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Start Date: January 6, 2020
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The Rankin/Bass Production of The Hobbit

Based on the Original Version, Written by J.R.R. Tolkien

Label: Disneyland ‎– 368

Series: See, Hear, Read

Format: Vinyl, 7", 33 ⅓ RPM

Released: USA, 1977

Genre: Children's, Stage & Screen, Story

Vinyl VG++ with very light and minimal surface wear. Clean labels. Booklet is VG+, clean, intact, no writing, no rips.

Free USA Shipping

Tracklist:

A         The Story of the Hobbit

            Misty Mountains Cold    

B         The Story of the Hobbit, continued

            The Greatest Adventure

Record comes with 24 page full color book with record housed in a flap inside the rear cover.

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The Hobbit is a 1977 Japanese-American animated musical television special created by Rankin/Bass, a studio known for their holiday specials, and animated by Topcraft, a precursor to Studio Ghibli. The film is an adaptation of the 1937 book of the same name by J. R. R. Tolkien, and was first broadcast on NBC in the United States on Sunday, November 27, 1977. The plot of the animated production is in most respects similar to that of the book; but certain plot points are significantly compressed or removed due to the time limitations of the format. In addition, certain scenes are obviously edited for commercial breaks. In general, alterations are confined to simple omission of detail, and the story follows the source text. The lyrics of the songs are adapted from songs in the book, but are generally longer.

The film was produced and directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass of Rankin/Bass Productions and was adapted for the screen by Romeo Muller, with Rankin taking on the additional duties of production designer. When interviewed for the film, Rankin declared that he would add nothing to the story that wasn't in the original. The New York Times reported that The Hobbit cost $3 million. The story's hero, Bilbo Baggins, is voiced by Orson Bean, backed up by noted Hollywood director and actor John Huston as the voice of Gandalf. In supporting roles, the comedian and performance artist Brother Theodore was chosen for the voice of Gollum, and Thurl Ravenscroft performed the baritone singing voices of the goblins. The gravelly voice of the dragon Smaug was provided by Richard Boone, with Hans Conried as Thorin Oakenshield, rounding out the cast of primarily American voice actors. The Hobbit was animated by Topcraft, a now-defunct Japanese animation studio whose animation team re-formed as Studio Ghibli under Hayao Miyazaki. Topcraft successfully partnered with Rankin/Bass on several other co-productions, including The Last Unicorn. According to Rankin, the visual style of the film took its basic cue from the early illustrations of Arthur Rackham. While Topcraft produced the animation, the concept artwork was completed in the US under the direction of Arthur Rankin. The Rhode Island-based artist Lester Abrams did the initial designs for most of the characters; Rankin had seen Abrams' illustrations to an excerpt from The Hobbit in Children's Digest. Principal artists included coordinating animator Toru Hara; supervising animator/character designer Tsuguyuki Kubo; character and effects animators Hidetoshi Kaneko and Kazuko Ito; and background designer Minoru Nishida. The same studio and crew members were also used for The Return of the King. Harry N. Abrams published a large coffee-table illustrated edition of the book featuring concept art and stills.

Jules Bass primarily adapted Tolkien's original lyrics for the film's musical interludes, drawn primarily from the songs that feature prominently in the book. He also assisted Maury Laws, Rankin/Bass's composer and conductor-in-residence, in the composition of an original theme song, "The Greatest Adventure (The Ballad of the Hobbit)", sung by Glenn Yarbrough as the sole original song written for the film. This folk ballad came to be associated with Yarbrough, who reprised it in the soundtrack to 1980 animated film The Return of the King. The Hobbit first aired as an animated television special in 1977 with the goal of producing an accompanying tie-in storybook and song recordings for children, as in other Rankin/Bass productions. The Hobbit was released on LP with the soundtrack and dialogue from the film was also released in 1977 by Disney through its Buena Vista Records label, and an edited version, along with accompanying "storyteller read-alongs", was later issued for the Mouse Factory's Disneyland Records imprint. A second music album by Glenn Yarbrough of music "inspired" by The Hobbit was also released.