The second of Rankin/Bass' animated TV specials based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, Return of the King plots the quest to defeat the evil wizard Sauron. Frodo, nephew of The Hobbit protagonist Bilbo Baggins, vows to destroy the Ring, even if it costs him his own life. He carries the Ring to the volcanic innards of Mount Doom. All this he does on behalf of good-guy Aragon, who will never be able to escape the dreaded land of Sauron so long as the Ring retains its evil powers. Orson Bean, who'd
been the voice of Bilbo Baggins in the 1977 Hobbit cartoon special, returns to portray Frodo. Return of the King originally aired May 11, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Works even less well than The Hobbit, which really is a children's story… overbearing folk-ballad soundtrack doesn't even gesture lyrically to Tolkien's poetry.
While both could have benefited from higher aspirations, they have an agreeable and clockwork aptitude (dreary late-70's bearded folksinger interludes not withstanding).
Just a flat out weird interpretation of Lord Of The Rings, but this doesn't have the awesome roto-casting animation that the first one had. This definitely had the most singing in any non-musical ever, which makes the movie completely pointless and boring at times. I just don't know what was going on behind the scenes
to make this adaption so odd and sadly it was all there was for 20 years.
The original animated movie covered the first 2 books. It wasn't perfect, but it was very interesting to watch in this post-Jackson era. The Hobbit also had some wonderful designs and interesting moments. Return of the King, is a poorly rushed and choppy completion for the animated saga. It looks very messy and the
films points are skimmed over in hurried narration. It's an interesting watch, to see Lord of the Rings go so wrong.
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