''The Hobbit'' is a 1977 American

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of e ...

created by

Rankin/Bass Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City, and known for its seasonal television specials, usual ...

, a studio known for their holiday specials, and animated by

Topcraft Topcraft (トップクラフト ''Toppukurafuto'', also written as "Top Craft") was an animation studio established on February 1, 1972 by former Toei Animation producer Toru Hara, and located in Tokyo, Japan. It was famous for the production of ...

, a precursor to

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and h ...

. The film is an adaptation of the 1937 book of the same name by J. R. R. Tolkien, and was first broadcast on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

in the United States on Sunday, November 27, 1977.

Plot

Hobbit Hobbits are a fictional race of people in the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. About half average human height, Tolkien presented hobbits as a variety of humanity, or close relatives thereof. Occasionally known as halflings in Tolkien's writings, ...

named

Bilbo Baggins Bilbo Baggins is the title character and protagonist of J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel ''The Hobbit'', a supporting character in ''The Lord of the Rings'', and the fictional narrator (along with Frodo Baggins) of many of Tolkien's Middle-ear ...

lives in his hobbit-hole. The wizard

Gandalf Gandalf is a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels '' The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is a wizard, one of the ''Istari'' order, and the leader of the Fellowship of the Ring. Tolkien took the name "Gandalf" from the Old Nor ...

informs him he is looking for someone to share an adventure, and introduces thirteen dwarves led by

Thorin Oakenshield Thorin Oakenshield (Thorin II) is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel '' The Hobbit''. Thorin is the leader of the Company of Dwarves who aim to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the dragon. He is the son of Thráin I ...

. They invite themselves in, eat dinner, and play music. The magic in the music makes Bilbo suddenly long for adventure. Thorin explains Bilbo is to be a lucky number fourteen for them, and tells how his dwarves were driven out of the

Lonely Mountain In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Lonely Mountain is a mountain northeast of Mirkwood. It is the location of the Dwarves' Kingdom under the Mountain and the town of Dale lies in a vale on its southern slopes. In ''The Lord of the Rings'', ...

by the dragon Smaug, who stole their treasure. Gandalf accepts the mission before the Hobbit can speak. The company discovers a camp of three trolls, who capture all but Gandalf and Bilbo. Bilbo hides while Gandalf uses his magic to bring the sunrise, which turns the trolls to stone. In the troll's cave, Bilbo discovers some stolen treasure, which the dwarves claim. They find two swords, and a dagger for Bilbo. Gandalf shows Thorin a map of the Lonely Mountain and a key, given to him by Thorin's father. The map shows a secret passage. Travelling through the Misty Mountains, all but Gandalf are captured by goblins. Gandalf kills the Great Goblin, and the dwarves escape. Bilbo loses the group; he finds an underground lake, where he discovers a ring, and meets the monster

Gollum Gollum is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He was introduced in the 1937 fantasy novel '' The Hobbit'', and became important in its sequel, '' The Lord of the Rings''. Gollum was a Stoor Hobbit of the R ...

, who hunts him. Bilbo, discovering the ring grants invisibility, follows Gollum to the door, and escapes. The goblins, riding

Wargs In the philologist and fantasy author J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fiction, a warg is a particularly large and evil kind of wolf that could be ridden by orcs. He derived the name and characteristics of his wargs by combining meanings and myt ...

, pursue the company into a pine forest, setting it ablaze. The Lord of the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

rescues the company, and carries them to Mirkwood; Gandalf leaves. Bilbo and the dwarves are captured by giant spiders, but Bilbo puts on his ring and drives off the spiders with his dagger. The dwarves are apprehended by the wood elves. Bilbo escapes using his ring. After weeks of searching, Bilbo pilfers a sleeping guard's keys, and floats the dwarves in barrels down the river into Laketown. The people of Laketown nurse the company back to health. The fourteen reach the Lonely Mountain, and follow the map's instructions to enter. Bilbo goes in first, and meets Smaug, using the ring to hide. He and Smaug converse; the dragon assumes Bilbo must be a Laketowner. Bilbo discovers a patch of skin on Smaug not covered by protective scales. When Smaug attacks him for stealing, he escapes, mocking the dragon. In a rage, Smaug flies off to take revenge on Laketown. Bilbo sends a

thrush ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a secret ...

to tell Bard about the bare patch, and Bard shoots Smaug with his family's black arrow. Smaug destroys Laketown in his death throes. The Dwarves reclaim their treasure, only to find that the Lakemen and the Elves have arrived, wanting recompense for Smaug's many damages over the years. Thorin refuses to share, and declares war. Bilbo rebukes him, as they are outnumbered; Thorin is angered. Thorin's cousin, Dain, brings more dwarves. Gandalf arrives, warning that the Goblins are coming. Men, elves, and dwarves unite, and Bilbo uses his ring to hide as

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...

rages. The Eagles join the fight. Bilbo finds a wounded Bombur, who informs him that the battle has been won. Only seven of the thirteen dwarves are left, and is led by Gandalf to the dying Thorin, who forgives him. Bilbo accepts two small chests of gold and his dagger as payment. Gandalf escorts him home. Gandalf warns him that the adventure is only just beginning, thanks to the ring he has found.

Voice cast

The voice actors for the characters were: *

Orson Bean Orson Bean (born Dallas Frederick Burrows; July 22, 1928 – February 7, 2020) was an American film, television, and stage actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He was a game show and talk show host and a "mainstay of Los Angeles’ small ...

–

Richard Boone Richard Allen Boone (June 18, 1917 – January 10, 1981) was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns, including his starring role in the television series '' Have Gun – Will Travel''. Early li ...

– Smaug *

Hans Conried Hans Georg Conried Jr. (April 15, 1917 – January 5, 1982) was an American actor and comedian. He was known for providing the voices of George Darling and Captain Hook in Walt Disney's ''Peter Pan'' (1953), Snidely Whiplash in Jay Ward's '' Dud ...

–

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...

–

/ Narrator *

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...

– Thranduil *

Cyril Ritchard Cyril Joseph Trimnell-Ritchard (1 December 1898 – 18 December 1977), known professionally as Cyril Ritchard, was an Australian stage, screen and television actor, and director. He is best remembered today for his performance as Captain Hook in ...

–

Elrond Elrond Half-elven is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Both of his parents, Eärendil and Elwing, were half-elven, having both Men and Elves as ancestors. He is the bearer of the elven-ring Vilya, the Ring of ...

Brother Theodore Theodore Isidore Gottlieb (November 11, 1906 – April 5, 2001), mostly known as Brother Theodore, was a Germany, German-born United States, American actor and comedian known for rambling, stream-of-consciousness monologues which he called "st ...

–

Paul Frees Solomon Hersh "Paul" Frees (June 22, 1920November 2, 1986) was an American actor, comedian, impressionist, and vaudevillian. He is known for his work on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Walter Lantz, Rankin/Bass, and Walt Disney theatrical cartoons during ...

– Bombur, Troll #1 *

Jack DeLeon Jack DeLeon (December 19, 1924 – October 16, 2006) was an American actor. He was best known for portraying Marty Morrison from 1975 to 1982 on the television detective sitcom ''Barney Miller'', in a total of eight episodes. His character was p ...

–

Dwalin This article describes all named characters appearing in J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 book ''The Hobbit''. Creatures as collectives are not included. Characters are categorized by race. Spelling and point of view are given as from ''The Hobbit''. Ho ...

Fíli This article describes all named characters appearing in J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 book ''The Hobbit''. Creatures as collectives are not included. Characters are categorized by race. Spelling and point of view are given as from ''The Hobbit''. Ho ...

, Kíli, Óin,

Glóin This article describes all named characters appearing in J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 book '' The Hobbit''. Creatures as collectives are not included. Characters are categorized by race. Spelling and point of view are given as from ''The Hobbit''. ...

, Ori,

Nori Nori is a dried edible seaweed used in Japanese cuisine, made from species of the red algae genus '' Pyropia'', including ''P. yezonesis'' and '' P. tenera''. It has a strong and distinctive flavor, and is often used to wrap rolls of sushi or ...

Bifur This article describes all named characters appearing in J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 book ''The Hobbit''. Creatures as collectives are not included. Characters are categorized by race. Spelling and point of view are given as from ''The Hobbit''. Ho ...

Bofur This article describes all named characters appearing in J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 book ''The Hobbit''. Creatures as collectives are not included. Characters are categorized by race. Spelling and point of view are given as from ''The Hobbit''. H ...

, Troll #2 *

Don Messick Donald Earle Messick (September 7, 1926 – October 24, 1997) was an American voice actor. He was best known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons. His best-remembered vocal creations include Scooby-Doo, Bamm-Bamm Rubble and Hoppy in ...

– Balin, Goblin, Lord of the Eagles, Troll #3 * John Stephenson – Dori,

Bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise ...

, Great Goblin *

Glenn Yarbrough Glenn Robertson Yarbrough (January 12, 1930 – August 11, 2016) was an American folk singer and guitarist. He was the lead singer (tenor) with the Limeliters from 1959 to 1963 and also had a prolific solo career. Yarbrough had a restless ...

– The Balladeer *

Thurl Ravenscroft Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft (; February 6, 1914May 22, 2005) was an American actor and bass singer. He was known as one of the booming voices behind Kellogg's Frosted Flakes animated spokesman Tony the Tiger for more than five decades. He was also ...

– Goblin (singing voice), Background voice

Production

The film was produced and directed by

Arthur Rankin Jr. Arthur Gardner Rankin Jr. (July 19, 1924 – January 30, 2014) was an American director, producer and writer, who mostly worked in animation. Co-creator of Rankin/Bass Productions with his friend Jules Bass, he created stop-motion animation ...

and

Jules Bass Julius Bass (September 16, 1935 – October 25, 2022) was an American director, producer, lyricist, composer, and author. Until 1960, he worked at a New York advertising agency, and then co-founded the film production company Videocraft Internat ...

Rankin/Bass Productions Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City, and known for its seasonal television specials, usua ...

in New York City, and was adapted for the screen by

Romeo Muller Romeo Earl Muller, Jr. (August 7, 1928 – December 30, 1992) was an American screenwriter and actor most remembered for his screenplays for the Rankin/Bass holiday specials including ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Little Drummer Boy ...

, with Rankin taking on the additional duties of production designer. When interviewed for the film, Rankin declared that he would add nothing to the story that wasn't in the original.Culhan, John
''Will the Video Version of Tolkien Be Hobbit Forming?''
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Nov 27, 1977. ''

'' reported that ''The Hobbit'' cost $3 million to produce. In a 2003 interview, Rankin stated, "I love the Tolkien work," and explained that he was able to make the film because ''The Hobbit'' was still in the public domain at the time, despite claims to the contrary from the copyright holders. The story's protagonist,

, is voiced by

, backed up by noted Hollywood director and actor

as the voice of

. In supporting roles, the comedian and performance artist

was chosen for the voice of

, and

performed the baritone singing voices of the goblins. The gravelly voice of the dragon Smaug was provided by

, with

as Thorin Oakenshield, rounding out the cast of primarily American voice actors. The film was the final Rankin/Bass project to star the Australian actor

, here playing the voice of

. ''The Hobbit'' was animated by

in Tokyo, a now-defunct Japanese animation studio whose animation team re-formed as

under

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...

, while some of the animators went to establish Pacific Animation Corporation. Topcraft successfully partnered with Rankin/Bass on several other productions in traditional animation, including ''

'Twas the Night Before Christmas ''A Visit from St. Nicholas'', more commonly known as ''The Night Before Christmas'' and ''Twas the Night Before Christmas'' from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously under the title ''Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas'' ...

'' (1974), '' The Stingiest Man in Town'' (1978) and '' The Last Unicorn'' (1982). According to Rankin, the visual style of the film took its basic cue from the early illustrations of

Arthur Rackham Arthur Rackham (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) was an English book illustrator. He is recognised as one of the leading figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration. His work is noted for its robust pen and ink drawings, ...

. While Topcraft produced the animation overseas, the concept artwork was completed at the Rankin/Bass studio under the direction of Arthur Rankin.

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

artist Lester Abrams did the initial designs for most of the characters; Rankin had seen Abrams' illustrations to an excerpt from ''The Hobbit'' in '' Children's Digest''. Principal artists included coordinating animator Toru Hara; supervising animator/character designer Tsuguyuki Kubo; character and effects animators Hidetoshi Kaneko and Kazuko Ito; and background designer Minoru Nishida. The same studio and crew members were also used for ''

The Return of the King ''The Return of the King'' is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', following '' The Fellowship of the Ring'' and '' The Two Towers''. It was published in 1955. The story begins in the kingdom of Gondor, ...

''.

Harry N. Abrams Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (HNA), is an American publisher of art and illustrated books, children's books, and stationery. The enterprise is a subsidiary of the French publisher La Martinière Groupe. Run by President and CEO Michae ...

published a large, illustrated coffee table edition of the book featuring concept art and stills. Jules Bass primarily adapted Tolkien's original lyrics for the film's musical interludes, drawn primarily from the songs that feature prominently in the book. He also assisted

Maury Laws Maury Laws (December 6, 1923 – March 28, 2019) was an American television and film composer from Burlington, North Carolina. Biography In his teens, Laws performed in local country, jazz and dance bands as a singer and guitarist in his home st ...

, Rankin/Bass's composer and conductor-in-residence, in the composition of an original theme song, "The Greatest Adventure (The Ballad of the Hobbit)", sung by

as the sole original song written for the film. This folk ballad came to be associated with Yarbrough, who reprised it in the soundtrack to 1980 animated film ''

''.

Critical reception

In 1978,

won a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

for his teleplay for ''The Hobbit''. The film was also nominated for the

Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation The Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation is given each year for theatrical films, television episodes, or other dramatized works related to science fiction or fantasy released in the previous calendar year. Originally the award covered both ...

, but lost to ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

''. A few days before its first airing, John J. O'Connor wrote in ''

'' that "Rankin and Bass Productions have now carefully translated ''The Hobbit'' into film. The result is curiously eclectic, but filled with nicely effective moments. … The drawings frequently suggest strong resemblances to non-Tolkien characters… The

goblin A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on ...

s could have stepped out of a

Maurice Sendak Maurice Bernard Sendak (; June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012) was an American author and illustrator of children's books. He became most widely known for his book '' Where the Wild Things Are'', first published in 1963.Turan, Kenneth (October 16, 20 ...

book. But … the Dragon and Gollum the riddle aficionado bring some clever original touches… Whatever its flaws, this television version of ''The Hobbit'' warrants attention." Criticism primarily focused on adaptation issues, including the unfamiliar style of artwork used by the Japanese-American co-production team, whereas some Tolkien fans questioned the appropriateness of repackaging the material as a family film for a very young audience.

Douglas A. Anderson Douglas Allen Anderson (born December 30, 1959) is an American writer and editor on the subjects of fantasy and medieval literature, specializing in textual analysis of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. He is a winner of the Mythopoeic Award for sch ...

, a Tolkien scholar, called the adaptation "execrable" in his own introduction to ''

The Annotated Hobbit ''The Annotated Hobbit: The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is an edition of J. R. R. Tolkien's novel ''The Hobbit'' with a commentary by Douglas A. Anderson. It was first published in 1988 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, in celebration ...

'', although he did not elaborate; and a few critics said it was confusing for those not already familiar with the plot. The author

Baird Searles William Baird Searles (1934–1993) was a science fiction author and critic. He was best known for his long running review columns for the magazines ''Asimov's'' (reviewing books), '' Amazing'', and ''Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (reviewing films, ...

criticized the adaptation, calling it an "abomination" and an attempt that had "failed miserably". He singled out the quality of animation, the omission of key plot points such as Beorn and the Arkenstone, and the soundtrack. '' IGN'' gave the film 7 out of 10 recommending it to fans of the novel. The review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

gives the film a score of 69% based on reviews from 16 critics.

Sequel

Before ''The Hobbit'' aired on NBC, Rankin/Bass and its partner animation houses were preparing a sequel. Meanwhile,

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...

released '' J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings'' in 1978, an animated adaptation directed by

Ralph Bakshi Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938) is an American animator and filmmaker. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatric ...

, originally intended as the first part in a two-part film. United Artists's sequel would soon be cancelled after a disagreement with Bakshi. Taking elements from the last volume of ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's bo ...

'', they developed the musical ''

'', featuring most of the voice artists and production team as ''The Hobbit''. ''The Return of the King'' used a

framing device Framing may refer to: * Framing (construction), common carpentry work * Framing (law), providing false evidence or testimony to prove someone guilty of a crime * Framing (social sciences) * Framing (visual arts), a technique used to bring the focu ...

in which both ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Return of the King'' begin and end with Bilbo's stay at

Rivendell Rivendell ('' sjn, Imladris'') is a valley in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, representing both a homely place of sanctuary and a magical Elvish otherworld. It is an important location in '' The Hobbit'' and '' The Lord of ...

. ''The Return of the King'' is often mistaken as a sequel to Bakshi's ''The Lord of the Rings''. After Rankin/Bass became defunct in 1987, Warner Bros. acquired the rights to ''King'' for home video distribution and chose to market the film, along with ''The Hobbit'', as instalments of an animated Tolkien trilogy, with ''The Lord of the Rings'' (by then also owned by Warner Bros., from United Artists) acting as the middle chapter. This false promotion led to rumours that Rankin/Bass had originally decided to produce ''The Return of the King'' upon hearing that Bakshi's sequel to ''The Lord of the Rings'' had been cancelled. However, Rankin/Bass had always planned on making ''The Return of the King'' as a follow-up to their production of ''The Hobbit'', even before the release of Bakshi's film.J. W. Braun, ''The Lord of the Films'' (ECW Press, 2009)

Release

''The Hobbit'' first aired as an animated

in 1977 with the goal of producing an accompanying tie-in storybook and song recordings for children, as in other Rankin/Bass productions. ''The Hobbit'' was released on LP with the soundtrack and dialogue from the film was also released in 1977 by Disney through its Buena Vista Records label, and an edited version, along with accompanying "storyteller read-alongs", was later issued for the Mouse Factory's Disneyland Records imprint. A second music album by Glenn Yarbrough of music "inspired" by ''The Hobbit'' was also released. ''The Hobbit'' was released by ABC Video Enterprises in the early 1980s on

Betamax Betamax (also known as Beta, as in its logo) is a consumer-level analog recording and cassette format of magnetic tape for video, commonly known as a video cassette recorder. It was developed by Sony and was released in Japan on May 10, 1975, ...

and VHS by

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

, and CED by

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

released the film on VHS in 1991, again in 1996 (as part of the ''Warner Bros. Classic Tales'' VHS line), and on DVD in 2001 (through Warner Bros. Family Entertainment). Parade Video released the film on DVD and VHS in 2004. The earlier 1980s and 1990s videocassette releases contain sound effects that were edited out of the 2001 DVD without explanation. The film was also released on DVD by Warner Bros. as part of the DVD trilogy boxed set, which includes Ralph Bakshi's ''

'' and the Rankin Bass production of ''

''. A remastered deluxe edition DVD was released on July 22, 2014. Sound effects missing in previous DVD releases are absent from this release as well.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hobbit (1977 film), The 1977 films 1977 animated films 1977 in American television 1977 television films 1977 television specials 1970s American animated films 1970s fantasy films American animated fantasy films 1970s animated television specials 1970s children's fantasy films Films scored by Maury Laws Films about dwarfs Films about elves Animated films based on children's books Television shows directed by Jules Bass Television shows directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. Television shows written by Romeo Muller Musical television specials NBC television specials Peabody Award-winning broadcasts Television shows based on British novels Films based on The Hobbit Topcraft Japanese animated fantasy films Rankin/Bass Productions films Animated films about dragons 1970s American television specials 1970s children's animated films Anime films based on novels