The Lord of the Rings
clearly eclipse by Peter Jackson ’s Oscar - winning live natural action trilogy , Ralph Bakshi ’s 1978 version ofThe Lord of the Ringsis a decidedly weird beast . There ’s no blame the ambition involved – Bakshi , screenwriters Peter S. Beagle and Chris Conkling and the crew of animators do an admirable job of squeeze the first one-half of J.R.R. Tolkien ’s fancy heroic into one flick .
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But the motion-picture show ’s inconsistent visual style , hammy vocalisation acting and disregard for the fine detail of Tolkien ’s mythos drag it down . Nevertheless , there ’s also no denying that Bakshi’sLord of the Ringsgets more right than he and his squad get credit for . Indeed , his twisting on the beginning textile is occasionally more close to the Middle - earth canyon than Jackson ’s movies . Do n’t believe us ? learn on , as we highlight 10 ways the animatedLord of the Ringsfollowed Tolkien ’s novel more closely than its live action counterpart !
The 17 Year Time Jump
InThe Fellowship of the Ring , Tolkien state that 17 years elapse between when Bilbo intrust the Ring toFrodoand Frodo leaving the Shire to seek safe oasis among the Elves in Rivendell . Bakshi , Conkling and Beagle go along with this , preserving the tale ’s timeline and leaving Frodo ’s canonical age unchanged .
On the other hand , Jackson and co - writers Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh jettison this sentence jump – although the accurate gap between the two result is n’t unmortgaged , it ’s a affair of months , not years . That read , what the live action at law version loses in fidelity to Tolkien ’s work by crumple its chronology , it gains in narration urgency , so arguably Jackson made the right call here .
Gandalf’s Showdown With Saruman
As it depart down on the pageboy , the confrontation betweenGandalfand Saruman inThe Fellowship of the Ringisn’t exactly a pulse - impound dust - up . What it boils down to is that the pair engage in a heated philosophic disputation , before Gandalf is lock up atop Orthanc tug . This means that , while some sort of struggle is at least imply – Gandalfdoesend up jail , after all – we never really see these two wizards trade magical reverse .
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Bakshi and his piece of writing team largely honour this : the dyad still wind up in a high - brow slanging match , before Saruman overpowers Gandalf by way of a psychedelic light show ( it was the 70s , OK ? ) . Perhaps sensing that a less actual interpretation of the scene would be more cinematically hearty , Jackson pares down the yak to a bare minimum , replacing it with the wizarding affaire d’honneur equivalent of a whang - down , drag - out brawl !
Aragorn’s Character Arc
InThe Lord of the Rings , Tolkien was dealing with archetypical grapheme – which mean that the series ’ heroes lean not to be as three - dimensional as modern audience are accustomed to . dead on target , the skilful guy of mediate - earth are n’t without flaws and they ’re occasionally uncertain , but overall , they verge on superhumanly perfect .
TakeAragorn : other than a few instances where he momentarily expresses doubts in his leadership ability , he neverreallyshows any misgiving when it come to ascending the throne of Gondor . The 1978 adaptation trace suit in its word-painting of Aragorn , who certify no mental reservation when it comes to face the electrical resistance against Mordor .
By direct contrast , Jackson , Boyens and Walsh drew upon contemporary storytelling techniques to make a fictitious character arc for our hero – charting his gradual transformation into the king he was born to be – a determination that did n’t inevitably please purists !
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The Elves Are Absent From Helm’s Deep
One of the most rousing scenes in Peter Jackson ’s version ofThe Two Towerssees an elfish army arrive on the evening of the Battle of Helm ’s Deep , bolstering the outnumber rank of the Rohirrim . As any Tolkien aficionado will tell you , this does n’t occur in the novel , where no warlike care fromthe Elvesis forthcoming . Since this was an invention on the part of Jackson and his team , it ’s hardly surprising that it ’s nowhere to be found in Ralph Bakshi ’s adaptation of the story , either .
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Interestingly , the two filmsdooverlap where Gandalf ’s timely treatment is concerned . Unlike in the record book – where the wizard is join by venerable warrior Erkenbrand and his rider – in both big screen reimaginings , Gandalf is backed by expatriate loyalists moderate by heir apparent to the throne of Rohan , Éomer , rather .
Giving The Elven Smiths Their Due
The 2001 plastic film version ofThe companionship of the Ringkicks off with a prologue that briefly recapitulate the relevant history of mediate - earth that starter require to follow the story . One of the cardinal events covered is the fashioning ofthe Rings of Power – and as present on - screen , it ’s easy to lack the part played by the Elven smiths . Indeed , daily viewing audience would no doubt leap to the conclusion that Sauron forged the entire range of witching bling solo , rather than in collaboration with the Elves .
This equivocalness does n’t exist in the 1978Lord of the Ringscartoon . Although its prologue does get other point unseasonable , Bakshi , Beagle and Conkling intelligibly acknowledge the Elven smith ’s purpose in the Rings ’ origination . In fairness , Jackson and his writing squad were trying to streamline Tolkien ’s mythos to nullify overload newbies with information , but the upshot is that Bakshi ’s pic is technically more precise than Jackson ’s on this grudge .
Saruman’s New Title
For the entirety of Peter Jackson ’s big screen trilogy , secondary antagonistSarumanis known by the same title , “ Saruman the White ” . This does n’t just think over his dress sense ( although it totallydoes ) , it also announce Saruman ’s position as the wise and most powerful figure among Middle - earth ’s wizard order . However , in Tolkien ’s original book , Saruman awards himself an unofficial promotion , arrogantly proclaiming himself to be “ Saruman of Many Colors ” , updating his wardrobe to twin .
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Jackson ’s films might omit this , but Bakshi’sLord of the Ringsmirrors this development in Saruman ’s character perfectly . Well … notquiteperfectly : Saruman ’s animated incarnation rocks a crimson gown at betting odds with his verbal description in the text , and he ’s often refer to as “ Aruman ” – part of an aborted attempt to discern him from overarch villain , Sauron !
Elrond And Aragorn’s Relationship
Unlike in Tolkien ’s writings , the human relationship between Aragorn andElrondin Peter Jackson’sThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy is well described as complex . The Elrond of the Good Book is a model foster father to Aragorn and is broadly supportive of the romance between his Mrs. Humphrey Ward and his daughter , Arwen . By dividing line , in the unrecorded action adaptation , the Aragorn / Arwen wedlock – which will ultimately cost Arwen her immortality – is a source of ill will between the Elf Lord and his foster boy .
None of this unpleasantness is present in Ralph Bakshi ’s animated adaptation … although if we ’re being honest , that ’s because Elrond has barely any screen time , while Arwen is omitted solely ! Still , the brief moments Elrond and Aragorn share in the 1978 flick do n’t contain even the slightest trace of animosity between them , so this is another case of Bakshi and co being closer to the mark .
The Shards Of Narsil
J.R.R. Tolkien’sThe Lord of the Ringsnovels explicitly describe Narsil – thelegendary swordthat turn out the One Ring from Sauron ’s finger – as being smash into two piece . The grade of harm inflicted upon the vane is carry over to Ralph Bakshi ’s 1978 cinema , but not in Peter Jackson ’s live action trilogy over 20 years by and by .
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Jackson and the crew at Weta Workshop re - visualise Narsil as splintering into multiple shards . This hardly constitutes a major alteration from the root material – and aside from being more visually impressive , it serves to play up the unmatchable cunning of the Elves when the blade is re - bad inThe Return of the King .
Frodo Defies The Nazgûl
BothThe Fellowship of the Ringand its two large screen door version include a thrilling succession where Frodo is pursued by Sauron ’s fearsome servant , the Nazgûl . Yet despite sharing the same implicit in premise , all three pursuit represent out differently . Notably , whereas in the novel our brave hobbit is accompanied by mighty Elf Lord Glorfindel , he ’s team with Elven archer Legolas in Bakshi ’s cartoon and Elf maiden Arwen in Jackson ’s live action feature .
Where the Tolkien and Bakshi accounts align is that Frodo is a more active participant in these events – he even defiantly shouts at his pursuer when they attempt to sweet-talk him to their side . By comparison , the Frodo of Jackson ’s photographic film has nearly succumbed to the supernatural combat injury he sustained earlier and is a more peaceful protagonist as a solution .
Galadriel’s Moment Of Temptation
When the Fellowship call the Elven realm of Lothlórien inThe Fellowship of the Ring , Frodo offer to cede responsibility for the One Ring to super - charged elf ( and fellow Ringbearer)Galadriel . This is rightful of both Tolkien ’s volume and the adaptation by Bakshi and Jackson – but again , there are discrepancy between how three iterations of the scene unfold .
For his part , Bakshi more or less follow Tolkien ’s leash . Galadriel is tempt by the Ring , but despite momentarily bring out her own formidable great power , she rejects Frodo ’s offer with a laugh , keeping proceedings cordial . Jackson come in more dramatic event into transactions though , and Galadriel ’s near conquest by the Ring is more marked and intimidating . This further emphasise the potency of the Ring , but also ruffled the feathers of Tolkien buff who felt that Jackson had mischaracterized Galadriel ’s benignant personality .
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