@@bendover9813 Right? It actually puts a smile on my face. I have headcanon that this particular orc just loves music and always has. He was exceptionally talented in beating the drums. He'd be the one to play the drum at campfires during the various wars against Erebor, Rohan and Gondor. To hell with actual fighting. That's all he enjoyed doing was playing the drum and maybe a song or two. Overtime, he taught other orcs and maybe a few trolls how to play and they got pretty good at it. Eventually, they became the battalion war drum division that helped boost morale and strike fear into the hearts of their enemies. Today, in one of the biggest battles that was supposed to be a surefire victory for Mordor, he just joined his comrades in beating their drums, having the time of his life. However, when Theoden and the Rohirim attacked, they were scattered and many of them killed. He survived and had no choice but to put his drum and sticks down to wield his axe and fight for his life. When the Rohirim were pushed back by the death of their king, he found a few of his remaining group and they once again beat their drums to try to reboost morale for their forces. The tides did turn for them for a split moment. Unfortunately, with the arrival of Aragorn and the Corsair fleet, the remaining orc army fled and returned to Mordor. This music loving orc and his fellow drummers either lived and returned to Mordor where they would eventually die at the final Battle of the Black Gate or they were killed by Aragorn's fleet. Either way, he died still holding his drum and sticks instead of a weapon. I probably put way too much time into this silly little orc's non canon fan story. But I still choose to live by it. Lol.
+Chris Westergaard An ancient before he even joined the dead, a voice as cold as the ring of steel, but a mind still as vital and present as the day (as a young King) that he accepted Sauron's gift.
@Red Wombat Tolkien wasn’t famous for good dialogue...what? "'You cannot enter here,' said Gandalf, and the huge shadow halted. 'Go back to the abyss prepared for you! Go back! Fall into the nothingness that awaits you and your Master. Go!' The Black Rider flung back his hood, and behold! he had a kingly crown; and yet upon no head visible was it set. The red fires shone between it and the mantled shoulders vast and dark. From a mouth unseen there came a deadly laughter. 'Old fool!' he said. 'Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know Death when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!' And with that he lifted high his sword and flames ran down the blade. Gandalf did not move. And in that very moment, away behind in some courtyard of the City, a cock crowed. Shrill and clear he crowed, recking nothing of wizardry or war, welcoming only the morning that in the sky far above the shadows of death was coming with the dawn. And as if in answer there came from far away another note. Horns, horns, horns. In dark Mindolluin's sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of the North wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last.” ----Return of the King (J.R.R Tolkien)
Ok, so the Witch-king sounds like Skeletor (which was surprisingly hilarious), but can we all appreciate just how closely this battle mirrors the description in the book? :D
Right? It actually puts a smile on my face. I have headcanon that this particular orc just loves music and always has. He was exceptionally talented in beating the drums. He'd be the one to play the drum at campfires during the various wars against Erebor, Rohan and Gondor. To hell with actual fighting. That's all he enjoyed doing was playing the drum and maybe a song or two. Overtime, he taught other orcs and maybe a few trolls how to play and they got pretty good at it. Eventually, they became the battalion war drum division that helped boost morale and strike fear into the hearts of their enemies. Today, in one of the biggest battles that was supposed to be a surefire victory for Mordor, he just joined his comrades in beating their drums, having the time of his life. However, when Theoden and the Rohirim attacked, they were scattered and many of them killed. He survived and had no choice but to put his drum and sticks down to wield his axe and fight for his life. When the Rohirim were pushed back by the death of their king, he found a few of his remaining group and they once again beat their drums to try to reboost morale for their forces. The tides did turn for them for a split moment. Unfortunately, with the arrival of Aragorn and the Corsair fleet, the remaining orc army fled and returned to Mordor. This music loving orc and his fellow drummers either lived and returned to Mordor where they would eventually die at the final Battle of the Black Gate or they were killed by Aragorn's fleet. Either way, he died still holding his drum and sticks instead of a weapon. I probably put way too much time into this silly little orc's non canon fan story. But I still choose to live by it. Lol.
@@greywillowgaming2366 That was wonderful! The best part of being the animal Human is getting to hear awesome stories like that! Thank you! His smile was very cute and I'm gonna stick to your story for him now too
"Hold on." a soldier says licking his finger and flipping open a book "I need to check what The Gondorian Manual Of Combat says to do about Orc Bards."
I love how musical the orcs are in this. They're delivering a sick beat! I imagine some Gondorian soldiers were bopping their heads along with the tune.
Maybe a dance off or battle of the DJ's would have saved so many lives and avoided so much destruction through out Middle Earth. Funny to see another TW channel here 😁
Dude. What is the thing drumming in the center at the 1:27 mark? Its not an orc, its drawn completely differently. It has the same skin tone as the film depicts for the trolls but it is not big enough to be a troll. The books mention " half troll men" but this film certainly wouldnt pick up on such a passing line as that was.
@@jakusers4724 ah, you think they are Uruks? I hadnt thought of that. I doubt the animators would be that knowledgeable on the original texts. But it is the only answer Ive gotten and thus the defacto best.
Check this out - tried to take the brilliance of John Huston reading Tolkien dialogue and match it with the visual of the Peter Jackson movie: ruclips.net/video/Epp1exlYTx8/видео.html
For many of us pre the PJ films the 2 animated series of Tolkien's works were all we had for visual representations of the books. Many of us were shown these in school. For some people like myself who were too young to read the books this was our introduction to Tolkein.
The kids version of this in book form was my introduction to Tolkien. About six to seven months later I read Two Towers as my first full length unabridged version of Tolkien (the story took some time to figure out that way.)
This isn’t anywhere on the level of Jackson’s film, but those watercolor backgrounds are able to capture a mood of doom that live action just never can. It’s beautiful work on the part of the artists here, throughout the whole feature really.
Each has its own merit; here I agree-half of the beauty is in the animation. The other half of the glorious and unforgettable pageantry here is in the spoken word!
@@Retrorevelations Yep. This is pure Romance: the supernatural saliva on Grond's third swing, the smash cut to Gandalf/Shadowfax standing calmly in a sea of fleeing men, etc. People can't see the solid dramatic foundation here because they get distracted by some of the dated stylistic elements (like the witch king's voice). Comparatively, most of PJ's Minas Tirith scenes are dramatically inert. That's not to say that RB is a better overall adaptation; in fact, it's not really an adaptation at all, but a kid's tv special that captures some of the highlights of ROTK through a series of vignettes and musical numbers. But the dramatic energy in a lot of these vignettes reminds us how much potential was left on the table in PJ's ROTK.
Some people don't seem to realize that this was made 4 years before The Transformers cartoon and 3 years before He-man and the Masters of the Universe. The Witch-King doesn't sound like Skeletor or Starscream. They sound like the Witch-King. This cartoon and the Hobbit laid the ground work for anime in America.
Great childhood memories for me. This helped me visualize the world of Tolkien. They aren't as awesome as the later PJ movies, but they are still fun. ROHAN!
Gondor solder: I think we're doomed! Jim: Nah. Unless they got any big, giant wolf's head hundred-foot long battering ram, I think we're OK. [The thud of the Mûmakil footsteps as they approach] Gondor solder: Ah, Jim, [points at the Grond] giant wolf's head hundred-foot long battering ram. XD
I mean, I think in some aspects that it is, but at the same time, it lacked a lot of things Jackson's films did. Of course, this is partly because this was made in the 80's and animation wasn't as good as it was now, but it's because of this that the groundwork for the LotR films would be laid. Mistakes were made on both parts, but both brought valuable ideas unseen in the others. I think they can both be appreciated.
I love how Rankin Bass was able to keep in the lines from the book about the cock's crow announcing the dawn. It's symbolic of light pushing away the evil of night and darkness.
@@jlahuis yes they were good friends. Unlike Lewis Tolkein was less into allegorical stuff and more into what he called "applicability". The fact that the ring bearers 33 yrs old is a bit heavy on allegory though!
I always liked this movie growing up, mainly because it was an animated version of a movie/book I loved. It was appropriate for kids and not as overtly violent as the Peter Jackson. When I got older, I remember the fond memories I had and the enjoyment I got from the folk-like songs in it. Now I enjoy the Bakshi, Rankin-Bass, and Jackson all for different reasons, whether artistry, music, or acting
When I was younger my family bought a used minivan, and as we were pulling away I found the return of the king animated film in the vhs player. It was a really cool introduction to the world of Tolkien. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
While objectively, I can’t say this is better than the Peter Jackson films by any means, there is an extremely potent charm and love that the Rankin Bass Tolkien movies had with the animation, backgrounds, and soundtrack that was unmatched by anything
I dearly wish we had gotten this scene in the Jackson films, instead of Gandalf The White cowering and broken before the witch king. Sir Ian would have smashed this scene.
This was an awful movie. Incredibly disappointing which is why it didn’t get a major theatrical release. They got progressively worse. The Hobbit was decent, LOTR was not very good and this was terrible.
1:25 Man that drum orc looks happy as fuck. As if he is believing he will be noticed by some music studio and start acarreer xD Also, can we talk about witch kings helium addiction
The feelings this still stirs in 56-year-old me hearing John Huston describe the arrival of the Rohirrim is like when I first saw this at 14. No, it isn't verbatim from the text, but very close. Watching the Rohirrim charging from the different angles while Gandalf tells that the power of good was rising once more. I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't feel Tolkien's spirit in that. CGI and modern anime have made young watchers way too demanding in their imagery. This scene and the scene of Samwise the Strong when the ring tempts Sam are to me both legendary, timeless animated storytelling.
Rankin Bass hit it out of the park with this and especially the Hobbit. They didn't always get it right, but they knew tolkein. Huston as Gandalf was so, so good. I love McKellan, but R&B introduced me to Tolkein and got me to read all the books and become obsessed
Rankin-Bass had so many good fantasy cartoons. This one is what got me into Fantasy when I was a kid. I recorded this off the Disney channel when I was a kid and watched it over and over. Great stuff
I can still remember watching this years before PJ's trilogy was a happy dream, and even if you had already read the books, watching Grond drooling fire as it struck home at the gates was chilling. Then Rohan rides in and all your short hairs stand on end... the fight was *on,* damn straight.
The Witch King removes his mask and reveals himself to be Skeletor! MARVELLOUS!!! It’s like Lord of the Rings, Scooby-Doo AND He-Man all rolled into one perfect clip! 😍
Loved this entire scene, untill the Witck-King took off his hood... What's up with that Dalek voice ? Why not keep that creepy dark voice he started with ?
This shit was terrifying when I was a kid but I loved it. My mom got them for me on vhs thinking they would be kid friendly only to figure out it was the most violent, scary shit ever.
Gandalf is LotR's version of an angel: a direct messenger of the Valar (the gods of the setting). Nothing can really go toe-to-toe with him except for Sauron himself or the Balrog.
Keep getting recommended these vids by YT algorithm...this movie has a cartoonish charm to it but as soon as the Witch King starts talking...hahahah!!! gets me every time. I turn into Mr Burns after he crippled that irish man
'You cannot enter here,' said Gandalf, and the huge shadow halted. 'Go back to the abyss prepared for you! Go back! Fall into the nothingness that awaits you and your Master. Go!' The Black Rider flung back his hood, and behold! he had a kingly crown; and yet upon no head visible was it set. The red fires shone between it and the mantled shoulders vast and dark. From a mouth unseen there came a deadly laughter. 'Old fool!' he said. 'Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know Death when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!' And with that he lifted high his sword and flames ran down the blade. Gandalf did not move. And in that very moment, away behind in some courtyard of the City, a cock crowed. Shrill and clear he crowed, recking nothing of wizardry or war, welcoming only the morning that in the sky far above the shadows of death was coming with the dawn. And as if in answer there came from far away another note. Horns, horns, horns. In dark Mindolluin's sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of the North wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last.
@@MrRenanHappy Its pretty close to exact - and the cartoon has a completely different look and style ; nothing in this was meant to be horrifying. That said I truly love this cartoon and it blew my mind when I saw it at age 12...
Generalfund 2018 problem is, book accuracy isn’t everything in media. What works in a book doesn’t always work in a film and this 100% didn’t capture the feeling Tolkien intended
@@matthewthenarniafan8074 thats your opinion. And if we are being realistic nothing is going to 100% capture the 'feeling' Tolkien intended. Whatever thats supposed to mean...
Fact: The Witch-King of Angmar in this film was voiced by the late legendary voice actor John Stephenson. He is best known for voicing Mr Slate from the original Flintstones cartoon and for voicing various characters from the original Transformers series.
This is a great achievement in animation, and it is only logical that some (or a lot) of the story had tu suffer in order for this to be a 90-100 min feature.
I have not seen Rankin Bass' "The Return of the King" yet, only his adaptation of the Hobbit, which I thought was alright. So my only impressions of this movie so far are these clips provided. When I saw this scene, I actually found it to be pretty neat, at first, for the most part. The atmosphere seems dark, Grond looks very intimidating, and the Witch King's design is pretty good. But then the Witch King starts talking and it instantly ruins the immersion this scene has for me, as well as many other fans. A long time afterwards, I saw Disney's "The Black Cauldron" and began thinking back, feeling that the Horned King had exactly the kind of charisma and menace that the Witch King's voice should have had. This finally led me to create a mashup yesterday, where I took audio clips of John Hurt voicing the Horned King (who also, fun fact, voiced Aragorn in Ralph Bakshi's "The Lord of the Rings") and dubbed it over the Witch King, to see if just changing the voice can make a huge difference for his scenes. If you or anyone else would like to check it out and maybe even give feedback, it is in my channel now and called "What If the Witch King Was Voiced By the Horned King?"
Why didn't they hire John Hurt instead to voice the Witch-king here? He not only narrated for _Lord of the Rings_ audiobooks, but he also did wonders as the Horned King in _The Black Cauldron._
It's nostalgic for the older generations. That's why it's better than the movies. Plus, we grew up in a time when there weren't cell phones, and all we had was cartoons and playing outside. Those shows are still better than any crap cartoon they have today.
Love this direction of Art, would like to see a hole remake of the original trilogy in this style. It would be more appreciated than amazones rings of power
The scene of Grond breaking down the gate was actually really well done, maybe even better than the Jackson version. Everything went downhill for me after the Witch King removed his hood and started speaking, though...
Damn, the Witch king went from Darth Nihilous levels of terrifying to Skeletor levels of camp in record time. I swear the dude voiced one of the Dwarves in The Hobbit.
I don't care what people say about the Witch-King in this, honestly, I love his design much more than in the movies. Though, he would've been 100/10 if he had the Film Witch-King's voice along with the design. But I think that would've scared kids. I don't know. Also, don't forget that Gandalf is a Maiar, and thus is much, MUCH older than the Witch-King, who was a human once before becoming a Wraith. As such, Gandalf has every right to treat him like a delinquent kid in need of spanking. lol 🤣 Also, those orcs be having the time of their life. I think their true calling is to be in the music industry. lol 🤣
I love how some of the drummers are using proper hand technique with those sticks. Level of detail, 13/10
Good technique but their sticks
One of them is even smiling with his eyes closed, he was having such a good time just drumming 😂
An Orc showed up at my door with a drum, I told him to beat it.
@@bendover9813 Right? It actually puts a smile on my face.
I have headcanon that this particular orc just loves music and always has. He was exceptionally talented in beating the drums. He'd be the one to play the drum at campfires during the various wars against Erebor, Rohan and Gondor. To hell with actual fighting. That's all he enjoyed doing was playing the drum and maybe a song or two. Overtime, he taught other orcs and maybe a few trolls how to play and they got pretty good at it. Eventually, they became the battalion war drum division that helped boost morale and strike fear into the hearts of their enemies.
Today, in one of the biggest battles that was supposed to be a surefire victory for Mordor, he just joined his comrades in beating their drums, having the time of his life.
However, when Theoden and the Rohirim attacked, they were scattered and many of them killed. He survived and had no choice but to put his drum and sticks down to wield his axe and fight for his life. When the Rohirim were pushed back by the death of their king, he found a few of his remaining group and they once again beat their drums to try to reboost morale for their forces. The tides did turn for them for a split moment. Unfortunately, with the arrival of Aragorn and the Corsair fleet, the remaining orc army fled and returned to Mordor. This music loving orc and his fellow drummers either lived and returned to Mordor where they would eventually die at the final Battle of the Black Gate or they were killed by Aragorn's fleet. Either way, he died still holding his drum and sticks instead of a weapon.
I probably put way too much time into this silly little orc's non canon fan story. But I still choose to live by it. Lol.
I was surprised they had them gripping the sticks with traditional grip
The Witch King was looking pretty cool until he laughed :P
Actually I love this guy's voice, and I wish they did keep this in the movie
+Chris Westergaard An ancient before he even joined the dead, a voice as cold as the ring of steel, but a mind still as vital and present as the day (as a young King) that he accepted Sauron's gift.
Or when his sword sparkled & gave a ping.
"If weren't for that mut scooby doo!" - sounds like every scooby doo villain
@@marvelfanatic9535 I still think he sounds like a Scooby Doo villain.
I love how minas tirith is under siege, the witch king enters and Gandalf is all like "Go home! Go away!"
Just like he does in the book.
His powers kinda look like this in the books, his words cannot be disobeyed .
@Iain Chambers he wasn't famous for his dialogues among idiots like you I guess?
@Iain Chambers nope just realist
@Red Wombat Tolkien wasn’t famous for good dialogue...what?
"'You cannot enter here,' said Gandalf, and the huge shadow halted. 'Go back to the abyss prepared for you! Go back! Fall into the nothingness that awaits you and your Master. Go!'
The Black Rider flung back his hood, and behold! he had a kingly crown; and yet upon no head visible was it set. The red fires shone between it and the mantled shoulders vast and dark. From a mouth unseen there came a deadly laughter.
'Old fool!' he said. 'Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know Death when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!' And with that he lifted high his sword and flames ran down the blade.
Gandalf did not move. And in that very moment, away behind in some courtyard of the City, a cock crowed. Shrill and clear he crowed, recking nothing of wizardry or war, welcoming only the morning that in the sky far above the shadows of death was coming with the dawn.
And as if in answer there came from far away another note. Horns, horns, horns. In dark Mindolluin's sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of the North wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last.”
----Return of the King (J.R.R Tolkien)
Ok, so the Witch-king sounds like Skeletor (which was surprisingly hilarious), but can we all appreciate just how closely this battle mirrors the description in the book? :D
Skelator sounds like the WK, this was made long before MOU became toys Einstein
@@jebford1500 Skeletor branded it. That is why people use certain names when it comes to a specific action or trait.
I can appreciate both mate lol. I'm chuckling at the american accent as well, doesn't harm it in the least though
Witch-king then said no he-man can defeat me!
Because it is Alan Oppenheimer LONG before he got the role of Skeletor.
Awwwww, that guy looked so happy at 1:25. He’s like “yeah! Our best set yet!”
Right? It actually puts a smile on my face.
I have headcanon that this particular orc just loves music and always has. He was exceptionally talented in beating the drums. He'd be the one to play the drum at campfires during the various wars against Erebor, Rohan and Gondor. To hell with actual fighting. That's all he enjoyed doing was playing the drum and maybe a song or two. Overtime, he taught other orcs and maybe a few trolls how to play and they got pretty good at it. Eventually, they became the battalion war drum division that helped boost morale and strike fear into the hearts of their enemies.
Today, in one of the biggest battles that was supposed to be a surefire victory for Mordor, he just joined his comrades in beating their drums, having the time of his life.
However, when Theoden and the Rohirim attacked, they were scattered and many of them killed. He survived and had no choice but to put his drum and sticks down to wield his axe and fight for his life. When the Rohirim were pushed back by the death of their king, he found a few of his remaining group and they once again beat their drums to try to reboost morale for their forces. The tides did turn for them for a split moment. Unfortunately, with the arrival of Aragorn and the Corsair fleet, the remaining orc army fled and returned to Mordor. This music loving orc and his fellow drummers either lived and returned to Mordor where they would eventually die at the final Battle of the Black Gate or they were killed by Aragorn's fleet. Either way, he died still holding his drum and sticks instead of a weapon.
I probably put way too much time into this silly little orc's non canon fan story. But I still choose to live by it. Lol.
@@greywillowgaming2366 sounds like an orc from Shadow of War.
@@greywillowgaming2366 I know I'm a year late, but that story was beautiful
@@greywillowgaming2366 That was wonderful! The best part of being the animal Human is getting to hear awesome stories like that! Thank you! His smile was very cute and I'm gonna stick to your story for him now too
"Quick, the orcs are attacking us"
"What with? Bows? Swords? Spears?"
"Their sick beats"
Daayum! Minus Tirith got served.
Aw snap
"Hold on." a soldier says licking his finger and flipping open a book "I need to check what The Gondorian Manual Of Combat says to do about Orc Bards."
They look so cheerful too!
Those were some happy little frogs I bet they probably get down at pools parties and such. They have a vibe.
I love how musical the orcs are in this. They're delivering a sick beat! I imagine some Gondorian soldiers were bopping their heads along with the tune.
Maybe a dance off or battle of the DJ's would have saved so many lives and avoided so much destruction through out Middle Earth. Funny to see another TW channel here 😁
If there's a whip
*whip crack*
There's a way
*epic harmonized voices of an army on a march*
If there's a whip
*whip crack*
There's a way
They used men's choirs to try to make the orcs scary, but only succeeded in making them sound bad-ass.
1:25 Look at those orcs. Smiling, having fun.
Dude. What is the thing drumming in the center at the 1:27 mark? Its not an orc, its drawn completely differently. It has the same skin tone as the film depicts for the trolls but it is not big enough to be a troll. The books mention " half troll men" but this film certainly wouldnt pick up on such a passing line as that was.
And uruks
@@jakusers4724 ah, you think they are Uruks? I hadnt thought of that. I doubt the animators would be that knowledgeable on the original texts. But it is the only answer Ive gotten and thus the defacto best.
No phones, just orcs having a good time!
Not a cellphone in sight.
1:54 that little *ping* makes the witchking anything but terrifying
Bilbo Swaggins it’s a fair point... though they do get credit for doing the Gandalf meets the Witch King rather than punting like Stephen Jackson did.
Check this out - tried to take the brilliance of John Huston reading Tolkien dialogue and match it with the visual of the Peter Jackson movie: ruclips.net/video/Epp1exlYTx8/видео.html
The Witch King is just doing his transformation sequence. Wait until you see his magical girl outfit.
The Witch King sounds like Skeletor. Like he got locked in Toys R Us indefinitely and somehow acquired a Ring of Power to play around with.
For many of us pre the PJ films the 2 animated series of Tolkien's works were all we had for visual representations of the books. Many of us were shown these in school. For some people like myself who were too young to read the books this was our introduction to Tolkein.
Tolkien*
You still can’t spell Tolkien though
@@ihabhatim5825 He actually did it first time. But screwed it up at the second part.
I know that feeling and memory. I saw the animated version of The Hobbit when I was little in elementary school.
The kids version of this in book form was my introduction to Tolkien. About six to seven months later I read Two Towers as my first full length unabridged version of Tolkien (the story took some time to figure out that way.)
At 3:40, Minas Tirith shows Sauron the middlefinger =D
Haha
yeah true hahaha!
XD XD XD
Robert G. It's like "Fuck you Sauron!! Fuck you Mordor!!"
Lmfao
This isn’t anywhere on the level of Jackson’s film, but those watercolor backgrounds are able to capture a mood of doom that live action just never can. It’s beautiful work on the part of the artists here, throughout the whole feature really.
Each has its own merit; here I agree-half of the beauty is in the animation. The other half of the glorious and unforgettable pageantry here is in the spoken word!
Not anywhere on the level? It takes its liberties too, but this R/B adaptation is FAR more accurate and entertaining than Jackson's RotK.
@@Retrorevelations in your opinion...
@@Retrorevelations Yep. This is pure Romance: the supernatural saliva on Grond's third swing, the smash cut to Gandalf/Shadowfax standing calmly in a sea of fleeing men, etc. People can't see the solid dramatic foundation here because they get distracted by some of the dated stylistic elements (like the witch king's voice). Comparatively, most of PJ's Minas Tirith scenes are dramatically inert.
That's not to say that RB is a better overall adaptation; in fact, it's not really an adaptation at all, but a kid's tv special that captures some of the highlights of ROTK through a series of vignettes and musical numbers. But the dramatic energy in a lot of these vignettes reminds us how much potential was left on the table in PJ's ROTK.
LOL out loud. It's far better than Jackson's woke mess.
Some people don't seem to realize that this was made 4 years before The Transformers cartoon and 3 years before He-man and the Masters of the Universe. The Witch-King doesn't sound like Skeletor or Starscream. They sound like the Witch-King. This cartoon and the Hobbit laid the ground work for anime in America.
and then anime was perfected almost 3 decades later by Two and A Half Men
Amen.
Why do you say "Amen"? That's a word used with religious purpose.
Seriously.
>anime
r u fking kidding me.
1:24 Someone enjoys his job
That orc was having so much fun! XD
Takes a certain level of commitment to be evil
Cute right? 😍
:)
You got to love what you do...
"Old fool! This is my hour! Do you not know Skeletor when you hear him?"
Never seen a villain go from 10 to 0 so fast before 😂
On a side note imagine how badass he would have been with a voice like the lich or the beast
Great childhood memories for me. This helped me visualize the world of Tolkien. They aren't as awesome as the later PJ movies, but they are still fun. ROHAN!
I like how the two men at 1:05 are super casual.
Gondor solder: I think we're doomed!
Jim: Nah. Unless they got any big, giant wolf's head hundred-foot long battering ram, I think we're OK.
[The thud of the Mûmakil footsteps as they approach]
Gondor solder: Ah, Jim, [points at the Grond] giant wolf's head hundred-foot long battering ram. XD
-I guess we gonna die
-...yeah whatever
They have chainmail tights. No need to worry even the main gate is breached
The thing about war is that its alot of sitting around.
I love all the hipsters trying to justify how this is somehow better than the Peter Jackson movies
my god man!! it IS better. those films are CGI crap man this is art. high art. it ain't watered down, commercial shit.
it's better in some ways
JL Waddey You're insane
TheSilverPhoenix100 because it is better
I mean, I think in some aspects that it is, but at the same time, it lacked a lot of things Jackson's films did. Of course, this is partly because this was made in the 80's and animation wasn't as good as it was now, but it's because of this that the groundwork for the LotR films would be laid. Mistakes were made on both parts, but both brought valuable ideas unseen in the others. I think they can both be appreciated.
I love how Rankin Bass was able to keep in the lines from the book about the cock's crow announcing the dawn. It's symbolic of light pushing away the evil of night and darkness.
Jackson butchered the scene at the gate.
I wish that was kept in the movies
Heavy on the Christian symbols
True, Christian symbols, but wasn't Tolkin and CS Lewis friends?
@@jlahuis yes they were good friends. Unlike Lewis Tolkein was less into allegorical stuff and more into what he called "applicability". The fact that the ring bearers 33 yrs old is a bit heavy on allegory though!
I always liked this movie growing up, mainly because it was an animated version of a movie/book I loved. It was appropriate for kids and not as overtly violent as the Peter Jackson. When I got older, I remember the fond memories I had and the enjoyment I got from the folk-like songs in it. Now I enjoy the Bakshi, Rankin-Bass, and Jackson all for different reasons, whether artistry, music, or acting
What is this movie called? I personally can't find it through researching the songs and characters
1980
When I was younger my family bought a used minivan, and as we were pulling away I found the return of the king animated film in the vhs player. It was a really cool introduction to the world of Tolkien. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Same story for me
While objectively, I can’t say this is better than the Peter Jackson films by any means, there is an extremely potent charm and love that the Rankin Bass Tolkien movies had with the animation, backgrounds, and soundtrack that was unmatched by anything
I dearly wish we had gotten this scene in the Jackson films, instead of Gandalf The White cowering and broken before the witch king. Sir Ian would have smashed this scene.
This was an awful movie. Incredibly disappointing which is why it didn’t get a major theatrical release. They got progressively worse. The Hobbit was decent, LOTR was not very good and this was terrible.
Fantastic scene. If this had made it into the PJ Movie I would have been over the moon. PJ absolutely nailed the Ride of the Rohirrim!
1:24 that one orc just looks so happy to be there. Like he's finally getting to live his life long dream of being a drummer in a war band.
Dad always said drumming wouldn't get me anywhere. If only he could see me now!
1:25 Man that drum orc looks happy as fuck.
As if he is believing he will be noticed by some music studio and start acarreer xD
Also, can we talk about witch kings helium addiction
lol he indeed looks like its living its best life
or that orc bustin out some crazy moves @1:29 on the left
i think the witch king has the same voice actor as skelator.
Ha ha 😂 🤣 😆 😄 😅 😆lol 😆
a career*
Aww! The Orcs are just precious! I want to collect them all.
The feelings this still stirs in 56-year-old me hearing John Huston describe the arrival of the Rohirrim is like when I first saw this at 14. No, it isn't verbatim from the text, but very close. Watching the Rohirrim charging from the different angles while Gandalf tells that the power of good was rising once more. I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't feel Tolkien's spirit in that. CGI and modern anime have made young watchers way too demanding in their imagery. This scene and the scene of Samwise the Strong when the ring tempts Sam are to me both legendary, timeless animated storytelling.
Amen. I'm 46 and the nostalgia gets me right in the feels.
I get what you mean, but man that Peter Jackson trilogy really does it for me. At least none of us younger viewers enjoyed Rings of Power (hopefully)
Rankin Bass hit it out of the park with this and especially the Hobbit. They didn't always get it right, but they knew tolkein. Huston as Gandalf was so, so good. I love McKellan, but R&B introduced me to Tolkein and got me to read all the books and become obsessed
The nostalgia has made old viewers too complacent in their demands for imagery.
I like the surreal, dream/nightmarish quality. It leaves room for the imagination that was so sparked for readers and ponderers.
Rankin-Bass had so many good fantasy cartoons.
This one is what got me into Fantasy when I was a kid. I recorded this off the Disney channel when I was a kid and watched it over and over. Great stuff
I like how the category is “comedy”
Am I the only one who thinks Gandalf looks badass, standing so brave amongst the chaos?
Only shadowfax among the free horses of Middle Earth could withstand the terror of the Nazgul.
I can still remember watching this years before PJ's trilogy was a happy dream, and even if you had already read the books, watching Grond drooling fire as it struck home at the gates was chilling.
Then Rohan rides in and all your short hairs stand on end... the fight was *on,* damn straight.
Then Jackson made his garbage.
@@fjccommish you can't seriously have watched this clip and PJ's film and say that the film is garbage.
@@BeedrillYanyan PJ's film is garbage. Frodo was a damsel in distress in PJ's films. Awful.
@@fjccommish go and make a better LotR then,if you are that smart
Gotta love the eye smiles of the orcs. They're just happily beating their drums.
Thats intriguing how this old cartoon keeps it like it was in the J.R.R Tolkien book.
they are more true to the arms and armor
yeah... that old yankee accent, howdy... just like in the book :)
it is better then amazon series!
The Witch King removes his mask and reveals himself to be Skeletor! MARVELLOUS!!! It’s like Lord of the Rings, Scooby-Doo AND He-Man all rolled into one perfect clip! 😍
John (Mr. Slate) Stephenson is supplying the voice of the Witch King; he died in 2015.
This scene is my absolute favorite passage from the text. Even though this film is cheesy, it's still cool to see.
Loved this entire scene, untill the Witck-King took off his hood...
What's up with that Dalek voice ?
Why not keep that creepy dark voice he started with ?
Like the voice of the Devil himself...
Suddenly he turned into Skeletor !
He sounds like the witch doctor fro 'Scooby Doo, Where Are You?'
He was using the Black speech of Mordor while talking to his army
whats scarier a large muscular biker with a deep voice or a gibbering clown.
I love. LOVE the animated Grond. Great nightmare fuel for little-kid me watching this back in the day.
Meh, the Jackson Grond seemed a little more authentic to the Silmarion and Sauron's mace...
Absolutely. Not just the design, but the way the attacks are edited.
That scene when the Nazgul Lord spoke in some gibberish at 1:53-2:25 I found most terrifying. Gave me nightmares as a kid and I still find it scary.
He's actually speaking in the Black Tongue of Mordor so...yeah
@@sith50 maybe he couldn't hear it properly?
O Galo 🐓 cantar e ser escutado em meio a toda aquela batalha é sensacional!
Love these old cartoons
John Huston as Gandalf really makes this.
I think he’s an okay Gandalf
you betcha!
The witch king actually looks pretty badass imo
Until he laughs and speaks 😂😂😂
tbh, I think his cloak and cape looks cooler here than in the peter jackson movie. And the symbol of Sauron's Eye on his armor looks epic.
@@sidious_sheev_senateyeah but the armor in the Peter Jackson films gives a more dark king look but I see where your coming from
This shit was terrifying when I was a kid but I loved it. My mom got them for me on vhs thinking they would be kid friendly only to figure out it was the most violent, scary shit ever.
Why is Gandalf talking to the witch king like he is a pesky kid on his lawn?! Lol
Because he kinda is. I think Gandalf is older than the Witch-King, if memory serves. He's a Maiar, after all.
Gandalf is LotR's version of an angel: a direct messenger of the Valar (the gods of the setting). Nothing can really go toe-to-toe with him except for Sauron himself or the Balrog.
I still have the vhs films of these from childhood.
This is better than the Rings of Power.
Best comment 👌🏽
💯
👍👍👍👍 Rings of power 👎👎👎👎👎👎👎
Thank you. Haven't seen this in 40 years
What an epic unforgetagle scene. Every time I see I feel the chills I felt the first time.
In the 80's I would of definitely have said "ON SHADOW FAX!" Everytime I would send a fax.
My mother was the greatest mom ever!!!! Thank You!!
Keep getting recommended these vids by YT algorithm...this movie has a cartoonish charm to it but as soon as the Witch King starts talking...hahahah!!! gets me every time. I turn into Mr Burns after he crippled that irish man
'You cannot enter here,' said Gandalf, and the huge shadow halted. 'Go back to the abyss prepared for you! Go back! Fall into the nothingness that awaits you and your Master. Go!'
The Black Rider flung back his hood, and behold! he had a kingly crown; and yet upon no head visible was it set. The red fires shone between it and the mantled shoulders vast and dark. From a mouth unseen there came a deadly laughter.
'Old fool!' he said. 'Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know Death when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!' And with that he lifted high his sword and flames ran down the blade.
Gandalf did not move. And in that very moment, away behind in some courtyard of the City, a cock crowed. Shrill and clear he crowed, recking nothing of wizardry or war, welcoming only the morning that in the sky far above the shadows of death was coming with the dawn.
And as if in answer there came from far away another note. Horns, horns, horns. In dark Mindolluin's sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of the North wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last.
Thank you for posting. I get sick of reading the millennials, 'oh, this is stupid' - 'this makes no sense' ; and its exactly as it is in the book!
@@Generalfund It is not exactly as it is in the books, and even if it was it did not capture the terror and anguish that the Witch King brought forth
@@MrRenanHappy Its pretty close to exact - and the cartoon has a completely different look and style ; nothing in this was meant to be horrifying. That said I truly love this cartoon and it blew my mind when I saw it at age 12...
Generalfund 2018 problem is, book accuracy isn’t everything in media. What works in a book doesn’t always work in a film and this 100% didn’t capture the feeling Tolkien intended
@@matthewthenarniafan8074 thats your opinion. And if we are being realistic nothing is going to 100% capture the 'feeling' Tolkien intended. Whatever thats supposed to mean...
When I was a kid this was all we had when it came to a Lord of the Rings movie. I loved the Witch King and his cartoon voice.
in every version of this scene the Rohirim charge is epic af
Because it was!
it looks like He-man made friends in the middle earth
myah! silly fools!
Dr. Yes I think some of the animators from thunder cats did work on this.
Fact: The Witch-King of Angmar in this film was voiced by the late legendary voice actor John Stephenson. He is best known for voicing Mr Slate from the original Flintstones cartoon and for voicing various characters from the original Transformers series.
Lmao I thought the Witch King was slowly transforming into Skeletor during his laugh.
this movie looks awesome, want to see it
"Power of good? indeed was their none in all Middle Eart with strength to aid our dying cause." it just hits differently now
Amazing that Gandalf gets more respect here in his confrontation with the witch king than Peter Jackson gave him.
This is the version straight from the Book the Return of the King. Peter Jackson's interpretation sucks.
Sure and thats why it made 1.1 billion
Justin Bieber also sells millions of albums, doesn't make him any good.
"Peter Jackson's interpretation sucks." damn you millennials suck...
PJ's LOTR trilogy is amazing, you kids are too spoiled.
this one is closer to the books than Peter Jackson's films are
Reminds me of Saturday morning cartoons from the 1970s.
More energy in this scene than all of Peter Jackson’s movies put together
that one orc looks so cute when hes drumming i love his lil evilness :)
When the Nazgul is using the Black Speech incatation it legitimately scares me, and I'm 50. Not to mention Grond itself slobbering in evil hunger 😬
haha
"Then we leave this life together, Pippen."
Gandalf is such an OG lol.
Would have been a pretty powerful scene in the movie if Gandalf let Pippin join him at the gate saying "Then we shall leave this life together."
Gandalf with the Witch King be like: “Go away. Shoo. I don’t like you.”
Infinitely more accurate than the movie. What an inspiring scene from a cartoon.
The Witch King was scary and creepy af, but when he started to talk... Man that ruined all that. But in funny way actually :D
This is a great achievement in animation, and it is only logical that some (or a lot) of the story had tu suffer in order for this to be a 90-100 min feature.
nope, in our school, it is an example of no animate a movie ^^
This animation even in the 1970s was horrible for it's time. It's definitely an example oh how Not to animate a movie
Joshua Runt not as bad as Filmation. Though they did have good stories and background scenes.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Look at the orcs cute smiley faces...
you just want to pick them up and scratch their tummys for them.
I have not seen Rankin Bass' "The Return of the King" yet, only his adaptation of the Hobbit, which I thought was alright. So my only impressions of this movie so far are these clips provided.
When I saw this scene, I actually found it to be pretty neat, at first, for the most part. The atmosphere seems dark, Grond looks very intimidating, and the Witch King's design is pretty good. But then the Witch King starts talking and it instantly ruins the immersion this scene has for me, as well as many other fans.
A long time afterwards, I saw Disney's "The Black Cauldron" and began thinking back, feeling that the Horned King had exactly the kind of charisma and menace that the Witch King's voice should have had. This finally led me to create a mashup yesterday, where I took audio clips of John Hurt voicing the Horned King (who also, fun fact, voiced Aragorn in Ralph Bakshi's "The Lord of the Rings") and dubbed it over the Witch King, to see if just changing the voice can make a huge difference for his scenes.
If you or anyone else would like to check it out and maybe even give feedback, it is in my channel now and called "What If the Witch King Was Voiced By the Horned King?"
I'm a Millennial but the Rankin & Bass films were my first taste of Tolkien before the books or films. Perfection.
this is way better than Amazon's Rings of Power, the dialogue is way better
Evil Oliphants. There was another cartoon from around here that had green ones
Why didn't they hire John Hurt instead to voice the Witch-king here? He not only narrated for _Lord of the Rings_ audiobooks, but he also did wonders as the Horned King in _The Black Cauldron._
He was even Aragorn in the Ralph Bakshi movie
John Hurt did Aragorns voice in the bakshi animated lot. That would make it kinda weird for me.
I loved watching this as a kid.
I love how they missed the essential Point in Shadowfax: He doesn´t accept Saddle or Bridle.
It's nostalgic for the older generations. That's why it's better than the movies. Plus, we grew up in a time when there weren't cell phones, and all we had was cartoons and playing outside. Those shows are still better than any crap cartoon they have today.
This scene is a nightmare when orcs trolls and elephants were trying to break the gate of the Gondor
“Then we come little one” in the face of THAT… so cool, calm and collected. Gangster.
I so wish this moment could have been captured in the Jackson version. The simple crowing at dawn, breaking the stillness and deadlock. What a moment.
I vaguely remember watching this as a kid. And recall enjoying it.
one of my fav childhood shows before the live action one
Love this direction of Art, would like to see a hole remake of the original trilogy in this style. It would be more appreciated than amazones rings of power
The scene of Grond breaking down the gate was actually really well done, maybe even better than the Jackson version. Everything went downhill for me after the Witch King removed his hood and started speaking, though...
"Give me the ring, Heee Man! Myah!"
Eh grind looked better in the pj films
It's the voice acting that let's it all down. Sounds like one guy doing loads of impressions 😂
"I shall defeat you Gandalf! MYAH!"
WOW! Now I want to watch the whole thing beginning to end!!!🥰🍻🧙♂️
"This is my hour, He-Man!"
Those orcs have one heck of a drum line.
Damn, the Witch king went from Darth Nihilous levels of terrifying to Skeletor levels of camp in record time. I swear the dude voiced one of the Dwarves in The Hobbit.
Thx U John for sharing this w/ us.
I don't care what people say about the Witch-King in this, honestly, I love his design much more than in the movies. Though, he would've been 100/10 if he had the Film Witch-King's voice along with the design. But I think that would've scared kids. I don't know.
Also, don't forget that Gandalf is a Maiar, and thus is much, MUCH older than the Witch-King, who was a human once before becoming a Wraith. As such, Gandalf has every right to treat him like a delinquent kid in need of spanking. lol 🤣
Also, those orcs be having the time of their life. I think their true calling is to be in the music industry. lol 🤣
Scared kids? Dude lotr is not for kids who cares😂
"Go back! Fall into nothingness that awaits you and your master!"
"NYEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAH!"
Yeah! Remember when Gandalf and Skeletor have a fight just like the book!
Gandalf: "Farewell Pippin."
Pippin: "I go with you, Sir."
What a wingman!
“He was invulnerable!”
Sword: *ding*