| The Return of the King (1980 film) | |
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DVD release cover |
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| Written by | Romeo Muller |
| Directed by | Jules Bass Arthur Rankin Jr. |
| Starring | Orson Bean John Huston William Conrad Roddy McDowall Theodore Bikel |
| Country of origin | US |
| Language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Masaki Ihzuka |
| Running time | 98 minutes |
| Distributor | American Broadcasting Company Warner Bros. |
The Return of the King, also known as The Return of the King: A Story of the Hobbits, is a 1980 animated television special created by Rankin/Bass and Topcraft. The film is an adaptation of the third volume in The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.
The film is a sort of unofficial sequel to Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated film The Lord of the Rings, which is based on the first two volumes of the book. According to rumors, Rankin/Bass decided to do the project upon hearing that Bakshi's sequel finishing The Lord of the Rings was going to be left unmade. However, Rankin/Bass had always planned on making a sequel based on The Return of the King as their follow-up project to The Hobbit.[1]
Critical and fan reaction to The Return of the King was lukewarm.[2]
Contents |
During the 129th birthday celebration for Bilbo Baggins in Rivendell, Frodo, Bilbo's nephew tells the story of his quest to destroy the One Ring. Frodo begins his story with Sam Gamgee, his friend and companion, heading towards Cirith Ungol to rescue him, as he is being held captive there by orcs. During his journey, Sam begins to question his thoughts about claiming the Ring himself. Meanwhile, the wizard Gandalf and the hobbit Pippin arrive at Minas Tirith to warn Denethor, the Steward of the Throne, about the upcoming war — only to discover that the Steward has lost his mind by believing the war will be the end of mankind.
Sam rescues Frodo and returns the Ring. The two then continue on to finish their quest at Mount Doom, only to be attacked by their past guide, Gollum. As Sam holds Gollum off, Frodo makes it to the Crack of Doom, but then decides to claim to the Ring for himself and disappears. At the same time, Gondor's neighboring country, Rohan, helps it claim victory in the Battle of Pelennor Fields.
After weeks of searching for Frodo in Mount Doom, Sam discovers Gollum and Frodo fighting over the Ring, which results in Gollum biting off Frodo's finger to claim it. While dancing with joy at the retrieval of his "Precious," Gollum loses his footing and falls into the lava, taking the Ring with him. With the destruction of the Ring, Sauron is defeated. Months later, Frodo's friend, Aragorn, is crowned King of Gondor. The film concludes back in the present with Frodo agreeing to accompany Bilbo as they leave Middle-earth.
Orson Bean returned as the voice of the older Bilbo Baggins, as well as that of the story's hero, Frodo Baggins. John Huston came back as well, as the wizard Gandalf, and co-starring with them were: William Conrad as Denethor, Roddy McDowall as Samwise Gamgee, Theodore Bikel as Aragorn, and reprising his role of Gollum, Brother Theodore. Rankin/Bass stalwart Paul Frees replaced Cyril Ritchard as the voice of Elrond; Casey Kasem, best known for his role as Shaggy in Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo, was Merry, with Sonny Melendrez as Pippin; Nellie Bellflower as Éowyn; and Glenn Yarbrough returned as principal vocalist, billed here as simply "the Minstrel of Gondor".
In the absence of an official sequel to Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King has come to be marketed as the final part of a loose animated Tolkien trilogy preceded by The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings. The middle film is very different in tone and character design, however, and the final two films do not join up seamlessly, as both omit various segments from The Two Towers, most notably regarding the events in Shelob's lair. Other omissions in the Rankin/Bass version include the characters of Gimli, Legolas, Arwen, and Saruman. Aragorn is present but he has very little dialogue or screentime.
The animated The Return of the King is available on DVD from Warner Bros., both individually and as a "boxed trilogy" with the Rankin/Bass's The Hobbit and Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings.
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