In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Sunday, 27 April 2014

The Return of the King (1980)

The Return of the King is Rankin/Bass’ sequel to their earlier film The Hobbit (1977), but it also shamelessly capitalises on Ralph Bakshi’s more successful Lord of the Rings (1978) feature by doing what he was denied a chance to do: it finishes the story. While the battle of Minas Tirith rages, Frodo and Sam walk and walk some more toward Mount Doom to carry out Tolkien’s disappointing ending that I never really liked.
It’s stylistically similar but thematically darker than The Hobbit, so the happy folk songs fit less comfortably.

2½ lashes out of 5

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