The Lord of the Rings (1978) Voices of Christopher Guard,
William Squire, Michael Scholes. Directed by Ralph Bakshi. Screenplay by Chris
Conkling, Peter S. Beagle. Based on the novels The Hobbit, Or, There and
Back Again; The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of "The Lord
of the Rings" and The Return of the King: Being the Third Part of
"The Lord of the Rings" by J. R. R. Tolkien (London, 1937 and
1954). Produced by Saul Zaentz. Run time: 115 minutes. USA. Color. Animated,
Fantasy
While Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy is
the best-known film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, it is not the first
one. Interest in making Tolkien’s fantasy trilogy into a film dates back to
1956 and Walt Disney Pictures' acquisition of the rights. No Disney film
materialized, but he wasn’t the last one to try to make a film from it.
Apparently, The Beatles tried in 1968 to acquire the rights.
According to a BBC report, if the film
had made its way into production, the cast would have been composed of Paul
McCartney as Frodo, John Lennon as Gollum, George Harrison as Gandalf, and
Ringo Starr as Sam. They were also interested in Stanley Kubrick as the
director. However, Tolkien didn't like the idea of a pop group doing his story
and nixed the sale.
United Artists acquired rights in 1969 after two years of
negotiations, partnering with Katzka-Berne Productions, Inc. in the deal. It
was reported, in 1970, that John Boorman had been hired to produce, direct and
co-write with Rospo Pallenberg an adaptation of The Lord of the Rings
trilogy. However, UA balked at the cost of producing Boorman’s script.
Ralph Bakshi, perhaps best known for films like Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic and Coonskin petitioned UA several times to direct The Lord of the Rings as an animated feature. In 1975, the studio allowed Bakshi to take control of the project at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. However, MGM’s involvement ended when studio brass failed to grasp Bakshi’s creative vision. They did allow Bakshi to retain the rights if he could reimburse UA the $600,000 the company had spent to develop the property. Otherwise, the rights would revert to MGM the next day. Bakshi contacted Zaentz, who acquired the rights immediately and agreed to be his partner.
