Animated Films: The Lord of the Rings

Animated Adaptations: The Lord of the Rings

DVD / VHS
This animated adaption was Ralph Bakshi's attempt at experimental filmmaking. It is generally considered a failure. He attempted to mix live action and animation which had unsatisfactory result. Tolkien fans loathe this film, while non-fans come away disappointed and uninterested in reading the books.

Another problem with this film is its title. This film actually only covers roughly half of the trilogy. A sequel was planned, but when this film turned out to be a box office failure, the sequel was never done. Rankin and Bass, who had been behind the animated film The Hobbit, put together The Return of the King which helped finish up storylines left hanging in this film.

A couple of interesting notes about the cast. Graham Cox and Peter Woodthorpe went on to voice the same parts in a 1981 BBC audio production of The Lord of the Rings. Also, Anthony Daniels, the voice of Legolas, has gone onto fame as a certain skinny android in a little science fiction/fantasy film series called Star Wars.

The Lord of the Rings (1978):
Ralph Bakshi J.R.R. Tolkien (novel) Peter S. Beagle Chris Conkling Christopher Guard William Squire Michael Scholes John Hurt Norman Bird Graham Cox Anthony Daniels Peter Woodthorpe	... Director ... Writer ... Writer ... Writer ... Frodo ... Gandalf ... Sam ... Aragorn ... Bilbo ... Boromir ... Legolas ... Gollum

Lord of the Rings (1978) IMDB Listing

The Lord of the Rings Items Available at eBay - Scroll for additional items

Available at Amazon.com:

Peter Jackson Films:

Middle Earth Collection:
Theatrical Blu-ray
Extended Blu-ray
Collector's Blu-ray

The Hobbit Trilogy:
Theatrical: Blu-ray + DVD
Extended: Blu-ray | DVD

An Unexpected Journey:
Theatrical Edition:
Blu-ray | BD 3D | Prime Video
Soundtrack: CD | MP3
Extended Edition:
Blu-ray | BD 3D | DVD | Prime Video | Soundtrack: CD | MP3

Desolation of Smaug:
Theatrical Edition:
Blu-ray | BD 3D | Prime Video
Soundtrack: CD | MP3
Extended Edition:
Blu-ray | BD 3D | DVD | Prime Video | Soundtrack: CD | MP3

Battle of the Five Armies:
Theatrical Edition:
Blu-ray | BD 3D | DVD | Prime Video | Soundtrack: CD | MP3
Extended Edition:
Blu-ray | BD 3D | DVD | Prime Video | Soundtrack: CD | MP3

LotR Trilogy:
Theatrical: Blu-ray | DVD
Extended: Blu-ray | DVD
Posters

Animated Film Adaptations:

The Hobbit:
DVD | DVD (SE) | Prime Video
The Lord of the Rings:
Blu-ray | DVD | Prime Video
The Return of the King:
DVD

Books by J.R.R. Tolkien:

The Lord of the Rings Set
The Hobbit
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King
The Silmarillion
The Unfinished Tales
Beren and Luthien
The Children of Hurin
The Fall of Gondolin

Audio Presentations:
The Lord of the Rings:

BBC Dramatization (CD)
NPR Dramatization (CD)
Unabridged Reading (CD)

The Hobbit:
BBC Dramatization (CD)
NPR Dramatization (CD)
Unabridged Reading (CD)

The Fellowship of the Ring:
BBC Dramatization (CD)
NPR Dramatization (CD)
Unabridged Reading (CD)

The Two Towers:
BBC Dramatization (CD)
NPR Dramatization (CD)
Unabridged Reading (CD)

The Return of the King:
BBC Dramatization (CD)
NPR Dramatization (CD)
Unabridged Reading (CD)

The Silmarillion:
Unabridged Reading (CD)

The Children of Hurin:
Unabridged Reading (CD)