The Animated Hobbit?

[davem]

Here's the full piece by the film maker http://genedeitchcredits.com/roll-th...liam-l-snyder/

Snyder came up with some amazing projects for me. In 1964, before anyone but some obscure Brit kids ever heard of it, Bill handed me a faded little 1937 children’s book named, The Hobbit. He recognized it was a great story, and he obtained the film rights to it and the other works by a fusty old English philologist, named John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Snyder’s rights extended to June 30, 1966. Just enough time. He set me to the task of making The Hobbit into a feature-length animated movie.

After reading the book, I caught the fever, and intensively began working up a screenplay. My dear old friend Bill Bernal, the same man who led me to UPA, and who later joined me at The Jam Handy Organization, flew to Prague to collaborate. The great sweep of the adventure, the fabled landscapes, and the treasury of fantasy characters, made the story a natural for animation. Although the first book of the later trilogy, The Lord of The Rings, was published in 1954, we did yet not know of it. The Tolkien craze was still a few years in the future. Snyder had happened onto something of major value, and he had gotten the rights for peanuts!

We were well into the Hobbit screenplay when The Lord of The Rings came out in paperback editions. Having assumed there was only The Hobbit to contend with, and following Snyder’s wish, we had taken some liberties with the story that a few years later would be grounds for burning at the stake. For example, I had introduced a series of songs, changed some of the characters’ names, played loosely with the plot, and even created a girl character, a Princess no less, to go along on the quest, and to eventually overcome Bilbo Baggins’ bachelorhood! I could Hollywoodize as well as the next man…

When I did manage to get and read “THE LORD OF THE RINGS,” I realized I was dealing with something far more magnificent than what appeared in THE HOBBIT alone, and I then back-spaced elements from The Lord into my script so as to logically allow for a sequel. First Bill Bernal, and then I worked on the script for most of a year.

Actually, I kind of like the thing ( I downloaded it off You Tube as these things have a habit of disappearing when somebody starts screaming about copyright)

[Rumil]

Was just about to link this but Boromir and davem beat me to it!

Nicely narrated, it reminded me of Jackanory back in the day, illustrations but no animation

On the other hand, not entirely up to scratch on the canonicity front. They took the canon, melted it down, painted it purple with yellow spots and recycled it into coke cans then fired them by rocket into the rings of Saturn. Only the odd trace of preciousssss metal remains!

[Boromir88]

It actually reminds me of if The Hobbit book had a love child with the Shrek movies.

(In a quirky way, I enjoyed it too davem )

[davem]

I have a soft spot for the 'hippy-trippy' aspect of Tolkien fandom that grew up around the book in the '60's. I know Tolkien was fairly sniffy about it, but tbh it appeals more to me than much of the deadly dull Tolkien Studies stuff.

[Annalaliath]

I just watched it and my brain melted a little.

[Belegorn]

Whoa, General Oakenshield and the Tower of Gandalf! And lol @ Bilbo's hair and the Desolation of Slag.

[Annalaliath]

And people complaon about Peter Jackson's adaptions.