''The Return of the King'' (also known as ''The Return of the King: A Story of the Hobbits'') is a 1980 animated

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 and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

television film created by Rankin/Bass and

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 ...

. It is an adaptation of the 1955 high fantasy novel Lord of the Rings, taking its name from '' The Return of the King'', the third and final 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 boo ...

'' by

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...

and is a sequel to the 1977 film '' The Hobbit''. The special aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

on Sunday, May 11, 1980 after a legal challenge filed by the

Tolkien Estate The Tolkien Estate is the legal body which manages the property of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien, including the copyright for most of his works. The individual copyrights have for the most part been assigned by the estate to subsidiary enti ...

and

Fantasy Films Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...

was settled. Critical and fan reaction to ''The Return of the King'' was lukewarm.

Plot

At Bilbo Baggins's 129th birthday party in Rivendell, his nephew Frodo explains why he is missing a finger from his hand while the Minstrel of Gondor sings a ballad that tells the story of the quest to destroy the

One Ring The One Ring, also called the Ruling Ring and Isildur's Bane, is a central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'' (1954–55). It first appeared in the earlier story ''The Hobbit'' (1937) as a magic ring that grants the w ...

and defeat the Dark Lord

Sauron Sauron (pronounced ) is the title character and the primary antagonist, through the forging of the One Ring, of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', where he rules the land of Mordor and has the ambition of ruling the whole of Middl ...

. In

Mordor In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, Mordor (pronounced ; from Sindarin ''Black Land'' and Quenya ''Land of Shadow'') is the realm and base of the evil Sauron. It lay to the east of Gondor and the great river Anduin, and to t ...

, Frodo's friend and companion

Samwise Gamgee Samwise Gamgee (, usually called Sam) is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. A hobbit, Samwise is the chief supporting character of ''The Lord of the Rings'', serving as the sidekick of the protagonist Frodo Baggins. Sam ...

bears the Ring in Frodo's absence as he ventures to rescue Frodo from the

Orc An Orc (or Ork) is a fictional humanoid monster like a goblin. Orcs were brought into modern usage by the fantasy writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially ''The Lord of the Rings''. In Tolkien's works, Orcs are a brutish, aggressive, ugly, a ...

fortress of

Cirith Ungol In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, Mordor (pronounced ; from Sindarin ''Black Land'' and Quenya ''Land of Shadow'') is the realm and base of the evil Sauron. It lay to the east of Gondor and the great river Anduin, and ...

. During his journey, Sam is tempted to claim the Ring for himself, but ultimately resists its power. He rescues Frodo, and the two Hobbits head out for

Mount Doom In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, Mordor (pronounced ; from Sindarin ''Black Land'' and Quenya ''Land of Shadow'') is the realm and base of the evil Sauron. It lay to the east of Gondor and the great river Anduin, and to ...

to destroy the Ring. Meanwhile, the wizard

Gandalf the White Gandalf is a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is a Wizards (Middle-earth), wizard, one of the ''Istari'' order, and the leader of the Fellowship of the Ring (characters), Fellowship of t ...

and the Hobbit Pippin arrive at Minas Tirith to warn Denethor, the Steward of

Gondor Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Man (Middle-earth), Men in the west of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. The third volume of ''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Return of the ...

, about the upcoming war—only to discover that the Steward has gone insane and means to take his own life. Frodo and Samwise continue toward Mount Doom (eluding Ringwraiths and infiltrating a battalion of Orcs in the process) only to be attacked by Gollum, the creature from whom Bilbo took the Ring decades before. Frodo casts Gollum down, however, and goes to the Crack of Doom. Sam prepares to kill Gollum, but is overcome with pity and allows him to flee. At the same time, Gondor's neighbouring country, Rohan, battles Sauron's forces in the Battle of Pelennor Fields, but its King, Theoden, is killed by the Witch-king of Angmar. Theoden's niece Eowyn, who had disguised herself as a man to take part in the battle, kills the Witch-king with help from Merry, momentarily defeating Sauron's armies. Those forces momentarily rally upon the arrival of the black fleet coming from the west, the despairing vision of which drove Denethor to his suicide, but their morale shatters upon realizing that fleet is under the command of Prince Aragorn of Gondor. Upon his own arrival, Aragorn, heir to the throne of Gondor, plans to confront Sauron at the Black Gate. Here, he quarrels with the

Mouth of Sauron In J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings'', the Battle of the Morannon or the Battle of the Black Gate, is the final confrontation in the War of the Ring. Gondor and its allies send a small army ostensibly to challenge Sau ...

and the two armies prepare for battle. On Mount Doom, Frodo succumbs to the Ring's power and puts it on, becoming invisible. Sam discovers Gollum and Frodo fighting over the Ring, which results in Gollum's biting off Frodo's finger to claim it. While dancing with joy at the retrieval of his "precious", Gollum falls into the lava of Mount Doom, taking the Ring with him. The Ring is destroyed, and Sauron perishes. Sam and Frodo are rescued by 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, just ...

from the erupting Mount Doom. A few months later, Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor. The story concludes with Frodo accompanying Bilbo, Gandalf, and Elrond as they leave Middle-earth. He gives the ''

Red Book of Westmarch The ''Red Book of Westmarch'' (sometimes the ''Thain's Book'' after its principal version) is a fictional manuscript written by hobbits, related to the author J. R. R. Tolkien's frame stories. It is an instance of the found manuscript conceit ...

'' (consisting of Bilbo's memoirs with some spare pages) to Sam, assuring him that a good life is still in store for him. Gandalf assures them that Hobbits will someday have descendants among humans, to preserve their own existence; and the film ends in Frodo's departure from the

Grey Havens In J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, Elves are the first fictional race to appear in Middle-earth. Unlike Men and Dwarves, Elves are immortal. They feature in ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. Their history is described in detail in ''T ...

Voices

The voice cast is as follows: * Aragorn – Theodore Bikel * Bilbo – Orson Bean * Denethor –

William Conrad William Conrad (born John William Cann Jr., September 27, 1920 – February 11, 1994) was an American actor, producer, and director whose entertainment career spanned five decades in radio, film, and television, peaking in popularity when he s ...

* Elrond – Paul Frees *

Éowyn Éowyn is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and '' ...

–

Nellie Bellflower Nellie Bellflower (born May 1, 1946) is an American actress, voice artist, and producer. Early life, family and education Bellflower was born in Phoenix, Arizona. Career Bellflower provided the voice of Princess Ariel in the Ruby-Spears anima ...

* Frodo – Orson Bean * Gandalf –

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 ...

* Gollum –

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

(credited under Theodore) *

Merry Merry may refer to: A happy person with a jolly personality People * Merry (given name) * Merry (surname) Music * Merry (band), a Japanese rock band * ''Merry'' (EP), an EP by Gregory Douglass * "Merry" (song), by American power pop band Magna ...

– Casey Kasem * Pippin –

Sonny Melendrez Sonny Melendrez (born 1946) is an American radio and TV personality, motivational speaker and author. Biography Melendrez was born in Silver City, New Mexico. Twice named ''Billboard'' Magazine's "Radio Personality of the Year", he is include ...

* The

–

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 ...

Sam Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

–

Roddy McDowall Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1 ...

* Théoden –

* Easterling –

– Paul Frees *

Uruk-hai An Orc (or Ork) is a fictional humanoid monster like a goblin. Orcs were brought into modern usage by the fantasy writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially ''The Lord of the Rings''. In Tolkien's works, Orcs are a brutish, aggressive, ugly, ...

– Paul Frees * Lord of the Nazgul – John Stephenson *

ian Guard – John Stephenson * The Minstrel – Glenn Yarbrough

Production

After the 1977 broadcast of ''The Hobbit'' on NBC, development and production began on ''The Return of the King'' at Rankin/Bass Productions in New York City under supervision of

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 Interna ...

. The film's original working title was ''Frodo, The Hobbit II''. It was written by Romeo Muller with Rankin doing the script, designs for the characters and storyboards. The original cast from the previous film returned to reprise the voices of the characters with new actors joining them. Orson Bean returned as the voice of the older Bilbo Baggins, as well as that of the story's hero, Frodo Baggins.

came back as well, as the wizard Gandalf, and co-starring with them were:

as Denethor,

, Theodore Bikel as Aragorn, and reprising his role of Gollum,

. Rankin/Bass stalwart Paul Frees replaced the late

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 ...

as the voice of Elrond; Casey Kasem was

, with

as Pippin;

; and Glenn Yarbrough returned as principal vocalist, billed here as simply "the Minstrel of Gondor".

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 al ...

served in the chorus. Once the character voices were recorded, along with background music by Maury Laws, with Jules Bass writing songs and lyrics for the film, the animation production was done by

in Japan under supervision of Toru Hara, Tsuguyuki Kubo, Kazuyuki Kobayashi and others. The release was threatened by a lawsuit filed by the

and

on the basis that Rankin/Bass had not secured the U.S. and Canadian television rights to the book. The lawsuit was settled "amicably", allowing it to proceed with a May 1980 release. The film is often mistaken for a sequel to Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated film ''

''. After Rankin/Bass became defunct in 1987,

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

acquired the rights to the special for home video distribution and chose to market the film, along with ''The Hobbit'', as instalments of an animated Tolkien trilogy, with Bakshi's ''The Lord of the Rings'' (by then also owned by Warner Bros., from

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 studi ...

) 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. Nonetheless, the plot of the TV production begins roughly where the Bakshi film ends.

Reception

The film has garnered mixed reviews from modern sources. Charles Cassidy of Common Sense Media gave it a score of 3/5, and said, "Cartoon tale is darker, more complex than others in series". Steven D. Greydanus of Decent Films Guide gave it a C, and said, "Works even less well than ''The Hobbit'', which really is a children's story… overbearing folk-ballad soundtrack doesn't even gesture lyrically to Tolkien's poetry". It currently holds a score of 67% on

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 Wang ...

. Director

later stated, "We tried to do ''Return of the King''... but it is an awful lot to put into it. I think eterJackson is having the same problem in his films. You can't deviate from these books, or somebody'll wait on the street for you! ... n''The Return of the King'', we had to summarize what had happened before, and then put it all together in 2 hours. It's not a very good film." Asked why he chose only to make ''The Return of the King'', instead of making the entire ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy, Rankin admitted, "I didn't know that the audience would sit still for it. I was wrong."

Home media

''The Return of the King'' was first released on VHS by

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 Video ...

in 1991, and for the second time as part of the "Warner Bros. Classic Tales" video collection in 1996. The film has been available on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

since 2001, both individually and as a "boxed trilogy" with Rankin/Bass's ''The Hobbit'' and Bakshi's ''The Lord of the Rings''.

References

External links

* *
Screen captures from the CED edition.
Also features links to galleries of screen captures from other Tolkien animated films. {{DEFAULTSORT:Return Of The King 1980 films 1980 animated films 1980 television films 1980s American animated films 1980 fantasy films 1980 in American television 1980 television specials American animated fantasy films American Broadcasting Company television specials American fantasy adventure films 1980s animated television specials 1980s children's fantasy films Films scored by Maury Laws Films based on British novels Films based on fantasy novels Films based on multiple works of a series Television shows directed by Jules Bass Films directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. Musical television specials Television shows based on British novels Topcraft Rankin/Bass Productions films Television shows written by Romeo Muller Films based on The Lord of the Rings 1980s British films