weirdok I remember not too long ago, when Tolkien fans would trash this cartoon saying it was silly, stupid and such. I felt weird because, I loved this cartoon to death! If you ask me. it was a much better adaptation than the mega budget recent production.The part that always glued me to the set and still gives me chills to hear today, is when Bard takes up the black arrow. Nuff said. This was one of the book's greatest moments and has never since been portrayed in film as successfully as in this film.Beat me with a stick if you like, but I love the songs too.The voice acting was incredible. I don't think people even have the capability today to enjoy the excellent characterizations and talent displayed in this wonderful little film. It's like going back to watch Lon Chaney portraying the "Phantom of the Opera" and really grasping what a fantastic silent actor he really was.Yet, you can! Give it a try. This is definitely like finding your old childhood teddy bear still quite huggable. :D

Michael A. Martinez After the fiasco of the Peter Jackson trilogy, I have to say my appreciation for this film has increased substantially. Let me share a few reasons.1) The compacted story - while it could have followed the book a little more closely in the last act, the movie really moves along at a quick pace which won't bore younger viewers. There's only a couple major omissions to the story. Beorn gets cut from the story (much like Tom Bombadil in the Ralph Bakshi LORD OF THE RINGS movie) but it's not much of a loss in my opinion. They did a great job of "trimming the fat" and leaving the viewers at the end hungry for more (hence why I and so many others then went into the much darker and denser LORD OF THE RINGS universe afterward so eagerly).2) Enjoyable for both younger and older viewers - being a fantasy movie, it does have violence on display but manages to neither be graphic nor ridiculously sanitized. None of the dialog feels dumbed down from the book, maintaining its relatively wide vocabulary. This is something most newer fantasy movies fail at; they either have to elevate the violence to levels inappropriate for small kids or they make the narrative so kid-friendly that adults can't connect.3) The spirit of the book maintains - while a lot of the musical numbers may irritate viewers, I have to point out that they were almost all in the actual book. Also if you look at the artwork and character design, it's all based on pre-existing illustrations for the books, very accurately bringing the pages to life.4) The voice cast - remember when animated films would cast for the right voice and not just star recognition value? I actually blame Sean Connery's casting in DRAGONHEART (which was highly publicized) for this. Back when this movie was made, careful effort was made to bring in some of the best voice actors in the business such as Don Messick, Paul Frees, Brother Theodore and actor/director John Huston. Once relatively big-name Richard Boone works perfectly as Smaug, surprisingly enough. Overall the mixture of British and American actors gives it a transatlantic fantasy element that similarly worked well in THE DARK CRYSTAL.Among many other reasons, compared with Jackson, Rankin/Bass were just able to do so much more with so much less.So, to parents out there; do yourself a favor and show this to your kids of any age. It'll get them into fantasy better than anything outside of Ray Harryhausen's creations. In my opinion it's the strongest of Rankin/Bass's output and the most fun (as in least exhausting) of all Tolkien adaptations.

sharky_55 Being weaned on Peter Jackson's Middle Earth makes this little TV movie seem to pale in comparison, especially when comparing the budgets. After the initial trilogy Jackson went for another by spacing out the children's novel into 3 feature length stories and therefore suffered for it. But of course you cannot back away after making the excellent LOTR and do a condensed version like this. This takes the whimsical and childlike wonder in the original novel and creates a charming Hobbit, perhaps a little lean in some parts. Still, the Hobbit trilogy had Howard Shore, and the biggest misstep seems to be the soundtrack which jumps genres and never really establishes itself. Glenn Yarbrough's songs are pleasant enough but you want mystical and ethereal cues for elves, not something that is reminiscent of a country road song, or a folk ballad. At times the orchestration is rather thin, overusing fanfares and percussion for little substance. And the Misty Mountains song cannot compare to the 2012 rendition, turning it into a short and lacklustre chant with no real melody.The animation is nice for its time. This was animated by Topcraft, which later became the bare bones of Studio Ghibli, just right before producing Nausicaa. The watercolour backgrounds are impressive and immersive, never clashing with the figures. The character designs cannot reach the details of a live action big budget attempt, but they are unique in their own cartoonish ways. Smaug is especially menacing with the floodlight beams that emit from his eyes and the hurricanes that his wings conjure. The wide eyed Bilbo Baggins with his overly large pupils seem to say with every look: "Oh how I wish I was at home in my nice hole by the fire, with the kettle just beginning to sing!" But he is brave when he needs to sneak into a treasure trove, witty when confronting Gollum in a battle of riddles, and reasonable when talking of war. Speaking of Gollum, he is slimy as he can be; it is not quite Andy Serkis, but he makes you shiver in disgust the same way. This version is perhaps a little short at 77 minutes, and the Hobbit trilogy at a combined 474 minutes, much too long. Here some details are cut; Beorn and his nightime stroll is missing, which is disappointing. Climatic battles are also barely featured: the escape from the giant spiders is over with a dizzying spin, and Bilbo is knocked out just before the Battle of the Five Armies. It all ends a little suddenly, but it does set up the Lord of the Rings and that 1978 animation which is a little more mature and in- depth. But for an accompaniment to a fantasy novel that should be one every child's reading list, this is quite good.

Andreas Johannessen These are the reasons I don't like this movie: The songs are very annoying through the entire movie, the character design is of nightmares & I feel too much that this is not based on a book by J.R.R Tolkien, but a person who felt that the books were too hard for kids & decided to wright it as childish as possible (Probably what happened when I think about it). There was not a moment I was wondering when the movie was over from the beginning till the end, not a good sign. There is a reason this movie is not common knowledge for the general public, that is because it's not a good one. My suggestion is to keep away from it & watch Peter Jackson's version.