Middle-Earth On Film: A Visual History

4. The Return Of The King (1980)

Gollum lord of the rings
Topcraft Rankin/Bass Productions

Bakshi's adaptation was a big financial success, but didn't prompt a sequel. That didn't stop a version of The Return Of The King, a TV film made by the same guys as The Hobbit, coming out a couple of years later.

It's far less technically accomplished than the film it unofficially sequelises, but it's reassuring to see the disjointed animated Middle-Earth get a vague resolution.

Contributor
Contributor

Film Editor (2014-2016). Loves The Usual Suspects. Hates Transformers 2. Everything else lies somewhere in the middle. Once met the Chuckle Brothers.