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Ah yes, the LOTR with the rather questionable Samwise Gamgee xD i remember you covering this gem on your Old vs New back in the day, I look forward to this!
I really enjoyed the animated Hobbit and Lord of the Rings... but didn't like the Return of the King. The Jackson ones were much better though. Oh hey! can you review The Rock 1996.
Well, it depends on who you call lazy in that context. In this case, the person didn't draw so your argument doesn't work. In the same vein, making a movie is hard work, very hard work, but it doesn't mean that every executive producer put effort in it. In some cases a producer is very hands on and in others he's just the money. Edit: And in other cases executive producer is nothing but an honorary title. My point is, it's not because doing something is hard work that it means everyone involved in it is working hard, and it's even more true when talking about something that requires so many people to finish.
Producer: Audiences are pissed that you didn’t finish telling the story. Bakshi: Well can I finish telling the story then? Producer: No, I can’t let you do that because the audience got pissed. This will never not be infurating for me. I saw Bakshi’s version before the Jackson films came out, and we’ll never get to see his version of the ending.
I prefer Bakshi's version of Boromir's death, he looks badass and the uruk's are terrified. His Gollum is damn good too, wish we saw his ROTK rendition. Especially Shelobs lair in that style!!
Was very saddened when i found out. YES RETURN OF KING CARTOON... to find out it was horrible version :/ the only right thing it depicted was Eowyn, everything else was friggin god awful XD Skeletor witch king lol
The moment when the Innkeeper says "Save us!", he's not asking Aragorn. It's more of an exclaimation like "Lord!" or "God help us!". But it is delivered rather clumsy, making it sound like he's pleading Aragorn for help and then suddenly distrust him few seconds later.
@SAMUEL HENLEY My memory is bad but. I think Sam may have had said "Yippee" when hearing he was going to see the Elves. I like LOTR Fellowship of The Ring PC game interpretation of Sam... less lameish portrayal compared to the cartoon. But only wrong thing about this cartoon is the portrayal of Sam, everything else had its flaws but was alright
@Kejiri I should play the game, it sounds great! But I just want to give my 2 cents about Sam in both Bakshi's movie and the book... As the youngest and most earnest of the hobbits, Sam absolutely started out as cringey and childish. He was developmentally the hobbit equivalent of an 18 or 19 year old, while Frodo would have been in his mid 30's if he were human. As a younger millennial, I've seen how friends only a few years older than me cringe at Gen Z. Imo, it's normal for Sam to be cringey, he's very young. But it's that youthful enthusiasm that powers him and lets us root for him later, when he finds the strength within himself to be serious and press on when Frodo can't keep going any more. He grows from a childish youth into a strong adult, and he's one of very few characters who can genuinely reject the call of the ring. That's why I'm a-ok with Sam's "Oh hooray!"s and "Yippee!"s, I just wish we had the chance to see him come into his own in Bakshi's style! On a different note, the way the Finnish LOTR show did him was interesting... They play him very young and optimistic, but with a level of sincerity that suits the character well. I like the actor a lot, despite the terrible costuming choices and the absolute insanity of that series. He's probably the best part of it, terrible mullet and all.
It’s obvious Peter Jackson really loves this movie and took inspiration for some of the imagery in his LOTR films. So yeah the film really inspired the Jackson movies which are my three favourite films of all time, so I owe this film allot of thanks, and I think Jackson does too.
Seriously. Credit where credit is due. Even with all its imperfections, I give this movie high regards because of it. Considering how much in-between, filler stories, adventures there are in the book, this movie pretty much streamlined what LotR story up to Battle of Helm's Deep should be like. Maybe I have some bias because of it, but that maybe why I felt Fellowship of the Ring, Two Towers were smooth in terms of pacing and storytelling while Return of the King, not so much. Really don't understand the haters. I consider, no this movie → no Peter Jackson's LotR. Maybe they saw this movie after Peter Jackson's LotR and felt really disappointed.
@@andrewyp6724 I agree with your point, I am one of those who watched Jackson's trilogy even before knowing this was a books series by Tolkien so I obviously didn't knew about this adaptation either untill a few years ago. I really don't understand how people can hate this movie when it was kinda ahead of his time with all the limitations it had, it is not fair to compare 2 hours of an animated movie trying to tell as much as it could against a big production of 3 parts which length is 12 hours in total. It isn't fair at all for this version to be hated just because Jackson's is superior.
@@meduseldtales3383 He kept the book by his side throughout the script process; but they did focus heavily on upping the action, and maintaining the tension and dread throughout (especially regarding the ring - hence the changes to Faramir, Galadriel and others)
So a Silmarillion thing. Arwyn's fate being tied to the ring is metaphorical. Elves are like sentient plants, they aren't just tall humans, they live forever, but can die if they despair, or are corrupted, or experience too much darkness. So, when he said Arwyn's fate is tied to the ring, he means, if middle earth falls to darkness, so too will she die. This is why the elves are leaving middle earth, because their time there is over, the magic is all gone from the world so they are returning to what is essentially the Mt. Olympus of Arda (The planet)
Did a senior thesis on this film, comparing it to the Jackson trilogy and the source material. Jackson quite liked this film, and it was the impetus for him to read the books and becoming inspired to one day make the live action adaptations. My only problem about the Bakshi LOTR is that the studio demanded Bakshi cram all 3 books into one film and obviously there were some budget problems, and Bakshi was forced to end it after the Battle of Helms Deep. Would’ve liked to see Bakshi’s completed vision of the LOTR trilogy. But for the love of Samwise, please fix Sam’s iconically terrifying face, and Gandalf’s Tourettes syndrome
I'm glad that for once I can read about two completely different directors doing the same source material and hear that they liked each other's work and that the one who did it second was inspired by the first. Bakshi and Jackson would probably be good friends
This film and Willow made me fall in love with fantasy. I still remember before I could read looking trough my dad D & D book while he was working on ongoing campaign. I think I was 5 years old when I watched it with my dad for the first time... It was a beta tape! Later I read the whole thing while I was in in fourth grade (I couldn't get into the simarilon until high school).
Aragorn was very into being king in the books he had just been told of his heratage and was dancing and singing about it when he met Arwen. I actually like both portrayals of Aragorn in RB and PJ films. They are very different from each other but both stand on their merits. Also remember that Vigo wasnt the studios original choice for Aragorn they wanted Stuart Townsend so we lucked out with Vigo.
@@gm2407 I agree, the more takes on the various characters, the better IMO. Y'all seen the Finnish LOTR called "Hobitit"? Now that's a trip and a half.
I dunno man, it's been a while but did Tolkien describe Frodo as a hobbit version of the Beatles? And more importantly, did Aragorn wear a miniskirt in the original books? I don't seem to recall those...
Fun Tolkien trivia, but the people that Aragorn is talking about before Weathertop, Lúthien and Beren, are ancestors of both him and Arwen. They’re Arwen’s great-great grandparents, and Aragorn’s great x50-or-so grandparents.
@@TheR-DaciousOne if that is how you put it, every married couple is considered incest lol. But yeah, for me it's not considered incest even if it's your first cousin. That being said, scientifically speaking you should try not to be with someone whom you are closely related to like a first or second cousin.
Bakshi's RIngwraiths were nightmare fuel for my childhood. The way they could just phase in and out of reality and appear inside buildings was unnerving. THeir slow, shuffling movements made them seem otherworldly, rather than having once been human. They truly seemed more twisted and evil as a result of the unnatural movements and sounds, and it's clear where Jackson got the influence for several scenes involving them, such as the forest road and Prancing Pony scenes.
*agreed...the first encounter with the limping wraith was more terrifying for me than the refined live action variant* *not that i'd want to encounter either*
When Sean Astin auditioned for the role of Sam, he had never read the books, so he knew nothing about his character. When he got the role, instead of reading the books he took the easiest path and watched this animation. It's funny to think how he must have felt when he saw this portrait of Samwise Gamgee. I have no idea how Bakshi would make the climax at the slopes of Mt Doom work with this character.
My guess is his version of ROTK would’ve been more about Sam maturing and having to toughen up as Gollum gets closer to Frodo and the odds are stacked more and more against them
I know exactly how. It's called a Dramatic Climax Character Evolution. In the face of the most Auspicious peril that you could come across the need to tell silly jokes gets YEETED to one side and seriousness takes the forefront as he hefts frodo on his back making it all the more dramatic when it happens. It's like, this character who was silly this entire time chooses to put town the jokebook and picks up his proper responsibilities.
@@scottbruckner4653 100%. You can already see it kicking in towards the end of Bakshi's movie, where Frodo is getting weaker and more volatile, and Sam is getting increasingly tired of Gollum's shit and is starting to struggle to keep Frodo going. A lot of folks also forget that Sam is a LOT younger than Frodo in the books, and that was true in Bakshi's version too. I think it would have been really awesome, seeing that funny-looking little weirdo finally pull himself together and become the hero. IMO that's the main reason why Bakshi had him be so silly and childish at first. And it's not like he wasn't a goof at the beginning of the books too.
Fun Fact, Tolkien was really just interested into the world-building of Middle Earth as a private hobby. When he created it, he figured that he may as well tell a story in it. And that's why LotR and Silmalarion really read more like a history book and every rock the protagonists stumble upon has a thirty pages backstory.
@@wjzav1971 LOTR reads nothing like the Silmarillion. Also this isn't even true. LOTR is a narrative first and foremost while the Silmarillion is meant to evoke works like the Prose Edda and the Kalevala. Tolkien was interested in preserving the medieval literary tradition.
Not a masterpiece? idk, i think it might not be the masterpiece people wanted, but i have a hard time not calling this a masterpiece. The hole point of a master piece, is its the most ambitious work the artist have made, a mastery of a skill. Find it funney how much a holy fantasy bible LOTR is, i'm still having trouble getting through LOTR, but HOT damn do i respect every moment of this story and all the art gone into it, and just how much a foundation it is for the fantasy "culture" as i think you can rightfully call it.
I honestly believe it's a great film and better adaptation of The Lord of the Rings than the Jackson version, but it does have some failings (a less likeable Sam for about two thirds of the film and needing an extra half hour to explain things to people who haven't read the book). It's amazing how much more of the book was put into half the time, with changes only made to streamline the story (such as replacing Glorfindel with Legolas, which would have worked in the book). It's not my favourite adaptation, that's still the 80s BBC radio adaptation, but as a fan of the book I find it easy to watch while the Jackson version just makes me annoyed.
Well, people didn’t know when first saw that the movie was only part one, this caused some controversy and lots of people were furious for getting a incomplete story. At least, Rankin/Bass managed to end the saga, but isn’t the same thinks Bakshis done.
As much as I love Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, the Bakshi version has its charm. It is a masterpiece in its own right and any true Tolkien fan would appreciate it for the art and effort put into it.
Give Bakshi a higher budget, give him three movies to make, and encourage his artistic freedom (and also discourage ruining Samwise the Great), and he would have given perhaps the greatest animated films of an era.
@@DISTurbedwaffle918 The best filmmakers are usualy the ones who have no restrictions put on their artistic freedom, and even when they do, they try their best to ignore them. Ralph Bakshi was certianly one of them
While I would like to agree, I also can’t ignore the possibility that Bakshi’s weirdness would have no limits and we would basically get a movie more convoluted than Dune.
@@michaelcarmona7838 What was convoluted about Dune? The only thing I didn't like about that movie was all the redundant inner thought whispering OVEREXPLAINED the central thesis. "Is he the one.... WELL IS HE?????" Otherwise, it was also brilliant.
Ralph Bakshi is certainly, at least, the bigger pioneer and innovator over frigging Peter Jackson. For example, creators and fans of things like Heavy Metal, Ren and Stimpy, South Park, and Futurama all owe Bakshi a debt. Now, do tell us, WHAT exactly has Jackson influenced? .. . zilch!
Where There's a Whip, There's a Way Where There's a Whip, There's a Way Where There's a Whip We Dont Want to go to War Today But the Lord of the Lash says "Nay Nay Nay!" We're Gonna March All Day, All Day, All Daaayyy Where There's a Whip, There's a Way i legit hum that song whenever i jog, it keeps me going every time.
But the lord the land says "hey Hey HEY!" We're gonna march all day, all day, all daaaay Where there's a whip, there's a way, left, right, left, right...
Glorfindel is definitely such a missed goldmine of awesomeness that you don't really get to see in the books, but has a lot of super important considerations for the world. Dude 1v1'd a balrog, then was sent back by the valar, who didn't want the elves to leave to begin with, to middle earth to help the battle against Sauron. He was also considered for going on the quest, but he told them that it's a stealth mission and he's a warrior, also the light of his spirit was so strong that Sauron would have detected him. But just imagine if instead of the sterotypical elf being an archer, it was a glorious warrior in shining armor because Glorfindel went along instead of Legolas.
@lucgermain9310Originally the two Glorfindel's were supposed to be different personas, but Tolkien explained in a later essay that he wanted each elf to have a unique name, so he merged them into one. It was unplanned though, haha.
@@matthewthenarniafan8074 Glorfindel is a Noldor, meaning that he was in the Undying Lands and had even seen the light of the trees from long ago. His spirit is a lot stronger than Legolas' who has never even seen the Undying Lands. Galadriel is also a Noldor and she's one of the mightiest elves. Upon being re-embodied he was granted power rivaling the Maiar. The wizards on the other hand, were Maiar to begin with that were embodied to assist on the earth. It's never specifically mentioned, but it is likely given circumstantial evidence that the wizards are far more skilled at concealing their presence than Glorfindel is.
29:50 ok so fun fact time-- In this time period, they did not have the familial terms we're familiar with now. So instead of saying "my neice" you'd say "my sister daughter" in the place of "my sister's daughter", or for the sake of another example, "my brother daughter" instead of "my brother's daughter", etc. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember coming across this in Hamlet, where he refers to his uncle as "my father brother."
We still have this system in Sweden, and I consider it far superior in keeping track of how people are related, for example, instead of calling two people your grandpa, you have your mother-father and your father-father and everyone always knows which of the two you're talking about. Likewise, to a non-English speaker, the word "niece" gives no clue in itself to who it refers to, but everyone with a bare-bone recognition of the language gets immediately who you mean if you say "brother's daughter" or "sister's daughter".
Just to clarify (and because I'm a jerk who loves nitpicking), if it's the section of Hamlet that I think you mean, Hamlet refers to Claudius (his uncle) as "uncle father" and refers to his mother as "aunt mother". This has little to do with what's being described here, it's just because his mother is married to his uncle, thus making his uncle both his uncle and stepfather (hence "uncle father") and his mother both his mother and aunt (hence "aunt mother") and he's trying to obliquely make the point to his friends just how messed up his family situation is. At all other times, he just calls Claudius "uncle" or "my father's brother" with the apostrophe-s still intact.
Interesting fact: The scene where the Black Riders storm the inn and slash the beds (which was also copied in the Jackson film) wasn't in the original novel. The assailants that raid the inn are described to be agents of the Nazgul rather then the Black Riders themselves. However this is one of the few changes to the novel I think is an improvement. It shows the brutal determination of the Nazgul in their quest to recover their master's ring. The laws and rules of others be damned in their quest to recover the Ruling Ring.
its certainly better to have the actual agents of the main villain actively pursuing the hobbits rather than have them rely on random ass people minions.
@@sarafontanini7051 Sauron: Kill them. Nazgul: Yes, master. *(meets lowly assassins)* Nazgul: Kill them. Assassins: Yes, master. *(meets production assistant)* Assassins: Kill them. Production Assistant: Yes, master. *(meets intern)* Production Assistant: Kill them. Intern: Pay me. Narrator: _And thus ends the first part of the Lord of the Agent of the Assistant of the Intern_
there are a few good changes in the jackson movies and this is defo ones of them. and even in the hobbit fixing the elves was a fantastic change...because we do not speak of the hobbit book elves...
Fun fact: this is the longest American animated film ever with a running time of 2 hours and 12 minutes. The longest animated film overall is the extended cut of the anime film “In This Corner Of The World” with its running times of 2 hours and 48 minutes. Edit After 4 Years: Across The Spiderverse Beat It By 8 Minutes.
Lol, when the Innkeeper says “Save us!” he’s saying it as an exclamation. He’s not literally asking Aragorn to save them. You’ll see it if you read the book.
My Life is a Complex Pastiche precisely. He says it after Aragorn tells him “These people chasing them come from Mordor, Barleyman!” And his response is “Oh, save us!” as in “Jesus fucking christ!”
Genuinely, I like both Jackson's Aragorn and Backshi's. The animated Aragorn is authoritative, kingly, and classically masculine. Mortensen is a little more stern, sharp, but also empathic with ragged toughness.
Both are great, but I'd have to side with Viggo Mortensen's take, if only because it's what I saw when I was introduced to Lord of the Rings. Having him start out as this hardass drifter gives much more of an opportunity for character development, allowing us to see just how far he has to go in order to become the King of Gondor.
@@furioussherman7265 Agreed. Bakshi’s Aragorn felt like a king, but Viggo was a man who needed to learn to accept his destiny. He has to grow into the man we see leading the troops into Mordor, instead of lurking as a ranger.
Whatever you think about Bakshi's Lord of The Rings, everyone has to agree that it's one of the most unique animated films ever made. I consider it a timeless masterpiece.
I wish they would have made Return of the King as well. This version is such a product of the 1970s and their unapologetic style of making animation brutal when it calls for it its absolutely stunning.
I admire it, but I simply can not watch it. The pacing is not made for me. Its so god damn rushed for 95% of the movie, and glacial for the other 5%. Edit: This is not Bakshis fault of course. When your mission statement is, to bring two thirds of the story into one short movie, its crazy that it even worked at all. especially considering, how much of the details he managed to keep in.
Just putting it out there: the Balrog fight was supposed to go on a long time; 8 entire days. When Gandalf says "from the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, I fought the Balrog of Morgoth" in the Jackson version, he means it quite literally. They fought all the way from the bottom of where they fell all the way back up to the peak of one of the moutains before Gandalf won.
"And then at last I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside. Darkness took me. I strained out of thought and time. The stars wheeled over end, and every day was a long as a life-age of the Earth. But it was not meant to be. I have been sent back, until my task is done."
@@PrototypeSpaceMonkey dont forget the wasted skill points in firework crafting, and herb gathering... he does have a few invested into sword mastery though.
Wow, I never realized it before, but you're right, rotoscoping IS kinda scary. An insanely expressive monster placed over a realisticly moving person DOES sound like it had potential for a freaky horror movie
I used to watch this too as a kid on VHS and got nightmares from it, but I keep on watching it over and over because I started to like it mainly the fight scenes and never got nightmares ever again. After watching this review I really wanna this movie again too bad I don't have the old TV I used to have that plays VHS tapes or a VHS player.
Could you imagine being a kid in the early to mid 1900s and witnessing rotoscoping for the first time? Folks were so use to regular, wacky animation they were probably freaking out about rotoscoping being too realistic that it was creepy
Kunisake Basically all names that begin with a C in Tolkiens writing are pronounced as K, for example Cirith Ungol (Kirith Ungol), Celebrimbor (Kelebrimbor), Celeborn (Keleborn) etc.
I swear this film has some of the most beautiful backgrounds and sometimes alluringly creepy backgrounds, it's never able to settle in between. I love it for that
I watched this for the first time, when I was only 7 or 8 years old... It was one of my favorite movies to barrow from our local Library when I was little, even though it wasn't really meant for kids. The scenes (although a bit graphic at times) were easy to understand why they were done certain ways. Like you said, different styles and colors helped with the feel of certain scenes. I honestly can't even try to explain the movie any where near as well as you did. But I will say, that this movie got me into Fantasy, before I even really knew what that meant. Stories and movies about Elves, Fairies, Dragons and Sword-fights... Those where the types of movies I loved through out my childhood and teen years! That love of Fantasy grew to include, old Black & White movies and Sci-Fi too. Being in and out of Hospitals most of my life, Movies where a wonderful distraction from my pain... The 1978 Lord of the Rings, will always hold a place in my heart. *;-)*
Fun Fact: I knew the guy who played Frodo in this film (Christopher Guard) He worked in my primary school when I was young I never knew it was him until I watch your old video “Old VS New: Lord Of The Ring” I was curious to find out who played the old version of Frodo and once I find out it was him, I was shocked. He lives kinda near to me now
I watched the Bakshi LotR for many years before Jackson's version and there are elements which are better in the Bakshi films. The Ringwraiths are still terrifying and the "come back, to Mordor we'll take you" scene still gives me the chills. Viggo was great in the live action but you can't beat John Hurt's voice acting.
The Ringwraiths were we wonderfully creepy in both versions. That shriek from the Jackson films is just spine tingling. But my intro to LOTR was the Bakshi film and that, "Come back, come back. To Mordor we will take you." That made my blood run cold and was one of the first things outside of an actual horror film to do that.
Viggo was also somewhat too pretty for the role. Aragorn was supposed to be a rather rough-looking character. More of a type that would scare the sh*t out of you if you ran across him in some alleyway than somebody you'd ask to take a photo posing with you.
I only watched the animated movie after Jacksons movies. I was so surprised by how much I liked it. Many parts more than Jacksons version. Yes there's some silly things and lines but overall it's really impressive. Jackson definitely copied some shots from it! Its so unique with the rotoscoping. Needs to be mentioned with other LOTR media just as much.
This movie is so atmospheric....for a kid this was the darkest experience ever. a forgotten mastepiece. The barlog haunted me for years. I'm sorry that nowadays it's seen almost like a joke. Give it a chance
My parents owned it on DVD long before the Jackson trilogy came out, but I never bothered watching it until Jackson's "Fellowship" was announced and, honestly, I hated it. To be fair I was also 19 when I watched it so there's that...
For me it was'nt the Balrog that was scary but the nazgul with those red glowing eyes. When i stayed with my grandparents i would always want to watch it . The thing is i slept in a bedroom that had a trapdoor to the attic and at night i always would image at least one pair of those glowing eyes staring down at me from up there. Really gave me the creeps , but Hell, every time i went there i wanted to watch it again. It's really a shame that Peter Jackson did'nt give his Nazgul such eyes, especially it was mentioned in the books (when Gandalf confronted the Witch-King the book said that there was nothing between the crown he wore and the rest of his body except a pair of glowing red eyes ). So just imagine Jackson, putting those glowing eyes in that helmet the Witch-King wore in the movies. Would be another perfect homage to the Bakshi movie to me.
"K"eleborn, not "S"eleborn. Yes. I'm going to be pendantic about this one. It's literally *the* main example used in literally every pronunciation guide.
It can be difficult. If done "right" (1940's Superman Cartoons, Tony the Tiger commercials) it looks great. The problem is that you get the characters looking as though they are in front of a static background rather than being a part of their surroundings, or they appear to be made of Jell-O because the tracing was imprecise.
@@lesliemills3153 i'm confused, backgrounds in plenty of animated work are static with the characters floating on their own cels; couldn't you just do dynamic backgrounds the same way they were always done in 2D? like with transparent layers? sure in older stuff certain objects stick out ("i know he's about to open that door bc it's the only celshaded thing on the entire wc background") but it seems like a small craftsmanship problem to sacrifice the whole style. i'm not arguing, it just seems odd to point out that the characters would look separate when they always are, by the function of 2d animation itself
Black Cauldron was such a ambitious film since the tone was darker than any other Disney Film. There even was scene taken out cause it was way too scary for children
I actually have fond childhood memories of this version, and I remember that this and the Rankin Bass version of THE HOBBIT got me really invested in Tolkien (much as watching the Peter Jackson versions got me invested in his own earlier films). In fact, I actually also remember watching this one in preparation for the first live-action LOTR film at age 16. Watching this video only brought back those pre-Peter Jackson memories.
Same here! Have you seen the really weird Finnish LoTR TV adaptation? I found it on TH-cam when I was in high school, it's about as old as Bakshi's, I think? Frodo is one of the tallest characters in it, Boromir looks like a ninja, everyone has a mullet, and it probably has my favourite Sam despite being a complete acid trip. Very fun but deeply weird show.
sneered yes, but not because of Bombadil. Any Real fan would know that Tolkien himself said that it would be better to leave Bombadil out if there was no time to add him properly.
That's a good description. Although, I feel like Critic is ignoring or over-praising a few things in this movie. The facial expressions on some characters and their movement are VERY difficult not to make fun of. That doesn't make the movie bad though. If anything, it just makes it unintentionally hilarious
@@MrManowar6 The visuals at times are comparable to Zelda CDI. There is a reason why the film isn't so well regarded today. Also, it is well documented that the Critic disproportionally hates the Jackson trilogy.
Hell, I like Bakshi's version FAR better! That OTHER, more popular version is too much of a big bland bloated mainstream Hollywood cgi orgy for MY blood.
Bakshi's film is animated vomit. There! I said it! Rankin/Bass version of the Hobbit and Return of the King captured the spirit of Tolkien's work, despite its inaccuracies, in a way that Bakshi never even attempted. It seems that baskhi was more interested in being "artsy" than being even good entertainment
I will always have a soft spot in my heart for this movie. I was born in 1993, so there was a time, not a very long time granted, but a time when if you wanted to watch LOTR? It was this or nothing.
My Grandfather gifted my brother and I the animated series The Hobbit, Bakshi's LotR, and RotK in 1993. I was six years old and I enjoy(ed) all of it and continue to.
Ralph Bakshi is certainly, at least, the bigger pioneer and innovator over frigging Peter Jackson. For example, creators and fans of things like Heavy Metal, Ren and Stimpy, South Park, and Futurama all owe Bakshi a debt. Now, do tell us, WHAT exactly has Jackson influenced? .. . zilch!
I have realized that Gandalf always does everything off camera, and when he appears he must tell you how he did it. - I returned to the Shire because I discovered that this ring was Sauron's - I escaped from Saruman's tower with an eagle - Well I defeated the Balrog and now I'm white - Here I come with the cavalry I recruited!
At the risk of getting bashed by Tolkien fanboys, I think it’s the weakest part of the books. The whole reason Gandalf keeps disappearing in The Hobbit and LOTR is so that he can’t help the other characters. As the series goes on, it becomes more and more obvious.
@@questworldiangreenknight7455 I can’t explain it well, since I haven’t read the books. But the reason being is that Gandalf is a wise wizard, so powerful in a fight that he would make a lot of encounters trivial, and he’s smart and wise enough to make the journey easier for our heroes.
@@MultiBoxingKid oh. I’ve read the extra stuff that was going on in the books. In the hobbit he was doing some stuff that he did in the movie but there were changed in detail
@@questworldiangreenknight7455 Well another thing is the people Gandalf knew, like the bear guy from the “Hobbit”, he found a way to make sure he wouldn’t get angry with the dwarves and even got them food and ponies.
"And they're coming with him, whether they like or not." That kind of sums up Gandalf to Bilbo, in _The Hobbit._ I mean, the title of _The Hobbit_ could easily be expanded into _The Hobbit Who Was Given PTSD By a Wizard He Only Thought Was Coming For Tea._
Or alternatively: *afternoon tea with a wizard gone wrong*
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@@artemisfowldragon gone HORRIBLY wrong! I mean, for hell, there's that page with the dwarves mocking him for being concerned about his fine table-settings, pretending they were going to break it to watch him wince -and then Gandalf goes, "oh yeah, Bilbo, old friend? You're coming with us. Like, out of the shire and all." "but why?" "Oh, come on! It'll do you some good!"
@ “but I-“ “You’re coming or there might just be a fireworks accident near your house.”
3 ปีที่แล้ว +3
@@artemisfowldragon "OK, I guess. Just let me fetch my monogrammed handkerchiefs!" "No time for that, Bilbo, my favourite fruit! And awaaaay we go!" "But I-“ " I SAID NO TIME! 🤣"
@ *what follows is a montage of Bilbo suffering horribly under the travels and when his frailty is brought up Gandalf simply goes* "my good dwarves, you musn't simply throw away this snack, look-" *throws Bilbo into yet another life threatening situation in which he boomerangs back to the party unscathed* "He has plot armour! Now now Bibliography, stop shaking. We're on a mission from god- I mean Valar."
I'll admit I'm kind of curious on how Boorman's LOTR would have turned out. I did find a supposed draft of the script that surfaced on Reddit, which did have alot of the confirmed details that were supposed to be in his vision. Some things like Frodo and Galadrial banging and Denathor being so infuriated that she didn't bonk Boromir instead are humorous while Saruman replacing the Mouth of Sauron is interesting (if anything just to show how they tried to blend 3 books into one movie)
Doug: [talks about rings] Me: [realizes my own ring is missing and freak out like live action Bilbo] [finds ring in pocket and reacts with relief, also like Bilbo] This is why I can't wear rings around this franchise.
All these years later and I still sometimes find myself singing.... Where there's a whip, there's a way. Where there's a whip, there's a way. Where there's a whip...[continues in second voice] We don't wanna go to war today But the Lord of the Lash says: "nay, nay, nay!" We're gonna march all day, all day, all day! Where there's a whip there's a way! Anyone else? No? Just me? Okay
I really hope he doesn’t have David Lynch as a character. That guy is on such another level that any impression just comes off as shallow and offensive.
An absolute masterpiece. A shame Bakshi never got to finish the story. This was a definitive movie of our childhood and everybody loved it. With Jacksons Version, there's now two LotR movie versions to love. With great soundtracks both! A win win.
A lot of the stuff NC says he wishes was in the Jackson films, is actually in the Extended Editions (such as Boromir's "In a dream..." speech, and Aragorn telling the Hobbits the Beren/Luthien story)
the extended editions of Lotr are masterpieces... only wish they had tom bombadil and the barrowdowns though i get why they skipped it since its an ultimately pointless side story event if it shows a lot about the world.
@@bluestormpony That's a good point actually. Neither Bakshi or Jackson's version aknowledge Tom Bombadil even exists, and the book and one game I played made him out to be as some kind of Demigod. I remember him using the description "You are young, me old. The oldest, THAT's what I am". It would have been nice to see there IS in fact someone the ring doesn't affect
But it is still Jackson's version. When you have John Hurt as Aragorn, your version is better. And it strangely makes more sense to have so many British accents. Extended version still lacks my most favourite part of Return of the King (Houses of healing) and still have some questionable casting and acting (for example, Éowyn is quite bad and attack on Black Gate just embarrassing).
@@bluestormpony I feel in the world of Peter LOTR Tom wouldn't fit in and other things wouldn't work because well the ending wouldn't really work with the Scoulding of the fire
I like that the Orcs set up a pike wall to face the Rohirrim, also when they’re marching to Helm’s Deep, with the red colours and the marching song, it’s actually more intimidating then when Jackson’s is marching. If they added horns of marching chants, and more obvious organisation like totems and Uruk leadership riding armoured wargs, or even personal touches like skulls, hands, shrunken heads or fetishes attached at the hip or shoulder, then I’d find the Jackson one even more intimidating. Though I still like them very much.
They’re two very different kinds of armies marching on the fortress though. In this version, the orcs are what you’d expect from them: savage, totem-toting war-chanting enemies. In Jackson’s version, the Uruk-hai are a much more disciplined force. No totems, uniform armor and armaments, and no chanting until they stopped at the walls to intimidate the defenders. In one, they seem more scary, while in the other they seem more threatening, if that makes sense
BWMagus gor the orcs, yes, absolutely, but the Uruk-hai are more uniform. This is especially true for those attacking Helm’s Deep. Some have a different helmet or weapon (crossbowmen used smaller helmets, and some had a larger crest similar to a centurion; then there are the berserkers), but they all have the same armor. I don’t mind that at all, it gives them a disciplined feel that the orcs and goblins lack
I'll argue that the Orcs walking towards Helms Deep is better in the animated one. The music, the Orcs singing, they just keep walking while the human arrows mow them down and yet they just keep coming, menacing, singing... brilliant^^
I still think it's better in the Jackson films. The Uruks look more real and monstrous and the quiet of everything but the thunder and their marching just builds up that terrified anticipation so well. I had to remind myself to breathe watching it. Granted the Bakshi film had a unique waking nightmare film to do it.
I had been reading LOTR annually since 1972. I loved the Bakshi version for standing up and taking a swing at this incredible material. Granted it was far less than perfect, but it was there! Someone actually tried! That meant a lot! Also, "Wizards" had been one of my favorite pieces of weirdness for a couple of years.
Yeah, he is actually less weepy here than in the books........oh wait, that's because the last book got cut out. Guess we'll call that an unfair advantage?
@@60sSam If you can't see a difference in the emotional portrayal of Frodo just within the context of the parts of the books covered, then that's not my fault.
My only "issue" (which is a non-issue, really but more of a gripe that makes this movie trippier than it already is) with Aragorn is that he reminds me of Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men, so I just imagine him bolt-pistoling orcs to death. Also, some of the polarized animations look like they belong in a Monty Python's Flying Circus transition.
That, and what would the REAL Ralph Bakshee do to the NC characacher of him? That would probably border a lovecraftian entity that causes onlookers to go insane.
The real Ralph just walks in, taps the Brad version on the shoulder, turns him into a bucket of popcorn and then just continues the review while eating popcorn while every so often something weird flies behind him,
"When the wind changes..." That's so ambiguous, it actually goes full circle and becomes explicit: the wind is always changing so he's basically saying, "yes," or even, "I'm already back and have always been here."
"I can see Vigo Mortensen as a ranger, but not a king," or The War Doctor. You gotta love John Hurt, he was a great character actor who had a commanding presence.
The music in Bakshi's version was so rich and robust, and it really made you feel like there was this big, epic adventure awaiting you from the start of the intro credits. You knew you were in for something grand and magical.
Tfw you're early enough that there is absolutely nothing of value in the comments about the video or the work it's talking about and instead just a bunch of "firsts". I will say I liked the animated LotR and think it definitely did some things better like the watcher in the water being generally scarier. Also at the time the rotoscoping used generally startled me for some of the shots because I wasn't used to seeing it- especially when it was the monsters and bad guys. It looked weird yes but also different which put a different sort of fear into seeing them than you normally had to seeing enemies in animated movies.
I vaguely remember the radio dramatization broadcast on NPR. A big deal was made about in the papers. I happened tune in during scene where they trravel through Moria. And thought, wow, this sounds amazing. But it was 1981 and there was The Empire Strikes Back, E.T., Indiana Jones and TreK films and that whole Tolkien thing fell by the wayside.
It's BAKSHI time!
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Could there be a Dark Toons episode on “That’s Life!” from The Fairly Oddparents?
Ah yes, the LOTR with the rather questionable Samwise Gamgee xD i remember you covering this gem on your Old vs New back in the day, I look forward to this!
Oh, well guess i wont be needing the LSD after all. This was a damn good movie and John Hurt nailed it once again in voice acting.
I really enjoyed the animated Hobbit and Lord of the Rings... but didn't like the Return of the King. The Jackson ones were much better though. Oh hey! can you review The Rock 1996.
Hmm
Even if it wasn't rotoscoped, hand drawn animation is a very time-intensive craft, the fact that anyone would call that lazy is infuriating.
The world is getting dumber, to the point that they discriminate anything they see as "outdated."
Nobody ever claimed the animators were lazy
Just the guy who hired them to animate
*tell that to any production house that produces hand drawn cell animation for top tier anime*
Well, it depends on who you call lazy in that context. In this case, the person didn't draw so your argument doesn't work.
In the same vein, making a movie is hard work, very hard work, but it doesn't mean that every executive producer put effort in it. In some cases a producer is very hands on and in others he's just the money.
Edit: And in other cases executive producer is nothing but an honorary title. My point is, it's not because doing something is hard work that it means everyone involved in it is working hard, and it's even more true when talking about something that requires so many people to finish.
Unless it's Disney. EVERYTHING they do is lazy
Producer: Audiences are pissed that you didn’t finish telling the story.
Bakshi: Well can I finish telling the story then?
Producer: No, I can’t let you do that because the audience got pissed.
This will never not be infurating for me. I saw Bakshi’s version before the Jackson films came out, and we’ll never get to see his version of the ending.
Same here man.
I prefer Bakshi's version of Boromir's death, he looks badass and the uruk's are terrified. His Gollum is damn good too, wish we saw his ROTK rendition. Especially Shelobs lair in that style!!
1Dudelove Oh no you don’t with that. George is still alive damnit! There still is some (limited) hope there!
Was very saddened when i found out. YES RETURN OF KING CARTOON... to find out it was horrible version :/ the only right thing it depicted was Eowyn, everything else was friggin god awful XD Skeletor witch king lol
@@kejiri3593 Where there's a whip, there's a way...
The moment when the Innkeeper says "Save us!", he's not asking Aragorn. It's more of an exclaimation like "Lord!" or "God help us!". But it is delivered rather clumsy, making it sound like he's pleading Aragorn for help and then suddenly distrust him few seconds later.
So, my wife and I have been saying "Oh Hooray!" for like 5 years now. I completely forgot it was from the animated LOTR. Awesome.
I love those romantic little stories ^^
Confession, I had a Fellowship of the Ring poster in my bedroom when I was a teenager.
Did you say "Oh my" before saying "Oh hoooooooray!"
@SAMUEL HENLEY My memory is bad but. I think Sam may have had said "Yippee" when hearing he was going to see the Elves. I like LOTR Fellowship of The Ring PC game interpretation of Sam... less lameish portrayal compared to the cartoon. But only wrong thing about this cartoon is the portrayal of Sam, everything else had its flaws but was alright
@Kejiri I should play the game, it sounds great! But I just want to give my 2 cents about Sam in both Bakshi's movie and the book... As the youngest and most earnest of the hobbits, Sam absolutely started out as cringey and childish. He was developmentally the hobbit equivalent of an 18 or 19 year old, while Frodo would have been in his mid 30's if he were human. As a younger millennial, I've seen how friends only a few years older than me cringe at Gen Z. Imo, it's normal for Sam to be cringey, he's very young. But it's that youthful enthusiasm that powers him and lets us root for him later, when he finds the strength within himself to be serious and press on when Frodo can't keep going any more. He grows from a childish youth into a strong adult, and he's one of very few characters who can genuinely reject the call of the ring. That's why I'm a-ok with Sam's "Oh hooray!"s and "Yippee!"s, I just wish we had the chance to see him come into his own in Bakshi's style!
On a different note, the way the Finnish LOTR show did him was interesting... They play him very young and optimistic, but with a level of sincerity that suits the character well. I like the actor a lot, despite the terrible costuming choices and the absolute insanity of that series. He's probably the best part of it, terrible mullet and all.
It’s obvious Peter Jackson really loves this movie and took inspiration for some of the imagery in his LOTR films. So yeah the film really inspired the Jackson movies which are my three favourite films of all time, so I owe this film allot of thanks, and I think Jackson does too.
It would be interesting to know if Jackson ever even read the whole book, or did he just skim it through for action scenes.
Seriously. Credit where credit is due. Even with all its imperfections, I give this movie high regards because of it. Considering how much in-between, filler stories, adventures there are in the book, this movie pretty much streamlined what LotR story up to Battle of Helm's Deep should be like. Maybe I have some bias because of it, but that maybe why I felt Fellowship of the Ring, Two Towers were smooth in terms of pacing and storytelling while Return of the King, not so much.
Really don't understand the haters. I consider, no this movie → no Peter Jackson's LotR. Maybe they saw this movie after Peter Jackson's LotR and felt really disappointed.
@@andrewyp6724 I agree with your point, I am one of those who watched Jackson's trilogy even before knowing this was a books series by Tolkien so I obviously didn't knew about this adaptation either untill a few years ago.
I really don't understand how people can hate this movie when it was kinda ahead of his time with all the limitations it had, it is not fair to compare 2 hours of an animated movie trying to tell as much as it could against a big production of 3 parts which length is 12 hours in total. It isn't fair at all for this version to be hated just because Jackson's is superior.
Jackson says in the commentary that he only took one thing from Bakshi's, the shot of the guy yelling "Proudfeet!"
@@meduseldtales3383 He kept the book by his side throughout the script process; but they did focus heavily on upping the action, and maintaining the tension and dread throughout (especially regarding the ring - hence the changes to Faramir, Galadriel and others)
You know what's creepy? Gandalf's hand completely stopping for a second while his head continues to move behind it.
Oh my god, your right. I know it isn't intentional, but DAMN that is beautifully strange.
One of the animators forgot to animate that part before going to bed that late night. Oops.
His hand turned into a chicken head for a second.
Its hard probably to have fluid movements when zooming in like that
Fat Albert: "And I'M gonna sing a song for YOOOOOUUUUUUUU!!!"
Given how crazy Bakshi’s movies are, why not do a whole month on them?
It’s time for Bakshiuary!
The only problem I have with this idea is that I have no idea how to pronounce “Bakshiuary.” Which is exactly how Bakshi would want it.
@James Westfall I just wanna see him Reviews Wizards and American Pop
Oh god yes!!!
Not if he wants to keep his monetization 😅
@James Westfall There'd have to be a ton of censoring on the Critic's part if he were to review THAT film.
So a Silmarillion thing. Arwyn's fate being tied to the ring is metaphorical. Elves are like sentient plants, they aren't just tall humans, they live forever, but can die if they despair, or are corrupted, or experience too much darkness. So, when he said Arwyn's fate is tied to the ring, he means, if middle earth falls to darkness, so too will she die. This is why the elves are leaving middle earth, because their time there is over, the magic is all gone from the world so they are returning to what is essentially the Mt. Olympus of Arda (The planet)
Was thinking this
Elves are also Flat Earthers
@@KumaoftheForest pretty sure Tolkien's world is flat.
@@KumaoftheForest and anti vaccine...
@@MarieGarrett. It was flat up until the downfall of Numenor. By the Third Age it's a globe.
Did a senior thesis on this film, comparing it to the Jackson trilogy and the source material. Jackson quite liked this film, and it was the impetus for him to read the books and becoming inspired to one day make the live action adaptations. My only problem about the Bakshi LOTR is that the studio demanded Bakshi cram all 3 books into one film and obviously there were some budget problems, and Bakshi was forced to end it after the Battle of Helms Deep. Would’ve liked to see Bakshi’s completed vision of the LOTR trilogy. But for the love of Samwise, please fix Sam’s iconically terrifying face, and Gandalf’s Tourettes syndrome
If it is publicly available would love a link.
Tolkien never wanted a cartoon of his works, he even said so. and the minute he died they dumped this shit out.
I'm glad that for once I can read about two completely different directors doing the same source material and hear that they liked each other's work and that the one who did it second was inspired by the first. Bakshi and Jackson would probably be good friends
FOOL OF A TOOK!
This film and Willow made me fall in love with fantasy. I still remember before I could read looking trough my dad D & D book while he was working on ongoing campaign. I think I was 5 years old when I watched it with my dad for the first time... It was a beta tape! Later I read the whole thing while I was in in fourth grade (I couldn't get into the simarilon until high school).
Bakshi: There's something on your face!
*PUNCH*
It was PAIN!
Nice reference
Thanks
...Dark Toons for asdfmovie, please!
Let’s make it so
Weird Guy 149 that’s not for little little kids
I met the actor who played Gollum in the Bakshi version and watched him do a one man version of Lord of the Rings.
Now that was something to watch.
Jealous.
Thomas Davies Lucky.
Brother theodore from the ranking bass hobbit and return of the king was also quite the character
Wow, really? That's so cool! Can we see that anywhere (like was it filmed)? What was he like?
Gollum was voiced by British actor Peter Woodthorpe. I guess he's mainly known as Del Boy's dad from Only Fools and Horses.
I adore Jackson’s trilogy but I must admit when I read the books, the Frodo and Aragorn from this film actually feel a lot closer to what I’m reading
I actually prefer Peter Jackson’s Aragorn. I kind of like Aragorn having to accept becoming king over time rather than being king from the beginning.
Aragorn was very into being king in the books he had just been told of his heratage and was dancing and singing about it when he met Arwen. I actually like both portrayals of Aragorn in RB and PJ films. They are very different from each other but both stand on their merits. Also remember that Vigo wasnt the studios original choice for Aragorn they wanted Stuart Townsend so we lucked out with Vigo.
@@gm2407 I agree, the more takes on the various characters, the better IMO. Y'all seen the Finnish LOTR called "Hobitit"? Now that's a trip and a half.
I dunno man, it's been a while but did Tolkien describe Frodo as a hobbit version of the Beatles? And more importantly, did Aragorn wear a miniskirt in the original books? I don't seem to recall those...
@@ravensthatflywiththenightm7319 he's talking about their personalities tho...
Fun Tolkien trivia, but the people that Aragorn is talking about before Weathertop, Lúthien and Beren, are ancestors of both him and Arwen. They’re Arwen’s great-great grandparents, and Aragorn’s great x50-or-so grandparents.
Isn't that incest, then?
Keep the good genes in the family am I right?
Alex Stamp SWEET HOME ALABAMA
TurnaboutVA Compared to the Habsburgs it’s pretty tamed.
@@TheR-DaciousOne if that is how you put it, every married couple is considered incest lol. But yeah, for me it's not considered incest even if it's your first cousin. That being said, scientifically speaking you should try not to be with someone whom you are closely related to like a first or second cousin.
Bakshi's RIngwraiths were nightmare fuel for my childhood. The way they could just phase in and out of reality and appear inside buildings was unnerving. THeir slow, shuffling movements made them seem otherworldly, rather than having once been human. They truly seemed more twisted and evil as a result of the unnatural movements and sounds, and it's clear where Jackson got the influence for several scenes involving them, such as the forest road and Prancing Pony scenes.
The weird moaning noises scare me even after watching it upwards of 15 times.
The Nazgul are my favorite part of the Bakshi version; everything about them is wicked. Even the weird moaning sounds
The attack in the Prancing Pony is the most obvious scene where you can see the parallels.
The Prancing Pony scene was the most disturbing part of the movie, imho.
*agreed...the first encounter with the limping wraith was more terrifying for me than the refined live action variant*
*not that i'd want to encounter either*
When Sean Astin auditioned for the role of Sam, he had never read the books, so he knew nothing about his character. When he got the role, instead of reading the books he took the easiest path and watched this animation. It's funny to think how he must have felt when he saw this portrait of Samwise Gamgee. I have no idea how Bakshi would make the climax at the slopes of Mt Doom work with this character.
He said he read them like 3 times after he got the role?
My guess is his version of ROTK would’ve been more about Sam maturing and having to toughen up as Gollum gets closer to Frodo and the odds are stacked more and more against them
@@mrcritical6751 I agree on this idea.
I know exactly how. It's called a Dramatic Climax Character Evolution. In the face of the most Auspicious peril that you could come across the need to tell silly jokes gets YEETED to one side and seriousness takes the forefront as he hefts frodo on his back making it all the more dramatic when it happens. It's like, this character who was silly this entire time chooses to put town the jokebook and picks up his proper responsibilities.
@@scottbruckner4653 100%. You can already see it kicking in towards the end of Bakshi's movie, where Frodo is getting weaker and more volatile, and Sam is getting increasingly tired of Gollum's shit and is starting to struggle to keep Frodo going. A lot of folks also forget that Sam is a LOT younger than Frodo in the books, and that was true in Bakshi's version too. I think it would have been really awesome, seeing that funny-looking little weirdo finally pull himself together and become the hero. IMO that's the main reason why Bakshi had him be so silly and childish at first. And it's not like he wasn't a goof at the beginning of the books too.
I had trouble telling Merry and Pippin apart at first, but then I figured it out by realizing Merry looks like how Sam looks in the Jackson films
"Glorfindel"
"Who?!"
"Exactly"
I lost it pfffff--
And Galadriel's significant other, Celephane ....I mean, Celeborn.
the most badass character with a terrible name whos story much like bombadil is ultimately pointless...sadly
@@bluestormpony Glorfindel is a really nice callback to the Silmarillion. Tom doesn't tie into any previous writings.
Fun Fact, Tolkien was really just interested into the world-building of Middle Earth as a private hobby.
When he created it, he figured that he may as well tell a story in it.
And that's why LotR and Silmalarion really read more like a history book and every rock the protagonists stumble upon has a thirty pages backstory.
@@wjzav1971 LOTR reads nothing like the Silmarillion. Also this isn't even true. LOTR is a narrative first and foremost while the Silmarillion is meant to evoke works like the Prose Edda and the Kalevala. Tolkien was interested in preserving the medieval literary tradition.
Wait, people don't like the Bakshis LOTR? I mean I get that its not a masterpiece, but its a great time with some genuinely scary moments.
Not a masterpiece? idk, i think it might not be the masterpiece people wanted, but i have a hard time not calling this a masterpiece.
The hole point of a master piece, is its the most ambitious work the artist have made, a mastery of a skill.
Find it funney how much a holy fantasy bible LOTR is, i'm still having trouble getting through LOTR, but HOT damn do i respect every moment of this story and all the art gone into it, and just how much a foundation it is for the fantasy "culture" as i think you can rightfully call it.
I honestly believe it's a great film and better adaptation of The Lord of the Rings than the Jackson version, but it does have some failings (a less likeable Sam for about two thirds of the film and needing an extra half hour to explain things to people who haven't read the book). It's amazing how much more of the book was put into half the time, with changes only made to streamline the story (such as replacing Glorfindel with Legolas, which would have worked in the book).
It's not my favourite adaptation, that's still the 80s BBC radio adaptation, but as a fan of the book I find it easy to watch while the Jackson version just makes me annoyed.
Well, people didn’t know when first saw that the movie was only part one, this caused some controversy and lots of people were furious for getting a incomplete story. At least, Rankin/Bass managed to end the saga, but isn’t the same thinks Bakshis done.
@@MasterGeek-mk5ne Didn't Bakshi want to call this Lord of the Rings Part I to avoid exactly that?
As much as I love Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, the Bakshi version has its charm. It is a masterpiece in its own right and any true Tolkien fan would appreciate it for the art and effort put into it.
Give Bakshi a higher budget, give him three movies to make, and encourage his artistic freedom (and also discourage ruining Samwise the Great), and he would have given perhaps the greatest animated films of an era.
Not really.
@@satanbrony9235
He was a talented man, and even the current product shows promise and untapped potential.
@@DISTurbedwaffle918 The best filmmakers are usualy the ones who have no restrictions put on their artistic freedom, and even when they do, they try their best to ignore them. Ralph Bakshi was certianly one of them
While I would like to agree, I also can’t ignore the possibility that Bakshi’s weirdness would have no limits and we would basically get a movie more convoluted than Dune.
@@michaelcarmona7838 What was convoluted about Dune? The only thing I didn't like about that movie was all the redundant inner thought whispering OVEREXPLAINED the central thesis. "Is he the one.... WELL IS HE?????" Otherwise, it was also brilliant.
The Orcs at Helm's Deep were awesome. They looked terrifying. I especially loved it when they sang their war songs - that was eerie as hell.
Was it ? Or was it kinda stupid?
@@JamailvanWestering The former.
@Salvo Hatteras I dare because it’s pretty stupid
@@JamailvanWestering just your opinion.
Ralph Bakshi is certainly, at least, the bigger pioneer and innovator over frigging Peter Jackson. For example, creators and fans of things like Heavy Metal, Ren and Stimpy, South Park, and Futurama all owe Bakshi a debt. Now, do tell us, WHAT exactly has Jackson influenced? .. . zilch!
"Raves to Where There's a Whip, There's a Way" like the Notalsgia Critic did in the King and I review*
Where There's a Whip, There's a Way
Where There's a Whip, There's a Way
Where There's a Whip
We Dont Want to go to War Today
But the Lord of the Lash says "Nay Nay Nay!"
We're Gonna March All Day, All Day, All Daaayyy
Where There's a Whip, There's a Way
i legit hum that song whenever i jog, it keeps me going every time.
I hum this everyday at work.
But the lord the land says "hey Hey HEY!"
We're gonna march all day, all day, all daaaay
Where there's a whip, there's a way, left, right, left, right...
I think that's in a different Lord of the Rings animated movie.
Emmen it is. Its from the Return of the King one
Ralph Bakshi + The Lords of the rings = Absolute madness.
No. Absolutely awesome. I loved it when I was little.
Too bad he didn't get to make The Return of the King.
Why do I see you everywhere...?
Gosh I see you everywhere 😅
Stinky Nate great question
“Saruman flashes Gandalf”
That’s something I didn’t think i’d learn today
“And then Saruman removes his cloak, revealing to a horrified Gandalf an even longer staff.”
This belongs in Teh lurd of te rings! (Cue Careless Whisper)
Astro Punch what
Ooer missus
@@dantefromdevilmaycry9857 I'm tossing a coin to the witcher for this comment!
Glorfindel is definitely such a missed goldmine of awesomeness that you don't really get to see in the books, but has a lot of super important considerations for the world. Dude 1v1'd a balrog, then was sent back by the valar, who didn't want the elves to leave to begin with, to middle earth to help the battle against Sauron.
He was also considered for going on the quest, but he told them that it's a stealth mission and he's a warrior, also the light of his spirit was so strong that Sauron would have detected him.
But just imagine if instead of the sterotypical elf being an archer, it was a glorious warrior in shining armor because Glorfindel went along instead of Legolas.
@lucgermain9310Originally the two Glorfindel's were supposed to be different personas, but Tolkien explained in a later essay that he wanted each elf to have a unique name, so he merged them into one. It was unplanned though, haha.
I never understood that argument because they sent *gandalf* and a prince of the sindar.
@@matthewthenarniafan8074 Glorfindel is a Noldor, meaning that he was in the Undying Lands and had even seen the light of the trees from long ago. His spirit is a lot stronger than Legolas' who has never even seen the Undying Lands. Galadriel is also a Noldor and she's one of the mightiest elves. Upon being re-embodied he was granted power rivaling the Maiar.
The wizards on the other hand, were Maiar to begin with that were embodied to assist on the earth. It's never specifically mentioned, but it is likely given circumstantial evidence that the wizards are far more skilled at concealing their presence than Glorfindel is.
29:50
ok so fun fact time--
In this time period, they did not have the familial terms we're familiar with now. So instead of saying "my neice" you'd say "my sister daughter" in the place of "my sister's daughter", or for the sake of another example, "my brother daughter" instead of "my brother's daughter", etc. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember coming across this in Hamlet, where he refers to his uncle as "my father brother."
Jessica W even in jacksons hobbit (battle of five armies) thorin calls fili and kili (his nephews) his “sister sons”
We still have this system in Sweden, and I consider it far superior in keeping track of how people are related, for example, instead of calling two people your grandpa, you have your mother-father and your father-father and everyone always knows which of the two you're talking about. Likewise, to a non-English speaker, the word "niece" gives no clue in itself to who it refers to, but everyone with a bare-bone recognition of the language gets immediately who you mean if you say "brother's daughter" or "sister's daughter".
Gertrud Bondesson Somewhat similar in Finland as well. We also differentiate uncles whether they're related to you father (setä) or your mother (eno).
Just to clarify (and because I'm a jerk who loves nitpicking), if it's the section of Hamlet that I think you mean, Hamlet refers to Claudius (his uncle) as "uncle father" and refers to his mother as "aunt mother". This has little to do with what's being described here, it's just because his mother is married to his uncle, thus making his uncle both his uncle and stepfather (hence "uncle father") and his mother both his mother and aunt (hence "aunt mother") and he's trying to obliquely make the point to his friends just how messed up his family situation is. At all other times, he just calls Claudius "uncle" or "my father's brother" with the apostrophe-s still intact.
If Luigi in the Mario Movie calls Mario his father AND his brother, I'm not surprised.
Interesting fact: The scene where the Black Riders storm the inn and slash the beds (which was also copied in the Jackson film) wasn't in the original novel. The assailants that raid the inn are described to be agents of the Nazgul rather then the Black Riders themselves. However this is one of the few changes to the novel I think is an improvement. It shows the brutal determination of the Nazgul in their quest to recover their master's ring. The laws and rules of others be damned in their quest to recover the Ruling Ring.
its certainly better to have the actual agents of the main villain actively pursuing the hobbits rather than have them rely on random ass people minions.
@@sarafontanini7051
Sauron: Kill them.
Nazgul: Yes, master.
*(meets lowly assassins)*
Nazgul: Kill them.
Assassins: Yes, master.
*(meets production assistant)*
Assassins: Kill them.
Production Assistant: Yes, master.
*(meets intern)*
Production Assistant: Kill them.
Intern: Pay me.
Narrator: _And thus ends the first part of the Lord of the Agent of the Assistant of the Intern_
@@sarafontanini7051 There goes a movie title... _Leon 2: The Assassin's Assistant._
there are a few good changes in the jackson movies and this is defo ones of them. and even in the hobbit fixing the elves was a fantastic change...because we do not speak of the hobbit book elves...
@@bluestormpony Why what was wrong with them?
Fun fact: this is the longest American animated film ever with a running time of 2 hours and 12 minutes. The longest animated film overall is the extended cut of the anime film “In This Corner Of The World” with its running times of 2 hours and 48 minutes.
Edit After 4 Years: Across The Spiderverse Beat It By 8 Minutes.
How much of that is just credits?
Isn’t The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya around that length?
Isn’t Princess Mononoke almost 2 1/2 hours?
@@dvader518 it's the second longest, by a difference if only a minute or two
@@victorm152 i just got that movie today.
Looking at Legolas in this movie, I've finally understood where TES IV: Oblivion developers found inspiration for the face creator module.
Ralph Bakshi is like the crazy uncle we don't understand, but cherish for his insane yet fun personality.
My niece and nephews will call me that some day.
Just like Peter McNicole.
He's not the crazy uncle who rants and raves about politics with nobody asking for it, is he?
@@louisduarte8763 That's the only kind of human that exists anymore.
@@louisduarte8763 Considering Bakshi’s work, he’d be political type, but a funny one.
This is the only notable credit on Anthony Daniel’s IMDb that’s not C-3PO
Lol, when the Innkeeper says “Save us!” he’s saying it as an exclamation. He’s not literally asking Aragorn to save them. You’ll see it if you read the book.
So instead of asking for his help, it's more like saying "Oh God, help us"?
My Life is a Complex Pastiche precisely. He says it after Aragorn tells him “These people chasing them come from Mordor, Barleyman!” And his response is “Oh, save us!” as in “Jesus fucking christ!”
"Save us!"
He wasn't begging Aragorn to save them. He was cursing. "Save us!" is the same thing as "Saints preserve us!" or "Jesus Christ!"
*AAEEUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHEEEE*
"Use your words, Frank. He always gets like this when he doesn't get his applejack...WHAT THE HELL?!"
I fell to the floor
"Why does a great actor like James Earl Jones always have to play black men?"
Darth Vader: "Am I a joke to you?"
But his original body was white. Also...... his son.
In "Conan the Barbarian," Jones played a giant snake.
Mufasa: What the hell am I, then?
He played a old white wizard in Flight of Dragons.
That joke just went by you totally.
Genuinely, I like both Jackson's Aragorn and Backshi's. The animated Aragorn is authoritative, kingly, and classically masculine. Mortensen is a little more stern, sharp, but also empathic with ragged toughness.
Both are great, but I'd have to side with Viggo Mortensen's take, if only because it's what I saw when I was introduced to Lord of the Rings. Having him start out as this hardass drifter gives much more of an opportunity for character development, allowing us to see just how far he has to go in order to become the King of Gondor.
@@furioussherman7265
Agreed.
Bakshi’s Aragorn felt like a king, but Viggo was a man who needed to learn to accept his destiny. He has to grow into the man we see leading the troops into Mordor, instead of lurking as a ranger.
Whatever you think about Bakshi's Lord of The Rings, everyone has to agree that it's one of the most unique animated films ever made. I consider it a timeless masterpiece.
I wish they would have made Return of the King as well. This version is such a product of the 1970s and their unapologetic style of making animation brutal when it calls for it its absolutely stunning.
I admire it, but I simply can not watch it. The pacing is not made for me. Its so god damn rushed for 95% of the movie, and glacial for the other 5%. Edit: This is not Bakshis fault of course. When your mission statement is, to bring two thirds of the story into one short movie, its crazy that it even worked at all. especially considering, how much of the details he managed to keep in.
It’s a shame Bakshi never got the chance to complete the saga.
Like NC says the dialogue is better in the Bakshi movie. I rewatched the Jackson movie and everyone speaks in sound bites.
I think you need a CAT scan
Just putting it out there: the Balrog fight was supposed to go on a long time; 8 entire days. When Gandalf says "from the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, I fought the Balrog of Morgoth" in the Jackson version, he means it quite literally. They fought all the way from the bottom of where they fell all the way back up to the peak of one of the moutains before Gandalf won.
"And then at last I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside. Darkness took me. I strained out of thought and time. The stars wheeled over end, and every day was a long as a life-age of the Earth. But it was not meant to be. I have been sent back, until my task is done."
@@BWMagus How quickly could one of _them_ slay a Balrog?
Funnily enough this film did have a deleted scene of Gandalf fighting the balrog on the endless stair
@@BWMagus In his defense, he's not exactly a PvP melee build.
@@PrototypeSpaceMonkey dont forget the wasted skill points in firework crafting, and herb gathering... he does have a few invested into sword mastery though.
The rotoscoping terrified me as a kid, I couldn't get through the movie no matter what and never went back to try again.
These scared and fascinated me at the same time, just like the stop motion used for monsters in older movies.
Wow, I never realized it before, but you're right, rotoscoping IS kinda scary. An insanely expressive monster placed over a realisticly moving person DOES sound like it had potential for a freaky horror movie
I used to watch this too as a kid on VHS and got nightmares from it, but I keep on watching it over and over because I started to like it mainly the fight scenes and never got nightmares ever again. After watching this review I really wanna this movie again too bad I don't have the old TV I used to have that plays VHS tapes or a VHS player.
Could you imagine being a kid in the early to mid 1900s and witnessing rotoscoping for the first time? Folks were so use to regular, wacky animation they were probably freaking out about rotoscoping being too realistic that it was creepy
In the Secret of NIMH, they decided to rotoscope the Tractor to make it all-the-more terrifying.
Noooo, Tolkien was very specific about that: It's Keleborn, not Seleborn.
Noooo you can't just slightly change a character name!!!!
Haha movie go BRRRRR
I didn't know that
Kunisake Basically all names that begin with a C in Tolkiens writing are pronounced as K, for example Cirith Ungol (Kirith Ungol), Celebrimbor (Kelebrimbor), Celeborn (Keleborn) etc.
Thank you.... when they said Seleborn, 🤣 I cringed. I came to the comment JUST to say this, but you already did!
came to say this too
I swear this film has some of the most beautiful backgrounds and sometimes alluringly creepy backgrounds, it's never able to settle in between. I love it for that
I watched this for the first time, when I was only 7 or 8 years old... It was one of my favorite movies to barrow from our local Library when I was little, even though it wasn't really meant for kids. The scenes (although a bit graphic at times) were easy to understand why they were done certain ways. Like you said, different styles and colors helped with the feel of certain scenes. I honestly can't even try to explain the movie any where near as well as you did. But I will say, that this movie got me into Fantasy, before I even really knew what that meant. Stories and movies about Elves, Fairies, Dragons and Sword-fights... Those where the types of movies I loved through out my childhood and teen years! That love of Fantasy grew to include, old Black & White movies and Sci-Fi too. Being in and out of Hospitals most of my life, Movies where a wonderful distraction from my pain... The 1978 Lord of the Rings, will always hold a place in my heart. *;-)*
Good points: Frodo and Aragorn. Bad points: Samwise. Jesus Christ, Samwise...
Aragorn who looks like Native American lmao.
They did Sam dirty
@@Disconnect350 idk, i kinda like it
@@Disconnect350 So what? He looked pretty badass
@@francyflynn No he didn't.
Fun Fact: I knew the guy who played Frodo in this film (Christopher Guard)
He worked in my primary school when I was young
I never knew it was him until I watch your old video “Old VS New: Lord Of The Ring”
I was curious to find out who played the old version of Frodo and once I find out it was him, I was shocked.
He lives kinda near to me now
oh hoorayeeeeeee ee ee
Have Wissmart 😂
I grew up on this film. It introduced me to lord of the rings. I love it, it’s apart of my childhood.
Like everything he makes, this is Bakshi-t crazy!
Saw this on acid.... ooooo man
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
No 'you shall not pass' line for the Balrog scene though, 1/10 immediately. But seriously was that from the book or did Jackson just add it?
@@gaminggoof1542 that is one of the most epic lines of all time!
Why Do I Even Look At The Comments guess they missed their chance
I watched the Bakshi LotR for many years before Jackson's version and there are elements which are better in the Bakshi films. The Ringwraiths are still terrifying and the "come back, to Mordor we'll take you" scene still gives me the chills. Viggo was great in the live action but you can't beat John Hurt's voice acting.
Agreed.
John Hurt is simply badass
The Ringwraiths were we wonderfully creepy in both versions. That shriek from the Jackson films is just spine tingling. But my intro to LOTR was the Bakshi film and that, "Come back, come back. To Mordor we will take you." That made my blood run cold and was one of the first things outside of an actual horror film to do that.
Viggo was also somewhat too pretty for the role. Aragorn was supposed to be a rather rough-looking character. More of a type that would scare the sh*t out of you if you ran across him in some alleyway than somebody you'd ask to take a photo posing with you.
I only watched the animated movie after Jacksons movies. I was so surprised by how much I liked it. Many parts more than Jacksons version. Yes there's some silly things and lines but overall it's really impressive. Jackson definitely copied some shots from it! Its so unique with the rotoscoping. Needs to be mentioned with other LOTR media just as much.
This movie is so atmospheric....for a kid this was the darkest experience ever. a forgotten mastepiece. The barlog haunted me for years. I'm sorry that nowadays it's seen almost like a joke. Give it a chance
My parents owned it on DVD long before the Jackson trilogy came out, but I never bothered watching it until Jackson's "Fellowship" was announced and, honestly, I hated it.
To be fair I was also 19 when I watched it so there's that...
Balrog. Not Barlog.
@@SwiftNimblefoot thank you for the correction. Barlog is more like a Klingon name or something
1francosvizzero This was one of the first movies I saw on our new VHS player back in my childhood ... man did I love it.
For me it was'nt the Balrog that was scary but the nazgul with those red glowing eyes. When i stayed with my grandparents i would always want to watch it . The thing is i slept in a bedroom that had a trapdoor to the attic and at night i always would image at least one pair of those glowing eyes staring down at me from up there. Really gave me the creeps , but Hell, every time i went there i wanted to watch it again. It's really a shame that Peter Jackson did'nt give his Nazgul such eyes, especially it was mentioned in the books (when Gandalf confronted the Witch-King the book said that there was nothing between the crown he wore and the rest of his body except a pair of glowing red eyes ). So just imagine Jackson, putting those glowing eyes in that helmet the Witch-King wore in the movies. Would be another perfect homage to the Bakshi movie to me.
"K"eleborn, not "S"eleborn. Yes. I'm going to be pendantic about this one. It's literally *the* main example used in literally every pronunciation guide.
To be fair, the movie mispronounces it too. He’s probably just going off of what he heard viewing it.
I'd like to see the critic cover Bakshi's cult classic, Wizards.
Or ANYTHING Bakshi. Fritz the Cat if only for the sake of a few Beastarts jokes
@@MrManowar6 NC did do Cool World, so
Maybe “Fire and Ice” or “Rock and Rule” too.
*really liked that animation*
God yes!
Rotoscoping animation has so much possibilities in terms of storytelling.
It can be difficult. If done "right" (1940's Superman Cartoons, Tony the Tiger commercials) it looks great. The problem is that you get the characters looking as though they are in front of a static background rather than being a part of their surroundings, or they appear to be made of Jell-O because the tracing was imprecise.
It could really help tv animation.
This is similar to the technique used to show realistic genitalia....... scrotoscoping.
@@lesliemills3153 i'm confused, backgrounds in plenty of animated work are static with the characters floating on their own cels; couldn't you just do dynamic backgrounds the same way they were always done in 2D? like with transparent layers? sure in older stuff certain objects stick out ("i know he's about to open that door bc it's the only celshaded thing on the entire wc background") but it seems like a small craftsmanship problem to sacrifice the whole style. i'm not arguing, it just seems odd to point out that the characters would look separate when they always are, by the function of 2d animation itself
It never looks good..it's like the uncanny valley for animation. It just doesn't fit animation for it to be used on a whole character.
Anyone else think of Disney’s The Black Cauldron when they see this movie? Almost the same art style and atmosphere.
Black Cauldron was such a ambitious film since the tone was darker than any other Disney Film.
There even was scene taken out cause it was way too scary for children
Makes sense to me, I love both films.
The Black Cauldron is so underrated.
AND...both had John Hurt.
@@Alejandroigarabide plus it features a pig on tripping balls
“Use your words Frank! He’s always like this when he doesn’t get his Apple Jacks..What the Hell?!”
Damn it Frank
If you're going to do surrealist animated movies, why not do the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine"? I love that film.
wait...... that wasn't the LSD?
@@garbfire oh, it was
bee boy It likely was; the Beatles were on quite a number of drugs.
Villiam Hofgaard I haven’t seen that review but heard that it was terrible. Hopefully Doug Walker doesn’t do a musical review for this one.
I'm really looking forward to this review. Hope it will be over 25 minutes, the film deserves it.
“Bonjour amigos as the Brits say”. As a Brit I’d like to sincerely thank Doug for accurately representing how we speak
Just as we say “Sayonara freunde”
I use "Wheres a Whip there's a Way" as a ringtone for when work calls.
Wrong 1970s animated Tolkien adaptation
I love that song. Still remember it today.
I actually have fond childhood memories of this version, and I remember that this and the Rankin Bass version of THE HOBBIT got me really invested in Tolkien (much as watching the Peter Jackson versions got me invested in his own earlier films). In fact, I actually also remember watching this one in preparation for the first live-action LOTR film at age 16. Watching this video only brought back those pre-Peter Jackson memories.
Same here! Have you seen the really weird Finnish LoTR TV adaptation? I found it on TH-cam when I was in high school, it's about as old as Bakshi's, I think? Frodo is one of the tallest characters in it, Boromir looks like a ninja, everyone has a mullet, and it probably has my favourite Sam despite being a complete acid trip. Very fun but deeply weird show.
"I am Gandalf The-Phuhufphh! Well that moment passed."
DEAD xD
I also loved Gandalf's brief change into Uncle Sam at 7:40 😆
Pfft. Real Tolkien snobs sneered at the Peter Jackson films. He didn't even include Tom Bombadil, the cad!
sneered yes, but not because of Bombadil. Any Real fan would know that Tolkien himself said that it would be better to leave Bombadil out if there was no time to add him properly.
Bombadil kicks ass in Battle for Middle Earth
@@SlashinatorZ ah, I see a man of culture
Finally someone that speaks English.
- Tony Stark 😂
I mean Bombadil (who speaks in highly stylized poetic language with really impressive meter and rhythm) kind of only works in literature lol.
So basically, Bakshi's film walked so the Jackson trilogy could run
That's a good description. Although, I feel like Critic is ignoring or over-praising a few things in this movie. The facial expressions on some characters and their movement are VERY difficult not to make fun of. That doesn't make the movie bad though. If anything, it just makes it unintentionally hilarious
@@MrManowar6 "Unintentionally Hilarious."
Describes M. Night Shyamalan's works pretty well. 😆
@@MrManowar6 The visuals at times are comparable to Zelda CDI. There is a reason why the film isn't so well regarded today. Also, it is well documented that the Critic disproportionally hates the Jackson trilogy.
Hell, I like Bakshi's version FAR better! That OTHER, more popular version is too much of a big bland bloated mainstream Hollywood cgi orgy for MY blood.
Bakshi's film is animated vomit. There! I said it! Rankin/Bass version of the Hobbit and Return of the King captured the spirit of Tolkien's work, despite its inaccuracies, in a way that Bakshi never even attempted. It seems that baskhi was more interested in being "artsy" than being even good entertainment
I will always have a soft spot in my heart for this movie. I was born in 1993, so there was a time, not a very long time granted, but a time when if you wanted to watch LOTR? It was this or nothing.
I grew up with this. Hell, I was born in 1978.
My Grandfather gifted my brother and I the animated series The Hobbit, Bakshi's LotR, and RotK in 1993. I was six years old and I enjoy(ed) all of it and continue to.
Ralph Bakshi is certainly, at least, the bigger pioneer and innovator over frigging Peter Jackson. For example, creators and fans of things like Heavy Metal, Ren and Stimpy, South Park, and Futurama all owe Bakshi a debt. Now, do tell us, WHAT exactly has Jackson influenced? .. . zilch!
"That doesn't make sense and therefor is bad"
"BOOM your a dogs head now"
"So I am"
“Better?”
“Stranger...”
“THAT MEANS IT’S BETTER!”
Ralph Balshi has to be one of my favorite animators
@@jamessicard1705 is*
🎵"Where there's a whip, there's a way."🎵
🎵 We won’t want to go to war today!🎵
That’s not Bakshi, dumbasses.
A theme song for any dominatrix.
@@KieranOwens2004 I know, but Return of the King animated is pretty bad
argh I was going to comment that
well I did it in fat, all caps
might still get likes
I have realized that Gandalf always does everything off camera, and when he appears he must tell you how he did it.
- I returned to the Shire because I discovered that this ring was Sauron's
- I escaped from Saruman's tower with an eagle
- Well I defeated the Balrog and now I'm white
- Here I come with the cavalry I recruited!
At the risk of getting bashed by Tolkien fanboys, I think it’s the weakest part of the books. The whole reason Gandalf keeps disappearing in The Hobbit and LOTR is so that he can’t help the other characters. As the series goes on, it becomes more and more obvious.
@@lewiskazinsky7334 really? Can you explain in more detail? I’ve never thought about that before
@@questworldiangreenknight7455 I can’t explain it well, since I haven’t read the books. But the reason being is that Gandalf is a wise wizard, so powerful in a fight that he would make a lot of encounters trivial, and he’s smart and wise enough to make the journey easier for our heroes.
@@MultiBoxingKid oh. I’ve read the extra stuff that was going on in the books. In the hobbit he was doing some stuff that he did in the movie but there were changed in detail
@@questworldiangreenknight7455 Well another thing is the people Gandalf knew, like the bear guy from the “Hobbit”, he found a way to make sure he wouldn’t get angry with the dwarves and even got them food and ponies.
My VHS copy also has the narration Nostalgia Critic said first came with the DVD.
18:30 This reminds me how i miss when Thor talked like Shakespeare in the comics.
By Odin's beard have at thee!
I miss that too
Same
Made him stand out more
"And they're coming with him, whether they like or not."
That kind of sums up Gandalf to Bilbo, in _The Hobbit._
I mean, the title of _The Hobbit_ could easily be expanded into _The Hobbit Who Was Given PTSD By a Wizard He Only Thought Was Coming For Tea._
Or alternatively: *afternoon tea with a wizard gone wrong*
@@artemisfowldragon gone HORRIBLY wrong!
I mean, for hell, there's that page with the dwarves mocking him for being concerned about his fine table-settings, pretending they were going to break it to watch him wince -and then Gandalf goes, "oh yeah, Bilbo, old friend? You're coming with us. Like, out of the shire and all."
"but why?"
"Oh, come on! It'll do you some good!"
@ “but I-“
“You’re coming or there might just be a fireworks accident near your house.”
@@artemisfowldragon "OK, I guess. Just let me fetch my monogrammed handkerchiefs!"
"No time for that, Bilbo, my favourite fruit! And awaaaay we go!"
"But I-“
" I SAID NO TIME! 🤣"
@ *what follows is a montage of Bilbo suffering horribly under the travels and when his frailty is brought up Gandalf simply goes*
"my good dwarves, you musn't simply throw away this snack, look-"
*throws Bilbo into yet another life threatening situation in which he boomerangs back to the party unscathed*
"He has plot armour! Now now Bibliography, stop shaking. We're on a mission from god- I mean Valar."
Okay 2 years is too long to be away from Bakshi’s craziness, time to speak his name 3 times and get him back in the studio!! 🥰
Treebeard was voiced by John Westbrook, not Sir Christopher Lee
To be fair, NC could just be joking and commenting that WEstbrook has a similar voice
I’m pretty sure it was a joke, saying that they sounded really similar
We know that,you can't fool the JMB.😄
I knew this was too good to be true
I'm just sad we were denied John Boorman's even more insane live action adaptation (although he did eventually make Excalibur in its place).
I'll admit I'm kind of curious on how Boorman's LOTR would have turned out. I did find a supposed draft of the script that surfaced on Reddit, which did have alot of the confirmed details that were supposed to be in his vision. Some things like Frodo and Galadrial banging and Denathor being so infuriated that she didn't bonk Boromir instead are humorous while Saruman replacing the Mouth of Sauron is interesting (if anything just to show how they tried to blend 3 books into one movie)
Doug: [talks about rings]
Me: [realizes my own ring is missing and freak out like live action Bilbo]
[finds ring in pocket and reacts with relief, also like Bilbo]
This is why I can't wear rings around this franchise.
Well, no. And yes.
Now that it comes to it, you shouldn’t feel like parting with it.
It’s yours! You found it! It came to you!
@@christianfarren1179 "There's no need to get angry..."
Jorno well if if I’m angry, it’s your fault!
Seriously though, saw your comment and couldn’t resist.
@@christianfarren1179 "It's mine...my own...MY PRECIOUS."
Sorry, couldn't resist either.
@@devonanderson2902 “Precious?” It’s been called that before, but not by you…
This movie was why I read Lord of the rings to find out how it ended.
God Aragorn looks like someone’s dad trying out Larping for the first time
He looks like a tanned Anton Chigurh
Omg thank you for that thought!!!😂😂😂😂😂
And fucking *loving* every moment of it!
I've heard about larping from Spider-Man: Homecoming, so what does it mean?
@@Brotherofthe4thCompany live action role play
'Boromir...'
'Tis but a scratch...'
'Just a scratch? You've got half a dozen arrows in you!'
'I've had worse.'
All these years later and I still sometimes find myself singing....
Where there's a whip, there's a way.
Where there's a whip, there's a way.
Where there's a whip...[continues in second voice]
We don't wanna go to war today
But the Lord of the Lash says: "nay, nay, nay!"
We're gonna march all day, all day, all day!
Where there's a whip there's a way!
Anyone else?
No?
Just me?
Okay
No I do too.
Thanks alot, now that song will be stuck in my head for the rest of the evening.
Kori Abrams Just sharing the pain. 😁
Catchy tune
left right left right left right were gonne march all day and night and morrrrreee because we are the slaves of the dark lord Sauron !!!!!
I’m still waiting for Nostalgia Critic’s “Dune” review.
I'm convinced it would have came this December if Dune (2020) wasn't pushed back
Its flawless the end.
I really hope he doesn’t have David Lynch as a character. That guy is on such another level that any impression just comes off as shallow and offensive.
He said it was boring.
Loved this movie when I was little. It was epic.
John Hurt, RIP, voiced Aragorn in this movie!
He also voiced the horned king in the black cauldron
And sailor John in Thomas & Friends: Sodor's legend of the lost treasure
And that dragon in Merlin
@@junotaylorthetrans1064 And The War Doctor in Doctor Who!
And the head of MI5 in The Journey!
...Oh I’m the only one whose heard of that one, I forgot.
An absolute masterpiece. A shame Bakshi never got to finish the story. This was a definitive movie of our childhood and everybody loved it. With Jacksons Version, there's now two LotR movie versions to love. With great soundtracks both! A win win.
Too true. Kids these days think it’s a joke but they’ve been spoilt.
Any movie that can get me to appreciate a Leonard Rosenman score is straight up miraculous!
7:53 Gandalf's eyes in this scene are priceless.
it’s like he just has googely eyes
A lot of the stuff NC says he wishes was in the Jackson films, is actually in the Extended Editions (such as Boromir's "In a dream..." speech, and Aragorn telling the Hobbits the Beren/Luthien story)
the extended editions of Lotr are masterpieces... only wish they had tom bombadil and the barrowdowns though i get why they skipped it since its an ultimately pointless side story event if it shows a lot about the world.
@@bluestormpony That's a good point actually. Neither Bakshi or Jackson's version aknowledge Tom Bombadil even exists, and the book and one game I played made him out to be as some kind of Demigod. I remember him using the description "You are young, me old. The oldest, THAT's what I am". It would have been nice to see there IS in fact someone the ring doesn't affect
But it is still Jackson's version. When you have John Hurt as Aragorn, your version is better. And it strangely makes more sense to have so many British accents. Extended version still lacks my most favourite part of Return of the King (Houses of healing) and still have some questionable casting and acting (for example, Éowyn is quite bad and attack on Black Gate just embarrassing).
@@bluestormpony I feel in the world of Peter LOTR Tom wouldn't fit in and other things wouldn't work because well the ending wouldn't really work with the Scoulding of the fire
@@bluestormpony Extended editions have great scenes, but kill the pacing. And some, like the skull waterfall, I wish I could un-see.
Gandalf: "Have you left the Rrrring forr Frrrrodo, as we agrrrreed? Also, don't you love how I rrrroll my Rrrrrs?"
Bilbo: "Yes Gandalf, I love how you rrrroll yourrrrr rrrrrrs, the question is, do you love it when I rrrrroll my rrrrrrrs?"
Morrrrrrrrdorrrrrrr
@@Halfdanr_H The place to go when your renovating
RRRRRHEUMATISM.
@@i_teleported_bread7404 daamid i wanted to say that RRRRRRRRRRheumatism rooooowwing roowing roowing ddown the strrrrrrrream
Peter Jackson's trilogy based on the animated film based on the books
Based on the authors imagination, travels, and his expiriences during WWI
I finally got to listen to the radio dramatization of Lord of the Rings. I cried at the very end. It was so beautiful.
I like that the Orcs set up a pike wall to face the Rohirrim, also when they’re marching to Helm’s Deep, with the red colours and the marching song, it’s actually more intimidating then when Jackson’s is marching. If they added horns of marching chants, and more obvious organisation like totems and Uruk leadership riding armoured wargs, or even personal touches like skulls, hands, shrunken heads or fetishes attached at the hip or shoulder, then I’d find the Jackson one even more intimidating. Though I still like them very much.
They’re two very different kinds of armies marching on the fortress though. In this version, the orcs are what you’d expect from them: savage, totem-toting war-chanting enemies. In Jackson’s version, the Uruk-hai are a much more disciplined force. No totems, uniform armor and armaments, and no chanting until they stopped at the walls to intimidate the defenders. In one, they seem more scary, while in the other they seem more threatening, if that makes sense
BWMagus gor the orcs, yes, absolutely, but the Uruk-hai are more uniform. This is especially true for those attacking Helm’s Deep. Some have a different helmet or weapon (crossbowmen used smaller helmets, and some had a larger crest similar to a centurion; then there are the berserkers), but they all have the same armor. I don’t mind that at all, it gives them a disciplined feel that the orcs and goblins lack
And you'll be coming out with the rankin bass version, yes? After all, where there's a whip there's a way!
We don't want to go to war today! But the lord of the lashes says "nay nay nay!"
Well you know what they say
“The Greatest adventure is what lies ahead, today and tomorrow are yet to be said”
I'll argue that the Orcs walking towards Helms Deep is better in the animated one. The music, the Orcs singing, they just keep walking while the human arrows mow them down and yet they just keep coming, menacing, singing... brilliant^^
I agree. Gave me nightmares as a kid, and I love it now.
I still think it's better in the Jackson films. The Uruks look more real and monstrous and the quiet of everything but the thunder and their marching just builds up that terrified anticipation so well. I had to remind myself to breathe watching it. Granted the Bakshi film had a unique waking nightmare film to do it.
The singing terrified me as a child. I don’t know why it did, but the mood it set was terrifying
I fell asleep as a kid around the Helms Deep part, I still prefer the Jackson part
I don't know man, Bernard Hill really killed it with that speech. I always get goosebumps around that part.
I had been reading LOTR annually since 1972. I loved the Bakshi version for standing up and taking a swing at this incredible material. Granted it was far less than perfect, but it was there! Someone actually tried! That meant a lot! Also, "Wizards" had been one of my favorite pieces of weirdness for a couple of years.
Aragorn doesn't look particularly great here,but thanks to John Hurt he sounds awesome.
I do like Frodo's portrayal better here, in retrospect. He's a lot less.... weepy.
Yeah, he is actually less weepy here than in the books........oh wait, that's because the last book got cut out. Guess we'll call that an unfair advantage?
@@60sSam If you can't see a difference in the emotional portrayal of Frodo just within the context of the parts of the books covered, then that's not my fault.
Joshua Foley Rankin-Bass Frodo: Am I a joke to you?
@Michael He didn’t weep cuz he didn’t face the end alone.
You are not alone.
Review South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999).
Second
Third
Hell yeah :D
Oh my god. Please do that.
Critic, really think you should have a *Tolkien Month.*
Would love to see you review the LOTR trilogy.
My only "issue" (which is a non-issue, really but more of a gripe that makes this movie trippier than it already is) with Aragorn is that he reminds me of Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men, so I just imagine him bolt-pistoling orcs to death.
Also, some of the polarized animations look like they belong in a Monty Python's Flying Circus transition.
Really? My main issue is that he's wearing a skirt and Boromir looks like The Bezerker from 1992 World Wrestling Federation.
AlexTenThousand I can’t unsee it.
@@theradgegadgie6352 he doesn't wear a skirt, he just has no pants goddammit!
@@stanislavkorolev1803 GONDOR NEEDS NO PANTS.
The real Ralph Bakshi liked his "Cool World" review. I was actually hoping HE'D appear in this review. Oh, he'd never have that budget.
That, and what would the REAL Ralph Bakshee do to the NC characacher of him? That would probably border a lovecraftian entity that causes onlookers to go insane.
@@ichabodlorax7585 I would love to see that
The real Ralph just walks in, taps the Brad version on the shoulder, turns him into a bucket of popcorn and then just continues the review while eating popcorn while every so often something weird flies behind him,
How'd you find out about that?
@@Abbojnr LMAO😂😆🤣
"When the wind changes..."
That's so ambiguous, it actually goes full circle and becomes explicit: the wind is always changing so he's basically saying, "yes," or even, "I'm already back and have always been here."
imagine thinking a movie is bad because it's animated
"I can see Vigo Mortensen as a ranger, but not a king," or The War Doctor. You gotta love John Hurt, he was a great character actor who had a commanding presence.
Dont give a crap
I agree Supervillain725. He was great with that in his role in V for Vendetta. May he RIP
@@GBmovieluvI liked that movie, even though most people didn't.
I did too, @@Supervillain725 . The graphic novel was good also
@@GBmovieluv, I've never read it; Amazon, here I come, or I could check the library.
The music in Bakshi's version was so rich and robust, and it really made you feel like there was this big, epic adventure awaiting you from the start of the intro credits. You knew you were in for something grand and magical.
Tfw you're early enough that there is absolutely nothing of value in the comments about the video or the work it's talking about and instead just a bunch of "firsts".
I will say I liked the animated LotR and think it definitely did some things better like the watcher in the water being generally scarier.
Also at the time the rotoscoping used generally startled me for some of the shots because I wasn't used to seeing it- especially when it was the monsters and bad guys.
It looked weird yes but also different which put a different sort of fear into seeing them than you normally had to seeing enemies in animated movies.
I vaguely remember the radio dramatization broadcast on NPR. A big deal was made about in the papers. I happened tune in during scene where they trravel through Moria. And thought, wow, this sounds amazing.
But it was 1981 and there was The Empire Strikes Back, E.T., Indiana Jones and TreK films and that whole Tolkien thing fell by the wayside.
I thought that The Watcher in The Water was WAY SCARIER in The Peter Javkson version of Fellowship of The Rings