The Lord of the Rings : That's What We're Tolkien About [Part 1]

Welcome to this Long Expected Party...er....episode!

Aly & Sarrah both love the Lord of the Rings, and Aly will not pass up an opportunity to talk about Ian McKellen soooo...

WELCOME TO ANOTHER TWO-PARTER!

There was way too much research and information to fit into one episode, so as we did before, this episode will talk about the source material and animation studio stuff, and next week will get into the specifics for this movie.

So let's begin this week's journey (no shortcuts to mushrooms please!)

Aly takes us on a lovely biography of author J.R.R. Tolkien (heard of him?), which includes a beautiful love story that we couldn't make up if we tried. She also dives into the history and details of the Lord of the Rings and its complete legendarium. We discuss a bit about the languages, reviews, scholarly thoughts, and even talk about those damn eagles.

Sarrah gives us an in-depth look at the very controversial, and very innovative Ralph Bakshi (who directed this movie). His work tends to err on R or X rated, so be wary if you look into it. We're not quite sure how we feel about some of his stuff, but he was certainly a trailblazer who was looking to broaden the world of animation, and we love him for that!

We also hit up what Lord of the Rings has inspired and influenced. This, of course, means we get a little sidetracked by the fantastic Peter Jackson movies, so prepare to learn a little bit about them (and New Zealand tourism).

And after that, YOU SHALL NOT PASS!
Until next week, when you come on back for all the details on the Bakshi animated movie.

Podcast Music By: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

"Greetings my dear Bagginses and Boffins, and my dear Tooks and Brandybucks, and Grubbs, and Chubbs, and Burrowses, and Hornblowers, and Bolgers, Bracegirdles, Goodbodies, Brockhouses and Proudfoots. (ProudFEET)"

Welcome to another episode!

This one is a rather long expected episode (yes, deal with it...there will be quotes and puns.) for both Sarrah and Aly because they both adore the good ol' PJ LotR movies. Any opportunity for Aly to talk about Lord of the Rings (and Ian McKellen) is an opportunity she will take and RUN with, soooooo

WELCOME TO OUR SECOND TWO-PARTER!

There was honestly no way we could fit all of our research and information into one episode and do a walk-through, so we have divided it all once again. Part One will discuss source material, include an animator profile, discuss our previous memories and address the inspiration and influence of Lord of the Rings. Part Two (which you have to wait until next week for, sorry!) will address the Bakshi animated feature specifically and include release and review information, voice cast corner, our walkthrough and favorite moments.

So let's begin our journey (no shortcuts to mushrooms, please!) as we discuss 1978's Ralph Bakshi film, Lord of the Rings.

Aly starts us off with a biography of J.R.R. Tolkien himself that includes one of the most beautiful love stories we've encountered on this podcast (and it's real, which makes it even more lovely). She also touches on the history and creation of the Lord of the Rings (and Hobbit) books, including a little bit about the languages, reviews, and some academic viewpoints on the books.

Author J.R.R. Tolkien

 

Sarrah gives us a fantastic and in-depth look at animator, director, and producer Ralph Bakshi and some of his ground-breaking and eyebrow-raising work. A lot of Bakshi's work is R or X rated and contains some challenging, sexual, and dark content. He pushed a lot of boundaries and took animated films into topics that hadn't really been touched by the medium before. But his work is certainly controversial, and we have a hard time deciding how we feel about it.

Director Ralph Bakshi

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Fritz The Cat

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Heavy Traffic

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Wizards

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Hey Good Lookin'

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Cool World

To be frank everyone (and we do mention this on this episode, and on previous episodes as well), we will always try our best to make sure we discuss and bring up issues like racism, homophobia, sexism, etc. when they come into play in movies we watch. But keep in mind that we are two white, straight, women from a first world country. We always try to keep our minds open to the experiences of others and how this content may make them feel, but we can't and SHOULDN'T speak for everyone. If you have a different viewpoint or opinion, write to us and let us know. We want to hear different perspectives and would love to hear and discuss voices that are not our own, and come from different experiences.

After Sarrah's animator profile we skip right to Inspiration and Influences and spend a heck of a long time there. Aly takes us through some of the more well-known adaptations of Lord of the Rings, and of course, we get stuck talking up the Peter Jackson movies. We are both massive fans, so you're going to get a minor crash course in those films (and New Zealand tourism). Sorry, not sorry.

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Actors Michael Hordern, John Le Mesurier, and Ian Holm from the BBC Dramatisation

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LotR Musical : Ringwraiths

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LotR Musical : Hobbits

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LotR Musical : Ents

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LotR Musical : Lothlorien

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Peter Jackson Films : Actor Andy Serkis Films the Part of Gollum

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Peter Jackson Films : Hobbits in a Helicopter

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Peter Jackson Films : Actor Elijah Wood (Frodo) and his size double Kiran Shah

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Peter Jackon Films: Wet Ring Wraiths

And that's where we'll keep you waiting because YOU SHALL NOT PASS!

Until next week, that is!

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Read and watch along with us!
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Source Material:

Podcast Music By: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

TolkienGateway.net
TolkienSociety.org

Britannica.com Biography of Tolkien
Mentalfloss.com Article on Tolkien Facts
HuffPost Article on Lost Audio of Tolkien

Wikipedia Article on Ralph Bakshi

Review of the Lord of the Rings Musical
Wikipedia Article on the Lord of the Rings Musical

Forbes Article on New Zealand Tourism
New Zealand Tourism Facts and Figures

News.com Article on Ian McKellen's Gandalf Opinion

Ian McKellen's Blog on Filming Lord of the Rings

Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. Leonard Maltin

Lord of the Rings (BBC Dramatisation). Adapted by Brian Sibley & Michael Bakewell. 1981. CD.