Ranking Every Single Middle-Earth Movie From Worst To Best

9. The Return of the King (1980)

It is a common misconception that this film acts as a sequel to the Ralph Bakshi Lord of the Rings adaptation that was left unfinished. This Rankin and Bass production is, in fact, a simple sequel to their original adaptation of The Hobbit, but sadly it lacks any of the success and charm that title had.

The film had the unenviable position of needing to condense the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy down to a single title running at only 98 minutes, and as could be expected, it butchered the source material. The narrative was lacking in the development needed to establish the villains and heroes, which resulted in it feeling devoid of personality.

Additionally, while the cartoonish and childish animated style worked supremely well for The Hobbit, this story is an entirely different entity. Therefore the silly animations and use of song made the title far too immature as compared to the incredibly dark and severe narrative being told.

All of the elements are there, but they simply don't come together well enough.