The Hobbit Cartoon (1977)

Chris talks with Jonathan Geltner about the best (but still flawed) adaptation of The Hobbit.

Get ready for...your greatest adventure!

Among other things, we discuss:

1:32 — The 1977 NBC broadcast

2:31 — Childhood memories of the cartoon

5:48 — Rankin/Bass as directors

5:58 — Rankin's "no additions" philosophy

6:15 — Top Craft & the Studio Ghibli connection

7:39 — Music & the folk singer-songwriter style

8:11 — Critical reception & Hugo nomination

8:36 — What the adaptation kept vs. omitted

9:00 — Songs as background vs. foreground

12:10 — "Greatest Adventure" as anti-escapist message

20:01 — Fantasy's cultural status in the 1970s

21:59 — The Hobbit's cohesion vs. "episodic" label

25:57 — Bilbo's shifting narrative voice in Mirkwood

27:57 — Mirkwood: the weakest section

32:01 — Omitting Beorn & the Arkenstone's consequences

41:07 — Character designs: what works, what doesn't

46:54 — The Wood Elves' unusual look

51:59 — Star Wars, fantasy, and mainstream credibility

55:29 — Tolkien's "long ago in the quiet of the world"

1:00:53 — Oral storytelling tradition vs. film immersion

1:01:44 — One swap: what would you put back?

1:06:30 — Mental visualization & imaginative experience

 

To read Jonathan's Substack, click here: https://jonathangeltner.substack.com/

To read my (far less illustrious) Substack, click here: https://pipkinsmiscellany.substack.com/

To buy Jonathan's first book, click here: https://slantbooks.org/books/absolute-music/

To email me, click inklingsvarietyhour@gmail.com