The Hobbit (1967 film)

1967 American animated adaptation of Tolkien novel

The Hobbit

Title screen

Directed by| Gene Deitch
Written by| Gene Deitch
Based on| The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Produced by| William Snyder
Narrated by| Herb Lass
Cinematography| Adolf Born
Music by| Václav Lidl

Release date

* 30 June 1967 (1967-06-30) (New York)

[1]

Running time

| 11 min 42 sec
Language| English

The Hobbit is a 1967 fantasy animated short film by Gene Deitch[2] and the first attempt to adapt J.R.R. Tolkien's 1937 novel The Hobbit (upon which it is loosely based) into a film.[1]

While originally planned as an ambitious full-length adaptation,[3] the short film actually released was an "ashcan copy",[4][5] created solely to fulfil a contractual obligation and retain the rights[3] and never intended for public exhibition.[5]

At less than twelve minutes, it is also one of the shortest films based on Tolkien's work.[6] It has no connection to the 1977 Rankin/Bass animated film or Peter Jackson's film trilogy.

The film is short and lacking in detail, barely resembling the original story[7] with the exception of the encounter with the trolls (renamed "Gromes") and Bilbo Baggins's encounter with a creature called Golüm. A Princess Mika, described as a "child", is introduced to avoid having Bilbo as a bachelor.[1]

## Plot

[edit]

A dragon named Slag has ravaged a town in Dale called Golden Bells, though General Torin Oakenshield and Princess Mika survive. They ask a wizard, Gandalf, for help; he tells them that the Great Book prophesies Slag's death, for which they must have a Hobbit. They visit Bilbo at his home in Hobbiton; he refuses to help, but Gandalf and Mika persuade him. They set off and meet two Gromes; Bilbo (not Gandalf, who does not come with them) tricks them into fighting each other, and at dawn, the Gromes turn into trees.

Bilbo vanishes from his companions. He has fallen into a hole in the mountains occupied by Grablins, landing in Golüm's lake. He finds Golüm's magic ring and escapes. He crosses Mirkwood and reaches the Lonely Mountain. He manages to steal the Arkenstone from Slag's hoard and uses a bow to shoot it into Slag's heart, killing him. Bilbo marries Mika and they return together to Hobbiton. The narrator ends the story that Gandalf may come back to bring Bilbo on another adventure.

## Production

[edit]

Producer William L. Snyder of Rembrandt Films had the film rights to Tolkien's work from 1964 to 1967 and intended to make a feature-length animated film of The Hobbit, working with Deitch as an animator and Bill Bernal as a writer.

A proposed deal with 20th Century-Fox fell through, but Snyder was nevertheless required to meet his contractual obligation to produce a "full-color film" of The Hobbit by the 30th of June that year or lose his rights to the material (which had grown significantly in value due to a recent increase in interest in the works of Tolkien).[3]

Snyder asked Deitch to make a 12-minute version, quickly and cheaply,[8] purely to fulfil the wording of the contract.[3] As such, this version — which was never intended for public exhibition — has been considered an "ashcan copy" by many including Deitch himself.[4][5]

The short is only slightly animated; it consists mostly of camera movements over still pictures, with some cut-outs moving on the screen.[1] Rushing through production, Snyder "premiered" the film on June 30, 1967 — the last day before his film rights would expire. He paid people a dime to give back to him, and then came and watched the film in a small Manhattan projection room. He had them sign statements that they had paid to see a Hobbit film, allowing Snyder to retain the rights. He then sold the rights back to Tolkien for approximately $100,000.[8]

The film remained unknown to Tolkien fans until 2012 when Deitch posted about the film's history on his blog. He stated that the film had been produced and released in 1966, but subsequent document discoveries confirmed that this happened in 1967.[1]

## See also

[edit]

* Limited animation
* The Lord of the Rings – Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated feature adaptation
* Cutout animation

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e Lee, Stuart D. (2020). A Companion to J.R.R. Tolkien. Wiley. pp. 518–519\. ISBN 9781119656029. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
2. ^ IndieWire article on 1966 animated adaptation
3. ^ a b c d Gene Deitch (January 6, 2012). "GeneDeitchCredits: William L. Snyder". Archived from the original on June 21, 2024. Retrieved August 3, 2024. "[Snyder] set me to the task of making The Hobbit into a feature-length animated movie.[..] I had proposed [..] cel-animated figures over elaborate 3D model backgrounds. [..] I was thinking big! [..But..] Months later, [Snyder] had a preposterous order for me: Make a [12-minute] version of THE HOBBIT [because] the Tolkien craze had exploded, and the value of the film rights reached outer space [but these would] expire in one month [so they needed to fulfil] just the letter of the contract – to deliver a 'full-color film' of THE HOBBIT by June 30th [ditching] all my previous year's work, and hoke up a super-condensed scenario on the order of a movie preview [..] and get it to a New York projection room on or before June 30th, 1966! [sic]"
4. ^ a b Wirestone, Clay (March 13, 2015). "The Weird History of the 'Ashcan Copy'". Mental Floss. Archived from the original on June 30, 2024. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
5. ^ a b c Gene Deitch. "GeneDeitchCredits: William L. Snyder [COMMENTS SECTION]". Archived from the original on June 21, 2024. Retrieved August 3, 2024. "[..replies from Deitch in comments..] I'm sure you understand that our ['instant Hobbit'] was never intended to be publically [sic] shown [..] My 35mm HOBBIT movie print was in fact, an 'Ashcan Copy.'"
6. ^ Robb, Brian J.; Simpson, Paul (2013). Middle-earth Envisioned: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings: On Screen, On Stage, and Beyond. Race Point Publishing. pp. 101–102\. ISBN 9781937994273. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
7. ^ The 1966 Hobbit Movie You Never Knew Existed - Collider
8. ^ a b Blackham, Robert S. (2012). J.R.R. Tolkien: Inspiring Lives. History Press. ISBN 9780752490977. Retrieved April 7, 2020. Note: This source says that the film was made in 1966.

## External links

[edit]

* The Hobbit at IMDb
* Film on DailyMotion
* Film on YouTube
* The short film The Hobbit (1967) is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
* Cartoon Brew article on said rediscovered adaptation

* v
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Middle-earth in motion pictures

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Animation|

| Short film|

* The Hobbit (1967)

|

Films|

* The Hobbit (1977)
* The Lord of the Rings (1978)
* The Return of the King (1980)
* The War of the Rohirrim (2024)

Live-action|

| Peter
Jackson
film
series|

| The Lord
of the Rings|

| Films|

* The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
* The Two Towers (2002)
* The Return of the King (2003)

|

Aspects|

* Accolades
* Peter Jackson's interpretation
* Music
* Production

The Hobbit|

| Films|

* An Unexpected Journey (2012)
* The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
* The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

|

Aspects|

* Accolades
* Original characters
* Music

Television|

| TV films|

* Sagan om ringen (1971)
* The Hobbit (1985)
* Khraniteli (1991)

|

Series|

* Hobitit (1993)
* The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022–present)
* music

Fan films|

* The Hunt for Gollum (2009)
* Born of Hope (2009)

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The Hobbit

* J. R. R. Tolkien
* Hobbit (word)
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Editions|

* English-language editions
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Characters|

* Bilbo Baggins
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Places|

* Eriador
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Related works|

* The History of The Hobbit
* Bilbo's Last Song
* There and Back Again (novel)
* The Hobbit pinball machine
* The Hobbit Strategy Battle Game
* "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins"

Adaptations|

| Radio|

* The Hobbit (1968)

|

Film|

* Gene Deitch's The Hobbit (1967)
* Rankin/Bass's The Hobbit (1977)
* Soviet The Hobbit (1985)
* Peter Jackson's series
* An Unexpected Journey (2012)
* The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
* The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
* original characters

Music|

* An Unexpected Journey (soundtrack) (2012)
* The Desolation of Smaug (soundtrack) (2013)
* The Battle of the Five Armies (soundtrack) (2014)

Video games|

* The Hobbit (1982)
* The Hobbit (2003)
* Lego The Hobbit (2014)

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