The Rankin/Bass version of The Hobbit, on the other hand, is a mere one hour and 17 minutes, which you could almost argue is actually too short.

The Rankin-Bass produced Hobbit won a Peabody, and while it received good to tepid response, a sequel was already in discussion before Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings even premiered.

The Hobbit (1978) D: Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr.; with the voices of John Huston, Orson Bean, Otto Preminger, Hans Conried, Don Messick, John Stephenson, Brother Theodore, Richard Boone.

Together, Bass and Rankin Jr. also created the 1977 animated TV special The Hobbit and its sequel, The Return of the King, both inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings series.

Even though it was a school night, I got to stay up late on November 27, 1977, so I could watch The Hobbit. I had just turned seven, and my uncle had already gotten me a boxed set of J.R.R ...

Rankin/Bass’s hand-drawn projects include the 1969 holiday special “Frosty the Snowman,” the Peabody-winning TV movie “The Hobbit” (1977), and its sequel, “The Return of the King ...

Jules Bass, the director, writer and producer who, with his partner Arthur Rankin Jr., created beloved Christmas specials like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," has died at 87.

Aside from making the Rudolph classic, Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass also created other animation icons, such as “The Hobbit,” “The Last Unicorn” and “Mad Monster Party.” ...

Arthur Rankin Jr., the creative genius behind Rankin/Bass Productions, passed away in 2014 — now, his widow is parting ways with their 24 W. 55th St. abode.