The Lord of the Rings is a 1978 American
fantasy film directed by
Ralph Bakshi. It combines animation and live action footage which is
rotoscoped to give it a look more consistent with the rest of the movie. It is an adaptation of the first half of
The Lord of the Rings by
J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in
Middle-earth, the film follows a group of
hobbits,
elves,
men,
dwarves and
wizards who form
a fellowship. They embark on a quest to destroy the
One Ring made by the Dark Lord
Sauron, and ensure his destruction. The film features the voices of
William Squire,
John Hurt,
Michael Graham Cox and
Anthony Daniels of
Star Wars fame. The screenplay was written by
Peter S. Beagle, based on an earlier draft by
Chris Conkling. Director Ralph Bakshi encountered Tolkien's writing early in his career, and had made several attempts to produce
The Lord of the Rings as an animated film before being given funding by producer
Saul Zaentz and distributor
United Artists. Although the film was a financial success, it received a mixed reaction from critics, and the original distributors refused to fund a sequel to cover the remainder of the story. However, the film sparked new interest in Tolkien's writing, inspiring the production of several further adaptations of the story. (
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