Video Fridays: Lord of the Rings’ Animated History is WEIRD

I have vague memories of seeing the Bakshi animated Lord of the Rings film in around Christmas 1980 with several Biola classmates just before we drove that same night up to Oregon where they were going to spend the holiday with family and I a couple days with my soon-to-be ex-girlfriend (no emotional baggage there). All I remember is that it was a weird beginning to a very weird Winter Break.

Remembering how lost I was watching the film probably inspired the attempts at reading The Hobbit twenty years later when rumors of the films cropped up. I tried reading Tolkien’s The Hobbit in around 2000. I stop/started it several times over the course of a year. I ignorantly assumed that I needed to finish reading The Hobbit first and then dove in the first book of the trilogy, Fellowship of the Ring, to prepare for the film’s release.

Never mind that Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings, was incredibly faithful to the books, knowledge of The Hobbit wasn’t remotely required. But, especially after watching the first movie, I was all the more enthused to read the next books in the trilogy before their films came out. I have fond memories of attending the midnight premiere’s of the films over the next three years, to packed audiences filled with enthusiastic friends and family. And I so fell in love with the lore and everything LOTR.

I bought the DVDs, the soundtrack and the Extended editions when they all came out. Ten years later I watched in the theaters and then bought the Blu-rays of the three Hobbit films and soundtrack when they were released. And I’ve enjoyed the first season of the Amazon Prime LOTR prequel, Rings of Power. For whatever reason I haven’t watched season two yet. You’d think I would have made time, given my interest. But I’ve learned that Time works differently when you’re retired. Alas, that’s a whole different rabbit hole that would require many more blog posts to explain. Let’s just say that my time has been otherwise occupied with other interests…

I should probably look into where I can get copies of the animated Lord of the Rings movies mentioned in the Nerdist video. Here’s a bonus video, the trailer to the new Lord of the Rings (animated) movie coming out this weekend: The War of the Rohirrim. Enjoy.