Sequel
Before The Hobbit ever aired on NBC, Rankin/Bass and its partner animation houses were preparing a sequel, taking elements from The Return of the King, the last volume of The Lord of the Rings. Meanwhile, United Artists released J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in 1978, an animated adaptation directed by Ralph Bakshi, originally intended as the first part in a two-part film.
Regardless of the UA version, with their own sequel having been cancelled after a disagreement with Bakshi, Rankin/Bass proceeded with their plans to produce their own television installment, bringing back most of the animation team and voice cast, but unfortunately were unable to provide continuity for the missing segments, resulting in the development of a framing device connecting it directly to the better-received Hobbit. The voice team — notably Bean, Frees, Huston, Theodore and Yarbrough — would also return for the 1980 adaptation of The Return of the King.
Read more about this topic: The Hobbit (1977 film)
Famous quotes containing the word sequel:
“Though the Jazz Age continued it became less and less an affair of youth. The sequel was like a children’s party taken over by the elders.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)