# The Hobbit - 1966



## Erestor Arcamen (Jan 14, 2020)

I found this on Reddit and thought it was interesting. A 12-minute version of The Hobbit from 1966.


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## Miguel (Jan 14, 2020)

If they don't get much better at depicting live action Middle-earth then i will continue to prefer this format.


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## Alcuin (Jan 15, 2020)

There is an older thread on this subject here, but I fully support starting new threads on old subjects: new ideas should be examined, too.

The 1966 film was created by animator Gene Deitch to fulfill a contract obligation by William Snyder to release a film on _The Hobbit_ by June 30, 1966. The result has little connection with Tolkien’s book, almost a child’s parody. (It makes Peter Jackson’s adaptation seem faithful by comparison.) It was shown for one day in a theater in Manhattan – coincidentally, June 29, 1966 – for 10¢ per person, and people who viewed it were actually given the dime by Deitch to pay for attendance; however, they also signed a statement saying they had seen the film. That fulfilled Snyder’s contract, and he was able to resell the rights for $100,000. (According to the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, that would be over $787,000 today: £604,000, €707,000.)

Here is the IMDb (Internet Movie Database) page on the film: it is rather sparse. Gene Deitch, its animator, maintains a blog and has written a good report on what happened. (I understand that he didn’t get any of the $100,000.) Here’s a more descriptive page from the Lost Media Archive. Tor.com also has a decent page on the film.

The human side of the story is more complex, of course. If someone here is interested, perhaps you’d care to start with these links and reconstruct the story.

The YouTube link Erestor Arcamen has provided is the entire film.


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## Miguel (Jan 15, 2020)

I wouldn't mind a rotoscoping Silmarillion at all.


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## Erestor Arcamen (Jan 15, 2020)

Alcuin said:


> There is an older thread on this subject here, but I fully support starting new threads on old subjects: new ideas should be examined, too.
> 
> The 1966 film was created by animator Gene Deitch to fulfill a contract obligation by William Snyder to release a film on _The Hobbit_ by June 30, 1966. The result has little connection with Tolkien’s book, almost a child’s parody. (It makes Peter Jackson’s adaptation seem faithful by comparison.) It was shown for one day in a theater in Manhattan – coincidentally, June 29, 1966 – for 10¢ per person, and people who viewed it were actually given the dime by Deitch to pay for attendance; however, they also signed a statement saying they had seen the film. That fulfilled Snyder’s contract, and he was able to resell the rights for $100,000. (According to the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, that would be over $787,000 today: £604,000, €707,000.)
> 
> ...



Thanks for the additional info! I meant to add more today but wanted to post it so I wouldn't forget. That's really interesting!


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## NerdoftheRings (Feb 13, 2020)

So funny that this just came in the list of threads in my inbox this morning. I'm going to do a livestream on this film tonight.  I've purposely held off the past couple weeks that I've known this existed so I could do a livestream/reaction of it. I'm very much looking forward to meeting "Slag the Monster Lizard"! 😂

Here's the link to tonight's livestream if anyone wants to join the fun!


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## arivista (Aug 18, 2022)

The co-creator of this "masterpiece" was one of my fellow countrymen, Czech artist Adolf Born. But I don't know if I should be proud of it, the movie is a complete bastardization of Tolkien.


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## Elbereth Vala Varda (Aug 18, 2022)

Erestor Arcamen said:


> I found this on Reddit and thought it was interesting. A 12-minute version of The Hobbit from 1966.


Interesting!


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## Radaghast (Aug 18, 2022)

arivista said:


> The co-creator of this "masterpiece" was one of my fellow countrymen, Czech artist Adolf Born. But I don't know if I should be proud of it, the movie is a complete bastardization of Tolkien.


With 12 minutes, I'd be surprised if it weren't.


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