NBC
Directed by Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Warner Bros.)
A hobbit named Bilbo is recruited by a group of traveling dwarfs to become their lucky 14th member and help recover their ancestral treasure stolen by a dragon. Bilbo's luck helps him survive attacks by goblins, an encounter with a creature named Gollum deep in a cave, wood elves and of course the epic showdown with the dragon Smaug. This Rankin/Bass production was animated in Japan and shown on US television. Glenn Yarbrough, credited as The Balladeer, warbles through the dated songs. Good introduction to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien, but oversimplified plot and crude animation are a detriment. Voice cast, however, is excellent, including John Huston and Otto Preminger!
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