Plot: What’s it about?
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who lives a simple life, but he longs sometimes for adventure and soon enough, he just might find that adventure he seeks. He is visited by Gandalf the wizard and after some idle chatter, Gandalf informs Bilbo about a potential adventure, which of course, perks Bilbo’s attention. He wants Bilbo to be a burglar or expert treasure hunter, as Bilbo prefers the title to be called, as part of a search for priceless treasures. But Bilbo will not be alone in his mission, as Gandalf and a whole troupe of dwarves will be with him and of course, all of them stop by to eat while Gandalf explains the situation to Bilbo. This adventure is not just for gold and treasure however, as the mission includes toppling an evil dragon named Smaug, which could lead to them being able to reclaim their kingdom as their own. Of course, the path will be lined with danger, suspense, and creatures of all kinds, but Bilbo and his friends are prepared for whatever comes. But can Bilbo work as a master burglar, even though he really isn’t one at all?
If you’ve read J.R.R. Tolkien’s book The Hobbit, then you probably realize how hard it would be to squeeze it all into one feature film, at least with skill and coherent themes. As such, I am not as hard on this animated version as some folks, but plain and simple, this is a disappointment in every respect, in terms of adaptations. While the book was a lush, imaginative creation, this Rankin/Bass effort is rather bland and never captures even a second of the book’s true magic. Yes, we have most of the characters present and most of the themes are covered, but it never seems as effective here, due to a plethora of reasons. A couple of very important and interesting characters have been left off here, the animation is lame and primitive (even for the time), and the soundtrack…this is one piss poor musical soundtrack, without a doubt. The voice talent is decent in some places, but miserable in others and if you make an animated picture, you need a consistent cast. It saddens me to think this is the sole adaptation of The Hobbit thus far, but until a better edition comes out down the road, I advise folks to stick with the book, you won’t be disappointed.
Video: How does it look?
The Hobbit is presented in a full frame transfer, as intended. I wasn’t expecting too much from this transfer and perhaps that’s good, as it doesn’t offer too much. I suppose it looks better than when shown on television, but Warner hasn’t cleaned up the materials in the least, which is a let down. I hadn’t planned on a full restoration by any means, but some small efforts would have been nice, though no such luck here. The print looks worn, damaged, and poorly cared for, with defects and blemishes of all kinds present. Some parts look better than others of course, but on the whole, this is not even close to being as clean as I would have liked. The colors look faded at times and contrast is often too light, but this looks better than prior releases and as such, I guess we have that to be thankful for.
Audio: How does it sound?
This is your average, run of the mill mono option and in this case, it seems to handle the material’s needs well enough. No, this won’t become a disc to showcase your home theater with, but the basics sound good and that’s enough here. The various musical pieces are clean and show no real errors, while sound effects are well presented also. The dialogue is clean and never falters much, which means this one has the bases covered. This disc also includes subtitles in English, Spanish, and French, in case you’ll need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes some talent files, as well as some facts & trivia on J.R.R. Tolkien.
