I created an account specifically to review this movie because I find it nothing short of fascinating. Everyone else will need a thermos of coffee to keep from dozing off. Only the soundtrack maintains a high standard throughout. As for the voice acting, it ranges from high school drama class to top-notch actors' studio. Mixing this with traditional animation creates a jarring mishmash of images. A lot of the rotoscoping looks like Turner put his color crayons to some long-forgotten sword and sandal B movie. Too often it is nothing but lazy rotoscoping.

From animation to voice acting, the movie is too uneven. Here, not only is Bilbo's struggle between finding his courage and missing home the main emotional focus of the film, but it ends with a heartwarming moment between him and Thorin.Though it succeeds in accurately summarizing the first two books without losing Tolkien's story, the movie never really satisfies. Later films get bogged down by too many subplots and focus on other characters, like Thorin ( Richard Armitage), which pushes Bilbo into a background position in his trilogy. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is often considered the best in the trilogy because it is the only movie about Bilbo. Still, his best ability has to be his nonverbal performances, which say so much more about Bilbo's mental space than any words could. He looks like he could have been a younger version of Sir Ian Holm's version from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and his mannerisms perfectly capture Bilbo's nervous, unwilling energy as he finds himself in one crazy situation after another. However, one of their most successful was the casting of Bilbo ( Martin Freeman). Jackson and his crew made several questionable choices with the Hobbit films. It's a remarkable portrayal that dominates the entire movie and, in a just world, should've earned the actor the 2002 Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Some of his best scenes are when Gandalf's wrath is stoked, and he gives the characters, and by extension, the audience, just what kind of raw power is hiding beneath the surface. He completely loses himself in the role of the wise, warm, and grandfatherly wizard who is always there to give advice and comfort when needed. Ian McKellen's portrayal is legendary, especially when he plays Gandalf the Grey. With the return of the One Ring and the betrayal of Gandalf's superior, Saruman the White ( Sir Christopher Lee), he takes it upon himself to lead a Fellowship made up of hobbits, men, dwarves, and elves to see to the ring's destruction. He made many visits to Hobbiton to see his friend, Bilbo, delighting young hobbits with his beautiful fireworks. This adaptation does add a few new scenes where it seems like Gandalf is giving into despair, but to the film's credit, seeing Gandalf fight on despite his misgivings makes him even more inspirational.īefore becoming Gandalf the White, Gandalf was known as the grey wizard in the order of the five wizards.

Huston's delivery is powerful thanks to his sharp tone, which helps to capture how Gandalf the White is meant to lead the charge against evil.

Rankin-Bass' The Return of the King is not the best of Tolkien's adaptations due to its condensed narrative and questionable art design, but their version of Gandalf is a strong portrayal of the character. When the orcs of Mordor arrive to take the city, Gandalf leads the defense, hoping that their allies will be able to defeat their enemies before the city falls. Unfortunately, the city's steward, Denethor ( William Conrad), has surrendered to despair. In the final days of the War of the Ring, the wizard Gandalf the White ( John Huston) and the hobbit Peregrin 'Pippin' Took ( Sonny Melendrez) ride to the city of Minas Tirith to defend the city from the armies of Mordor.

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