So the story goes that, despite being generally bad, fans were clamoring for more Lord of the Rings, as Ralph Bakshi refused to do any more movies. Warner Brothers came to the "rescue" with this TV special, which recaps the beginning of the books, then finishes off the story of Return of the King, the last book in the trilogy.

The animation is typical of the early 1980s, round faces and bulbous noses, wide expressions, and oversized eyes. And lots of singing: "Where there's a whip, there's a way" is a guilty pleasure classic.

Still, the film is hardly outstanding, though it's a mite better than Bakshi's muddy film. Reasonable voice talents, including John Huston as Gandalf, help matters considerably.