Tag: High Fantasy
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Review of Rankin/Bass’ The Hobbit (1977)
In the first article I ever wrote for this site, I reviewed a 1966 cartoon loosely derived from The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. Now, this cartoon was actually calculated to be as faithless an adaptation as possible for use as a tool of blackmail, and this eventually led to the existence of a…
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On the Heroism of Hobbits
Happy Hobbit Day! In case you weren’t aware, the twenty-second of September is the birthday of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, and among Tolkien fans it is a time to celebrate Tolkien’s greatness. Although Tolkien’s works are well-known, few are aware of just how great an impact they have had not just on literature but…
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Epic Fantasy vs. “Sword and Sorcery”
I’d like to shed some light on a misconception concerning the genres of Epic Fantasy and Sword and Sorcery. For those who don’t know, the genre of Sword and Sorcery was created primarily by Robert E. Howard and thrived for many years in pulp magazines. Epic Fantasy (at least Epic Fantasy as we know it…
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Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Greatest Show of All Time
After I reviewed The Nutshack, one of the worst cartoons of all time, I said I’d talk about a good cartoon in my next review. There are so many great cartoons that it’s taken me quite a long time to decide which of them I should discuss first. My first thought was to talk about…
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The Battle of the Five Armies – Extended Edition
My birthday, being on the fifth of January, falls upon this day. By coincidence, Tolkien’s birthday is on the third of the same month, and therefore several days ago I celebrated the birthday of my favourite author by watching the “special extended edition” of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies for the first time,…
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Response to Criticism of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit
What I suspect is a very vocal minority has, on the internet, made very clear their dislike of Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Now, I could explain in great detail why most (if not all) of the changes and additions to the story are either innocuous and trivial and/or necessary due…
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Review of 1966 The Hobbit Adaptation
We all know that the Rankin/Bass cartoon adaptation of The Hobbit, while not quite as bad as their attempt at The Return of the King, was still a childish mess that fails utterly to communicate the dark and timeless themes of Tolkien’s original work, but it wasn’t the first such attempt. And, believe me, it…