‘The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’ Review: A Tiresome, Deep-Cut Anime Prequel for Die-Hard ‘Hobbit’ Fans
variety.comPeter Debruge Chief Film Critic Long before Peter Jackson took a swing at “The Lord of the Rings,” audiences got a glimpse into the fantasy realm of J.R.R.
Tolkien via a trio of late-’70s animated projects: two animated TV specials produced by Rankin/Bass (of which “The Hobbit” remains fairly well-liked) and a dark and ominous big-screen feature from Ralph Bakshi (director of sci-fi psych-out “Wizards”).
So there’s not just precedent, but a certain kind of poetry to Jackson and screenwriter Philippa Boyens commissioning an intense, hand-drawn extension to the existing mythology, like the one represented by “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.” When I say “poetry,” I suppose I’m referring to the queer kind you might find at your local Renaissance Festival, accompanied by pipe music and a handful of costumed eccentrics doing a jig.
The real selling point of “The War of the Rohirrim” is not that it’s animated, but that it’s anime — as in rendered in the fine-lined, adult-friendly style of Japanese TV series and films.
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