7:40 it’s interesting how they both chose very different ways of showing the last ship to valinor, with the cartoon showing it as rainy and gloomy, perhaps to show the emotions of Sam, Merry and Pippin and the great unknown of Valinor to Frodo, while the movie shows a bright setting sun, showing that though it is sad Frodo and Gandalf have to leave it is good thing

I'm really glad both versions decided to give Frodo pants in the Cirith Ungol scenes

This is a pretty cool way of showing off each adaptation’s strengths. Both are extremely personal works by their respective directors and obvious labors of love.

I just realized how important the ending with Sam and his family is.

Say what you want but even 20 years past this movie is one of the best ever been made. All 3 of them.

Eówyn in the Rankin/Bass adaptation sure was beautiful.

Peter Jackson loved the animated shows (The Hobbit, The Lord of the rings, and The Return of the King) He used those movies as inspiration

Man did this hit me hard.

Gollum gives me some serious Pepe vibes.

fun fact, that studio that animated the rankin/bass lord of the rings was the precursor to studio Ghibli

Thank you , thank you , thank you for this amazing editing! I think most people think of the songs from Rankin Bass' version and forget they got a lot of the story spot on. I saw Bakshi's movie in the theatres as a kid and was angry it didn't end. It was so wonderful when this came out on network TV a year later to finish the story, and it was great for kids like me. We didn't see a lot of theatre movies in my family- expensive- so this coming out on TV made it possible to enjoy the end of the series. People have to remember this was a low budget network TV show and they had to pick up the pieces and end the story and may not have been allowed to show certain scenes and characters from the Fellowship and The Two Towers. They also got quite gritty for a network TV show- showing Frodo's whiplash wounds in the Cirith Ungol tower and having his finger bitten off by Gollum on 1980s cartoon standards was really on the edge, especially on network TV with all their censors. While I do feel the Jackson version is the better one, this version did some things better than the Jackson version. They showed Tolkein's book scene of Sam being tempted by the Ring to accept its power and how he rejected it. They also did a better showing of the scene where Sam finds Frodo in Cirith Ungol. The emotional reaction between Sam and Frodo of finding each other was really well done and better showed the scene from the book. I also like how the sailing off in to the west was more like the gray feel of the book- the Gray Havens. Their version of Sauron's eye also was really scary to me as a kid. Even today I find it really creepy, just as frightening as Jackson's version. I think because the Rankin Bass version looks more human at first and then you see after a few seconds something is not right and then it looks horrifying. Even if the songs were corny, if you listen to the words they tell the story really well, even "Where there's a whip there's a way" shows what an orc might have been feeling in the war. I know it's not in the books, but I liked the idea that Orcs might have known they were seen as disposable and they resented it. I saw this show once again after I saw the Jackson movies, and I still like it as an adult. I realize I have the perspective of seeing this when it first came out before Jackson's amazing movies, so I can understand why people who saw Jackson's movies first would find this lacking. But if you had seen them first and realized how avant garde they were for the time, this was an amazing show. Given that perspective I hope you give it a watch and enjoy it for it is and its limitations. Also it's a nice tough that the Japanese studio that animated this and the "Hobbit" for Rankin Bass eventually became Studio Ghibli.

I think I've seen this only once when I was a kid because I distinctly remember the songs "When there's a whip, there's a way" and "Frodo and the Nine Fingers, and the Ring of Doom" and absolutely nothing else.

Lol minis tirith is flipping off mordor

Smeagol the toad!

Two ways the Rankin Bass movie was superior: It had Sam's temptation by the One Ring - where he imagines himself as an all powerful gardener. It is the most adorable thing ever. Second, it had a scene where Sam and Frodo at their lowest imagine the Orcs becoming friendly. It's nice to think that the Orcs would revert to being just an ordinary race of people without the Dark Lord's influence, so it's kind of a heartwarming scene.

Thanks for this. It's neat comparing two interpretations of the same works. While I think Jackson's sense for cinematic framing is superior, neither representation is inherently better than the other. Both are quite charming.

All the other characters being shown before Eowyn made her even moooore attractive. It's like her animation/art style is out of place when compared to the rest haha

Why do I feel like I missed out on something significant by never seeing the Rankin Bass version growing up?

The soundtrack of Middle earth is so heavenly good, its a masterpiece. I think we would never witness this type of films again.

Rankin Bass did a fine for what they set out to achieve, but Peter Jackson did an extraordinary job. Jackson's LOTR are brilliant films, taken to the next level by Shore's score.

It is amazing how good the 1980 animated version is. Still watchable today, with a smooth (albeit highly cut-down) story, memorable visuals, and appropriate music. It's not meant to be anything like the Jackson version. It is its own rendition, and it's fantastic.

Love the movement of the hair during the Witch King fight in the animation

man those cartoony orcs sure are cute

I'm so emotional right now. This trilogy was the popcultural pinnacle of my youth.

One of the last and best film/adaptations Rankin/Bass made! Still have the songs stuck in my head! Especially “Frodo of the Nine Fingers” and “Where there’s a whip there’s a way”. Also one of the best adaptations of Tolkien

Gosh, the moment Frodo puts on the ring in the Rankin bass version 😂 "I am so happy to put this ring on!" 😁

This was great! I'm so glad you put together this side-by-side sequence.

That 1980 movie has been created by the same people who made "the last unicorn", right? Nearly the same style, and figure movements...

Thanks for this, it's been awhile since I've seen the Rankin Bass version. Well done!

Why does the Witch King only have a fell beast in the animated Return of the King when the other Nazgul get horses with wings?

Honestly? If you're going strictly by the book, story-wise the Rankin and Bass version is more faithful, in spite of the visual creative differences. For example: In the books, Frodo doesn't push Gollum into the crater of Mount Doom, Gollum is dancing victoriously upon recapturing the ring, then slips and falls in on accident. Also, Theoden did in fact die from being thrown off his horse (not very ceremonious, but it is what it is) hence when they bury his horse, the horse's epitaph reads "Faithful Servant, yet Master's Bane, here lies Snowmane."

Rankin Bass knew what they were doing when they contracted Top-Craft (later Studio Ghibli) to make their animated films (including their LotR adaptations) :) Thanks so much for doing these! Nice to know people look back fondly on these films. Clearly Roddy McDowel's performance as Samwise went over well and Brother Theodore's Gollum is freaking creepy, like the hardcore drug addict he's meant to be. :)

Grond was scarier in the cartoon. The flying black pegasus makes it the Lol of the Rings. I saw it on tv in grade school and I remember the kids talking about how they liked it (stellar, awesome, universal thumbs ups, etc) recalling Gollum saying my precious more than anything

This is awesome. Thank you for making

This was wonderfully done! Thank you 👏

I loved both Eowýn parts. Epic in both versions!

Really fantastic job, man. Love this!

Good work, thanks for this cut!

Very cool comparison and great editing work!

This is amazing! Thank you, man!

JRR Tolkien never wanted a cartoon made of his work, he hated the idea, and the second he passed away the dumbed the cartoon version out.

Awesome.No words, it is brilliant. Very good job!!

I watched the cartoon first and then the movie. They both hold special place in my heart.

Congratulations on the beautiful work! :)

And what I love about the animated one is that it had more Biblical truth and it was actually Old English, and I love how the Warg looked and also the speech between Eówyn and The Witch King and also how Sam was briefly tempted but he resisted the Ring and also how the Voice of Sauron was drawn and also Frodo succumbed to the Ring in Orudrúin *snaps fingers* just like that, rather than staring at it for 5 seconds

Man, that Rankin/Bass version is better than I remembered it being. I'll have to dig it up and watch it now.

in 1977 i was 5 years old and the whole world was going crazy for Star Wars, so was i. BUT my father was a big Tolkien fan and i was crazy about that too.

Great work!!! Well done!!!

Thank you for this, Beautiful.

I think the thing I find most interesting is how fantastical the Orcs and Hobbits and Elves seem in the Rankin/Bass version, while the Men seem quite grounded. there's such a contrast

Gollum is a lizard being? :)

Gollum: *Falls to his death. KZfaq: * Interrupts the video for an ad about Universal's *NOPE.*

Just watch this again last night so it is fitting it was in my recommended.

Tnx!! I wanted to see those together 😁👍

I like how the cartoon kept the classic character design tolkien had in mind, but the new ones are really good too.

Hear you now, a story of good against evil An epic that has its beginning and an ending And ends at a beginning Listen as we speak of the fall of a lord of darkness And the return of a king of light Concern yourself with armies and wizards Phantoms and Emperors Cloud capped towers and bloody fields of our endless carnage Consider no less the cataclysmic transformation Of that ancient world of wonder and magic To the world we know now, Of man What mighty lord is hero enough to evoke such cosmic metamorphosis?

The rankin bass version of the hobbit was able to capture the feel of the book unlike the Jackson films

Rankin Bass Gollum clearly wanted the Ring more! Great video!

And I love the music in this one

I wish rankin bass would come back and do do a proper 3 part lotr remake and true succesor to the mood of their Hobbit.

Amazing! Simply amazing!

OMFG, the Rankin/Bass version of the Mouth of Sauron was hilarious. XD

Wow, the animation in the Rankin/Bass was much better than I remembered it!

Nice work!

It's funny, but I never realized how much better the animation is in RB than the Bakshi one. Designs are consistent and the characters have real expressions on their faces and Sam looks like a burly little farmer, not some weird caricature

Beautifully done! Of course I cried at the end. AGAIN. fml.

This is weird. I never knew this existed. I have watched the Bakshi film and heard about the Hobbit series, but this here is entirely new to me.

5:28 Best part for both movies, and the soundtrack really helps.

Sensacional, meu irmão!

0:53 Someone once made me appreciate the Minas Tirith of the 1980 version more by pointing out the difference in design. Sure Jackson made the White City look vast and impressive despite falling into decay...but the Rankin/Bass one seems to have based its architecture specifically around permanently flipping the bird to Mordor.

Rankin-Bass Production released an animated TV movie in 1980, JRR Tolkien's Return of the King is based primarily on the first three novels.

At least theoden had a noble death instead of just falling of his horse.

Funny how much detail is renderred nearly identically, such as rock outcroppings and camera angles (0:20 for example). They must have used a significant amount of the animation for reference material and storyboarding.

When Jackson's movies came out, I wasn't aware of the existence of the animated ones. Now I see that they were pretty good too. And so similar in many ways, especially the camera perspective, if I judge well fromy this small and edited comparison.

So, as much as nostalgia as people have for the animated trilogy, one undeniable fact is that the voice actors don't know how to pronounce Tolkien names

It's incredible that Jackson's trilogy is quickly approaching the age that 1980 LOTR was in 2001-03. And just as incredible that in today's climate, nothing like LOTR could possibly have a chance of being filmed. Every second of film would offend and trigger someone, sending crowds of "people" into spasmic fits.

The Jackson Witch king design is decent, but I do wish the went more the way of Rankin/Bass, with the missing head and floating crown. The Jackson design is more overtly menacing and a little over the top, but the headless crown is more mysterious and magical

Amazing

Nice work.

this just makes jacksons vision look more epic and brilliant

As bad as the old Rankin & Bass version is, the songs were super catchy. In particular, "Where There's a Whip, There's a Way" is especially difficult to forget.

That music 🥲

Very Awesome!!

Side-by-Side series directory here: mattskuta.com/sbs/ Comment to help me choose my next side-by-side: Psycho (1960/1998) Cabin Fever (2002/2016) The Great Gatsby (1974/2013) Open Your Eyes (1997)/Vanilla Sky (2001) Romeo and Juliet (1936/1968/1996/2013) Animal Farm (1954/1999) The BFG (1989/2016) Avatar: The Last Airbender(2003)/The Last Airbender (2010) Cinderella (1950/2015) Clash of the Titans (1981/2010) Nosferatu (1922)/Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) The Shining (1980/1997) Ghost in the Shell (1995/2017) The Jungle Books (1994/2016)

This is incredible!!! This is my favorite one!!!

Funny how in the Rankin Bass version Frodo puts the One Ring on his ring finger, but in the Peter Jackson film , he puts it on his forefinger (index finger).

What is the name of the soundtrack in the beginning?

The Witch King in the Rankin/Bass version is much more accurate to Tolkien's description than the Jackson version is. Interesting.

The movies are absolute classic, that's for sure. But there is always a magical charm when it comes to the animation.

After seeing this, I'm convinced. Both are an masterpiece movie version of the books.

Still Same to me ! Pure Gold

One must also consider that the animated version was made for television back in 1980; Peter Jackson's version was made for the big screen decades later with a huge budget and the special effects technology available at that point. I actually prefer the animated version, although the lack of Shelob and a few other things were flaws Mr. Jackson's version didn't have. Still, maybe Rankin-Bass caught some flack about the spiders in "The Hobbit" being too frightening (this was 1980 remember) and so decided to leave Shelob out. The animated version of Grond was certainly better, especially the way it drooled molten metal- you just KNEW the next blow was going to get the job done. The "hobbits are evolving into humans" may have been put in so small children would not think hobbits had been killed or just died off but are in a way still here.

The cartoon follows the book more closely but they both follow really closely (not perfectly but close)

Gandalf from R/B: Who causes the minutes to fall dead, adding up to no passing hour, bringing no change from day to night, as the unseen sun fails to filter into the ever-present shadows? Who is this Dark Lord who turns starless nights into sunless days? How does His piercing eye see through the ever-present darkness, seeing all-and nothing? The restless eye, in His Dark Tower, wearing a veil of protective shadows He has woven from fear. And yet He fears too. In the security of His protective realm He fears the winds of the world are turning against Him, tearing aside His veils and troubling Him, with tidings of bold spies that have passed through His fences.

Grew up with those Rankin/Bass cartoons.

1980: The eye of Sauron is in the sky. 2003: The eye of Sauron is on a tower with 2 spires!

I've never seen the animation but it looks great.

The animated ROTK didn't end with Samwise and his family - just Frodo, Bilbo, Elrond and Gandalf setting sail on the white ship.

It is striking how similar these are

Something about this was very emottional.