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The Hobbit | 
 enlarge | Directors: Arthur Rankin Jr., Jules Bass
Actors: Orson Bean, Richard Boone, Hans Conried, John Huston, Otto Preminger
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $12.98
Buy New: $5.88
You Save: $7.10 (55%)
New (52) Used (27) Collectible (1) from $4.36
Rating:  223 reviews
Sales Rank: 3479
Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 78 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5
MPN: WARD00566D
ISBN: 0790762595
UPC: 012569056626
EAN: 9780790762593
ASIN: B00005MP59
Theatrical Release Date: November 27, 1977
Release Date: September 11, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New and Factory Sealed Item Fast Shipping
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Amazon.com
The J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy classic set in Middle-earth was adapted into this excellent 1978 animated feature first broadcast on television. Codirectors Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr., working from a script by Romeo Muller, are faithful to Tolkien's story and for that alone they get big points. The vocal cast can't be improved upon: Orson Bean is perfect as Bilbo Baggins, the timorous hobbit who grows brave on his adventure with the wizard Gandalf (John Huston). Otto Preminger is the voice of Elvenking, Richard Boone is Smaug, Hans Conreid is Thorin, and Brother Theodore is very effective as the weird Gollum. Terrific for kids and adults alike. --Tom Keogh
Product Description
A homebody demi-human in middle earth gets talked into joining a quest with a group of dwarves to recover their treasure from a dragon. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 06/01/2004 Starring: Gandalf (john Huston Voice) Elrond (cyril Ritchard Voice) Run time: 77 minutes Rating: Nr Director: Jules Bass/arthur Rankin Jr
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| Customer Reviews: Read 218 more reviews...
 The Hobbit October 30, 2008
D P (TX)
Great companion movie for any Lord of the Ring movie lover. Its short, sweet and faithful to the book. Its just fun!
 Not like I remember October 24, 2008
Jerren Mckenny
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I read this book when I was in the 9th grade and enjoyed it very much. Our teacher showed us this movie after reading the book and I enjoyed it too. Well I ordered this movie and wow, its not the way I remember. It's a lot of singing and rhyming and it just seems like the writers may have been under the influence when they made this. Its kind of weird now and I wasn't able to watch it all.
The seller was great and shipped fast.
 It was my first viewing on TV...darned good!~!~! August 8, 2008
Rick "Fourstrings" Lauzon (Lehigh Acres,FL.)
I had been reading JRR Tolkein's works as I lay in a hospital recovering from a plane crash I was unlucky enough to survive as it introduced me to a life of pain at the age of 29 and I am 62 and w.o. stop I still suffer, w.o. being made "whole, by the MFG. of the 172 Skyhawk.
Nevertheless, I remember when this came on tv and Richard Boone played the voice of "Smaug" the dragon that had the village below in terror and kept it that way as the townsfolk would put up with him.
An entourage of Dwarves, besides Gandalf the Wizard invaded Bilbo Baggin's peace and quiet one time and Gandalf being first, sort of took the Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins off guard, and Bilbo had no idea...he was about to go on an adventure, whereas Hobbits, like a good meal, and a pipe afterwards, and please "Don't break the dishes and the plates" as Hobbits live in a town called The "Shire",(with round doors and entrances, exits... which they get along together as a large family, but, there was something that Gandalf the Wizard wanted this little hair-footed Hobbit to do, and that was yet to be shown to him.
If he did NOT like adventures, he was about to join one that would impair him for his life.
He had to ( as the (14) dwarves plus Bilbo Baggins were ready to knock on his door and have a feast at the nerves and ruination of Bilbo's "peace & Quiet" ...(severely).
They had a plan and a map that would show Mr. Baggins the way to "Lonely Mountain" to confront "Smaug the Dragon" and stir him up and you could hear Boone's voice thumping on your chest as "Smaug spoke his threats to Bilbo Baggins and the Dwarves", the story was narrated by "Orson Bean", also to be recalled was the late John Huston...you'll hear his voice bearing in too! Through adventure upon the next thrilling comfrontation with a dangerous situation, had the dwarves getting Bilbo into trouble and Gandalf getting him out of harm's way, but Bilbo was the "LEADER" (a "Burgular" it was said) now, not any dwarf, not Gandalf, but, Gandalf had disappeared for some times, leaving the rescue crew of 14 by themselves to face the dragon and stir him against the town, but Gandalf HAD TO be on HIS way as there was danger brewing in the East...toward dark and dreary "MORDOR" and the trouble growing from there!
This is a treat for anyone to see or read as I read the Hobbit to my adopted daughter, and she still recalls the Stone Dwarves who argued about what they were going to do to eat poor Bilbo Baggins~!
Tom, William, and Bart was the third (IMHO)..I am supposed to suffer from "short-term memory " loss.
But, what I just told you was from my heart and not my mind, as this was the beginnings of my devotion to the rest of J.R.R. Tolkein's written works, such as Farmer Giles of Ham, Tom Bombadil, The emtire Trilogy with the entire set:"The Fellowship of the Ring;" "The Two Towers", and "The Return of the King"... from beg. to end~! I even read or studied the languages of the elves, dwarves, the Goblins, Orcs, and oh so many left that started it all in the book called The Silmarillion" which presented you with the "Creation of Middle Earth" and introduced you to the characters of the rest of Tolkein's writings, and even though death was a way for them also as it is with us, the trilogy dealt with the "Return of the King of Middle Earth" at the end of the third age and beginning of the 4th age of MAN!
What a thrill, as this is one necessary book or movie to have so that one might be prepared for the Trilogy I have spoken of, the largest story of GOOD vs. Evil, w.o. getting into the Scriptures, as there is parallelisms all through the Silmarillion and the Holy Bible, though I do NOT believe that this was the original intent of the Lord Tolkein!
There is no reason to miss this DVD, movie or whatever you have, and if you do get involved, remember this: It is NOT and I MUST say it is NOT as "DUNGEONS and DRAGONS", which I have nothing to do with.
This battle, the same type: of Good and Evil, is a paramount theme throughout the series and ages that was developed from the notes of JRR Tolkein by his son, and there is one thing I did forget Jr. Tolkein's name...(most sorry, sir).!
I apologize Mr. Tolkein, but, it's this "short term memory" thing, which I bow and apologize for.
Now recall, this is one of then most thrilling escapades of the Hobbits as there were for the 13 Dwarves, plus Bilbo Baggins, and Gandalf the Wizard.
Have fun, speak of it together, play "what if", and guessing games of who did what, and to whom...it is a whole new life for you.
Have fun as It is a wonderful story for all of us and our children, and our grandparents which I am as well as a great grandfather , three (3) times now.
Absolutely wonderful, fun, funny, serious, the eternal story of good vs. evil...have fun, and watch carefully...you may miss something that you will need in time!
RIT "STRINGS" Lauzon
An Underrated Gem July 16, 2008
Alan Lawn (Brooklyn, NY USA)
This charming film worked its magic on me many a time when I was a little kid who understood neither its context nor its subtext. At the time I hadn't even heard of The Lord of the Rings, and I hadn't recognized the archetypal nature of Tolkein's universe. The movie was my first brush with elves, dwarfs, goblins, hobbits, and Gollum. I was fascinated. I could sense that The Hobbit was part of something larger, and there was something captivating about its tone from the opening narration.
Recently I revisited the film, and let's just say that I saw it through new eyes. And rather than finding that it merely held up well, I came to appreciate it even more and on multiple levels. I don't care if it abridged or even modified Tolkein's epic; if it's good, it's good. (Consider it "inspired by" the book if you must.) Here's why I give it 5 stars:
1. The voice acting. These are some of the best voices I've heard in English-language animation. It turns out that a few of them are heavy hitters. To me, the standouts are: Gandalf (John Huston), noble, authoritative, and wise; Bilbo (Orson Bean), mellow, gracious, and (more on this later) smooth; and Gollum (Brother Theodore), tortured, twisted, and temperamental. Not a bad use of star power.
2. The fundamental lightheartedness. The film is, of course, meant to appeal primarily to children, and it's a good example of how this can be done without diminishing palatability to adults. Essentially, rather than sacrificing meaningful content, Rankin and Bass only gloss over the _presentation_ of mature elements (danger, fear, violence). For example, when Bilbo defeats the giant spiders, the damage from his dagger thrusts is symbolized by images of the spiders' heads spinning. When he hesitates on the way towards confronting Smaug, we hear of his doubts, but his inner monologue is given a calm and reasonable voice. We know he's thinking (not for the first time on this quest), "I may very well be walking to my death," but why scare the kids by making such realities palpable? Another benefit of the absence of truly dark moments in the film is that the audience is always primed for humor. This comes in handy since the movie has numerous amusing or funny elements, intentional or otherwise. (Try thinking of Gandalf as a benevolent questmaster, for instance. The film lends itself to this "reading" because of his teacherly demeanor and conveniently timed appearances, departures, and revelations -- it's as if he's trying to set the ideal difficulty level for the little guys, or for a good story.) Overall, The Hobbit is a very fun movie. I consider it more of a comedy than anything else.
3. The animation. (Or should I say anime, as it was done in Japan?) While of course dated, it's more quaint than outmoded. There's something charmingly British about it. Maybe the production team based the film's landscapes and character designs on Tolkein's own illustrations. I wouldn't be surprised.
4. The cinematography. The Hobbit shines in this department, too. Two good examples come to mind. First, consider the opening credits. In many movies these are shown at the beginning, superimposed on landscape shots and the like so as not to distract viewers from anything too important. Here Rankin and Bass present the opening credits the night after the first scene, in which Bilbo is enlisted by Gandalf and the dwarfs. The credits provide a transition from night to day and are accompanied by images of Bilbo's uneasy dreams and by the uplifting theme song. The dream sequence is beautifully "shot," and the contrast between it and the inspirational lyrics artfully expresses Bilbo's conflicted attitude towards suddenly leaving his life behind for the promise and peril of adventure. Second, there's the famous riddle scene, in which Bilbo and Gollum try to stump each other. After a couple of exchanges, the camera zooms out and pans around the cavern, and a haunting choral interlude sings one of the riddles and conveys the passage of a considerable amount of time. Then the scene shifts back to the adversaries and their final confrontation.
5. Bilbo Baggins. (Best porn name ever.) Much of the amusement I derive from the film is due to its portrayal of this little big man. In short, he's a badass, and I don't just mean for a hobbit. Despite getting pushed around by the condescending king of the dwarfs, Bilbo takes it in stride and calmly saves them on many an occasion. Like James Bond he confounds his enemies by never losing his cool, and he's got a British accent. Unlike James Bond his enemies include goblins, giant spiders, and a dragon, in addition to crazy Russians (i.e., the hard-drinking and xenophobic wood elves, who have Russianesque accents to boot). One of his best moments is when, after playing along with the riddle game for quite some time, he asks Gollum "what have I got in my pocket?" and pretends to be taken aback when Gollum objects. Bilbo ironically invokes the rules, which are stacked against him but say nothing about what constitutes a legitimate riddle. The name's Baggins. Bilbo Baggins.
6. The songs. These work wonders for the film's tone. Maury Laws wrote some great melodies. Glenn Yarbrough has an ideal voice for the contemplative folk ballads, and various choirs are used to good effect, particularly in the goblin battle chants. Notably, most of the lyrics come directly from poems and songs that Tolkein included in the novel.
I think I've spilled enough ink about a cartoon that you may vaguely remember, if at all, as a cheesy adaptation of a vastly superior book. But hey, I'm trying to convince you otherwise. If you're into this sort of thing, The Hobbit is worth (re)visiting.
adventures make one late for dinner May 7, 2008
M. Randall (Allen Park, MI)
i was born in the early 80s, and one of my favorite childhood moments was watching this movie. back then i knew nothing of the lord of the rings trilogy or any of the novels. i remember renting this movie when several times when going over to spend the night at my grandparents. well seeing how im a huge fan of peter jackson's trilogy now, i decided to go back and watch this movie after what must be at least 18 years since i last saw it. the magic was still there and it brought back quite a bit of memories. the only thing i noticed this time around is the speeded up story telling. as a kid you don't notice that, but now that i'm in my early 20's its quite obvious as how much they were trying to squeeze in. oh well.. still a classic!
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