difficult or boring jobs, and even now when my arthritis acts up and makes just walking difficult. I even make the whip sound when I sing it.
The movie absolutely suffers from dismal dialogue and incompetent storytelling, but I rather like the artwork, the voice acting wasn't bad at all when it worked, and the songs ranged from mediocre to quite catchy and memorable - "Where There's a Whip, There's a Way" was top-notch. Weird, sure, given the very '70s funky sound, but good stuff!
"This wasn't in the book!"...Yes, it was. Sam daydreaming because of the influence of the ring did, in fact, happen in the book. His own plain hobbit sense brought him back to reality, just like in the Rankin bass film. Rankin Bass, btw, ended up becoming Studio Ghibli.
Not Rankin Bass actually. That's would be Topcraft studios who work with Rankin Bass to animate it. They're a Japanese studio that co-produced with Rankin Bass with other films like The Last Unicorn animated movie. Topcraft would be the studio that produced Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind under Hayao Miyazak vision, before the studio was dissolve and half its animators joined Studio Ghibil.
I remember that! But, I do like how it was simplified in the Peter Jackson adaptation. Sean Astin’s performance really sold the scene, like he was almost having an existential crisis or panic attack.
12:20 Sam being tempted to be a great army leader to undo Mordor, then a great gardener of a garden as great as a land was actually in the book. the temptation fail because Sam's simple way of life make him unable to take seriously such ambitions. "My own hands to use, not the hands of others" is straight from the book.
@@joannamyers1268 The one thing I really liked about this cartoon is that Sam is made a lead character as much as he could've been without betraying the storyline.
Sam's "weird daydream about being a knight" happened in the book. This movie seems pretty crappy, but you should probably read the LotR (and not just watch PJ's movies) before criticizing the movie for what is and isn't in the book. I get similar vibes when you complain about the lack of Arwen in the movie. You say "[Gandalf] was optimistic about the afterlife" and then take a quote from the PJ movie that wasn't from the book (at least not this part of the book, possibly he took it from elsewhere). Gandalf is very pessimistic at this part of the book. He is holding on, and so holding up everyone else, but he is on the edge of breaking. Theoden dies the after his horse throws him and falls on him in the book too.
@@mattrogersftw The songs in the book play a very important role in providing a glimpse into the culture of Middle Earth and of the sort of details that would presumably be passed on to future generations. Their inclusion helps to underscore the importance of these events (eg they were regarded as worthy of song) and give a richer world tapestry. Look at songs from World Wars One and Two. They were so popular back then that they’ve been passed on through the generations and we still remember the words to this day and it gives us a useful glimpse into the things people looked to in times of trouble back then. Ok, so Tolkien’s songs are not written for modern tastes, but they’d feel completely anachronistic if they were.
@@GusMcGuire Adding to your point, if one knows of the lore of Middle Earth, Illuvatar created everything with song and Morgoth sang a corrupting song to disrupt everything. So essentially, the whole LOTR universe is made up by songs.
Despite your critique of Bakshi's film, a HUGE number of Two Towers shots in Jackson's version are SHOT for SHOT and camera angles are the same as those used by Bakshi. Bakshi had a huge amount of funding issues, so he had to make a lot shortcuts, but it is telling that Jackson copied much of the Two Towers that Bakshi created.
I was about to make a similar comment. There is no denying that Bakshi helped the development of jacksons LOTR FOTR and TT. Im part of the cult following. The Cells of the film are pure art.
@@gianna526 If you read the books before the movies came out, these cartoons were all you had to fill in the blanks. The Fellowship movie had more than a few shots that reanimated scenes from the cartoon.
The witch king portrayal is pretty accurate tbh. "... Upon it sat a shape, black-mantled, huge and threatening. A crown of steel he bore, but between rim and robe naught was there to see, save only a deadly gleam of eyes: the Lord of the Nazgul.."
that was one of the single *worst* parts of this movie. i muted the video while watching it and did not unmute it until the damn song was over. took me right out of the movie. also appropriate picture: cringe comment about a cringe movie from a cringe pfp. "from cringe cometh cringe"
Just a few corrections and half-corrections (many of which have already been noted): 6:02 Depicting it as a single house may be understandable, due to widespread confusion among fans with regard to the term "The Last Homely House" in the books. 7:42 That's not a new character, the "minstrel of Gondor" is briefly mentioned in the books. Interestingly enough, he does sing ♪Frodo of the Nine Fingers and the Ring of Doom♪ 11:43 Samwise the Strong is heavily based on a scene in the book (a really great scene too). 15:57 It is heavily implied that Denethor seeing evidence of imminent defeat in the Palantir _was_ the last straw. 17:59 Denethor kept the Palantír hidden until just before his passing in the book. 19:25 The scene where Gandalf comforts Pippin about passing isn't in the book. 21:28 Yiiiiiikes... 25:27 That's not _precisely_ a line from the book, the line is "Where there's a whip there's a will, my slugs." But it is clearly the inspiration. 27:45 From the books: "he had a kingly crown; and yet upon no head visible was it set." 35:10 The giant rock is indeed super crazy here... but it is implied that Sam may have been hit by a stone at this point in the book. 36:42 Snowmane got hit by an arrow while rearing in fear, and then fell upon Théoden in the book... so it's not _that_ much more dramatic. 37:44 This is actually a direct quote of Frodo's dialogue at Sammath Naur. 41:41 Aragorn doesn't kill the Mouth of Sauron in the book. Anyway, I think I was about 21 when I first saw the animated adaptations, and I was especially fond of ROTK. Quite a few songs slap, and it's quite faithful in many areas. Plus it has a great aesthetic all its own :D
@@archedmash9501 Here's a direct quote from the book (The Return of the King): "And when the glad shout had swelled up and died away again, to Sam’s final and complete satisfaction and pure joy, a minstrel of Gondor stood forth, and knelt, and begged leave to sing. And behold! he said: ‘Lo! lords and knights and men of valour unashamed, kings and princes, and fair people of Gondor, and Riders of Rohan, and ye sons of Elrond, and Dúnedain of the North, and Elf and Dwarf, and greathearts of the Shire, and all free folk of the West, now listen to my lay. For I will sing to you of Frodo of the Nine Fingers and the Ring of Doom.’"
I'm sorry but I love this movie. Was is perfect? No but the animation is perfectly fine, in fact you can tell just by looking that these are the same people that made the Last Unicorn. Some of the songs fall flat but those that are good are really good. The voice talent they found for the songs was also good. To call this one of the worst animated films ever shows that you dont know the level of pure shit that some animated features have achieved, and this is not one of those. Also I'm sorry but what are dying people supposed to sound like? Thorin sounds "tired" you say but not like a man who is dying....Dying people sound TIRED or WEAK so ...yeah I dont see anything wrong with that scene at all. Also "Where There's a Whip" is a perfectly suitable Orc marching song I feel.
@@davidkippy101 It sure is, Guyladriel jumping into the ocean and planning to swim back to middle earth (Why didn't Faenor or Finglofin think of that??), cow teats foretelling of evil to come, white men being incompetent while women RULE, Femrond and Celebrimbor taking a stroll to Moria without any gear or horses as if Moria is just across the yard, meaningless quotes trying to sound smart but falling utterly flat, Elves looking more like men or hobbits and having no presence, boring Hobbits oh wait can't say that, Harfoots* doing absolutely nothing, it's a great show, made for a special kind of person.
@@davidkippy101 Yeah, I have. And I have to disagree (harshly). It looks great, almost perfect. And SOME of the lines attempting to sound epic are pulled off. I'll completely ignore the fact that the show has a woke agenda which changes characters from what they were meant to be according to the real (better) lore. Half of the dialogue are things that superficially are delivered in an epic tone, but any investigation will find that they make zero sense with established context, even leading into contradictions. The first two lines of the entire show features a non-sequitur, it sounds like 2 separate starting lines. You could insert "Wait hold on, I didn't like that start, let me try again" after the first line. And the interpersonal dialogue is no different, it is rife with non-sequiturs. There's many contradictions in the story as well, and ONE in particularly bothered me so much. When Galadriel hears a draft and superman puches through solid ice in "Sauron's old lair". She says "the door was filled in here". WITH WHAT? WATER? THEY POURED WATER ON THE DOOR TO SEAL IT? WHAT. MAGIc?? SAURON DOESN'T HAVE ICE MAGIC. GALADRIEL SAYS NOT EVEN A MINUTE LATER THAT ON SAURON'S HAND IS QUOTE "FLAME UNQUENCHED". IS HE THE MASTER OF WATER AND FIRE TOO? * Ahem * She finds Sauron's mark after it's only revealed by water. "Why is it there?" She wonders. WELL OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE SAURON IS LEAVIONG A TRAIL FOR ORCS. (no, you just went to the ends of the earth where "sunlight fears to show its face", punched through a filled in door, and poured water on a stone anvil. Orcs are stupid, they would die of old age before they got there) WHERE IS THE TRAIL POINTING, NORTH? WHY DOES SHE MENTION THE MARK LEFT ON HER BROTHER'S CORPSE AFTERWARD? SAURON WAS USING HER BROTHER AS A TRAIL???? WHY??? "AHAHHAHAHAHH Galadriel I killed your brother but let me scribble on him just so you know it was me! EHEHEHEHHEHE?" What IS Sauron? 5? LMAO My favorite part afterward was when one of the elves said "We should never have come in here". WHY? THAT WAS WHAT YOU'VE BEEN TRAVELLING MIDDLE EARTH FOR CENTURIES FOR. TO LOOK FOR SAURON AND YOU'RE LIKE "Nope"?. Directly after that all of the elves lay down their weapons to show they're out. But they just killed an ice troll in LITERAL FRICKING SAURON'S LAIR, PICK YOUR WEAPONS BACK UP. Anyways. The part where Arondir calls his friend stinky was sooo deep. The second episode was maybe a bit better, but I haven't analyzed it as much, and I'd rather not make this a full review. So far, yeah, it's honestly better than the movie in the video. But the rings of power is only good by comparison to this movie. By comparison to TLotR, it's dirt on a boot. (Rings of power isn't TLotR by the way) (let's not forget the message of the first episode. if you don't know what's good or bad, make an uninformed decisiion and find out! (which is why she jumps off the boat, because her brother said that to her. It would have been so so so so much cooler if she was crazed and yelled about a great evil in Middle Earth before she jumped. It should NOT be because her brother said it, but because Sauron's a threat to their whole world and she knows it? RIGHT??))
@@davidkippy101 Clearly I'd be perfectly happy even if that WAS the case. I spent 30 minutes on it, as it was thought-out. I do this all the time, in fact I enjoy it. Unfortunately *you* do not seem to, as you have no actiual argument as to why the show is "great so fat", instead you created... whatever that response was supposed to be? That seentance holds a total of 0 value. Going for personal attacks rather than argue the whole point of this discussion. I had even praised the show in certain parts, it was completely honest, and defintely not directed towards calling you "stupid". Well not anymore, not after your response. And yes, thank you for spelling out the nature of arguments for me. It's not like an argument is something meant to prove yourself right, not at all. Not at all. (sarcasm. Gotta make sure to spell it out for you too, the same way Rings of Power has) I guess you're joined with Sauron, in being 5. So, with your response, it's actually easier to understand why you think it's a great show so far. Somehow you did manage to explain your reasoning entirely by exposing your level of intuition. Unfortunately it's reasoning for why you like the show; and not reasoning for why it's a "great show". So congratulations on shooting yourself in the foot with that. Feel free to come back when you're 6
The music in the Rankin Bass movies slapped. 'Where there's a whip there's a way' is an eternal bop. Though 'down down to goblin town' and 'fifteen birds' from the Hobbit were solid jams
Best of all, Down Down to Goblin Town and Fifteen Birds are pretty much WORD FOR WORD what is in the book! It also helps that Thurl Ravenscroft, the voice of Tony the Tiger and singer of "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" is one of the singers for the goblins in both ROTK and The Hobbit Rankin/Bass movies. His deep rolling voice is beautiful to listen to!
Yes!!! Beards all a'waggin. What brings mister Baggins? 15 birds in 5 fur trees what should we do with Ryan. That funny little thing. He has no wings!!
My mother forced my father to buy a VCR to record this movie from TV. They never figured out how to work it and ended up recording static. I figured out how it worked the next day but it never came back to TV. Ever. My poor mom spent the next ten years looking for this and even tried to special order it but this particular gem was out of stock. She died without seeing it again. She passed in '93 so thankfully she didn't see the Jackson movies. She was a die hard fan. She had an original copy of the trilogy. First run. First edition. She gave it to me as I loved it as much as she did. My sister was an english major so I thought I should give them to her. And now I can't get them back. They were the only things I had left from her. R.I.P. Mom.
I could swear I saw commercials for the 3 movies mashed together in the box set on TV all the time, but maybe return of the king wasn't in it. Personally, I liked the Peter Jackson films, although I wish he hadn't changed so much.I totally get why they didn't have Saruman in the Shire at the end. I was a fan of Peter Jackson since Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles, and Dead Alive/Brain Dead. Just curious, what do you think of The Rings of Power from Amazon prime? Those first editions are a legit treasure.
When you said "this has some of the worst writing I've ever seen!" that was one area where the dialog was taken almost entirely from the book. Almost all of Denathore's lines are lifted from the book. It's stupid out of context, but it undeniably excellent dialog. This movie has it's terrible flaws, but the monologs are almost all directly from Tolkien's work... I LMAO'ed @ The Troll in Central Park reference. 🤣
writing isn't just Dialogue. providing that context is a major part of writing writing for film and tv is more about structure, Dialogue is just Icing on the large cake
If you read the hobbit Rivendell is basically described as a house in the woods. The lord of the rings makes it seem more majestic. In the hobbit it’s just called the last homly house.
What’s worse about Legolas and Gimli’s omission is that their fathers Thandruil and Gloin respectively were in Rankin Bass’ adaptation of The Hobbit and we see Gloin was one of the 7 dwarfs that survived the Battle of the Five Armies. You’d think Gloin’s survival was a set up for Gimli’s appearance in Rankin Bass’ adaptation of the Lord of the Rings books, but no, he doesn’t even appear.
I never understood why the cartoon The Hobbit killed off Bombur and a few other "extra" dwarves. Seemed like such a strange modification, even as a kid.
@@sigmazero13 IKR? But I guess sometimes there has to be a few adaptational changes. But I can confirm Balin was one of the surviving dwarfs in that version considering he went to overtake the Mines of Moria and was later killed by Orcs and the Fellowship of the Ring coming across his tomb during their travels through the Mines. If Rankin-Bass also adapted the FOTR, they'd have depicted that scene.
Oh yeah. I also still remember and sing "Frodo Nine Fingers" (though admittedly it's a bit ridiculous). But my favorite has to be "The Greatest Adventure" from the Hobbit. If you have kids and they're leaving home this song hits different altogether.
Where there's a whip, there's a way. Where there's a whip, there's a way. Where there's a whip...[continues in second voice] We don't wanna go to war today But the Lord of the Lash says: "nay, nay, nay!" We're gonna march all day, all day, all day! Where there's a whip there's a way! Where there's a whip, there's a way! Where there's a whip, there's a way! Where there's a whip, there's a way! Left, right, left, right, left Where there's a whip, there's a way! Left, right The crack on the back says we're gonna fight We're gonna march all day and night and more For we are the slaves of the Dark Lord's war. Left, right, left, right, left, right Where there's a whip, there's a way! Where there's a whip, there's a way. Where there's a whip...[continues in second voice] We don't wanna go to war today! But the Lord of the Lash says: "nay, nay, nay!" We're gonna march all day, all day, all day! Where there's a whip there's a way! Left, right, left right! [scene of Frodo and Sam] Where there's a whip! We don't wanna go to war today! But the Lord of the Lash says: "nay, nay, nay!" We're gonna march all day, all day, all day! Where there's a whip there's a way!
I like to say "whip" ('"wip") with a little 'wh" sound, not drawn out ("whip"). Where there's a whip, there is a way! Gotta say, the Orcs knew how to motivate.
@@shadowsayer1516 i remember there being a song in the book about "Frodo Nine-fingers" in Ithilien after Mordor's downfall, so despite what the dude's ranting on about in the video, it was actually something that came from the source-material.
20:39 - Why Rankin Bass decided to transfer all of Denethor's gloom onto Gandalf is a mystery. To be fair, though, his depiction here is more fair than his treatment in the Peter Jackson movie. In the book, Gandalf is trying to encourage Denethor to lead his forces to defend Minas Tirith while not revealing the return of the King. But he's distracted by the seige from Sauron's army and doesn't realise what's really happening to Denethor until it's too late. The Jackson movie dispensed with all subtlety in depicting a doomed leader whose mind was broken by Sauron, and instead turned him into a gibbering idiot who first gets beaten up by Gandalf in front of his own guards (...er, you're supposed to be 'guarding' him, guys; the clue's in the name) and then is later MURDERED by Gandalf, using Shadowfax to kick him onto the burning funeral pyre, in front of his own son! 😳
Hard disagree. I love this movie. Granted, I grew up with it so I'm viewing it through nostalgia glasses. But this movie and the animated Hobbit were my gateway into Tolkien fandom. I hadn't read the books yet but I was enchanted by this world and wanted to know more. As far as the musical numbers, I find the songs to be fun and charming (and as others said, "Where There's a Whip" is a banger). I see nothing wrong with making a Tolkien musical. The books are filled with songs and poems. The movie's character designs are unique and have a charm to them as well. And John Huston as Gandalf is epic casting. I admit that the movie has flaws. The story is greatly simplified. Legolas and Gimli were cut. The pronunciations are way off. But I still think it's a fun movie and I would take it over Bakshi's awkwardly rotoscoped scenes, pantless Aragorn, and Viking Boromir any day. Also, several things you complained about were from the book - Sam's daydream about being Samwise the Strong. Denethor being driven to despair by seeing doom in the Palantir. Theoden dying from being thrown from his horse. And Aragorn doesn't kill the Mouth of Sauron in the book (it's bad form to kill an emissary) so I'm not sure what your blank stare was about.
Tbf, King Theoden falling from his horse is still an underwhelming death for a character we were introduced and got to know in the previous book. It’d be like Thorin Oakenshield dying from a gold coin no larger than a penny or a diamond being thrown at his chest during the Battle of the Five Armies. One of the elements I felt Peter Jackson improved in his adaptation.
Ryan is talking out his ass with petty nitpicking. This is a really terrible video and he should be ashamed at having made it. This cartoon was awesome compared to the usual Saturday morning cartoons we were forced to watch. There has been a half century of advancement since then. You don't say a Ford model T is a terrible vehicle because modern ones are better. You say it was a good vehicle for it's time. Another great show was Ultraman, but watching it from a 21st century perspective, it is aweful.
I think people whose first introduction to Lord of the Rings was the three cartoon movies have a much better feel about this than people who saw them later in life. I'm like you this was shown to me while I was still too young for ANY other version (my parents were big fans and wanted to give me an early start 😆), and my memories of this movie are very dear. 🥰
I should add that, when i DID finally get old enough to read the books, I learned a LOT of stuff I never knew. 😂 The scouring of the Shire still haunts me.
The book totally had a scene of the Ring tempting Sam with being a leader, including bringing to blossom the lands that had been withered by evil. Sam was lost briefly in that daydream before shaking it off.
It's not nearly as good as Rankin and Bass's The Hobbit, but I don't think it's as bad as some people make it out to be. Sam was portrayed much better than in Ralph Baski's LOTR film (where he's kind of goofy). I also like the whip song. Catchy.
Yes, Rankin-Bass has flaws, like the abbreviated battle scenes. But battle scenes are difficult to animate. The 1978 Bakshi version's battle scenes were confusing messes that weren't even animated. They were silhouetted actors waving swords and axes behind cheesecloth and weird lighting. The fact that this video claims the Rankin-Bass was worse makes me wonder if he's ever seen the Bakshi version. All of the comparisons seem to be against the Jackson version, which was decades later, huge budget and given years to finish. Still a minor miracle that Jackson pulled off the impossible and filmed an unfilmable book.
Directly from the book, "’I have come,’ he said. ‘But I do not choose now to do what I came to do. I will not do this deed. The Ring is mine!’ And suddenly, as he set it on his finger, he vanished from Sam's sight."
He will always be the voice of Gandalf in my mind. Sir Ian is a great actor and is the face but John Hudson has much better delivery. Both the gravitas and the confidence of his delivery. Ian seems to focus more on Gandalf as he appears, a mysteries old man. John sounds more like a powerful wizard and more.
I dont think most people understand the context of these older Lord of the Rings movies. Back in the day in the 70s's and very early 80's Tolkien and Lord of the Rings was completely off the radar for anyone but die hard fans, the books and these movies was all we had, all we had for almost 25 years. The Lord of The Rings license was owned by a tiny pen and paper RPG company in Charlottesville Virginia, nobody was into the Lord of the Rings back then. This is all we had and we loved it . There was no streaming, no DVDs, at first you couldnt even own these movies even on VHS. You only saw these movies when they rarely aired on network TV. I saw the Ralph Bakshi Lord of the Rings movie in the Movie theater and it made as big an impression as the original Star Wars movie did. I saw it once and not again almost for 10 years, if you wanted a Tolkien fix, you sat down and read the books again. I can get how they can appear to have not held up over time, but for some of us they are classics because its all we had for half of our lives. I can understand the criticism, i enjoy the Peter Jackson films , but can be similiarly critical of them also, pretty much every addition that are made with artistic license are cringey to me, when Legolas and Gimili become caricatures, the whole Arwen and Aragorn added story was filler, cut out all that and put in the parts of the actual original story that was cut would be nice.
My mom raised me on the Hobbit book, as well as all of these animated movies. I’m so thankful because I really don’t think I would’ve been into Tolkien without them. The music from the Rankin & Bass films is so nostalgic to me, just that single mystical note that plays during narration/monologues triggers childhood memories.
I found it interesting when you mentioned that the license was held in the 1980s by a small RPG company in the US. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the Warhammer Fantasy RPG, Warhammer 40,000 or Warhammer Fantasy games, but if not, they’re products of a British company called Games Workshop. Those games are played with a variety of miniature models also made by GW, and in the mid-to-late 1980s, they made a range of Uruk-Hai miniatures which were pretty cool looking, if a little bit goofy. They discontinued them and focused on their other flagship games, until Jackson’s movies appeared. At that point they created the Middle Earth Strategy Game, another tabletop wargame, with models based directly on the designs of the movie characters. These are a far cry from their older models, due to the advances in their model making that time and technology brought. The game had kind of fallen by the wayside after the movies had been completed, and was never as popular as their other products. There was a brief resurgence of interest however, and new model and game rules releases when Jackson’s Hobbit movie abominations came out. Same as before, though, interest waned after the movies were no longer new, and releases slowed to a crawl. Now that the Amazon Rings Of Power disaster has arrived, Middle Earth models and boxed game sets have been enjoying a revival, but I believe we’ll see the same pattern once again. Anyway- all that just to say that it’s interesting that in the ‘80s the rights to the books were held by a games company, and some models were made based on the books by a different games company across the ocean. I just didn’t know how else to explain it if you had never heard of Games Workshop. TL/DR- UK company made some Orc models in the 1980s. And I find it interesting. 😆
The idea is to make the best adaptation possible, not to make something just for the sake of it. The reason Watership Down and The Plague Dogs is so fondly remembered (despite being loose adaptations) is because they were tonally consistent, well animated and had great voice acting. I think you’re looking at this through rose-tinted glasses. Adaptations are typically made to pay homage to authors and hopefully get people interested in giving the books a shot. I can’t imagine many adults being interested in giving LOTR a read simply bc the animated films fail to paint Tolkien’s universe in a relatable and intelligent fashion. Most moviegoers don’t care for pages of exposition and word for word adaptation. They crave the human element. Look no further than Apocalypse Now, Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather and Jackson’s LOTR trilogy.
"Why is this old movie not the peter jackson trilogy?" "why don't they pronounce things like in the peter jackson trilogy?" "Why did they do things like they are described in the book and not like the peter jackson trilogy?"
They did this at a time when no one thought there could ever be a live action LotR or Hobbit. They used a range of artists including ex Disney movie artists. As a child I can tell you it was wildly entertaining for a young audience.
@@dacsus Nobody is trying to diminish your appreciation for the animated films but the fact of the matter is Jackson’s trilogy made Tolkien a household name and subsequently sold more novels than hotcakes. Having read the books isn’t a merit badge, these are loose adaptations for moviegoers and neither of the directors claim otherwise. If your intention is to get people to read the books, steering them towards the animated films is a bad idea.
@@franknb7827 And am I saying somewhere that this is not so? You are talking about something completely different than what has been discussed here. I consider Jackson's trilogy to be one of the greatest films ever made.
@@franknb7827 The animated films are exactly what inspired me to read the books when I was younger. The animated film of The Hobbit is what caused my kids to ask me to read the book to them when they were younger. The animated Return of the King is what is driving my oldest to want to read The Lord of the Rings (she only hasn't yet because she tends to prefer drawing in her spare time over reading these days, but she keeps saying she wants to). Warts and all, there is a lot about the cartoons that can inspire people, especially younger readers, to want to read the actual books. (Honestly, the Peter Jackson version of The Hobbit probably would have turned me off wanting to read the book if I'd seen it as a kid; the PJ LotR movies would have inspired me to read them as well, though, but I'm not sure 10-year-old me would have been able to watch the full trilogy, but the cartoon was just perfect for me) The PJ LotR films were excellent. The cartoons were cheesy, yes, but for kids, they can be the catalyst.
I can understand perhaps someone not finding it to their taste. But I don't quite understand the hate. For those of us who are much older, we didn't have 11+ hours of exquisitely crafted films. I was 10 when _The Hobbit_ by Rankin/Bass introduced me to _Tolkien._ I couldn't consume much more than _The Hobbit_ book at the time. I blame both my age and the emergence of *Star Wars.* Eventually, at age 13 I was again reminded of _Tolkien's_ world when this film came out. And at this point I was ready to start my journey through Middle Earth. While I wasn't a huge fan of the art style, both Rankin/Bass productions made for wonderful audio recordings. I'd listen while doing chores. And _John Huston_ made an outstanding _Gandalf,_ IMO.
People like this have to go to the rooftops to scream how much of a douchey contrarian they are. These are the same types of people who will argue to the death over stupid things. Because they always have to be right. It's insufferable.
@@jonnylake3rdDid you even read the comment? Nothing in it even remotely comes close to what you are complaining about. If anything, I might suggest you look in a mirror.
I loved this movie so much as a kid, and all the songs. Loved the live action ones too but without these I would never have developed an appreciation to the fantasy genre
It's a kid doing this video. It's just his opinion and he appears to be getting roasted in almost every comment. Again, back to the drawing board. Kid.
It was acceptable for The Hobbit, because The Hobbit was with a more light-hearted tone in mind, but Lord of the Rings is supposed to be more darker and serious and so dumbing it down for little kids was a bad move.
Are you sure none of it was in the book? I could have sworn that Samwise did have ring-induced fantasies about being in command, and saving Middle Earth and the Shire and stuff when he was carrying the ring on its chain for Frodo.
It doesn't really matter. That's the sort of stuff you don't adapt. It comes of as weird in live action and with visuals you can tell how someone is feeling without looking inside their head.
@@hunterolaughlin I don't know, I'm not a casting director from the 2000s. But I do know that Miranda Otto just doesn't embody the character she plays like most of the rest of the cast does. It's by no means a bad or even mediocre performance, I just don't think she was the perfect fit for the role.
When I was kid, this was my first introduction to Lotr. Having no knowledge of the Hobbit, the Fellowship, or the two towers, I was confused out of my mind about what was going on
Same, except I had the background of The Hobbit at least (from the other R/B cartoon and from reading the book when I was 10). But the lack of "what's going on" is what eventually inspired me to read the full trilogy to find out exactly how they got to that point.
"One of the worst animated movies i have ever seen" ... It sounds like you have not seen many animated movies, nor lord of the rings movies for that matter.
Honestly though these had their place. As a little kid in the early 80's these movies were my only exposure to Tolkien. I would probably have the same reaction if I watched them today, but I do have fond memories, laying on the floor, watching these on bootleg VHS copies.
I'd agree with many of your criticisms (Especially RotK) regarding storyflow, many of your others are so subjective as to be almost pointless. I lost count of how many of your criticisms are flat wrong. Example the Witch King of Angmar is not only faceless, but literally described as a floating crown above glowing eyes, like in this cartoon (Skeletor Voice though lol I agree silly!) From RotK : "Upon it sat a shape, black-mantled, huge and threatening. A crown of steel he bore, but between rim and robe naught was there to see, save only a deadly gleam of eyes: the Lord of the Nazgûl." Despite the uneven quality of all three of these animated movies, Peter Jackson was heavily influenced by how they adapted the books, and even whole scenes were quite clearly based on the scenes from these.
Yeah it is true. Here’s a question, would it look good in a visual medium? I think that it could but the voice is completely jarring. An edit with the horned kings voice pasted over his dialogue is so much better
I’d love to have an animated series adaptation of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings with an art style that is a mix between these movies (more so the Rankin/Bass) and Avatar the Last Airbender Make it closer to the book with a longer run time of a series
There is the War of the Rohirrim anime movie coming soon! Really hope it performs so we get even more animated Tolkien. I feel like some Silmarillion stories are especially suited for animation.
I honestly like these movies. But I grew up with them I do know they have a ton of problems, But I still find enjoyment. I think they would be good if you have little kids and you want to introduce them to Tolkien, but you think the Peter Jackson films are a bit too intense for them. Then again I saw all three of the Jackson films in theaters when I was 3-5 Plus at the very least, Sam looks WAY better here than the Bakshi version, Despite how much I love Sean Astin, This is probably the most accurate to the book Sam there is Also I kind of like the displays the orcs do in this movie before fighting, makes them seem more like beasts Since that’s just what animals do
@@Mr666walter666 my buddy will unironically loop "Where there's a whip" at random on car trips or drunken evenings. It's terrific. And "Leave tomorrow til it Comes" is a straight up anxiety soother.
29:30 ey, you referenced my comment! Anyways, I would like to make a retort regarding your statement. While you did reference how to do limited movement right, most of your argument seems to boil down to "its insulting to apply this animation style to Tolkien's work." You even said earlier that they shouldn't even had bothered with a budget like this. There is no barrier of entry when it comes to what quality of animation should be applied to different adaptations, having a low budget isn't offensive, or disrespectful. Stating that they just shouldn't make the movie at all, results in Rankin/Bass only having two options. Either 1, put more money into the project, which realistically wasn't possible, or 2, not make the movie at all. These aren't really options are they. I will say that you convinced me with your Evangelion point. Shows like it definitely get more out of the limited movement it has. However, we also have to remember that anime is one of the most expressive styles of animation there is. Even with that said though, I am pretty sure Rankin/Bass could have gotten a lot more out of the limited movement they could put into the movie. More expressive character designs also probably wouldn't hurt.
Of course low budget animation from the 70s isn't going to compare to the big budget spectacles from the 2000s so kind of an unfair comparison. I will say this, though, about the animated versions (including Bakshi's) -- they were more faithful adaptions to the source material, especially the "The Hobbit". The character designs may have been a little off, but in terms of story, they were pretty spot on most of the time. Plus they included a lot of Tolkien's original songs, which was terrific -- even Bakshi used the "Merry Old Inn song" for the Bree scene.
Ryan, I can teII you exactIy why they onIy covered The Return of the King. Because Bakshi 's fiIm (which had been reIeased prior to this fiIm) had stopped after the BattIe of HeIm's Deep. Bakshi couIdn't raise the money to finsh the triIogy, so when Rankin and Bass took over they decided to start where Bakshi had Ieft off. This TV movie was made for LOTR fans (fans of the books, that is) who were upset that Bashki had not compIeted the triIogy. I saw Bashki's movie in the theaters when it was first reIeased and I watched the Rankin/Bass movie when it first came out.I hope this heIps.
The songs are actually great and the vibe is spot on. The Animation is fitting. Is it flawed, yes, but it does not deserve all the ridicule it has been getting lately. Imagine being a kid 45 years ago and stumbling onto this on TV. It would have blown your mind.
I loved the 1979 version. I think its quintessential. Its distilled Tolkien. Despite the liberties it takes with the story. Like, Aragorn is a descendant of the people from the continent to the west. So he is an American Indian. Elrond is an ancient elf from a time long ago when his people ruled across the whole land. So he is portrayed as a Roman. Looking like Marc Antony. Brilliant. Dude truly understood the source material. Then the feel the rotoscoping gives the whole thing is just next level. Really gives it an other worldly aesthetic. The Nazgul in particular are just perfection. I love 1979 Lord of the Rings and no amount of bashing could change my mind.
Tolkien absolutely despised these one-to-one allegories with real world history of the sort you are describing; and his goal was, first and foremost, to create a native *English* mythology with his works. That being said, the Numenoreans (and later the Dunedain of Gondor) have far more in common with the Romans/Roman society than do the Elves of Imladris or any other society of the Eldar; and the Noldor never ruled "across the whole land", nor did they even in Beleriand (which is at the bottom of the sea by the events of Third Age). So, I'm not seeing how any of this is supposed to indicate some deep understanding of the source material-- though you can obviously enjoy the film regardless; no one is saying that you're not allowed to enjoy it.
Not English. That's an insult to Tolkein and to England. The elves are based off Celtic culture. IE Welsh, Scottish and Irish. To suggest the lord of the rings was only based off English culture is inaccurate and insulting
@@ronniejdio9411 The Hobbit movies went to shit for me right at the halfway mark. That right. I was even willing to except Radagast with bird shit on his face. lol
Might be far from the best with it's quality and such, but I'm pretty sure we can all agree that it's almost certainly going to be far more enjoyable than the rings of power crap that's bound to release soon.
You were only wrong on one point. Where there's a whip, there's a way is a classic. As a middle school nerd when this came out, this was an S&M classic. Not only that, imagine using this ditty for cadence at bootcamp. Sure, we would have been all kicked out but it would have been worth it
I genuinely don't dislike some the musical numbers. Especially "where there's a whip there's a way" holy fuck that song is pretty cool. It would be inappropriate in the Jackson films, but if you don't want the orcs to be ravenous monsters, yeah them doing a number on Sauron's war machine is a fun idea.
i felt like i was watching a glorification of Jackson's trilogy and an extremely angry rant at the fact that this animation wasn't his adaptation, rather than a review of the movie in question, really.
Exactly, it seems like a very biased review. Even though he read the books again, he based his review on the PJ movie experience and looks at it with a very modern eye. I wasn't there when this movie came out, but it was a different time from the very action oriented movies and cartoons of today's age.
For as much as I appreciate their attempted representation of the books, they could have made elrond look less like a vampire. His cape and pointy ears and pale skin are a little off-putting. Also he did not have a beard in the books there was only one elf with a beard and he was busy making ships to sail west. For all of the movies fallacies I do appreciate the efforts they put in to create them.
Hey hey hey, at least it's not as bad as Amazon's blasphemous abomination. But here's a fun fact the guys who animated would go off to work on Thundercats (1984).
I love all three animated films, songs and all. They're the type of movies we don't get these days, slow, calm and overall very pleasant films that's not screaming in your face. But that's just my opinion.
Rankin and Bass have created some of the most memorable children's entertainment ever. This is their style of animation. It is what Makes them so easily recognizable. They are the best.
You are clearly only familiar with the Peter Jackson films, and not the novels. Many of your criticisms you deem “not from the books” are either arguably more accurate than Jackson’s adaptation or dialogue taken straight from the pages of books. The minstrel of Gondor IS from the book, and the books are packed to the brim with songs. Peter Jackson’s trilogy is great, but takes a lot of liberties in some areas. Not very rational of you Ryan. Do better research.
The minstrel doesn’t sing in Rivendell in the book, he just comes at the end to sing “Frodo of the Nine fingers, and the ring of doom.” In Gondor. The songs in this movie aren’t from the book either, or at least the great majority of them. The dialogue is also weird in this film. Sometimes taking from the books, sometimes in faux Shakespeare l”she disguised herself as a knight and came hither!?” Merry doesn’t talk like that in the books. The Hobbits talk and speak much more down to earth. Not to mention the addition of random modernisms like Denethor going “loony.”
While I appreciate someone taking time to review these movies as I watched them when I was a kid and only really remember The Hobbit, you kind of make an ass of yourself when you say “this scene wasn’t even in the book!” When what you mean is “this scene isn’t in the Jackson Trilogy”. It’s clear that you compared these to the Live Action movies that were make 30-40 years after these but if you’re going to say that you’ve read the book and that scenes aren’t in them, you should double check before you write the video. Comparison between adaptations is fine but should be used in a soaring sense of “let’s look at how these two adaptations address this scene from the book” rather than the entirety of a review being a comparison of the two adaptations.
The book was full of music. All of those songs and poems? Did you read the books? I mean, recently? It sounds like you are confusing some of the movies with the books which I do myself from time to time. It all kind of blends together after a while....
Heyyyy, so I shouldn't make the mistake of actively increasing the engagement with this video, but here goes anyway. You really ought to consider removing this video or changing it. It's one thing to have subjective opinions about style or performance or any of the real mistakes this movie makes (and there are plenty) but it's another thing when you suggest that the movie deviates from the source material when it doesn't. All you had to do with any of the dozen or so times that you make a claim about what's actually in the books is take the books off the shelf and double-check. How hard would that be to do? For example, when you claimed the book dialogue when Frodo claims the ring was "convoluted" in this adaptation, I immediately knew you were wrong about a similar line not being in the book. So I took my copy of Return of the King off the shelf and checked. It took me.....60 seconds? The line in the book is: "I have come," he said. "But I do not choose now to do what I came to do. I will not do this deed. The Ring is mine!" So...the line Rankin Bass uses is extremely similar to the book. This is one example of many where you just...don't know what you're talking about? Other people in the comments have picked out more examples where you clearly don't remember what you read (for example, Gandalf's line to the Witch King at the gate is literally "You cannot enter here" in the books; but maybe here you were just making an unclear joke). So, again: have whatever opinion that you want about the film. It's filled with flaws. But this is bad criticism and the minimal effort is obvious. You're misinforming your audience. Not that you can't improve! But the correct thing to do would be to start by altering or removing the video, if an interest in quality is a priority. Also, you directly contradict yourself when you say that the movies shouldn't condescend, but then claim that the Rankin Bass language about Sauron is too abstract. You can dislike the dialogue but saying "This movie dumbs things down and that's why the PJ trilogy is better" and also "I'm glad that PJ just made Sauron a flaming eye, literally at the top of Barad Dur, that's simpler" is arguing against yourself. Just a small diatribe, while I'm here. I love (this is sarcasm) the gatekeepers who talk about what is or is not an appropriate adaptation of Tolkien who also, strangely, seem to...dislike Tolkien? So they'll say "Every adaptation besides PJ's sucks! Rings of Power, a show I haven't seen, doesn't respect Tolkien! Only PJ loved and cared about truly representing Tolkien's vision!" And then they'll go on to say (and I knew you'd be one of these types as soon as this video started) "Oh, but actually PJ improved Tolkien. Particularly, the climax in Mount Doom. Tolkien was brilliant and all but he somehow wrote a totally shit climax to his masterpiece. Weird, but for some reason he suddenly became shit in a few places. And PJ, the splatter movie director, really showed him how it was done. But I love Tolkien. More than anyone, actually. And I'll continue to gatekeep his works." The climax in Mount Doom in the books is actually very well considered and is set up in multiple places throughout the trilogy (I find it significant that you skipped the scene that directly sets it up, where Frodo, or is it the ring, or both, curses Gollum on the slopes of the mountain). Here's a great article on what happens to set up Gollum's fall into the fire: www.reddit.com/r/lotr/comments/2w7ar8/how_frodo_killed_gollum_with_the_one_ring_and/ Not that this is the only interpretation but it's very, very similar to my own reading of the text. But how silly of me. I, a stupid person, love the book version that Tolkien chose that reflects his themes and overall vision of the soul of Middle-Earth. You, a smart person, prefer Jackson's version where people wrestle. P.S. Yeah, yeah, I know you said that whether Tolkien's climax works is debatable. But that strongly implies that you think it doesn't work. I don't think it's debatable whether Tolkien chose the right climax for one of the most popular and best-selling books of the 20th century. I think it's fine to think it's debatable, personal taste is personal taste. But it means you don't love Tolkien. You can LIKE Tolkien and you can love or like the live action films. But you don't love Tolkien if you think the CLIMAX of the story is something he screwed up on. The climax of a story is the culmination of character and theme. I would argue that it is bound to be the MOST intentional part of the story. If you don't like Tolkien's climax then you aren't really a fan of him. You can be a casual fan of his world and the adaptations, etc. but you're not a true fan of the books. Which is fine! I know that sound sarcastic, but it actually is fine. Just don't be a gatekeeper of what adaptations can and can't do if you think the books need improvements. There's a clear hypocrisy there. But, honestly, have a nice day.
The point about gatekeepers is exactly it. It seems as though a lot of rabid fans of Lord of the Rings almost think of the PJ trilogy, weirdly, as more important or impressive than Tolkien’s books, and as the true sacred cow more than the actual source material.
I can't tell if this is a dated, nostalgia critic outrage review...but it does seem legit to me ..and if such is the case, then its like hating fruitloops for not being oatmeal.
To be fair: in the book Sam does envision turning the whole world into a garden. The knight stuff isn't there but the sprouting greenery and blossoming a giant garden is an actual vision of temptation that Sam gets in the book when he carries the ring.
When I was a kid in the early 1980s this was my first exposure to The Lord of the Rings. But, beyond nostalgia I still like and enjoy it at almost 42 years old.
The minstrel of Gondor is not a new character. He tells the story of Frodo of the 9 fingers at the field of cormallen. It’s one of the most emotional parts of the book. Sure this is a bit silly but dude you need to lighten tf up.
I strongly disagree that The Hobbit was a bad film. It is incredibly faithful, has beautiful art, music, storytelling, and the voice acting is great, too. The pace is much better than that of the live action films, too. The animated LOTR is a bit more rough, but still a decent adaptation, I think. There was also a lot of incorrect info here, as other people have said. For example, the misntrel of gondor is legitimately in the book, and asks to sing a song about "Frodo of the nine fingers" check things before shitting on important pieces of peoples childhoods, cause were gonna defend the films
Though the wood elves could’ve definitely been improved in the animated Hobbit. They look like gremlins than the beautiful creatures they’re described in the books. Also loose the fur around Smaug’s cheeks as well.
I love this movie. And it works. It really works as a quick and dirty version of ROTK that children can watch. Something you could show your 6 year old. Remember, this is the company that made all of those children's Christmas shows like Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, etc. Its also the animation company that would become Studio Ghibli. You also may want the read the books. You may be surprised how much of this stuff is in there.
Fun fact - the Minstrel of Gondor is in the book. Briefly, after Sam and Frodo wake up in Ithilien, and he explains to everyone gathered there what happened through song.
I admit to having a soft spot for the rankin bass films, as they were my introduction to LOTR when I was quite young in the 80s. I later saw the Bakshi version in high school and hated it cause of the art style and it just being half a movie. Then finally read the books once the new trilogy started coming out.
I still like the Rankin Bass movies even though they get some things very wrong. The wood elves in the RB Hobbit look nothing like those described in the book. The goblins/orcs have a fun video game looking design, like something Link would fight. While some people think Smaug looks silly with a cat inspired design, I still think he's more intimidating than how the Peter Jackson Smaug turned out to be.
Imagine if you will, you're born in the mid 80's, and you have no idea about the rankin/bass or bakshi stuff that went on. Then in the 90's you see a vhs of the hobbit and return of the king at the library. Having never read any of the books before. But you have seen bits of the hobbit on tv before, and so you get them, and you still have fond memories of the hobbit today, but the only thing you really remember from the return of the king is the "where there's a whip, there's a way" song and some bits of gollum falling into the lava with the ring.
Man, you really didn't read the books. I just couldn't stand your video until the end, too many stupid things already. I prefer to see the animated movie again and its annoying musicals before your video
Oh dear. I have always loved this version. It is actually quite accurate to the book. Also complaining about the songs is weird since the book is full of songs.
I did like that they included more of Eowyn's lines when she's confronting the Witch-king. I'm still disappointed that she didn't call him a Dwimmerlaik in the Peter Jackson production.
To be fair, I can understand the Jackson film leaving out the word Dwimmerlaik considering out of context, it sounds like a gibberish word and would sound out of place in a more serious fantasy film. It’s the kind of word that average internet people would’ve made fun of and writers for web articles like ScreenRant or WhatCulture would’ve put on their lists of Worst Moments That Briefly Took Us Out of the Movie or Worst Lines of Dialogue.
The comments are killing me... Love the video, but as bad as it is, I still enjoyed this. And someone else here points out, the latest offering from Amazon DOES make R/B's Return Of The King look like Citizen Kane.🤣 How hard have I laughed? @ 16:55
We can criticize these movies only so far, but we *always* have to keep in mind that they set the pace and tone for what would become the Peter Jackson trilogy. They were venturing into unknown territory and were the first of their kind. Rankin/Bass and Ralph Bakshi walked so Peter Jackson could run.
not reely
Could not agree more. The OP is a troll pup. "It is upon the shoulders of giants that we can see so far." RB & Bakshi were the giants upon whose shoulders Jackson's success was born.
@@cl8804 Writing is hard. Learn to spell.
Just because they provided the base for what Jackson would make does not exempt them from criticism. It's the same problem with TNG season 1. Sure, it walked so that seasons 2 and 3 onwards could run, but it doesn't mean they're the greatest thing ever written. Because they weren't. Being the first one to do it does not mean they did it better, or even good for that manner. "Concept vs. Execution" and all of that.
Exactly, and the Jackson trilogy is profoundly lacking in many aspects the animated version isn't. Also, there's his Hobbit movies which are, just awful.
I love "when there is a whip, there is a way" I have hummed or sung that song over the decades, through military service, school, difficult or boring jobs, and even now when my arthritis acts up and makes just walking difficult. I even make the whip sound when I sing it.
Yeah, that's a bop. When I was a kid, I sung it all the time.
I heard this song about 40 years before I saw the movie. It stuck in my head.
The movie absolutely suffers from dismal dialogue and incompetent storytelling, but I rather like the artwork, the voice acting wasn't bad at all when it worked, and the songs ranged from mediocre to quite catchy and memorable - "Where There's a Whip, There's a Way" was top-notch. Weird, sure, given the very '70s funky sound, but good stuff!
Clannavi de Profundis did a version of it with a music video. It's on RUclips, along with "The Greatest Adventure".
"This wasn't in the book!"...Yes, it was. Sam daydreaming because of the influence of the ring did, in fact, happen in the book. His own plain hobbit sense brought him back to reality, just like in the Rankin bass film.
Rankin Bass, btw, ended up becoming Studio Ghibli.
"Rankin Bass, btw, ended up becoming Studio Ghibli. "
holy shit you're right. i had no idea. that's wild
you gotta start somewhere lmao
Not Rankin Bass actually. That's would be Topcraft studios who work with Rankin Bass to animate it. They're a Japanese studio that co-produced with Rankin Bass with other films like The Last Unicorn animated movie. Topcraft would be the studio that produced Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind under Hayao Miyazak vision, before the studio was dissolve and half its animators joined Studio Ghibil.
I remember that! But, I do like how it was simplified in the Peter Jackson adaptation. Sean Astin’s performance really sold the scene, like he was almost having an existential crisis or panic attack.
Rankin Bass became Studio Ghibli? I will be very disappointed if I discover that happened while Arthur Rankin was still alive.
Ha, no, Rakin bass worked with a Japanese studio that became Ghibli. American studios dont turn into Japanese studios, at least not usually.
12:20 Sam being tempted to be a great army leader to undo Mordor, then a great gardener of a garden as great as a land was actually in the book. the temptation fail because Sam's simple way of life make him unable to take seriously such ambitions.
"My own hands to use, not the hands of others" is straight from the book.
You got to admit that design of Sam's wife, and the waving orc are hilarious though.
Love that line, scene and the song. Cause they hold truths in the concept of having little can be so much more.
They spent way more time on it in the movie than the book. I didn't mind, because I enjoyed the characterization of Sam.
No, you don't. No way you have ever read something longer than five pages.
@@joannamyers1268 The one thing I really liked about this cartoon is that Sam is made a lead character as much as he could've been without betraying the storyline.
Sam's "weird daydream about being a knight" happened in the book.
This movie seems pretty crappy, but you should probably read the LotR (and not just watch PJ's movies) before criticizing the movie for what is and isn't in the book. I get similar vibes when you complain about the lack of Arwen in the movie.
You say "[Gandalf] was optimistic about the afterlife" and then take a quote from the PJ movie that wasn't from the book (at least not this part of the book, possibly he took it from elsewhere). Gandalf is very pessimistic at this part of the book. He is holding on, and so holding up everyone else, but he is on the edge of breaking.
Theoden dies the after his horse throws him and falls on him in the book too.
🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓
He literally re-read the books before watching this.
@@suivilo3159 well it doesn't change that he's wrong
Could it be that some changes that were done in the book work in a book and not in a film
And yet remembers almost nothing about them?
"Another goddamn musical number?!"
When you learn that the books also had enough songs per chapter to qualify it as a musical
Especially with Tom Bombadil, the dude literally talked in musical lyrics.
The songs are complete ass in the books too
@@mattrogersftw No they aren't.
@@mattrogersftw The songs in the book play a very important role in providing a glimpse into the culture of Middle Earth and of the sort of details that would presumably be passed on to future generations. Their inclusion helps to underscore the importance of these events (eg they were regarded as worthy of song) and give a richer world tapestry. Look at songs from World Wars One and Two. They were so popular back then that they’ve been passed on through the generations and we still remember the words to this day and it gives us a useful glimpse into the things people looked to in times of trouble back then. Ok, so Tolkien’s songs are not written for modern tastes, but they’d feel completely anachronistic if they were.
@@GusMcGuire Adding to your point, if one knows of the lore of Middle Earth, Illuvatar created everything with song and Morgoth sang a corrupting song to disrupt everything. So essentially, the whole LOTR universe is made up by songs.
WE DONT WANT TO GO TO WAR TODAY, BUT THE LORD OF THE LASH SAYS NAY NAY NAAAAAAYYY!!!!!!!
The proper response 😂
Watch me whip
Now watch me nay nay.
We’re going to march all day all day all day for when there’s a whip there’s a way
Despite your critique of Bakshi's film, a HUGE number of Two Towers shots in Jackson's version are SHOT for SHOT and camera angles are the same as those used by Bakshi. Bakshi had a huge amount of funding issues, so he had to make a lot shortcuts, but it is telling that Jackson copied much of the Two Towers that Bakshi created.
Sure, but it's still not a good movie. Some of the shots are cool but that's about it.
I was about to make a similar comment. There is no denying that Bakshi helped the development of jacksons LOTR FOTR and TT. Im part of the cult following. The Cells of the film are pure art.
@@gianna526 If you read the books before the movies came out, these cartoons were all you had to fill in the blanks. The Fellowship movie had more than a few shots that reanimated scenes from the cartoon.
@@gregoryporch8395 I read them in 1985. The cartoons were a nice thing to see.
The Nazgul with the Hobbits hiding under the tree @@gregoryporch8395
The witch king portrayal is pretty accurate tbh.
"... Upon it sat a shape, black-mantled, huge and threatening. A crown of steel he bore, but between rim and robe naught was there to see, save only a deadly gleam of eyes: the Lord of the Nazgul.."
But the voice…he sounds like Skeletor or smth like that
I love watching this film to mock it. However, I feel the Witchking was one of its few positive elements.
@@vogonpoet9206 how does he sound in the book?
@@vogonpoet9206 Skeletor on helium
I always imagined it more like Cobra Commander's voice, personally.
The entire movie is redeemed by the orc marching song. Every last sin absolved with that one scene.
Orc Funk
I actually do like that song, but I also really like the "Towers of the Teeth" song too.
that was one of the single *worst* parts of this movie. i muted the video while watching it and did not unmute it until the damn song was over. took me right out of the movie.
also appropriate picture: cringe comment about a cringe movie from a cringe pfp. "from cringe cometh cringe"
When orcs go to battle, they do it properly--with the traditional orcish wah-wah pedals!
Amen.
Just a few corrections and half-corrections (many of which have already been noted):
6:02 Depicting it as a single house may be understandable, due to widespread confusion among fans with regard to the term "The Last Homely House" in the books.
7:42 That's not a new character, the "minstrel of Gondor" is briefly mentioned in the books. Interestingly enough, he does sing ♪Frodo of the Nine Fingers and the Ring of Doom♪
11:43 Samwise the Strong is heavily based on a scene in the book (a really great scene too).
15:57 It is heavily implied that Denethor seeing evidence of imminent defeat in the Palantir _was_ the last straw.
17:59 Denethor kept the Palantír hidden until just before his passing in the book.
19:25 The scene where Gandalf comforts Pippin about passing isn't in the book.
21:28 Yiiiiiikes...
25:27 That's not _precisely_ a line from the book, the line is "Where there's a whip there's a will, my slugs." But it is clearly the inspiration.
27:45 From the books: "he had a kingly crown; and yet upon no head visible was it set."
35:10 The giant rock is indeed super crazy here... but it is implied that Sam may have been hit by a stone at this point in the book.
36:42 Snowmane got hit by an arrow while rearing in fear, and then fell upon Théoden in the book... so it's not _that_ much more dramatic.
37:44 This is actually a direct quote of Frodo's dialogue at Sammath Naur.
41:41 Aragorn doesn't kill the Mouth of Sauron in the book.
Anyway, I think I was about 21 when I first saw the animated adaptations, and I was especially fond of ROTK. Quite a few songs slap, and it's quite faithful in many areas. Plus it has a great aesthetic all its own :D
Yeah I mean I generally agree that this movie is in no way good, but he does get some stuff blatantly wrong for someone who just re-read the books
I can't find anything on the minstrel of Gondor being in the books when I google him.
@@archedmash9501 Here's a direct quote from the book (The Return of the King):
"And when the glad shout had swelled up and died away again, to Sam’s final and complete satisfaction and pure joy, a minstrel of Gondor stood forth, and knelt, and begged leave to sing. And behold! he said:
‘Lo! lords and knights and men of valour unashamed, kings and princes, and fair people of Gondor, and Riders of Rohan, and ye sons of Elrond, and Dúnedain of the North, and Elf and Dwarf, and greathearts of the Shire, and all free folk of the West, now listen to my lay. For I will sing to you of Frodo of the Nine Fingers and the Ring of Doom.’"
@@archedmash9501 googles instead of reading the book. This generation is f@uked
Honestly it sounds like this guy didn’t read the book.
I'm sorry but I love this movie. Was is perfect? No but the animation is perfectly fine, in fact you can tell just by looking that these are the same people that made the Last Unicorn. Some of the songs fall flat but those that are good are really good. The voice talent they found for the songs was also good. To call this one of the worst animated films ever shows that you dont know the level of pure shit that some animated features have achieved, and this is not one of those. Also I'm sorry but what are dying people supposed to sound like? Thorin sounds "tired" you say but not like a man who is dying....Dying people sound TIRED or WEAK so ...yeah I dont see anything wrong with that scene at all. Also "Where There's a Whip" is a perfectly suitable Orc marching song I feel.
"One of the worst Lord of the Rings movies (so far)"
Good thing for the Rings of Power that it's a TV show, otherwise it would swiftly take that place
Have you even seen it? It's great so far
@@davidkippy101 It sure is, Guyladriel jumping into the ocean and planning to swim back to middle earth (Why didn't Faenor or Finglofin think of that??), cow teats foretelling of evil to come, white men being incompetent while women RULE, Femrond and Celebrimbor taking a stroll to Moria without any gear or horses as if Moria is just across the yard, meaningless quotes trying to sound smart but falling utterly flat, Elves looking more like men or hobbits and having no presence, boring Hobbits oh wait can't say that, Harfoots* doing absolutely nothing, it's a great show, made for a special kind of person.
@@davidkippy101 Yeah, I have. And I have to disagree (harshly). It looks great, almost perfect. And SOME of the lines attempting to sound epic are pulled off. I'll completely ignore the fact that the show has a woke agenda which changes characters from what they were meant to be according to the real (better) lore.
Half of the dialogue are things that superficially are delivered in an epic tone, but any investigation will find that they make zero sense with established context, even leading into contradictions. The first two lines of the entire show features a non-sequitur, it sounds like 2 separate starting lines. You could insert "Wait hold on, I didn't like that start, let me try again" after the first line. And the interpersonal dialogue is no different, it is rife with non-sequiturs. There's many contradictions in the story as well, and ONE in particularly bothered me so much. When Galadriel hears a draft and superman puches through solid ice in "Sauron's old lair". She says "the door was filled in here". WITH WHAT? WATER? THEY POURED WATER ON THE DOOR TO SEAL IT? WHAT. MAGIc?? SAURON DOESN'T HAVE ICE MAGIC. GALADRIEL SAYS NOT EVEN A MINUTE LATER THAT ON SAURON'S HAND IS QUOTE "FLAME UNQUENCHED". IS HE THE MASTER OF WATER AND FIRE TOO?
* Ahem * She finds Sauron's mark after it's only revealed by water. "Why is it there?" She wonders. WELL OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE SAURON IS LEAVIONG A TRAIL FOR ORCS. (no, you just went to the ends of the earth where "sunlight fears to show its face", punched through a filled in door, and poured water on a stone anvil. Orcs are stupid, they would die of old age before they got there) WHERE IS THE TRAIL POINTING, NORTH? WHY DOES SHE MENTION THE MARK LEFT ON HER BROTHER'S CORPSE AFTERWARD? SAURON WAS USING HER BROTHER AS A TRAIL???? WHY???
"AHAHHAHAHAHH Galadriel I killed your brother but let me scribble on him just so you know it was me! EHEHEHEHHEHE?" What IS Sauron? 5? LMAO
My favorite part afterward was when one of the elves said "We should never have come in here". WHY? THAT WAS WHAT YOU'VE BEEN TRAVELLING MIDDLE EARTH FOR CENTURIES FOR. TO LOOK FOR SAURON AND YOU'RE LIKE "Nope"?. Directly after that all of the elves lay down their weapons to show they're out. But they just killed an ice troll in LITERAL FRICKING SAURON'S LAIR, PICK YOUR WEAPONS BACK UP.
Anyways. The part where Arondir calls his friend stinky was sooo deep.
The second episode was maybe a bit better, but I haven't analyzed it as much, and I'd rather not make this a full review.
So far, yeah, it's honestly better than the movie in the video. But the rings of power is only good by comparison to this movie. By comparison to TLotR, it's dirt on a boot. (Rings of power isn't TLotR by the way)
(let's not forget the message of the first episode. if you don't know what's good or bad, make an uninformed decisiion and find out! (which is why she jumps off the boat, because her brother said that to her. It would have been so so so so much cooler if she was crazed and yelled about a great evil in Middle Earth before she jumped. It should NOT be because her brother said it, but because Sauron's a threat to their whole world and she knows it? RIGHT??))
@@supersolomob422 I hope you're happy spending ten minutes writing a paragraph of crap you made up to prove to yourself you were right all along
@@davidkippy101 Clearly I'd be perfectly happy even if that WAS the case. I spent 30 minutes on it, as it was thought-out. I do this all the time, in fact I enjoy it. Unfortunately *you* do not seem to, as you have no actiual argument as to why the show is "great so fat", instead you created... whatever that response was supposed to be? That seentance holds a total of 0 value. Going for personal attacks rather than argue the whole point of this discussion. I had even praised the show in certain parts, it was completely honest, and defintely not directed towards calling you "stupid". Well not anymore, not after your response. And yes, thank you for spelling out the nature of arguments for me. It's not like an argument is something meant to prove yourself right, not at all. Not at all. (sarcasm. Gotta make sure to spell it out for you too, the same way Rings of Power has)
I guess you're joined with Sauron, in being 5.
So, with your response, it's actually easier to understand why you think it's a great show so far. Somehow you did manage to explain your reasoning entirely by exposing your level of intuition. Unfortunately it's reasoning for why you like the show; and not reasoning for why it's a "great show". So congratulations on shooting yourself in the foot with that. Feel free to come back when you're 6
The music in the Rankin Bass movies slapped. 'Where there's a whip there's a way' is an eternal bop. Though 'down down to goblin town' and 'fifteen birds' from the Hobbit were solid jams
Ear worms for weeks, I just watched them last sunday
Frodo of the Nine Fingers and the Rings of Doom!
Best of all, Down Down to Goblin Town and Fifteen Birds are pretty much WORD FOR WORD what is in the book! It also helps that Thurl Ravenscroft, the voice of Tony the Tiger and singer of "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" is one of the singers for the goblins in both ROTK and The Hobbit Rankin/Bass movies. His deep rolling voice is beautiful to listen to!
Yes!!! Beards all a'waggin. What brings mister Baggins? 15 birds in 5 fur trees what should we do with Ryan. That funny little thing. He has no wings!!
@@NM-mo3ie Ryan is a funny little guy, isn't he?
My mother forced my father to buy a VCR to record this movie from TV. They never figured out how to work it and ended up recording static. I figured out how it worked the next day but it never came back to TV. Ever. My poor mom spent the next ten years looking for this and even tried to special order it but this particular gem was out of stock. She died without seeing it again. She passed in '93 so thankfully she didn't see the Jackson movies. She was a die hard fan. She had an original copy of the trilogy. First run. First edition. She gave it to me as I loved it as much as she did. My sister was an english major so I thought I should give them to her. And now I can't get them back. They were the only things I had left from her. R.I.P. Mom.
awwww
I could swear I saw commercials for the 3 movies mashed together in the box set on TV all the time, but maybe return of the king wasn't in it.
Personally, I liked the Peter Jackson films, although I wish he hadn't changed so much.I totally get why they didn't have Saruman in the Shire at the end. I was a fan of Peter Jackson since Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles, and Dead Alive/Brain Dead.
Just curious, what do you think of The Rings of Power from Amazon prime?
Those first editions are a legit treasure.
When you said "this has some of the worst writing I've ever seen!" that was one area where the dialog was taken almost entirely from the book. Almost all of Denathore's lines are lifted from the book. It's stupid out of context, but it undeniably excellent dialog. This movie has it's terrible flaws, but the monologs are almost all directly from Tolkien's work...
I LMAO'ed @ The Troll in Central Park reference. 🤣
writing isn't just Dialogue. providing that context is a major part of writing
writing for film and tv is more about structure, Dialogue is just Icing on the large cake
@@omalleycaboose5937 the writing is still cringe
@@TheSMR1969 You're cringe
Honestly I don’t think he’s read the book.
What, this is a great movie~ and perhaps the best adaptation of Tolkien's books.
This day dream served two things: show Sam's personality and how tempting the ring is. Edit: it did happen in the books.
I don't remember him having a visons of his wife looking like Frodo in drag, and a friendly waving orc. lol
Amazon: “Hold my beer.”
😂
"Where theres a whip there's a way" is one of the greatest songs of any lord of the rings adaptation period.
If you read the hobbit Rivendell is basically described as a house in the woods. The lord of the rings makes it seem more majestic. In the hobbit it’s just called the last homly house.
What’s worse about Legolas and Gimli’s omission is that their fathers Thandruil and Gloin respectively were in Rankin Bass’ adaptation of The Hobbit and we see Gloin was one of the 7 dwarfs that survived the Battle of the Five Armies. You’d think Gloin’s survival was a set up for Gimli’s appearance in Rankin Bass’ adaptation of the Lord of the Rings books, but no, he doesn’t even appear.
I never understood why the cartoon The Hobbit killed off Bombur and a few other "extra" dwarves. Seemed like such a strange modification, even as a kid.
@@sigmazero13 IKR? But I guess sometimes there has to be a few adaptational changes. But I can confirm Balin was one of the surviving dwarfs in that version considering he went to overtake the Mines of Moria and was later killed by Orcs and the Fellowship of the Ring coming across his tomb during their travels through the Mines. If Rankin-Bass also adapted the FOTR, they'd have depicted that scene.
Sam fantasizing about being a brave warrior was in the book, but not in such detail.
I legit still listen to “Where there’s a whip there’s a way” to this very day. Absolute BANGER!
Edit: At 17:08 I can actually see the tears brimming…
Oh yeah. I also still remember and sing "Frodo Nine Fingers" (though admittedly it's a bit ridiculous). But my favorite has to be "The Greatest Adventure" from the Hobbit. If you have kids and they're leaving home this song hits different altogether.
If you never say hello you don't have to say goodbye
Jesus what sort of stone hearted gobli. Doesn't love that line
Where there's a whip, there's a way.
Where there's a whip, there's a way.
Where there's a whip...[continues in second voice]
We don't wanna go to war today
But the Lord of the Lash says: "nay, nay, nay!"
We're gonna march all day, all day, all day!
Where there's a whip there's a way!
Where there's a whip, there's a way!
Where there's a whip, there's a way!
Where there's a whip, there's a way!
Left, right, left, right, left
Where there's a whip, there's a way!
Left, right
The crack on the back says we're gonna fight
We're gonna march all day and night and more
For we are the slaves of the Dark Lord's war.
Left, right, left, right, left, right
Where there's a whip, there's a way!
Where there's a whip, there's a way.
Where there's a whip...[continues in second voice]
We don't wanna go to war today!
But the Lord of the Lash says: "nay, nay, nay!"
We're gonna march all day, all day, all day!
Where there's a whip there's a way!
Left, right, left right!
[scene of Frodo and Sam]
Where there's a whip!
We don't wanna go to war today!
But the Lord of the Lash says: "nay, nay, nay!"
We're gonna march all day, all day, all day!
Where there's a whip there's a way!
I like to say "whip" ('"wip") with a little 'wh" sound, not drawn out ("whip").
Where there's a whip, there is a way!
Gotta say, the Orcs knew how to motivate.
@@shadowsayer1516 i remember there being a song in the book about "Frodo Nine-fingers" in Ithilien after Mordor's downfall, so despite what the dude's ranting on about in the video, it was actually something that came from the source-material.
20:39 - Why Rankin Bass decided to transfer all of Denethor's gloom onto Gandalf is a mystery. To be fair, though, his depiction here is more fair than his treatment in the Peter Jackson movie. In the book, Gandalf is trying to encourage Denethor to lead his forces to defend Minas Tirith while not revealing the return of the King. But he's distracted by the seige from Sauron's army and doesn't realise what's really happening to Denethor until it's too late. The Jackson movie dispensed with all subtlety in depicting a doomed leader whose mind was broken by Sauron, and instead turned him into a gibbering idiot who first gets beaten up by Gandalf in front of his own guards (...er, you're supposed to be 'guarding' him, guys; the clue's in the name) and then is later MURDERED by Gandalf, using Shadowfax to kick him onto the burning funeral pyre, in front of his own son! 😳
Hard disagree. I love this movie. Granted, I grew up with it so I'm viewing it through nostalgia glasses. But this movie and the animated Hobbit were my gateway into Tolkien fandom. I hadn't read the books yet but I was enchanted by this world and wanted to know more.
As far as the musical numbers, I find the songs to be fun and charming (and as others said, "Where There's a Whip" is a banger). I see nothing wrong with making a Tolkien musical. The books are filled with songs and poems. The movie's character designs are unique and have a charm to them as well. And John Huston as Gandalf is epic casting.
I admit that the movie has flaws. The story is greatly simplified. Legolas and Gimli were cut. The pronunciations are way off. But I still think it's a fun movie and I would take it over Bakshi's awkwardly rotoscoped scenes, pantless Aragorn, and Viking Boromir any day.
Also, several things you complained about were from the book - Sam's daydream about being Samwise the Strong. Denethor being driven to despair by seeing doom in the Palantir. Theoden dying from being thrown from his horse. And Aragorn doesn't kill the Mouth of Sauron in the book (it's bad form to kill an emissary) so I'm not sure what your blank stare was about.
yeah this review is too negative like he never was a kid. Loved this film when I was a kid. Flawed but I feel it captures the spirit of Tolkien.
Tbf, King Theoden falling from his horse is still an underwhelming death for a character we were introduced and got to know in the previous book.
It’d be like Thorin Oakenshield dying from a gold coin no larger than a penny or a diamond being thrown at his chest during the Battle of the Five Armies. One of the elements I felt Peter Jackson improved in his adaptation.
Ryan is talking out his ass with petty nitpicking. This is a really terrible video and he should be ashamed at having made it. This cartoon was awesome compared to the usual Saturday morning cartoons we were forced to watch. There has been a half century of advancement since then. You don't say a Ford model T is a terrible vehicle because modern ones are better. You say it was a good vehicle for it's time. Another great show was Ultraman, but watching it from a 21st century perspective, it is aweful.
I think people whose first introduction to Lord of the Rings was the three cartoon movies have a much better feel about this than people who saw them later in life. I'm like you this was shown to me while I was still too young for ANY other version (my parents were big fans and wanted to give me an early start 😆), and my memories of this movie are very dear. 🥰
I should add that, when i DID finally get old enough to read the books, I learned a LOT of stuff I never knew. 😂 The scouring of the Shire still haunts me.
The book totally had a scene of the Ring tempting Sam with being a leader, including bringing to blossom the lands that had been withered by evil. Sam was lost briefly in that daydream before shaking it off.
It's not nearly as good as Rankin and Bass's The Hobbit, but I don't think it's as bad as some people make it out to be. Sam was portrayed much better than in Ralph Baski's LOTR film (where he's kind of goofy). I also like the whip song. Catchy.
no one complained about this TV movie until after PJ trilogy and the rise of armchair critics on youtube
Sam looks like some kind of Igor type character in Bakshi's movie. lol
Yes, Rankin-Bass has flaws, like the abbreviated battle scenes. But battle scenes are difficult to animate. The 1978 Bakshi version's battle scenes were confusing messes that weren't even animated. They were silhouetted actors waving swords and axes behind cheesecloth and weird lighting. The fact that this video claims the Rankin-Bass was worse makes me wonder if he's ever seen the Bakshi version. All of the comparisons seem to be against the Jackson version, which was decades later, huge budget and given years to finish. Still a minor miracle that Jackson pulled off the impossible and filmed an unfilmable book.
Where there's a whip is a true fucking banger. I listen to it in my car sometimes.
Let's not beat around the bush. Bakshi samwise is straight up retarded. OH HOORAY.
Directly from the book, "’I have come,’ he said. ‘But I do not choose now to do what I came to do. I will not do this deed. The Ring is mine!’ And suddenly, as he set it on his finger, he vanished from Sam's sight."
Gandalf's voice in these movies is incredible👌🏼
That's John Huston, American badass.
Great voice. But don't let himbaby sit your daughter
He will always be the voice of Gandalf in my mind. Sir Ian is a great actor and is the face but John Hudson has much better delivery. Both the gravitas and the confidence of his delivery. Ian seems to focus more on Gandalf as he appears, a mysteries old man. John sounds more like a powerful wizard and more.
like the old stop motion Christmas specials. Same voice, it seems.
He's also the narrator in The Black Cauldron
I dont think most people understand the context of these older Lord of the Rings movies. Back in the day in the 70s's and very early 80's Tolkien and Lord of the Rings was completely off the radar for anyone but die hard fans, the books and these movies was all we had, all we had for almost 25 years. The Lord of The Rings license was owned by a tiny pen and paper RPG company in Charlottesville Virginia, nobody was into the Lord of the Rings back then. This is all we had and we loved it .
There was no streaming, no DVDs, at first you couldnt even own these movies even on VHS. You only saw these movies when they rarely aired on network TV. I saw the Ralph Bakshi Lord of the Rings movie in the Movie theater and it made as big an impression as the original Star Wars movie did. I saw it once and not again almost for 10 years, if you wanted a Tolkien fix, you sat down and read the books again.
I can get how they can appear to have not held up over time, but for some of us they are classics because its all we had for half of our lives. I can understand the criticism, i enjoy the Peter Jackson films , but can be similiarly critical of them also, pretty much every addition that are made with artistic license are cringey to me, when Legolas and Gimili become caricatures, the whole Arwen and Aragorn added story was filler, cut out all that and put in the parts of the actual original story that was cut would be nice.
Are you loving Rings of Power?
You are also aware this came out after the Ralph bakshi version which actually tried to be mature and took the story seriously
My mom raised me on the Hobbit book, as well as all of these animated movies. I’m so thankful because I really don’t think I would’ve been into Tolkien without them. The music from the Rankin & Bass films is so nostalgic to me, just that single mystical note that plays during narration/monologues triggers childhood memories.
I found it interesting when you mentioned that the license was held in the 1980s by a small RPG company in the US. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the Warhammer Fantasy RPG, Warhammer 40,000 or Warhammer Fantasy games, but if not, they’re products of a British company called Games Workshop. Those games are played with a variety of miniature models also made by GW, and in the mid-to-late 1980s, they made a range of Uruk-Hai miniatures which were pretty cool looking, if a little bit goofy. They discontinued them and focused on their other flagship games, until Jackson’s movies appeared. At that point they created the Middle Earth Strategy Game, another tabletop wargame, with models based directly on the designs of the movie characters. These are a far cry from their older models, due to the advances in their model making that time and technology brought. The game had kind of fallen by the wayside after the movies had been completed, and was never as popular as their other products. There was a brief resurgence of interest however, and new model and game rules releases when Jackson’s Hobbit movie abominations came out. Same as before, though, interest waned after the movies were no longer new, and releases slowed to a crawl. Now that the Amazon Rings Of Power disaster has arrived, Middle Earth models and boxed game sets have been enjoying a revival, but I believe we’ll see the same pattern once again. Anyway- all that just to say that it’s interesting that in the ‘80s the rights to the books were held by a games company, and some models were made based on the books by a different games company across the ocean. I just didn’t know how else to explain it if you had never heard of Games Workshop.
TL/DR- UK company made some Orc models in the 1980s. And I find it interesting. 😆
The idea is to make the best adaptation possible, not to make something just for the sake of it. The reason Watership Down and The Plague Dogs is so fondly remembered (despite being loose adaptations) is because they were tonally consistent, well animated and had great voice acting.
I think you’re looking at this through rose-tinted glasses. Adaptations are typically made to pay homage to authors and hopefully get people interested in giving the books a shot. I can’t imagine many adults being interested in giving LOTR a read simply bc the animated films fail to paint Tolkien’s universe in a relatable and intelligent fashion. Most moviegoers don’t care for pages of exposition and word for word adaptation. They crave the human element. Look no further than Apocalypse Now, Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather and Jackson’s LOTR trilogy.
"Why is this old movie not the peter jackson trilogy?"
"why don't they pronounce things like in the peter jackson trilogy?"
"Why did they do things like they are described in the book and not like the peter jackson trilogy?"
The guy has a b*ner for Peter Jackson
They did this at a time when no one thought there could ever be a live action LotR or Hobbit. They used a range of artists including ex Disney movie artists. As a child I can tell you it was wildly entertaining for a young audience.
You can't explain this to someone with no imagination, and someone who is clearly lying about having read the books.
@@dacsus Nobody is trying to diminish your appreciation for the animated films but the fact of the matter is Jackson’s trilogy made Tolkien a household name and subsequently sold more novels than hotcakes. Having read the books isn’t a merit badge, these are loose adaptations for moviegoers and neither of the directors claim otherwise. If your intention is to get people to read the books, steering them towards the animated films is a bad idea.
@@franknb7827 And am I saying somewhere that this is not so?
You are talking about something completely different than what has been discussed here.
I consider Jackson's trilogy to be one of the greatest films ever made.
@@franknb7827 The animated films are exactly what inspired me to read the books when I was younger. The animated film of The Hobbit is what caused my kids to ask me to read the book to them when they were younger. The animated Return of the King is what is driving my oldest to want to read The Lord of the Rings (she only hasn't yet because she tends to prefer drawing in her spare time over reading these days, but she keeps saying she wants to).
Warts and all, there is a lot about the cartoons that can inspire people, especially younger readers, to want to read the actual books.
(Honestly, the Peter Jackson version of The Hobbit probably would have turned me off wanting to read the book if I'd seen it as a kid; the PJ LotR movies would have inspired me to read them as well, though, but I'm not sure 10-year-old me would have been able to watch the full trilogy, but the cartoon was just perfect for me)
The PJ LotR films were excellent. The cartoons were cheesy, yes, but for kids, they can be the catalyst.
I saw both versions as a kid, the Peter Jackson movies are far better.
The Rankin/Bass movies are better than Rings of Power. Fight me.
No real fan will fight you when you are spitting facts.
Why fight facts?
I can understand perhaps someone not finding it to their taste. But I don't quite understand the hate. For those of us who are much older, we didn't have 11+ hours of exquisitely crafted films. I was 10 when _The Hobbit_ by Rankin/Bass introduced me to _Tolkien._ I couldn't consume much more than _The Hobbit_ book at the time. I blame both my age and the emergence of *Star Wars.*
Eventually, at age 13 I was again reminded of _Tolkien's_ world when this film came out. And at this point I was ready to start my journey through Middle Earth.
While I wasn't a huge fan of the art style, both Rankin/Bass productions made for wonderful audio recordings. I'd listen while doing chores. And _John Huston_ made an outstanding _Gandalf,_ IMO.
As someone who grew up during the same time period, I echo your sentiment and agree thoroughly.
People like this have to go to the rooftops to scream how much of a douchey contrarian they are. These are the same types of people who will argue to the death over stupid things. Because they always have to be right. It's insufferable.
@@jonnylake3rdDid you even read the comment? Nothing in it even remotely comes close to what you are complaining about.
If anything, I might suggest you look in a mirror.
@@declanobrien799 I think that was a reply to the video, not the original comment.
I loved this movie so much as a kid, and all the songs. Loved the live action ones too but without these I would never have developed an appreciation to the fantasy genre
It's a kid doing this video. It's just his opinion and he appears to be getting roasted in almost every comment.
Again, back to the drawing board. Kid.
It was acceptable for The Hobbit, because The Hobbit was with a more light-hearted tone in mind, but Lord of the Rings is supposed to be more darker and serious and so dumbing it down for little kids was a bad move.
Are you sure none of it was in the book? I could have sworn that Samwise did have ring-induced fantasies about being in command, and saving Middle Earth and the Shire and stuff when he was carrying the ring on its chain for Frodo.
It doesn't really matter. That's the sort of stuff you don't adapt. It comes of as weird in live action and with visuals you can tell how someone is feeling without looking inside their head.
@@drd444 he said it didn't have it in the book. It did
I actually love Eowyn confronting the Witch-King in this movie
And idk if its confirmed but the VA for the Witch-King sounds like Skeletor
Oh he even made this a point in the video lmao
I agree. Eowyn was one of the weaker casting choices in the Jackson films. She looks way better in this.
Wasn't skeletor, but was it Starscream?
@@GeraltofRivia22 Who would you have casted for Eowyn?
@@hunterolaughlin I don't know, I'm not a casting director from the 2000s. But I do know that Miranda Otto just doesn't embody the character she plays like most of the rest of the cast does. It's by no means a bad or even mediocre performance, I just don't think she was the perfect fit for the role.
This movie is a masterpiece compared to Amazon's recent train crash.
When I was kid, this was my first introduction to Lotr. Having no knowledge of the Hobbit, the Fellowship, or the two towers, I was confused out of my mind about what was going on
Same, except I had the background of The Hobbit at least (from the other R/B cartoon and from reading the book when I was 10). But the lack of "what's going on" is what eventually inspired me to read the full trilogy to find out exactly how they got to that point.
"One of the worst animated movies i have ever seen" ... It sounds like you have not seen many animated movies, nor lord of the rings movies for that matter.
HEY!! THE WHIP SONG WAS BASED!
Honestly though these had their place. As a little kid in the early 80's these movies were my only exposure to Tolkien. I would probably have the same reaction if I watched them today, but I do have fond memories, laying on the floor, watching these on bootleg VHS copies.
Yes and with the eyes of a kid its not the same in the 80s we where happy we got a fantasy cartoon movie
I'd agree with many of your criticisms (Especially RotK) regarding storyflow, many of your others are so subjective as to be almost pointless. I lost count of how many of your criticisms are flat wrong. Example the Witch King of Angmar is not only faceless, but literally described as a floating crown above glowing eyes, like in this cartoon (Skeletor Voice though lol I agree silly!) From RotK : "Upon it sat a shape, black-mantled, huge and threatening. A crown of steel he bore, but between rim and robe naught was there to see, save only a deadly gleam of eyes: the Lord of the Nazgûl."
Despite the uneven quality of all three of these animated movies, Peter Jackson was heavily influenced by how they adapted the books, and even whole scenes were quite clearly based on the scenes from these.
Yeah it is true. Here’s a question, would it look good in a visual medium? I think that it could but the voice is completely jarring. An edit with the horned kings voice pasted over his dialogue is so much better
It would be cheesey awesome if Skeletor got more powerful, and had that echo effect added to his voice. lol
Absolutely on point sir.
@Shadow Slayer Eowyn: Leave the dead in peace.
Witch-King: Come not between the nazgul and his prey you royal boob!
@@lordinquisitordunn336 Arise my messengers of death!
I’d love to have an animated series adaptation of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings with an art style that is a mix between these movies (more so the Rankin/Bass) and Avatar the Last Airbender
Make it closer to the book with a longer run time of a series
There is the War of the Rohirrim anime movie coming soon! Really hope it performs so we get even more animated Tolkien. I feel like some Silmarillion stories are especially suited for animation.
I honestly like these movies.
But I grew up with them
I do know they have a ton of problems,
But I still find enjoyment.
I think they would be good if you have little kids and you want to introduce them to Tolkien, but you think the Peter Jackson films are a bit too intense for them.
Then again I saw all three of the Jackson films in theaters when I was 3-5
Plus at the very least,
Sam looks WAY better here than the Bakshi version,
Despite how much I love Sean Astin,
This is probably the most accurate to the book Sam there is
Also I kind of like the displays the orcs do in this movie before fighting, makes them seem more like beasts
Since that’s just what animals do
same here. These summer children of the Peter Jackson's trilogy don't know what it is like back then. And yes they did Sam justice here.
same
I consider this film to be one of my guilty pleasures. For instance, the songs are corny, but I still enjoy them.
@@Mr666walter666 my buddy will unironically loop "Where there's a whip" at random on car trips or drunken evenings. It's terrific. And "Leave tomorrow til it Comes" is a straight up anxiety soother.
To be fair, I would be pretty scared if a headless horseman talked to me in that kind of voice.
29:30 ey, you referenced my comment! Anyways, I would like to make a retort regarding your statement. While you did reference how to do limited movement right, most of your argument seems to boil down to "its insulting to apply this animation style to Tolkien's work." You even said earlier that they shouldn't even had bothered with a budget like this. There is no barrier of entry when it comes to what quality of animation should be applied to different adaptations, having a low budget isn't offensive, or disrespectful. Stating that they just shouldn't make the movie at all, results in Rankin/Bass only having two options. Either 1, put more money into the project, which realistically wasn't possible, or 2, not make the movie at all. These aren't really options are they.
I will say that you convinced me with your Evangelion point. Shows like it definitely get more out of the limited movement it has. However, we also have to remember that anime is one of the most expressive styles of animation there is. Even with that said though, I am pretty sure Rankin/Bass could have gotten a lot more out of the limited movement they could put into the movie. More expressive character designs also probably wouldn't hurt.
Of course low budget animation from the 70s isn't going to compare to the big budget spectacles from the 2000s so kind of an unfair comparison. I will say this, though, about the animated versions (including Bakshi's) -- they were more faithful adaptions to the source material, especially the "The Hobbit". The character designs may have been a little off, but in terms of story, they were pretty spot on most of the time. Plus they included a lot of Tolkien's original songs, which was terrific -- even Bakshi used the "Merry Old Inn song" for the Bree scene.
Ryan, I can teII you exactIy why they onIy covered The Return of the King. Because Bakshi 's fiIm (which had been reIeased prior to this fiIm) had stopped after the BattIe of HeIm's Deep. Bakshi couIdn't raise the money to finsh the triIogy, so when Rankin and Bass took over they decided to start where Bakshi had Ieft off. This TV movie was made for LOTR fans (fans of the books, that is) who were upset that Bashki had not compIeted the triIogy. I saw Bashki's movie in the theaters when it was first reIeased and I watched the Rankin/Bass movie when it first came out.I hope this heIps.
The songs are actually great and the vibe is spot on. The Animation is fitting. Is it flawed, yes, but it does not deserve all the ridicule it has been getting lately. Imagine being a kid 45 years ago and stumbling onto this on TV. It would have blown your mind.
🎶Where there’s a whip, there’s a way!!!🎶
🎶Left, right, Left, right, Left, right, Left, right,🎶
I loved the 1979 version. I think its quintessential. Its distilled Tolkien. Despite the liberties it takes with the story.
Like, Aragorn is a descendant of the people from the continent to the west. So he is an American Indian. Elrond is an ancient elf from a time long ago when his people ruled across the whole land. So he is portrayed as a Roman. Looking like Marc Antony.
Brilliant. Dude truly understood the source material.
Then the feel the rotoscoping gives the whole thing is just next level. Really gives it an other worldly aesthetic. The Nazgul in particular are just perfection.
I love 1979 Lord of the Rings and no amount of bashing could change my mind.
Yeah, this dude is kind of a joke. He isn't even shaving yet.
Tolkien absolutely despised these one-to-one allegories with real world history of the sort you are describing; and his goal was, first and foremost, to create a native *English* mythology with his works. That being said, the Numenoreans (and later the Dunedain of Gondor) have far more in common with the Romans/Roman society than do the Elves of Imladris or any other society of the Eldar; and the Noldor never ruled "across the whole land", nor did they even in Beleriand (which is at the bottom of the sea by the events of Third Age).
So, I'm not seeing how any of this is supposed to indicate some deep understanding of the source material-- though you can obviously enjoy the film regardless; no one is saying that you're not allowed to enjoy it.
Not English. That's an insult to Tolkein and to England. The elves are based off Celtic culture. IE Welsh, Scottish and Irish. To suggest the lord of the rings was only based off English culture is inaccurate and insulting
As bad as the animated films are, they are probably cinema gold compared to that abomination Rings of Power that's coming out in just a few days.
I like them more then the hobbit films
@@ronniejdio9411 The Hobbit movies went to shit for me right at the halfway mark. That right. I was even willing to except Radagast with bird shit on his face. lol
The artwork is amazing and this movie was my childhood. Show me modern art that would age this well.
Might be far from the best with it's quality and such, but I'm pretty sure we can all agree that it's almost certainly going to be far more enjoyable than the rings of power crap that's bound to release soon.
You were only wrong on one point. Where there's a whip, there's a way is a classic. As a middle school nerd when this came out, this was an S&M classic. Not only that, imagine using this ditty for cadence at bootcamp. Sure, we would have been all kicked out but it would have been worth it
I genuinely don't dislike some the musical numbers. Especially "where there's a whip there's a way" holy fuck that song is pretty cool. It would be inappropriate in the Jackson films, but if you don't want the orcs to be ravenous monsters, yeah them doing a number on Sauron's war machine is a fun idea.
i felt like i was watching a glorification of Jackson's trilogy and an extremely angry rant at the fact that this animation wasn't his adaptation, rather than a review of the movie in question, really.
I love the Jackson films myself, but there is some shit he got very wrong.
Exactly, it seems like a very biased review. Even though he read the books again, he based his review on the PJ movie experience and looks at it with a very modern eye. I wasn't there when this movie came out, but it was a different time from the very action oriented movies and cartoons of today's age.
@@caucasoidape8838 amen
What do you want? He made a perfect trilogy. Anyone would naturally compare anything made to it. I compare movies unrelated to LOTR to it.
@@drd444 The army of the dead being a scrubbing bubbles effect in battle.
Rational Ryan: The Return of the King animated was so effing bad!
Rings of Power: Hold my flagon.
For as much as I appreciate their attempted representation of the books, they could have made elrond look less like a vampire. His cape and pointy ears and pale skin are a little off-putting. Also he did not have a beard in the books there was only one elf with a beard and he was busy making ships to sail west.
For all of the movies fallacies I do appreciate the efforts they put in to create them.
“Rings of Power” is making this “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” film look like Citizen f***ing Kane.
I haven't seen it, but I assume it is like Arwen stealing Frodo's thunder times a hundred?
"When Theres A Whip Theres a Way" is a slapper of a song, one of the few things from this movie that has stuck with me all these years.
Comon anyone has to admit that “where’s there’s a whip, there’s a way” summarizes life today
Hey hey hey, at least it's not as bad as Amazon's blasphemous abomination. But here's a fun fact the guys who animated would go off to work on Thundercats (1984).
It is ironic that this version treats Sam more respectfully than Bakshi's
I love all three animated films, songs and all. They're the type of movies we don't get these days, slow, calm and overall very pleasant films that's not screaming in your face. But that's just my opinion.
Rankin and Bass have created some of the most memorable children's entertainment ever. This is their style of animation. It is what Makes them so easily recognizable. They are the best.
Rankin/Bass? They are the best? Rankin/Bass, you're talking about Rankin/Bass here ya know.
Amazon The Rings Of Power have now taken the place of these movies as the worst garbage ever made based on Tolkien’s work
You are clearly only familiar with the Peter Jackson films, and not the novels. Many of your criticisms you deem “not from the books” are either arguably more accurate than Jackson’s adaptation or dialogue taken straight from the pages of books. The minstrel of Gondor IS from the book, and the books are packed to the brim with songs. Peter Jackson’s trilogy is great, but takes a lot of liberties in some areas. Not very rational of you Ryan. Do better research.
The minstrel doesn’t sing in Rivendell in the book, he just comes at the end to sing “Frodo of the Nine fingers, and the ring of doom.” In Gondor. The songs in this movie aren’t from the book either, or at least the great majority of them. The dialogue is also weird in this film. Sometimes taking from the books, sometimes in faux Shakespeare l”she disguised herself as a knight and came hither!?” Merry doesn’t talk like that in the books. The Hobbits talk and speak much more down to earth. Not to mention the addition of random modernisms like Denethor going “loony.”
While I appreciate someone taking time to review these movies as I watched them when I was a kid and only really remember The Hobbit, you kind of make an ass of yourself when you say “this scene wasn’t even in the book!” When what you mean is “this scene isn’t in the Jackson Trilogy”. It’s clear that you compared these to the Live Action movies that were make 30-40 years after these but if you’re going to say that you’ve read the book and that scenes aren’t in them, you should double check before you write the video. Comparison between adaptations is fine but should be used in a soaring sense of “let’s look at how these two adaptations address this scene from the book” rather than the entirety of a review being a comparison of the two adaptations.
Where there’s a whip there’s a way is a banger don’t lie pmsl
The book was full of music. All of those songs and poems? Did you read the books? I mean, recently? It sounds like you are confusing some of the movies with the books which I do myself from time to time. It all kind of blends together after a while....
“Theoden’s forces are on their way.”
The line delivery to me is unintentionally hilarious. I almost want to watch this out of curiosity.
Don't do it
35:11 What is the background music, I’ve forgotten where it’s from.
Heyyyy, so I shouldn't make the mistake of actively increasing the engagement with this video, but here goes anyway. You really ought to consider removing this video or changing it. It's one thing to have subjective opinions about style or performance or any of the real mistakes this movie makes (and there are plenty) but it's another thing when you suggest that the movie deviates from the source material when it doesn't.
All you had to do with any of the dozen or so times that you make a claim about what's actually in the books is take the books off the shelf and double-check. How hard would that be to do? For example, when you claimed the book dialogue when Frodo claims the ring was "convoluted" in this adaptation, I immediately knew you were wrong about a similar line not being in the book. So I took my copy of Return of the King off the shelf and checked. It took me.....60 seconds? The line in the book is: "I have come," he said. "But I do not choose now to do what I came to do. I will not do this deed. The Ring is mine!" So...the line Rankin Bass uses is extremely similar to the book. This is one example of many where you just...don't know what you're talking about? Other people in the comments have picked out more examples where you clearly don't remember what you read (for example, Gandalf's line to the Witch King at the gate is literally "You cannot enter here" in the books; but maybe here you were just making an unclear joke).
So, again: have whatever opinion that you want about the film. It's filled with flaws. But this is bad criticism and the minimal effort is obvious. You're misinforming your audience. Not that you can't improve! But the correct thing to do would be to start by altering or removing the video, if an interest in quality is a priority.
Also, you directly contradict yourself when you say that the movies shouldn't condescend, but then claim that the Rankin Bass language about Sauron is too abstract. You can dislike the dialogue but saying "This movie dumbs things down and that's why the PJ trilogy is better" and also "I'm glad that PJ just made Sauron a flaming eye, literally at the top of Barad Dur, that's simpler" is arguing against yourself.
Just a small diatribe, while I'm here. I love (this is sarcasm) the gatekeepers who talk about what is or is not an appropriate adaptation of Tolkien who also, strangely, seem to...dislike Tolkien? So they'll say "Every adaptation besides PJ's sucks! Rings of Power, a show I haven't seen, doesn't respect Tolkien! Only PJ loved and cared about truly representing Tolkien's vision!" And then they'll go on to say (and I knew you'd be one of these types as soon as this video started) "Oh, but actually PJ improved Tolkien. Particularly, the climax in Mount Doom. Tolkien was brilliant and all but he somehow wrote a totally shit climax to his masterpiece. Weird, but for some reason he suddenly became shit in a few places. And PJ, the splatter movie director, really showed him how it was done. But I love Tolkien. More than anyone, actually. And I'll continue to gatekeep his works."
The climax in Mount Doom in the books is actually very well considered and is set up in multiple places throughout the trilogy (I find it significant that you skipped the scene that directly sets it up, where Frodo, or is it the ring, or both, curses Gollum on the slopes of the mountain). Here's a great article on what happens to set up Gollum's fall into the fire: www.reddit.com/r/lotr/comments/2w7ar8/how_frodo_killed_gollum_with_the_one_ring_and/
Not that this is the only interpretation but it's very, very similar to my own reading of the text.
But how silly of me. I, a stupid person, love the book version that Tolkien chose that reflects his themes and overall vision of the soul of Middle-Earth. You, a smart person, prefer Jackson's version where people wrestle.
P.S. Yeah, yeah, I know you said that whether Tolkien's climax works is debatable. But that strongly implies that you think it doesn't work. I don't think it's debatable whether Tolkien chose the right climax for one of the most popular and best-selling books of the 20th century. I think it's fine to think it's debatable, personal taste is personal taste. But it means you don't love Tolkien. You can LIKE Tolkien and you can love or like the live action films. But you don't love Tolkien if you think the CLIMAX of the story is something he screwed up on. The climax of a story is the culmination of character and theme. I would argue that it is bound to be the MOST intentional part of the story.
If you don't like Tolkien's climax then you aren't really a fan of him. You can be a casual fan of his world and the adaptations, etc. but you're not a true fan of the books. Which is fine! I know that sound sarcastic, but it actually is fine. Just don't be a gatekeeper of what adaptations can and can't do if you think the books need improvements. There's a clear hypocrisy there.
But, honestly, have a nice day.
The point about gatekeepers is exactly it. It seems as though a lot of rabid fans of Lord of the Rings almost think of the PJ trilogy, weirdly, as more important or impressive than Tolkien’s books, and as the true sacred cow more than the actual source material.
I can't tell if this is a dated, nostalgia critic outrage review...but it does seem legit to me ..and if such is the case, then its like hating fruitloops for not being oatmeal.
You can shit on this film all you want and i agree with you on every point in this video.
But the Lord of the Lash slaps.
The review doesn't seem fair or unbiased.
Ralph Bakshi's LotR is brilliant. John Hurt as Aragon was absolutely perfect.
To be fair: in the book Sam does envision turning the whole world into a garden. The knight stuff isn't there but the sprouting greenery and blossoming a giant garden is an actual vision of temptation that Sam gets in the book when he carries the ring.
When I was a kid in the early 1980s this was my first exposure to The Lord of the Rings. But, beyond nostalgia I still like and enjoy it at almost 42 years old.
lolol in the books they call Rivendell "The Last Homely House" and "House of Elrond" so it's literally a house now.
Loved this movie growing up. We would sing "when there's a whip there's a way" whenever we were given chores.
where there's a whip there's a way is an absolute banger and i refuse to stand for any negativity about it
The minstrel of Gondor is not a new character. He tells the story of Frodo of the 9 fingers at the field of cormallen. It’s one of the most emotional parts of the book. Sure this is a bit silly but dude you need to lighten tf up.
I think he has only watched the Peter Jackson movies and not read the novels.
I strongly disagree that The Hobbit was a bad film. It is incredibly faithful, has beautiful art, music, storytelling, and the voice acting is great, too. The pace is much better than that of the live action films, too. The animated LOTR is a bit more rough, but still a decent adaptation, I think. There was also a lot of incorrect info here, as other people have said. For example, the misntrel of gondor is legitimately in the book, and asks to sing a song about "Frodo of the nine fingers" check things before shitting on important pieces of peoples childhoods, cause were gonna defend the films
Though the wood elves could’ve definitely been improved in the animated Hobbit. They look like gremlins than the beautiful creatures they’re described in the books. Also loose the fur around Smaug’s cheeks as well.
That's Casey Kasem (America's Top 40) doing the voice of Merry!
I love this movie. And it works. It really works as a quick and dirty version of ROTK that children can watch. Something you could show your 6 year old. Remember, this is the company that made all of those children's Christmas shows like Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, etc. Its also the animation company that would become Studio Ghibli. You also may want the read the books. You may be surprised how much of this stuff is in there.
Yes! Should have added in my comment above that many of these types of movies were precursors to the studio ghibli style we know and love today!
some meta level stuff on the miss PROnunciation of the word pronunciation
Ok, you beat me to it.
Where there's a whip there's a way was an absolute banger
Fun fact - the Minstrel of Gondor is in the book. Briefly, after Sam and Frodo wake up in Ithilien, and he explains to everyone gathered there what happened through song.
I admit to having a soft spot for the rankin bass films, as they were my introduction to LOTR when I was quite young in the 80s. I later saw the Bakshi version in high school and hated it cause of the art style and it just being half a movie. Then finally read the books once the new trilogy started coming out.
I still like the Rankin Bass movies even though they get some things very wrong. The wood elves in the RB Hobbit look nothing like those described in the book. The goblins/orcs have a fun video game looking design, like something Link would fight. While some people think Smaug looks silly with a cat inspired design, I still think he's more intimidating than how the Peter Jackson Smaug turned out to be.
Imagine if you will, you're born in the mid 80's, and you have no idea about the rankin/bass or bakshi stuff that went on. Then in the 90's you see a vhs of the hobbit and return of the king at the library. Having never read any of the books before. But you have seen bits of the hobbit on tv before, and so you get them, and you still have fond memories of the hobbit today, but the only thing you really remember from the return of the king is the "where there's a whip, there's a way" song and some bits of gollum falling into the lava with the ring.
Man, you really didn't read the books. I just couldn't stand your video until the end, too many stupid things already. I prefer to see the animated movie again and its annoying musicals before your video
Oh dear. I have always loved this version. It is actually quite accurate to the book. Also complaining about the songs is weird since the book is full of songs.
Can't wait for the singing orcs to appear!
I did like that they included more of Eowyn's lines when she's confronting the Witch-king. I'm still disappointed that she didn't call him a Dwimmerlaik in the Peter Jackson production.
To be fair, I can understand the Jackson film leaving out the word Dwimmerlaik considering out of context, it sounds like a gibberish word and would sound out of place in a more serious fantasy film. It’s the kind of word that average internet people would’ve made fun of and writers for web articles like ScreenRant or WhatCulture would’ve put on their lists of Worst Moments That Briefly Took Us Out of the Movie or Worst Lines of Dialogue.
The comments are killing me...
Love the video, but as bad as it is, I still enjoyed this. And someone else here points out, the latest offering from Amazon DOES make R/B's Return Of The King look like Citizen Kane.🤣
How hard have I laughed? @ 16:55
Is it a coincidence that Elrond in that animation looks like the actor in the Jackson Movies(just with a beard) That's kinda wild to me. lmao
I couldn't finish watching this, I kept cutting myself on all that edge.