Product Details

• Actors: Orson Bean, John Huston, Brother Theodore, Cyril Ritchard, Richard Boone
• Directors: Arthur Rankin Jr., Jules Bass
• Writers: J.R.R. Tolkien, Romeo Muller
• Producers: Arthur Rankin Jr., Jules Bass, Masaki Îzuka
• Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: September 11, 2001
• Run Time: 78 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (259 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005MP59
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,079 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Hobbit" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit, ventures into the dark forest to reclaim a stolen treasure from Smaug the dragon.
Genre: Feature Film Family
Rating: PG
Release Date: 1-JUN-2004
Media Type: DVD

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 111 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars DO NOT BUY THIS DVD!!!, September 18, 2001

By 

"thegolddalek" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hobbit (DVD)

I have grown up with this story of The Hobbit, its one of my favorites. I have always had this movie in my collection and know the lines by heart. I have bought this DVD and the DVD stinks! Warner Brothers ruined this story on DVD. How? The sound was re-mastered for the DVD and there are sound effects MISSING! They used an old copy of the soundtrack that was used on a four record set that issued in 1978. If you want the complete soundtrack I recomend you buy the VHS tape. (The older the copy the better) They have also added new sound effects and lines that are NOT in the the original soundtrack! There are also problems with their DVD's of The Lord of the Rings and The Return of the King. (See my reviews for those DVDs under there listings) If Waner Brothers really cares they will re-issue These 3 DVDs after correcting their problems. ~Rob~

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat Simplified, but not bad., October 9, 2001

By 

Matthew Pursley (Dallas, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Hobbit [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I saw this movie for the first time as a pre-schooler, and loved it. Believe it or not, I actually saw this movie before I read the book. In retrospect, I realize that my mother introduced me to this movie to prepare me for the book, which she later read to me as a bedtime story. Anyway, I still like the movie, which now holds additional nostalgic value. In my opinion, this movie is a better adaptation than the other attempts to translate Tolkein's work into animation. Part of this is probably due to the fact that The Hobbit actually was a simpler book, and was made to please younger children, as well as older kids and adults. Even though the encounter with Beorn was left out, this movie is an excellent adaptation of the novel, covering all significant plot points, and making excellent use of Tolkein's songs and poetry in the soundtrack. I still think of the melodies in this film when I read the musical sections of the book. The vocal acting was done brilliantly, with Orson Bean making Bilbo simultaneously mild-mannered and courageous; John Huston giving Gandalf a vigourous personality and resonant voice to match; and Hans Conreid making Thorin suitably proud and surly. The animation, which some people call "dated" is perfectly adequate, is not so spectacular that it takes one's attention away from the story, and has a feel that I have never found outside of a Rankin-Bass film. In fact, it actually resembles a moving illustration. This film has survived the test of time, and remains an excellent way to get someone (child or adult) interested enough in Middle Earth to read the books, at which point they are firmly hooked.

47 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Here down in the valley, November 22, 2001

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Hobbit (DVD)

Currently Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's first novel, "The Hobbit" is mired down in pre-production problems. But while you wait for Middle-Earth to come to life on the silver screen, it's worth checking out Rankin-Bass' "The Hobbit," an animated kids' movie that is a fairly pleasant, moderately faithful adaptation.

Bilbo Baggins is a mild-mannered little hobbit living unobtrusively in Bag End, a conventional hobbit-hole in the comfortably boring Shire. His life is abruptly turned upside-down when the mysterious wizard Gandalf arrives, along with thirteen dwarves (who proceed to take over Bilbo's home). That evening, they reveal their reason for coming: They are seeking a "burglar" to help them retake back Lonely Mountain, a dwarf stronghold taken over by the dragon Smaug.

Whether he likes it or not, Bilbo soon ends up the burglar, and is dragged into elf palaces, goblin traps and even a fateful meeting with the grotesque froglike Gollum. The dangerous road ahead of him draws out reserves of courage and intelligence that few knew he had -- but the greatest danger comes not only from Smaug, but from the armies that congregate near his mountain.

First off: This is only a moderately faithful adaptation of Tolkien's books -- most of the essentials are here, but quite a few things are missing, including any dwarves or elves other than Elrond and the thirteen guys following Bilbo. There are some vague mentions of a dwarf army arriving and some random singing voices outside Elrond's house, but nothing more than that.

But it has the essentials -- goblins, eagles, hobbits, mountains of treasure, elves of various stripes, the grey wizard Gandalf and a town of men living on a stilted lake town. And there's plenty of humor ("MY ARMS!") and quite a few battle scenes (which are marred by weird facial expression and schizophrenic spinning), and a truly lovely scene where Smaug starts visiting destruction on what he believes is his enemies.

On the other hand, we are also treated to the weird sight of the Elf-King, Bard, and Thorin all gushing over each other, ten seconds after they were trying to kill each other. As for the animation, it's a mixed bag -- the dwarves, Gandalf, Gollum and Bilbo are all animated nicely, and there are some truly beautiful backdrops for the action (the Misty Mountain, Laketown, Hobbiton, even Mirkwood)... but the wood-elves look like distended Yodas.

However, the sound is TERRIBLE. They have cleaned it up in places, but in other areas they have inserted gratuitous screams and mutters. They have also pulled out sounds: barrels rolling, arrows striking, Smaug roaring and breathing fire, the dwarves wailing from inside their barrels, the clash of gates - you get the idea. It's little details that makes it feel more real, but these are all removed -- and there's an annoying crackling sound that pops up every now and then.

Until the live-action adaptations of "The Hobbit" comes out, we'll have to be content with the animated version -- it has some flaws, but it's an entertaining little story by itself.