I personally really liked Rankin/Bass' The Hobbit, so I was hoping that their Return of the King would be as good. I will be honest in saying that, although expecting something like Peter Jackson's stunning epic was a tall order, I was a little disappointed judging it on its own terms and in comparing it to Rankin/Bass' Hobbit adaptation. I wouldn't go as far to say that any asset is truly dire, but everything got too much of a mixed reception from me.
Animation: I personally did like the background art. Some were lacking in finesse but most did look very pretty. The colours have times when they're luscious but others when they're rather flat and dull-looking. But it was the character designs where the animation fell down hardest on. Not all of them are bad, Gandalf and Aragorn actually look pretty good. I can see the intent in trying to give Gollum the frog-like appearance he's described as, at the same time though in that effort they took the description to extremes. Of the character designs, which generally were quite ugly-looking if I was to be honest, Pippin, Merry and the ring-wraiths fared the worst.
Music: In terms of songs, there are a couple that stood out, Frodo of Nine Fingers and especially Where There's a Whip were the standouts. The lyrics do a decent job in retaining the poetry of the prose of the book, and some of the scoring has some whimsy. Too much of the music though is done in a style that doesn't fit with the tone of the story and perhaps too late 70s-early 80s. Some of it is catchy, some also is a little lacking in life.
Dialogue: Most of it is not too bad actually, there are some intelligent and thoughtful lines that maintain the spirit of the dialogue of the book. Not all of it however flows very well, coming across as stilted and cheesy instead.
Story: There are moments that do work. Aragorn's Coronation Procession was rousing and moving in equal measure. Sam's temptation has a thrilling sense of foreboding and Eowyn's encounter with the ring-wraith likewise. Conversely it ties with the pacing as the film's biggest failing. Too much of it, due to how much was left out, jumps around and while the essence of fantasy and adventure is there a lot of it feels too choppy and confused. The characters are great but the length and pacing doesn't allow us to care for them properly. Important characters and plot strands are either left out or are over in a matter of seconds(that is including that that explains the whole point of the title) which adds to the confused nature of the narrative.
Pacing: This was a mix as well, but rather than being an asset that was either good or bad or a bit of both, this was the area where it was a mess that was taken to either extreme. Most of the storytelling is rather pedestrian, further bogged down by the inclusion of dream sequences that while interesting in some instances felt too much after a while. The sprawling and choppy nature of how the story was told also gives some scenes and transitions a rushed feeling.
Voice acting: There are some standouts, John Huston embodies Gandalf in a noble and distinguished vocal performance. Brother Theodore is appropriately sinister, and while Gollum here doesn't have enough pathos he does succeed in giving some anyway. Paul Frees is very chilling in his own unique way, and Roddy MacDowell is appropriately loyal as Sam. I was mixed on Orson Bean. I liked his Bilbo in The Hobbit, and he clearly tries hard and has some likable moments, but generally I found his Frodo too over-earnest, not helped by the fact that Frodo comes across as too idealistic in how he is written. Others don't fare very well at all. Casey Kasem's voice is jarring(no offence to him but it was too much Shaggy and not enough Merry), Don Messick sounds as though his voice was recorded inside a filter and Glen Yarbrough has a voice that will go either way with viewers, I personally found his rather bleating sound here a little too hard to take.
Overall, neither awful or great. Everything however is too much of a mixed bag for me. 5/10 Bethany Cox
Animation: I personally did like the background art. Some were lacking in finesse but most did look very pretty. The colours have times when they're luscious but others when they're rather flat and dull-looking. But it was the character designs where the animation fell down hardest on. Not all of them are bad, Gandalf and Aragorn actually look pretty good. I can see the intent in trying to give Gollum the frog-like appearance he's described as, at the same time though in that effort they took the description to extremes. Of the character designs, which generally were quite ugly-looking if I was to be honest, Pippin, Merry and the ring-wraiths fared the worst.
Music: In terms of songs, there are a couple that stood out, Frodo of Nine Fingers and especially Where There's a Whip were the standouts. The lyrics do a decent job in retaining the poetry of the prose of the book, and some of the scoring has some whimsy. Too much of the music though is done in a style that doesn't fit with the tone of the story and perhaps too late 70s-early 80s. Some of it is catchy, some also is a little lacking in life.
Dialogue: Most of it is not too bad actually, there are some intelligent and thoughtful lines that maintain the spirit of the dialogue of the book. Not all of it however flows very well, coming across as stilted and cheesy instead.
Story: There are moments that do work. Aragorn's Coronation Procession was rousing and moving in equal measure. Sam's temptation has a thrilling sense of foreboding and Eowyn's encounter with the ring-wraith likewise. Conversely it ties with the pacing as the film's biggest failing. Too much of it, due to how much was left out, jumps around and while the essence of fantasy and adventure is there a lot of it feels too choppy and confused. The characters are great but the length and pacing doesn't allow us to care for them properly. Important characters and plot strands are either left out or are over in a matter of seconds(that is including that that explains the whole point of the title) which adds to the confused nature of the narrative.
Pacing: This was a mix as well, but rather than being an asset that was either good or bad or a bit of both, this was the area where it was a mess that was taken to either extreme. Most of the storytelling is rather pedestrian, further bogged down by the inclusion of dream sequences that while interesting in some instances felt too much after a while. The sprawling and choppy nature of how the story was told also gives some scenes and transitions a rushed feeling.
Voice acting: There are some standouts, John Huston embodies Gandalf in a noble and distinguished vocal performance. Brother Theodore is appropriately sinister, and while Gollum here doesn't have enough pathos he does succeed in giving some anyway. Paul Frees is very chilling in his own unique way, and Roddy MacDowell is appropriately loyal as Sam. I was mixed on Orson Bean. I liked his Bilbo in The Hobbit, and he clearly tries hard and has some likable moments, but generally I found his Frodo too over-earnest, not helped by the fact that Frodo comes across as too idealistic in how he is written. Others don't fare very well at all. Casey Kasem's voice is jarring(no offence to him but it was too much Shaggy and not enough Merry), Don Messick sounds as though his voice was recorded inside a filter and Glen Yarbrough has a voice that will go either way with viewers, I personally found his rather bleating sound here a little too hard to take.
Overall, neither awful or great. Everything however is too much of a mixed bag for me. 5/10 Bethany Cox