The Hobbit

1977
6.7| 1h17m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 27 November 1977 Released
Producted By: Topcraft
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Bilbo Baggins the Hobbit was just minding his own business, when his occasional visitor Gandalf the Wizard drops in one night. One by one, a whole group of dwarves drop in, and before he knows it, Bilbo has joined their quest to reclaim their kingdom, taken from them by the evil dragon Smaug. The only problem is that Gandalf has told the dwarves that Bilbo is an expert burglar, but he isn't...

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Reviews

Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever
SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped
SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie
FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.
O2D While this movie is a great way to get young children into the Lord of The Rings, anyone older would probably find it disappointing.I love the artwork but the story leaves a lot to be desired.I remember thinking this was great before I had read the book but all these years later it's not so impressive.I honestly don't remember much of the book anymore but it doesn't matter with this movie.It's obvious that they have changed things(it even says "Based On", it doesn't even claim to be true to the book) but the worst part is that they picked the wrong parts to leave out.They tell Bilbo to climb a tree and it cuts to him sleeping in a cave by himself?What??Things like that happen a lot.It doesn't matter if you know the story, if you can pay attention you can see that this is very confusing.They often try to explain the gaps in the following dialogue but that wears thin quickly.The real reason to watch (or not watch) this is because of the music.Everyone I know has always hated it but after not seeing it for years I still remembered a few songs.It's weird that some of the songs seemingly have nothing to do with the movie while others literally describe what we are seeing on screen.Then there's the time that the elves are talking while a song is blasting over them,lol.I do like how they use British slang but no one has an accent, that's brilliant.I just realized that this was made for TV.I never noticed how it breaks before.I have to say considering that, it's a decent movie.Definitely the best made for TV movie I have seen.
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.
zsofikam I have to admit that the dwarfs, with the exception of Thorin, aren't well developed but it's a bit hard to develop individual personalities for 13 dwarfs (although Disney managed with 7). After the group sets out, they find a bunch of trolls (actual trolls, not internet trolls) near a campfire. Bilbo notices the trolls cave, where Thorin finds a pair of swords and comments that they're pretty good as far as troll craftsmanship goes and Gandalf says that that's because they were probably stolen while Bilbo finds a pocketknife. They then travel to Rivendell, where they meet Elrond, who tells them that the swords are called Orchrist the Goblin Cleaver and Glamdring the Foe Hammer. As an added bonus, the elves are still singing in the background. It's surprising that Elrond isn't like "why don't you just shut up!" although that would be extremely out of character for him. Bilbo and the dwarfs trek through the rainy mountains and decide to take shelter in a cave but find themselves surrounded by goblins. Thorin says that they were just taking shelter from the storm and a goblin takes out Orchrist the Goblin Cleaver and says that he's lying because why would he have a sword if they were simply wandering around randomly. This doesn't bode well with the Goblin King, who is about to bite Thorin's head off when Gandalf appears with Glamdring the Foe Hammer, sending the Goblin King floating into oblivion. OK, what is up with that?! I get that Gandalf killed him, but why couldn't they just show that?! Why'd it have to look like he was flushed down the toilet?! Everyone runs, chased by the goblins, who are apparently mad about the puncturing of their helium filled leader while Bilbo falls into a bottomless pit. Gollum looks really amazing. This movie was my introduction to The Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings. So to sit down in front of a TV to have the goblin scene followed by this bizarre creature who I wasn't even sure at first whether he was male or female, let alone what he was, is exciting. He's curious about Bilbo and challenges him to a game of riddle exchange. They're evenly matched until Bilbo asks what he has in his pocket, which isn't exactly a riddle. I think that Bilbo's encounter with Gollum is the turning point for Bilbo's personal story arc. This is where the timid hobbit of the first half becomes the brave, heroic hobbit of the second half. This isn't just because he finds the ring or survives the encounter with Gollum. Bilbo manages to get out of a terrifying situation-trapped all alone in a maze of goblin-infested tunnels, deep beneath the mountains, far from home-and he does it through his own level-handedness and bravery. Now cut to the goblins singing "15 Birds in 5 Fir Trees". This happens before anyone attacks, before we see any fir trees, before anyone is set on fire. It's like breaking into the "Munchkinland" song while Dorothy's house is still flying around. Gandalf creates his fiery pine-cones of death (is it still a pine-cone if it's from a fir tree?) The goblins set fire to the trees just as the eagles arrive. The eagles take everyone to the edge of Mirkwood and Gandalf leaves but first tells Bilbo to keep a diary of his adventures. While walking through Mirkwood, Bilbo decides to title his story "There And Back Again" even though he hasn't finished the there yet. The dwarfs decide that Bilbo should climb a tree and look around, which he does. He climbs up, sees a herd of butterflies in the sunlight, and starts to tear up. This is a beautiful scene and it really shows how Bilbo has evolved from unwilling to enjoying his journey. Meanwhile, Bilbo wakes up to find himself being attacked by a giant spider, a thing with the body of a spider and the head of Colonel Sanders. Bilbo points his sword at the spider and it dissolves in a swirl. He tells the dwarfs to go to the wood elves' clearing while he fights off the spiders despite the fact that aforementioned clearing hasn't been revealed (must be in a deleted scene). Once Bilbo finds the dwarfs, it turns out that they have been captured. Something I should mention before I go any farther is that the elves are blue! So the smurfs, I mean elves, take the dwarfs and Bilbo back home and Thorin says they were just wandering around randomly but once again this excuse doesn't fly. The elves decide to lock them up until they say what they were actually doing. It turns out that only the dwarfs were actually put in cells while Bilbo is just reduced to wandering around. While the elves are asleep, an invisible Bilbo manages to get the keys to the dwarfs' prison and frees each of them. The dwarfs ride down the river in barrels while Bilbo rides on top of one of them. Since Bilbo is on top of a barrel rather than inside one, he notices that they're approaching both a settlement called Laketown and their destination Lonely Mountain. They then meet Bard the archer and camp out on the mountain for a bit while Bilbo becomes friends with a bird. Thorin uses the key that has been passed down to him and Bilbo goes inside. Smaug asks Bilbo who he is and Bilbo responds by doing some riddling like he did with Gollum. The movie ends with Bilbo and Gandalf returning back to the hobbit hole (I wonder how they got back so fast). Although it's not without it's flaws, this movie is pretty awesome. Gollum is especially well rendered and it uses lots of quotes from the book. It has a special place in my heart.
siderite I am rating below average because it is really quaint, with choir songs that tell the story and all characters in the film seeming rather simple minded. The animation is not great either, but today's standards, probably looking old even by 1977 standards.The story is that of a hobbit convinced (almost coerced) by Gandalf to go on an adventure with some dwarfs. His purpose: a burglar, to get some gold and split it with the 13 dwarfs. Of course, there is something weird with that, but only at the end Gandalf's plan will be revealed.The characters are all goofy, including Gandalf, and for no good reason, either. While I enjoyed watching it, the film rather bored me and I would not recommend it to anyone.