The 1978 animated Lord of the Rings movie is coming to streaming!

When we think of The Lord of the Rings adaptations, Peter Jackson's seminal live-action trilogy immediately comes to mind. The trilogy swept the Oscars, with The Return of the King even claiming the elusive Best Picture award. The Middle-earth franchise would continue to grow with The Hobbit trilogy, and most recently Prime Video is seeing success with its prequel series The Rings of Power.

But decades before these live-action projects, in 1978, Ralph Bakshi created his very own animated movie based on J.R.R. Tolkien's famous book series. Bakshi's Lord of the Rings film wasn't without its controversies: for instance, the story remained unfinished; it only covers The Fellowship of the Rings and some of The Two Towers. Even so, in my humble opinion, it's one of the most charming films ever made. There are so many randomly placed comedic beats, like when Gandalf decides to frighten Sam for literally no reason whatsoever. Plus, the animation style is extremely unique. It utilizes rotoscoping, which is a blend of animation and live-action.

Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings (1978) is probably the most successful animated Middle-earth project ever. There have been a few over the years, including The Hobbit (1977) and The Return of the King (1980), the latter of which is often mistaken as an official sequel to the '78 movie.

For Middle-earth lovers who desire to watch this classic film, it can be hard to find. I own it on VHS, which in the modern day is a really inefficient way to consume media. However, at long last, the movie will finally stream on Max on December 1. This comes as another disappointment to UK viewers, where Max still isn't available for some reason. As an alternative, the film is available for rent on Prime Video.

Middle-earth animation returns in 2024 with The War of the Rohirrim, a Lord of the Rings prequel movie premiering on December 13. It looks pretty good!

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletter and check out our YouTube channel.