April 04, 2022

37. They’re Just Some Solarized Dudes.

1 hour 35 minutes

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Ned’s choice of topic: Ralph Bakshi’s

animated film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. A heavily promoted effort

at the time due it being both the first ever version of Tolkien’s work done

for film as well as due to Bakshi’s notable reputation as the most well known

American animator since Walt Disney and Chuck Jones, the 1978 movie was a

reasonable success but not a smash, and the fact that it was only the first

half of a planned two-film sequence – but not marketed as such – led to

confused audiences and an upset Tolkien reader fanbase. At once a surprisingly

faithful if still heavily redacted version of the book and a very unusual mix

of animation styles that grew out of Bakshi’s earlier movies, the film has

retained a cult following since, and the resulting contrast with the later

Peter Jackson movies has proven illuminating to both. What makes the sequences

like the Flight to the Ford both compelling viewing and something of a slog?

Which voice actors bring a notable depth to their characters along with the

script and animation efforts – and which ones end up undercutting their

characters completely? How does the shifting between particular animation

styles, even within scenes, both act as intriguing experiment aiming to solve

particular problems and yet also a confusing mess? And what is up with that

incredibly generic musical score?

Show Notes.

Jared’s

doodle.

Jackson riffed on this scene for a reason.

And Jared did bake a cake for Megaphonic’s Kitchen Party! Check it

out.

The new Tolkien Estate page, worth a poke

around.

The Tolkien Society’s announcement of Priscilla Tolkien’s

passing.

Ralph Bakshi’s site. The specific Lord of the

Rings page has a variety of

stills, behind the scenes shots and preparatory work from the production.

The IMDB entry for Bakshi’s

production. (The film is available for streaming from a variety of services.)

The AFI catalog entry

for the production.

Ralph Bakshi: Forging Through the Darkness, a

short documentary.

The Tolkien Experience, Episode 32: Ralph

Bakshi, an extended

interview by Luke Shelton.

An Exhaustive History of Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the

Rings by Dan Olson of Folding

Ideas. (And as we spoke about in the episode, Olson’s two hour plus video on

NFTs and crypto is an absolute

must-watch.)

Three Rings For

Hollywood, Janet Brennan

Croft’s short comparative study of various film script adaptations of The Lord

of the Rings up through Bakshi’s adaptation.

‘Will the Video Version of Tolkien Be Hobbit

Forming?,’ John Culhane’s late 1977 New York Times story on the Rankin-Bass Hobbit which also includes separate quotes from Bakshi on his then-forthcoming adaptation.

Vincent Canby’s review of the

film for the New York Times.

Roger Ebert’s review of the film for the Chicago Sun-Times.

Mythlore 19, Winter 1979,

which contains two reviews of the film from Steven Walker and Dale Ziegler.

Information on Amon Hen 39,

published in June 1979, which contains four separate reviews of the film,

including the Mythlore review from Steven Walker.

‘Hobbits On Film,’ Glenn Gaslin’s 2001 retrospective

consideration of the Bakshi production for Slate, written in the run-up to the

release of Peter Jackson’s Fellowship of the Ring.

Bakshi’s 2015

interview with TheOneRing.net.

Austen Gilkenson’s extended 2018 study of the film for Tor, part

one and part

two.

Ned’s own 2018 piece about the film and other

Tolkien adaptations of the time, published in the Quietus.

A TV ad for the film.

The Electric Company

Magazine! And

like Ned said, there was a tie-in

issue.

As for the board game, it had Shelob at least.

You know the Spider-man

meme.

As for Bakshi on his Spider-man experience, he’s not

thrilled…

That Legolas

reaction.

It’s a choice.

The Flight to the Ford scene –

well worth watching even if you don’t know the full film, it sums up both the

strengths and oddities of the adaptation.

An example of the intriguing angular design of the Shire

woods

in the Shadow of the Past Goes Outdoors sequence. (Compare to Eyvind Earle’s

work on

Disney’s Sleeping Beauty.)

The full Lothlorien sequence,

with Galadriel’s fashion sense, the strange elf choir, the training montage as

such and the Mirror of Galadriel highs and lows.

Two notable sequences showing how Bakshi’s Aragorn is as Jared puts it ‘his’

Aragorn (costume aside): his meeting with the Hobbits in the Prancing Pony

parlor and Boromir’s

death, especially with the

wordless reaction from Aragorn near the end of the clip.

The Council of Elrond sequence

definitely is a moment. Not a GOOD moment…

The Shadow of the Past

sequence, with the quick cuts of

the seasons, Gandalf being crabby and stagy, Frodo’s agape reaction to the

Ring being tossed into the fire and so forth.

Gandalf meets Saruman – or

Aruman, depending on the line. Orthanc’s design and Saruman’s MANY COLORS!

included.

The hobbits first encounter the

Nazgul, and it’s a truly creepy

moment.

Ah yes the Balrog. We agree with the title of this

clip.

Aside from the opening credits, the prologue sequence is really impressive as

we note. But yeah that one

Elves bit.

Our episode on Peter Jackson’s Fellowship of the

Ring. And our orc

episode.

Gollum being Gollum. And almost

being redeemed towards the end of this

clip. (Per Jared’s comparison,

here’s Quentin Crisp on

Letterman.)

Grima petting Theoden. Can’t

put it any plainer.

Sam, Sam, Sam. Where to begin?

So many examples. And then

there’s that ‘moment.’

Aragorn takes a tumble.

Helm’s Deep here is not exactly

Jackson’s.

That’s one big skull in Moria. Meantime, is Rivendell a

lamasery?

If you REALLY want to hear the

soundtrack…

But yes, just listen to Rosenman’s Star Trek IV soundtrack

instead as Jared

suggests.

The heroic ending! Sorta.

Maybe. If you squint.

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By Jared Pechaček, Oriana Scwindt, and Ned Raggett

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