王者无敌 The Return of the King

类型：动作, 动画, 冒险

导演：朱尔斯·巴斯, 小亚瑟·兰金   编剧：J.R.R.托尔金, Romeo Muller

主演：奥森·比恩, 约翰·休斯顿, 西奥多·比凯尔

The Return of the King (subtitled A Story of the Hobbits) is an animated adaptation of the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien which was produced by Rankin/Bass as a TV special which originally aired on ABC in the U.S. on May 11, 1980. It has since been released on VHS and DVD.

The film was created by the same team which had worked on the 1977 animated version of The Hobbit.

Because Rankin/Bass had begun production on this movie even before Ralph Bakshi's theatrical adaptation of The Lord of the Rings had been released,[1] they present The Return of the King as a sequel to their 1977 adaptation of The Hobbit — giving the audience a brief recap of the events, and adapting a few story events from The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers while leaving out some major details and literally beginning the movie where its literary counterpart does (apart from its use of a framing device to bookend the movie). The movie's visual style is largely shared with the 1977 The Hobbit. Its plot unfolds as follows:
During the 129th birthday celebration for Bilbo Baggins in Rivendell, Frodo, Bilbo's nephew, tells the story of his quest to destroy the One Ring. Frodo begins his story with Samwise (Sam) Gamgee, his friend and companion, treading through Mordor as Ring-bearer in Frodo's absence, as he is being held captive there by orcs. During his journey, Sam begins to question his thoughts about claiming the Ring himself, but being humble, he never gives in to the treacherous temptations. In due course, he progresses back to Cirith Ungol to rescue Frodo.

Meanwhile, the wizard Gandalf the White and the hobbit Pippin arrive at Minas Tirith, the capital of the country of Gondor to warn Denethor, the Steward of the Throne, about the upcoming war—only to discover that the Steward has lost his mind by believing the war will be the end of mankind.

Back at Cirith Ungol, Sam rescues Frodo and returns the Ring. The two then continue on to finish their quest at Mount Doom, only to be attacked by their past guide, Gollum. As Sam holds Gollum off, Frodo makes it to the Crack of Doom. But at the Crack, Frodo is finally unable to resist the power of the Ring any longer and claims it for his own. At the same time, Gondor's neighboring country, Rohan, helps it claim victory in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

After searching for some time for Frodo in Mount Doom, Sam discovers Gollum and an invisible Frodo fighting over the Ring, which results in Gollum biting off Frodo's finger to claim it. While dancing with joy at the retrieval of his 'Precious,' Gollum loses his footing and falls into the fire, taking the Ring with him. With the destruction of the Ring, Sauron is defeated. Months later, Frodo's friend, Aragorn, is crowned King of Gondor. The film concludes back in the present with Frodo agreeing to accompany Bilbo, Gandalf and Elrond in leaving Middle-Earth. Sam, Merry and Pippin bid them all farewell as they depart across the sea.