I remember not too long ago, when Tolkien fans would trash this cartoon saying it was silly, stupid and such. I felt weird because, I loved this cartoon to death! If you ask me. it was a much better adaptation than the mega budget recent production.The part that always glued me to the set and still gives me chills to hear today, is when Bard takes up the black arrow. Nuff said. This was one of the book's greatest moments and has never since been portrayed in film as successfully as in this film.Beat me with a stick if you like, but I love the songs too.The voice acting was incredible. I don't think people even have the capability today to enjoy the excellent characterizations and talent displayed in this wonderful little film. It's like going back to watch Lon Chaney portraying the "Phantom of the Opera" and really grasping what a fantastic silent actor he really was.Yet, you can! Give it a try. This is definitely like finding your old childhood teddy bear still quite huggable. :D

The Hobbit is about Bilbo Baggins and a magical ring that allows the user to disappear when worn. Bilbo is a hobbit which is similar to a human except shorter and they have bigger feet. His ordinary routine is interrupted one day when Gandalf and his companions arrive at his hobbit hole. One of the dwarves asks Bilbo to join them because they need a burglar to steal treasure from Smaug, a dragon. While traveling to Smaug's lair, they are captured several times by various creatures including goblins, spiders, and trolls. It is when the party is captured by the Goblins falling through a moving wall in the back of the cave, being pulled into a large hallway of an even larger part of the same cave, Bilbo stumbles into another part of the cave. Bilbo finds the ring there, in the cave. Gollum, upon Bilbo's escape, shouts accusingly that Bilbo stole it from him. He found it fair and square in the part of the cave where his stumble ended, where Gollum was paddling around in a canoe, eating fish. He leaves. Bilbo then links up with his party again and they continue their journey. Bilbo does make it to Smaug's lair and a Human ends up killing the dragon. This city guard is told where to shoot Smaug by a "fool bird!" He is missing one of his scales. Five armies fight below. When all is said and done, Bilbo makes it back to the Shire, where he lives.

This movie is great because it perfectly captures the feelings of adventure which the protagonist, Bilbo, encounters throughout the story given the various mystifying occurrences and dangers he faces. The whole point of a movie is to make you feel like you are in the situation the characters are in, that is to say, to make you emulate their emotion. It makes the story seem more real as well as personal, this emulation allows you to connect with the characters and understand the themes of each scene. Although this movie isn't a masterpiece by any means, it perfectly accomplishes what it sets out to do. It shows everything as Bilbo knows it.For instance, when Gandalf is introduced to the story, he is portrayed as a wise, mysterious being of mystical powers. We get the sense throughout the story of Gandalf watching over and protecting them, in spite of having his own agenda. When he appears in the story, we know that he is either guiding the main characters through their quest. Additionally, when Gandalf appears to help the main characters in what could be critiqued as a deus ex machina, his help feels natural and set up by his established mysterious nature. If Gandalf's appearances in this were to exist in Peter Jackson's adaptation in the same nature, the audience would assume that the writers lazily wrote Bilbo and the Dwarfs out of the scene. This critique is justified, however, in this adaptation it feels very natural as Gandalf doesn't seem to be a nice old man (not trying to denounce Jackson's interpretation of his character) rather, that he is a mystical force, which makes more sense in terms of how Bilbo, during the story, would see him.Another example of this is when Bilbo is captured in Gollum's cave. The cave looks very dark and mysterious. Bilbo has fallen into a chasm hopeless of a way back, and the film illustrates how lost Bilbo is by showing wide shots moving around the cave when Gollum is thinking of a riddle, giving the sense that Bilbo is stuck in this vast network and that Gollum's life-threatening game is Bilbo's last hope of escape. Gollum is also shown as a disgusting, obsessed creature, which will strike an unfamiliar viewer as being as odd as it seems to Bilbo. The lighting of the scene and the various sound effects (water slowly dripping, bits of instrumental and musical sounds) also make the scene feel very eerie as it would be to be caught in that situation. The obsession Gollum has with eating Bilbo makes him seem very intimidating, especially giving his size and deformed figure. While the Jackson version serves well in creating a humanoid Gollum to set up a personal battle Gollum has (this being of his human and monstrous appearance to match his human and monstrous characteristics, particularly his fluctuation between them), this version serves well in showing the audience Gollum as Bilbo sees him: a disgusting, frightening monster.The weapons they use are also shown to be very mystical. Whenever one of the elvish weapons is taken out of its sheath, it emanates light and causes the potential assailant to cower in fear. For instance, when Gandalf prepares to kill the goblin king, the goblin king cries out "Glamdring! The Foe Hammer!" before he dies. When Bilbo takes out Sting when he is ready to fight Gollum, Gollum cowers at the mention of Sting being an Elvish blade. This mystical quality is intriguing and fascinating, which it should be, given Bilbo's background.However, as you can tell by watching the movie, it is not perfect. While it captures Bilbo's feelings in a very mesmerizing way, the characters are, for the most part, not very well set up and sometimes unrealistic. For instance, when Bilbo is in Gollum's cave, Bilbo doesn't seem to be fearful of Gollum at all while they discuss riddles, creating a life-threatening game. While Bilbo, given his background, should be scared of this, he shows very little fear in this scene. This is especially odd as, in the previous scene where Bilbo and the Dwarfs are captured by goblins, Bilbo is shown as being very afraid. Many of the characters are also not particularly developed. Thorin, for example, is shown only as being their leader, whereas in the Jackson version, an effort has clearly been made to give many of the Dwarfs their own respective identities (though this, in some cases, becomes cliché). This movie, given its audience, is also childish and simplistic at times. The songs, while giving the movie an identity, wouldn't exist if the film were intended for an older audience. This doesn't work to the detriment of the film in the realm of the songs as it does when death is brought into play. For instance, when the goblin king is being slain, there is a light brought over him as he spirals off into oblivion. This is simply not how killing someone with a sword works, in spite of its magical qualities, it seems to be an obviously child-friendly way to have a monster be killed. This strikes the viewer as awkward, although necessary to protect the audience from seeing a violent death. There are obvious technical setbacks which can most likely be attributed to the film having a lower budget, for instance, at times the characters' faces are cut off which I assume is to save money on lip syncing, which can be seen in Gollum's cave. In spite of these drawbacks, the movie is really enjoyable and atmospheric. Flaws are pretty plainly exposed and visible in the film, however, the film has a unique style that gives it its charm. I'd say that everyone who is willing to put aside pre-established ideas from Jackson's movies or has not seen those movies should enjoy the film. If you don't enjoy the film you need to stop reading Mein Kampf and get a life.

These are the reasons I don't like this movie: The songs are very annoying through the entire movie, the character design is of nightmares & I feel too much that this is not based on a book by J.R.R Tolkien, but a person who felt that the books were too hard for kids & decided to wright it as childish as possible (Probably what happened when I think about it). There was not a moment I was wondering when the movie was over from the beginning till the end, not a good sign. There is a reason this movie is not common knowledge for the general public, that is because it's not a good one. My suggestion is to keep away from it & watch Peter Jackson's version.