Long before Peter Jackson got the idea to create a cottage industry out of J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary works, underground animator Ralph Bakshi made this faithful cartoon adaptation. In fact, Jackson has mentioned that his first exposure to Middle Earth was Bakshi’s work, and watching the toon now, that’s clearly evident thanks to some very similar shot compositions and character representations between the two films. While this film was intended to be part one of two, ending roughly in the middle of The Two Towers, Bakshi never got the opportunity to complete his vision, leaving just this tantalizing monument to his aspirations.
Buy The Lord of the Rings: Original Animated Classic Blu-rayIf you’re familiar with Bakshi’s works prior to this film, he may seem like a left-field choice as director. Known for pushing the envelope with the edgy, ribald films Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic, and Coonskin, this film represented a move to the mainstream after his initial foray into fantasy the year before, Wizards. This is the only Bakshi film I hadn’t seen, so I went in expecting a fairly bare-bones, gritty approach to the material, only to be pleasantly surprised by his lush and elaborate representation of Middle Earth. Backgrounds and characters appear far more detailed and refined than his loose counterculture works, and the film as a whole feels very professional. There’s still room for Bakshi weirdness though, primarily his utilization of creepy live-action Ringwraiths and orcs that are processed as little more than silhouettes with glowing eyes and other glow-in-the-dark accessories to ratchet up the terror.
The story follows Tolkien’s novels closely enough that purists shouldn’t complain, starting off in Hobbiton with the formation of the Fellowship and continuing on all the way to the extended, climactic battle of Helm’s Deep. We meet all the expected characters along the way, although the dwarves aren’t very dwarfish since they’re basically human-sized. Hobbits wear very familiar green cloaks and other attire, elves are blonde and garbed in white robes, and Gollum is a dead ringer for Jackson’s later version. Bakshi utilized rotoscoping throughout the film, making it obvious that the characters originated as actors before being drawn over. He seems to have tired of pasting animation on top during scenes with primarily human characters, opting to just mess with the tint of live-action footage during the tavern scene and some battle footage. Along with the Ringwraiths and orcs, this gives the film a heavy live-action aspect that blurs the lines between animation and reality.
Certain scenes will look very familiar to fans of the live-action movies, such as when the Hobbits are hiding from the Ringwraiths under the road, and when the Ringwraiths group and stab the empty Hobbit beds at the Prancing Pony (a scene that doesn’t appear in the book). It’s like Jackson already had a complete previz before he ever embarked on his Fellowship, and whether consciously or not, he definitely borrowed from Bakshi’s vision. The animated film is vastly entertaining on its own merits, but also now incredibly fascinating as a companion piece to Jackson’s live-action films.
The film has been newly remastered for Blu-ray release and looks better than ever, with brighter colors and crisp definition that cut through the Middle Earth gloom. The picture is formatted in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, and features both Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio options. Sound is well separated considering its humble origins, with a decent level of immersion and bone-crunching battle scenes.The disc’s sole bonus feature is an in-depth interview with Bakshi where he discusses his concept for the film, his rotoscoping process, and inspirations for his visual storytelling.
