The Hobbit (1977) – Film Review

Posted by Samuel Walters

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The Hobbit (1977) was a made-for-TV animated film that adapted J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary classic by the same name. The results are mixed. For one, the film does a decent job of telling the main plot points of the novel across all of 78 minutes of screen time. And it stays, more or less, quite true to the story itself. But there are a number of questionable decisions and outright mistakes that make this adaptation, especially more than thirty years later with a live-action film on the way, outdated. (Editor’s note: This review will focus on the craft of the film. For a discussion of the story of the Hobbit, please visit the BOOK REVIEW.)

When the film begins, a number of decisions are immediately noticeable. For starters, The Hobbit 1977 is, primarily, a children’s film. This was an explicit decision on the part of Rankin/Bass (the film’s producers). And the decision informs a great many other choices that are made with respect to the look, tone, and story decisions for the film.

First, and most prominently, is the animation style. The landscapes of Middle Earth are quite well done. But even thought this is a cartoon, the characters are not rendered anywhere near anything approaching realistic. In fact, there is a great deal of hyperbole with respect to the visuals. Indeed, the animators seem to have some kind of nose fetish, making everyone’s noses proportionally several times too large for the characters’ faces. They also take the “roundness” of Bilbo’s body almost too literally, resulting in a doe-eyed character that puts the Pillsbury Doughboy to shame.

Other characters are rendered even more implausibly – and oftentimes contradictory to their descriptions in the book. Gollum is something like a frog. The goblins have mouths that are as large as their bodies. The Wood-Elves actually look like orcs. And then there is Smaug, the great and mighty dragon who is central the quest. His appearance? Tolkien had described Smaug’s snores sounding a bit like a giant “tomcat.” And so the animators took that line and made Smaug … look like a cat – from his feline face to his facial whiskers and fur on his back.

I understand that this is a children’s film but instead of evoking a sense of danger, his design evokes a sense of hilarity – at least initially. There are indeed a few moments, while he is breathing fire, in which he looks (almost) impressive. But it only works if you can stop laughing before you see it. And while we’re on the topic of animation, the Battle of Five Armies looks like a flea circus on too much caffeine. It’s really a rather poor display.

Another consequence of making this adaptation into a children’s film is the emphasis on songs. On the surface, it seems like an intriguing, and authentic, decision – especially considering the prominence of song within The Hobbit. But the film adds in a few songs of its own and the songs themselves are highly stylized, reflecting late-70s pop culture. There is the folk-singer approach, the vaguely country-western approach, and a disco-approach. The results do not hold up very well over time. Instead they come across as cheesy and cringeworthy. I’ll say this much, however, the lyrics to Glenn Yarbrough’s “The Greatest Adventure,” while also cheesy and cringeworthy, fit the spirit of the film perfectly. Suffice to say, if you can buy into this approach (a very, very, VERY big *IF*), you may find yourself pleasantly surprised by the film. Otherwise, you find yourself shutting it off before you even make it out of Bag-End.

As for the plot, the fact that the film takes all of 78 minutes should tell you that it paints the story with a very broad brush. But even so, the film manages to include the trolls, Rivendell, the passage over the Misty Mountains, the goblins, Gollum, the wolves, the Eagles, Mirkwood with its spiders (and purple Emperors), the wood-elves, Lake Town and Bard, Bilbo’s confrontation with Smaug, and the Battle of Five Armies. But there is no Beorn and, even more importantly, along the way, much of the nuance is lost.

There are also a few odd decisions in terms of narrative. One change was to have Gandalf instruct Bilbo to keep a journal of his travels through Mirkwood. It’s a change from book and was done purely to have Bilbo narrate the events of Mirkwood, the wood-elves and Lake Town. The film’s creators manage to dovetail the journal into the beginnings of Bilbo’s memoirs – which is a nifty idea. But purists will (legitimately) object to the decision.

Overall Grade: C-

I have to admit that, watching The Hobbit (1977) again wasn’t as bad as the first time I saw it. Perhaps it’s because my expectations were so low. Or, perhaps, just acknowledging that this was a children’s film, that is also a product of the late 1970s, helps manage those expectations. Perhaps it’s because I know that Peter Jackson, Howard Shore, Ian McKellen will be back to create a live-action film with newcomer (to Middle-Earth) Guillermo del Toro. Whatever the reason, there is an innocent naïveté to the film that will be sure to draw in a few viewers. But the fact remains that The Hobbit (1977) likely will not have a very great appeal. Tolkien enthusiasts will be interested to watch the film – if only to whet the appetite before 2011’s The Hobbit.

Lyrics to:

Glenn Yarbrough’s “The Greatest Adventure”

The greatest adventure is what lies ahead
Today and tomorrow are yet to be said
The chances the changes are all yours to make
The mold of your life is in your hands to break.

The greatest adventure is there if you are bold
Let go of the moment that life makes you hold
To measure the meaning can make you delay
It’s time you stop thinking and wasting the day.

A man whose a dreamer and never takes leave
Who thinks of a world that is make believe
Will never know passion
Will never know pain
Who sits by the window
Will one day see rain.

The greatest adventure is what lies ahead
Today and tomorrow are yet to be said
The chances the changes are all yours to make
The mold of your life is in your hands to break.

Topics: Film Review
Filed under: Hobbit