Line #17 YMMV/TheReturnOfTheKing


1	!!Rankin-Bass Adaptation
2	* {{Anvilicious}}: In case you miss the deeper meaning in any particular part of the movie, there's usually a song to explain it to you. Or two. Or three. See the page quote for a good example.
3	* AssPull: Éowyn, due to the [[CompressedAdaptation compression]] and Rankin-Bass barely touching anything from the first two books. She appears out of nowhere with no prior set up to bump off the Witch-King and then vanishes completely with only a brief appearance at the end. More glaring since they took the time to explain Gollum.
4	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The [[https://youtu.be/xBJHmesNz8Q entire soundtrack]], as performed by Glenn Yarbrough, and written by Jules Bass & Maury Laws.
5	* BrokenBase:
6	** Similar to the Creator/RalphBakshi [[WesternAnimation/TheLordOfTheRings film]], either you'll hate this film and/or watch it to snark at it, or you will be intrigued by and at least appreciative of what Rankin-Bass made.
7	** Whether the Rankin-Bass versions (including ''The Hobbit'') are better than Bakshi's, regarding the different run-times, art styles and adaptation approaches.
8	* CantUnhearIt: Carried over from ''The Hobbit'':
9	** Orson Bean as [[ActingForTwo Frodo and Bilbo]]
10	** Creator/JohnHuston as Gandalf
11	** Brother Theodore as Gollum
12	* CharacterRerailment: After the Ralph Bakshi movie wrote him as a dimwitted, whiny coward who hardly pays any attention to Frodo, Samwise in this movie is closer to his more badass, [[UndyingLoyalty loyal]], and heroic self from the books.
13	* CompleteMonster: [[TheHeavy The Lord of the Nazgûl]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsSauron Sauron]]'s right-hand, is a supernatural phantom leading Sauron's armies on the field to overrun Middle-earth. Overseeing the attempted slaughter of countless innocents, the Nazgûl Lord personally leads the charge to Minas Tirith and the collapse of the gates to have everyone within killed, before personally confronting Gandalf and [[TheKingslayer causing the death of King Théoden]].
14	* CultClassic: In spite of being not as popular as its [[WesternAnimation/TheHobbit predecessor]] or the more [[Film/TheReturnOfTheKing successive adaptation that would come years later]], this film has its fans due to the NarmCharm and its slightly DarkerAndEdgier tone.
15	* DesignatedHero: Aragorn, again due to the [[CompressedAdaptation compression.]] Apparently he was just off doing his own thing with nothing to do with the rest of the heroes until he arrives with his army at the Siege of Gondor. But here the Orcs are already in full retreat after the Witch-king's death, making it less like TheCavalry and more like mopping-up. Even afterwards, there's nothing to indicate he was ever part of a Fellowship with them. He's rude to Gandalf, sneering at him while taunting him over his reluctance to march on Mordor, a move motivated not to buy time for Frodo but because he thinks they have Sauron on the run. And despite barely doing anything to help, almost getting his army killed and being a rude prick, he's still celebrated as the savior at the end without ever acknowledging or even noticing Frodo and the hobbits. Very different from the more heroic Peter Jackson version, let alone the one from the books, to be sure.
16	* HilariousInHindsight:
17	--> '''Aragorn''': ''[[Film/TheDarkKnight Why so glum, wizard]]?''
18	-->And the very un-Tolkienesque line:
19	--> '''Pippin''' (about Denethor): ''He's gone loony I tell you!'':
20	** The orcs' VillainSong "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdXQJS3Yv0Y Where There's a Whip, There's a Way]]" features the lyrics "We don't want to go to war today, but the lord of the lash says nay, nay, nay!" Thirty-five years later, the rapper Silentó gave us the hit single "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)."
21	** In the "Sauron's defeat" scene, Aragorn tells Gandalf that they're doomed, because the earthquake destroying the area can't tell good from evil. In this film, the good guys are only saved by the arrival of the Eagles. When Creator/PeterJackson redoes the scene in [[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing his own film]], the earthquake that destroys Barad-Dûr crumbles most of the ground out from under the villains' feet before stopping ''just'' short of the heroes' army.
22	* HoYay: Samwise somehow manages to have this with the One Ring, of all things. "YOU! Ooo, I can feel you [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything throbbing with anticipation!]]"
23	* JerkassWoobie: The orcs in the "Where there's a whip there's a way" song, who are villains but are repeatedly whipped by the lord of the lash and forced to march into war even though they don't want to.
24	* {{Narm}}:
25	** The scene where Gollum bites off Frodo's finger, which is hilariously narrated by choir: "Frodooooo, of the niiiiine fingers, where is the Ring of Dooooooooom?"
26	** The Mouth of Sauron scene is arguably more accurate to the book than [[Film/TheReturnOfTheKing the live-action film]], but Aragorn's delivery is often considered unintentionally funny due to AccentUponTheWrongSyllable.
27	---> '''Mouth of Sauron:''' Is there anyone in this rout with authority to treat with me? Not thou, Aragorn! It needs more to make a king than a rabble such as this!\
28	'''Aragorn:''' We ''shall'' seee.
29	** It's also hard to take the Witch-King seriously due to his bizarrely high-pitched, distorted voice, which has been compared to [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers Starscream]], [[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983 Skeletor]], and Mr. Slate from ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x6De3KgUO4 Watch here.]] It's even worse if you saw ''The Hobbit'' since John Stephenson is doing the same voice he had as Dori. You half expect him to go "Bilbo!"
30	* NarmCharm:
31	** '''"[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HIZe8Gq8OU BEHOLD! THE GARDENS OF MY DELIGHT!]]"''' ''Aww...'' [[ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil Dark Lord Samwise]] is ''so cute''. Samwise's blackest desires of despotic tyranny involve turning the [[{{Mordor}} Plains of Gorgoroth]] into a lush garden paradise and Sauron's army of orcs into raccoons and tropical birds. Hardly the stuff to crush Middle Earth beneath his Hobbit-sized heel... which is the point - Samwise very much isn't Dark Lord material, and that's a major reason why he can resist the Ring's temptations.
32	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdXQJS3Yv0Y Where There's a Whip, There's a Way]]. It's so hilariously catchy, it's hard not to enjoy it.
33	** The friendly orcs during the dream sequence. Silly? Yes, but very endearing. The silliness is mostly justified, as it's Frodo's fantasy of the two sides being at peace.
34	** The songs. For some, out of place, and overly folksy. On the other hand, they are still quite catchy and their messages and delivery may also tug at a few heartstrings.
35	* NightmareFuel:
36	** The battering ram, Grond, looks like a wolf instead of a mechanical dragon, and actually seems to be alive as seen with its red saliva[[note]]Entirely appropriate, as the battering ram is named after Morgoth's warhammer[[/note]].
37	** The Witch-King's voice. Imagine watching this scene without any prior knowledge about how [[Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse Skeletor]] sounds. [[VoiceOfTheLegion A harsh, mechanical grate grinding out in conjunction with a manic, high-pitched squeaky voice]]. The overall effect somewhere between Darth Vader and Judge Doom. Then again, if the viewer ''is'' familiar with Skeletor, [[NightmareRetardant the scene can become downright hilarious]].
38	** There is also Samwise's fantasy with the ring that grows more intense and twisted by the second until he comes within a hairsbreadth of donning and being consumed by the Ring.
39	** The Eye of Sauron, unlike the [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings film version that portrays it as an unambiguously fiery reptilian slit eye]], it's very subtle. It's portrayed [[LightIsNotGood as a reddish-orange sun like object with subtle outward expanding ripples covered in an aura of flames]], which on closer inspection resembles a [[WingdingEyes rippling]], hyper-realistic eye [[EldritchAbomination of something incomprehensible entity]]. It even stares at you on the cover of the Platform/{{CED}} videodisc release!
40	** Sauron himself in this adaptation compared to the [[WesternAnimation/TheLordOfTheRings Ralph Bakshi]] and especially [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Peter Jackson films]], is given no information of his background or form. It just states he's the BigBad, which makes his UnseenEvil aspect all the more terrifying [[NothingIsScarier due to the lack of information about him in this adaptation]].
41	** The Watchers of Cirith Ungol are unsettling vulture-like statues. Introduced with a ScareChord, the way they [[DeathGlare silently follow Sam with their eyes]] builds the tension of their scene, and right when the viewer thinks [[HopeSpot Sam is safely past them,]] they unleash a [[JumpScare terrifying scream]].
42	* OneSceneWonder: William Conrad as Denethor, who gives one of the best speeches in the film as he goes "loony."
43	* QuestionableCasting:
44	** ''Creator/RoddyMcDowall'' as Samwise Gamgee!? Roddy was a fine character actor but he played Samwise with his usual posh voice instead of a more working-class accent one would accept from a humble gardener.
45	** ''Creator/CaseyKasem'' as Meriadoc Brandybuck, not really for his performance but rather for his really recognizable voice as it's impossible to unhear [[WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo Shaggy.]]
46	** John Stephenson as the Witch-King of Angmar...using the same voice he did for Dori in WesternAnimation/TheHobbit. Difficult to take him seriously when he sounds like a dwarf.
47	* {{Sequelitis}}: Generally considered to be not as good as ''WesternAnimation/TheHobbit'', which was a decent AdaptationDistillation of a much shorter book, while this comes off more as a CompressedAdaptation of one of three longer books, the first two not even completely covered by the earlier Bakshi film. Also the original folk-y songs fit ''The Hobbit'' better since it was a children's book to begin with, while this was based on a more complex and epic work.
48	* UglyCute:
49	** The peaceful orcs in the "Leave Tomorrow till it Comes" sequence. One of them even smiles and waves to Sam and Frodo.
50	** Heck, the orcs during the "Where There's a Whip, There's a Way" song. Rather than being the remorseless monsters we typically see them as, they look more fearful and unsure, and the song makes it clear that [[PunchClockVillain they don't want to fight but are being forced to by their masters]].
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54	!!The video game
55	* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames: The Creator/ElectronicArts videogame is based on the live-action film, which had been released shortly after. It was received with much praise as an EvenBetterSequel to the one for ''The Two Towers'': the levels are huge, the paths are not linear, the characters have some limited interaction with the scenery, there are no glaring bugs, the expanded story fits perfectly well with the plot and style of the original material, etc.

Context YMMV / TheReturnOfTheKing