The Russian animated Hobbit film that was never finished

[hectorberlioz]

This is indeed very interesting! The animation was great. Very similar to the American cartoon of The Hobbit, but more vibrant.

It's also weird as heck .

[Niffiwan]

Originally Posted by hectorberlioz

This is indeed very interesting! The animation was great. Very similar to the American cartoon of The Hobbit, but more vibrant.

It's also weird as heck .

Just out of curiosity, what did you consider weird?

[Alcuin]

That's really good! Is there any more of it?

It isn't quite The Hobbit: it's a different telling of the tale. I can see that getting it licensed might have posed a problem. But it is quite good. What became of the rest of it, if you know?

[Niffiwan]

Originally Posted by Alcuin

That's really good! Is there any more of it?

It isn't quite The Hobbit: it's a different telling of the tale. I can see that getting it licensed might have posed a problem. But it is quite good. What became of the rest of it, if you know?

I have no idea. I believe this is all that was made before they stopped working on it, but I'm sure that a script, storyboards and various production art survives somewhere.

The thing you mentioned about telling the tale in a different way is typical of Russian animated films, particularly from the Soviet era when they could adapt all of this stuff without worrying about copyright. They would completely change the look and style of the work being adapted if needed, but the result would often be a stronger film. An often-cited example are the Russian Winnie-the-Pooh films (1, 2, 3), which are drastically different from Disney's. Or the Dr. Seuss adaptations (but you won't find any of those on Youtube because Seuss Ent. takes them all down, even though they had nothing to do with the making of them). I think that many of the cartoons more accurately portray the "heart" of the stories, even while they ignore the surface similarities. By contrast, many Western adaptations often strive to get the outward "look" just right, but completely ignore the "soul" of the originals.

However, as far as this Hobbit adaptation goes, I can't see anything non-canon in this prologue. It actually seems to stick to Tolkien quite well, aside from not starting off at Bilbo Baggins' hobbit hole, of course.

P.S. The voice of Gandalf was done by Nikolai Karachentsov, a fairly popular actor.

[hectorberlioz]

Originally Posted by Niffiwan

Just out of curiosity, what did you consider weird?

Well, I guess "weird" to me would be the strange song at the beginning. But like I said before, the mood of the clip was remarkably like that of the American version of The Hobbit. Even Gandalf looked the same.

[Olmer]

All in all the beginning was promising, although they could pick up a singer with a less "scratchy" voice.
Too bad the Tolkien Estate won't merit any attempts on cutting into their big, lumpy "pie".
Any way, thanks for sharing.

[Gordis]

Looks quite cute. Pity they abandoned it.