Although not as good or edgy as Ralph Bakshi’s more adult interpretations of the “Lord of the Rings” novels, Rankin Bass’s “The Hobbit” is a very good animated movie that gets about as dark and edgy as possible. The movie is a nice and swiftly paced seventy seven minutes, allowing for this single adventure to go from point A to point B without ever missing a step. Unlike the bloated trilogy we saw from Peter Jackson, “The Hobbit” gets the job done significantly better, even if the pacing is particularly rushed.
Based on the iconic novel from JRR Tolkien, Bilbo Baggins is a Hobbit set in his ways, when his occasional visitor Gandalf the Wizard drops in one evening. 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 an evil dragon named Smaug. The only problem is that Gandalf has told the dwarves that Bilbo is an expert burglar, but he isn’t.
Rankin Bass spares no quarter with this adaptation, offering up a darker and menacing fantasy adventure that features all the hallmarks of the novel. There are the ravenous trolls planning on eating the adventure party for a meal, and the Goblins attacking Bilbo, et al. There’s even the famed “Riddles in the Dark” segment where Bilbo attempts to outwit the dreaded monster Gollum for the purposes of the mythical ring. All things considered, the movie has no real connection per se to Bakshi’s movies, but there are allusions to novels and Rankin Bass’s folksy animation style lends the aesthetic a lot of life and spirit.
The movie also maintains the musical angle from the book, embracing the joyous and enthusiastic singing that helped punctuate the narrative from Tolkien. “The Hobbit” garners some very spirited performances by Orson Bean as Bilbo Baggins, and John Huston as the enigmatic Gandalf. I also liked Richard Boone’s take on the dragon Smaug. While I wish Bakshi had continued finishing the “Lord of the Rings” saga, Rankin Bass’s adaptation is a worthwhile and often entertaining interpretation.
Editor’s note: This review was written by Felix Vasquez Jr earlier this year