Is the Raskin-Bass adaptation readily available? I remember seeing it when it originally aired.

Like Frank said

No, I mean a pattern of directors being reined in by doing a smaller post Oscar movie.

I don't even know what difference that would make. Jackson seems to like massive intricate movies where everyone's underwear is in character and the impact of their grandparents and grandchildren is equally conveyed. There is a point at which he had the leeway to do so--it seems to me like once he got budget and influence, he's gone wild.

I don't know what one small movie would have meant, or changed.

I imagine that he'll go OTT this time on something I really like, so I'll have a similar experience to LOTR, but more muted because more is being taken for granted on both sides, plus the question of what to include and exclude gets more complex when you're using other texts as well.

Is the Raskin-Bass adaptation readily available?

You can get it used on Amazon for about $23.

Sophia,

I think we are like spirits. I'm of the school that Scrappy Doo ruined Scooby forever. Sometimes Scooby-Doo had a decent balance between funny and investigation, but it got goofier over time and then fucking Scrappy.

I don't know what one small movie would have meant, or changed.

For me it would have indicated that he's capable of reining himself in. And that he had some practice with the kind of self-discipline that I think could only benefit a big production. Although just because one has self-discipline doesn't mean one always uses it.

That's all.

Although just because one has self-discipline doesn't mean one always uses it

That's pretty much where I am. He seems to give no indication that he's interested in small right now. Which is totally cool.

I rented the Rankin-Bass film from iTunes, and I'm watching it now. I didn't know this: [link]

The Hobbit was animated by Topcraft, a now-defunct Japanese animation studio whose animation team would go on to re-form as Studio Ghibli alongside Hayao Miyazaki.

The Hobbit was animated by Topcraft, a now-defunct Japanese animation studio whose animation team would go on to re-form as Studio Ghibli alongside Hayao Miyazaki.

Same people who did The Last Unicorn!

For some reason (like a smoking hot photo shoot) I was reminded about the negativity surrounding Hathaway's casting as Catwoman.

Did many people come out feeling vindicated by their prediction of suck?

I thought her performance was excellent. A lot of it was in the writing - she had plenty to work with. But she carried it off with panache and some emotional consequence.