Fans of Middle-earth, you want to see this.
While everyone is getting ready for Peter Jackson’s THE HOBBIT, an abridged animated version of Tolkien’s tale has popped online decades after it was made. The short film, embedded below, was the creation of TOM AND JERRY producer Gene Deitch and Czech illustrator, Adolf Born. Made months after Tolkien published The Lord of the Rings, the short film was intended to be a full length feature. As you can read on Deitch’s blog, things became complicated and the short was used as a way to extend producer Bill Snyder’s rights to the story, ensuring he could sell said rights for much more money.
The whole tale is pretty wild, including a thrown-together screening for a New York audience just hours before the HOBBIT rights were lost.
But, if we’re being honest, the animated short is kind of lacking, especially compared to later cinematic journeys in Middle-earth. Still, it’s an interesting, fun story and we’re lucky to see the final product.
Read about the whole affair over at Deitch’s blog.
They certainly took some hilarious liberties with the adaptation, though given the situation it was produced in, it’s still somewhat impressive. The art is fantastic. I especially liked this depiction of Mirkwood. It reminded me of the toxic jungle in Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.