Disney's Lord Of The Rings...??!! - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

03-17-2002, 10:17 PM

Ok, this isn't a new LOTR Animated feature! I was just wondering what will happen had Disney embarked on making an LOTR Animated flick prior to or even the decision of making a live LOTR action flick?! What do you think guys would it look like? Personally, i think an animated feature would be much better than a live-action one, coz in an animation, there's more flexibility and considering the birth of a very high-tech animation technique nowadays, i think the movie would gain much more color and life - there would be no problems in digitally-shrinking the hobbits (coz that effect was quite unpolished in the movie, especially during the Council of Elrond scene), and many others...Now, what do u think?

Kalimac · 03-17-2002, 10:53 PM

To be honest, the first thing I thought was "Oh no, is this `Ralph Bakshi: The Vengeance'?". The animated hobbits are back, and they mean business! I'm going to admit straight out that my perspective on the value of an animated LOTR is very influenced by memories of the Bakshi atrocity. "I must consult with the Wizard Aruman" etc.That said, I don't think Disney would really do a better job than Peter Jackson's live action version, in fact I think they'd do worse (I'd have more hope for a Pixar LOTR, and Pixar is a division of Disney, but OTOH CGI, while wonderful, is still slightly dicey when it comes to animating really believable humans or part-humans. Even in "Shrek" you couldn't really call Lord Farquaad or Fiona the epitome of realism the way, say, Aragorn or Sam would have to be). But a straight-up Disney cartoon would be problematic for several reasons.1) convincing-looking characters, or: By Elbereth the Fair, You Shall Not Make Them Cute. It's true that they'd have a much easier time getting the proportions right (though to defend Jackson's LOTR, I thought the shrinking effects were actually quite well-done - yes, you could see in a couple of places that they were obviously midget doubles, but you really had to look). But proportions aside, animating humans is not the best thing that Disney does. All the hobbits would have eyes even larger than Elijah Wood's - scary, I know - and would be cute, cute, cute in the Woodland Creatures In "Snow White" way - the sort of faces that seem incapable of even getting a dirt smudge on them. Aragorn and Boromir would probably most resemble John Smith from Pocahontas; not good. As for the Elves, even more than the hobbits these are characters where cuteness would be absolutely fatal to the idea behind them. Do you really think Disney would be able to resist the Cute factor and maybe make the characters look as disheveled and unshaven as they undoubtedly were once in a while?2) Animal companions. I don't mean Bill the Pony. That's fine. I mean a Bill the Pony who can talk. Almost every Disney feature has given the hero or at least the evil foil an animal friend who can talk or at least indicate human-level comprehension. The only instance in LOTR where this kind of thing would be even close to right would be that very brief scene in "Three's Company" with the fox. But this being Disney, they know that this sort of thing amuses cartoon viewers and they'd want to stick with what they've done the last 80 times, so in would go the animal companion - maybe Bill the Pony, maybe a Raven or Eagle who would conveniently tag along with the Fellowship. 3) Background scenery and sets. Middle-Earth needs to be dirty, real and convincing or else it will seem so remote that it's impossible to be really concerned about the characters (if they're living in glossy Cartoon Land, of course they'll be fine. They're the good guys). You could achieve that look in a cartoon, but it would take a heck of a lot of work and still not be nearly as convincing as taking five minutes to smudge dirt on Sean Astin's face. 4) That's Entertainment! What's a Disney cartoon without a musical number - several in fact? I doubt that the debacle of "Frodo of the Nine Fingers" from the ROTK cartoon would deter the storyboard people too much. I don't know if Gandalf would sing the history of the Ring (hard to find rhymes for "Isildur" and "Sauron") but Frodo would probably have a song about leaving Bag End, Sam would have a song about friendship and following him to end, Aragorn would probably have a solo ("I Just Can't Wait To Be King" maybe ) Merry and Pippin would do a comic duet, etc etc etc. 5) Plot changes. You think changing Arwen's role was bad, wait until you see what Disney would do with it (I'm basing this on the books and history stories that they've adapted before). Want to see Merry and Pippin storming Orthanc singlehanded? Want to see Frodo marry Rose Cotton and live happily ever after ever? Want to see Aragorn gaining immortality instead of Arwen losing it? Here's where you would find it. Whew! Sorry, I hope I didn't just steamroll this topic into the ground. I just don't like Disney too much, and just wanted to lay out the reasons against their making a cartoon out of LOTR. If anyone wants to write a rejoinder, please do so .

Bruce MacCulloch · 03-17-2002, 10:57 PM

It couldn't be too much worse than the Rankin/Bass Return of the King.

Birdland · 03-18-2002, 05:56 AM

Kalimac, you sure you don't work for Disney? You certainly got the formula down right. You forgot one thing: Hobbits speaking street slang, so they will appeal more to the "youth market". PJ managed to keep a rein on that, thank goodness. (Except for "Let's hunt some Orcs!" thing)Disney already butchered The Jungle Book and Bambi. He's not getting his mitts on LOTR!

Araen · 03-18-2002, 08:59 AM

Disney would receave hate letters from me if they did half the things that have been mentioned to LotR. Of corse they probily wouldn't kill of Boromir (YEA) so I would send them fan letters about that part. At least I would want to...

Durazor · 03-18-2002, 09:03 AM

If Disney would make a LotR movie, we would first of all be knocked dead by those A "DISNEY CLASSIC" commercials! (Never noticed that every movie Disney creates is automaticaly a "classic", even stories we never heared about before in our entire lives!) Second of all there would be only one part in stead of three, because no sane person would dare to watch the other parts when seen the first one! (Disney wouldn't even make 2 more parts because not a soul in this world will even dream of watching the first )

Araen · 03-18-2002, 09:14 AM

Hobbit's with bigger eyes the Elijah's? Hmmm I could addition for a part then......(if they made the movie that is.)[ March 18, 2002: Message edited by: Araen ]

Rosa Underhill · 03-18-2002, 01:50 PM

Kalimac, I couldn't agree with you more. Though I enjoy certain Disny flicks ("Mulan" was cool; loved "The Lion King"; "Atlantis" was at least entertaining) Disney is, in breif, scum. If you thought Bakshi butchered LotR, Disney would make his little farce look like the greatest thing to hit animation since the moving picture! *shudder* And I happened to like the "Return of the King" cartoon, if, for no other reason, than the fact that it was darned hilarious! "Froooodoooo of the Nine Fingers, and Ring of dooooom...."

03-18-2002, 03:43 PM

Ugh! I don't even want to be within 100 feet of that movie! Blah!

03-18-2002, 04:37 PM

ugh! *shudders* What an awful mess of bovine excretion they would have made of it! When I think about what they did to tales like Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame . . . Can you imagine how they would portray hobbits . . .

Aralaithiel · 03-18-2002, 05:50 PM

~*shudder*~ You know what song they'd put in the soundtrack! Yesssss....the dreaded (WARNING!) Leonard Nimoy sings "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins!" Kalimac, you put my thoughts regarding Disney into words exactly!!!! [ March 18, 2002: Message edited by: Aralaithiel ][ March 18, 2002: Message edited by: Aralaithiel ]

ElanorGamgee · 03-18-2002, 06:09 PM

I can just see it: Saruman the evil wizard and his not-so-evil sidekick, Stinky the miniature dragon, who sees the error of his ways and joins the hobbits in the end.

Kalimac · 03-18-2002, 09:48 PM

Thanks, Araleithiel and Rosa and everyone. Actually I've never worked for Disney (not even an embittered former employee) I just couldn't stand what they did with their "historical" and "literary" movies (Esmeralda lives!). And to be honest, I also liked "The Lion King" quite a lot, it was just the exception to a long line of cringe-inducing flicks (and I do like the Bakshi LOTR and the Rankin-Bass ROTK, though that's for their value as MST3K fodder, not for their worthiness as exercises in filmmaking). Hope I didn't scare anybody there by being overintense; obviously Disney will never do this now. It's just that I suddenly had a picture of what would have happened if Disney had somehow gotten the rights instead of Peter Jackson...oh, the agony! You're right - Boromir would probably live (probably running away to keep himself from the temptation of the Ring, and re-encountering Frodo and Sam, poor old Faramir being cut out completely). I can't figure out what they would do with Gollum, though. Probably have him and Frodo hold hands and throw the Ring in together (I sense another song there, actually).OK, I'll be quiet. But how *do* you think they'd handle Gollum?

Araen · 03-18-2002, 09:56 PM

I agree with you on the Gollum thing. He'd be cute..... so would orcs.

Aralaithiel · 03-19-2002, 04:15 PM

You would definitely NOT have gruesome battle scenes either! No, instead of just Gollum & Frodo holding hands, you'd have the whole fellowship doing a can-can dance as they tossed the ring into Mount Doom! A 1, & a 2, & a 3....(Fellowship in a kick line and singing each word between kicks)"Throw the ring into the fire! Into the fire! Into the fire! etc...." (You get the horrorific idea, don't ya? )I must admit though, I do like SOME Disney movies, The Aristocats being my fave.[ March 19, 2002: Message edited by: Aralaithiel ]

05-02-2002, 06:57 PM

I can imagine Boromir dying. Then, when Merry and Pippin see his dead body, start sobbing and just run away right into the orcs. There definitely wouldn't be any blood, or at least not a lot of it.

Aosama, the Wandering Star · 05-02-2002, 09:23 PM

Ok. I just about swooned when I read this. A Disney LOTR?!? Not that I'm dissing Disney (love Beauty and the Beast, Robin Hood was cute, the Lion King ruled, if you'll forgive the pun), but I'm still reeling over how they massacred Hercules (don't get me started or you'll be reading this post all night!). What would they do to LOTR? Sam would not be a servant. He'd be a 'friend' just living with Bilbo and Frodo, or maybe even Frodo's brother or cousin. I can definitly imagine Disney adding in a talking animal of some kind! Maybe Saruman would have an "Iago" type bird (from Aladdin; it was good, sequels, uh, WEREN'T), or Bill the Pony would be the smartest person in the Fellowship (always telling them to do this or that). Boromir either a) wouldn't have died, b) wouldn't have been tempted by the ring at all, c) would have been excluded, or d) there would be this huge emotional scene between Merry, Pippin and him (Boromir: Don't let the quest fail... Merry: *snif* we won't let you down Boromir!Pippin: *sniff* yeah!"). The Prancing Pony would not have "ale". There would be neither any mention of alcohol or pipe tobacco. Suffer the thought of a Disney LOTR! Reminds me of a quote though... "Death, death, death! Death take us all!" ... "Death! Ride, ride to ruin and the world's ending!" tee hee!

Daisy Sandybanks · 05-02-2002, 09:51 PM

Well, persnally, I think Disney would make a wonderful animation of LotR, they are the only company who is the best at that particular task they do, anyone seen Atlantis? Now that, amoung others, was a very good animated film. As long as Disney does not come out with a live action version of LotR, im fine, because they suck at live action movies, sorry, but they really do. Though, like many of you have already mentioned, that old cartoon version of LotR does keep popping into my head every now and then as I write this, but I highly doubt that Disney would prodce an animated film that bad.Ah! I just invsioned Disney turning LotR into what The Land Before Time turnd out to be, seven freakin' movies?! I mean come on! They wouldn't do that.... would they?[ May 03, 2002: Message edited by: Daisy Sandybanks ]

Kalla · 05-02-2002, 10:40 PM

Hmm...after Pocahontas, or however you spell it...I stopped watching disney. Fairy tales is one thing, but...I dunno. Personally though, I don't think it's possible for any animator to draw what everyone has pictured in their minds. Look at how many people disliked parts of PJ's version...albeit it was superb compared to its predecessor...but...hehe, that was just terrible! I think if anyone ever DOES make another animated version of it, they're going to have to get rid of the residue of the first one.

NinjaFerret · 05-02-2002, 11:35 PM

If Disney ever made an animated version of LotR, it would be sooooooo PC I think I'd vomit. For one thing they would destroy the women. Instead of having them mysterious and distant, they would be in your face and delivering a Message. Frodo and Co. would be too feminine. I would keep ranting, but I need sleep. May your luck exceed the stench of your oxters.

Celebmundoiel · 05-03-2002, 06:31 AM

God no, who would do that. If its disney its gonna be like pg and if it is a lot of good parts are cut out plus the actors will not be cute because they would be animated. I seriously hope that doesn't happen.

Frodo Baggins · 05-03-2002, 02:26 PM

Just can't wait to be king??? Stinky the minanture dragon??? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (pardon, must regain conciousness). You thought the original animated hobbits were wierd looking, what would Disnaey do to them?? *shudders* Bill the talking pony, scary. Then they'd probably put ten layers of makeup on Eowyn, Arwen, and Galadriel. Frodo and Gollum holding hands and tossing the ring in together, sick. They would only do it, however, after a cutsey, cheesy song haha (am laughing so hard can hardly type) A Cancan dance!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!Yeah, Sam would just be a "friend" I like Sam the way he is. No pipe-weed??? AAAAAAA!!! No ale, no Old Winyards???? AAAAAA!!!!Another thought, Disney would do Arwen, Eowyn and Galadriel like they do all other women, teeny bitty waists and BIG boobs!Frodo Baggins

KayQy · 05-03-2002, 07:29 PM

And since they have already shown themselves to be perfectly willing to lower themselves into the depths of Mordor... I speak of their "ability" (brain too tired to think of appropriately scathing synonym) to squeeze the juice out of those great, true classics, like Cinderella and Aladdin, with sequels!!!Picture it! Lord of the Rings 2: The Shadow Returns. If even Tolkien was worried about it becoming a cheap thrill, with his care, what would Disney do? *deep, heartfelt shudder* Frodo and Gandalf would come back over the water to save the day, of course...

Kalla · 05-04-2002, 11:40 PM

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! A sequel...that sums it up! Thanks for the laugh, I'd type more but sleep deprivation is winning.

Lady Death · 05-04-2002, 11:55 PM

Oh My, a Disney LOTR would be so cute. Not the new cgi types but the old cell animations like Snow White and Pocahontas.

greyhavener · 05-04-2002, 11:58 PM

Yuck. The music would be sooo Broadway. The battle scenes would be aneseptic. Everyone would look entirely too clean and well groomed. One of the things that drew me in to Peter Jackson's LOTR was the dirt. Each place, each person, even the ethereal elven, exuded reality. Disney doesn't do dirt well.

Lanniae of the Axe · 05-05-2002, 10:28 AM

I was just thinking about this, what LOTR'd be like if Disney got ahold of it!1. No blood. Boromir would die and there would be no blood. Orcs would die by falling off of cliffs so you never see them die. Characters would be sweaty and dirty after battle, but not bloody.2. There would be "six brand-new songs composed by academy-award winners Bob Yoddle and Slick Smith."3. There would be this cheesy stuff where you combine real people and animation, like in parts of Mary poppins and Bednobs and Broomsticks. The hobbits would be fake, along with the background, and the Elves would have Star-trek like clay make-up. Oooh. I shudder to think.~Lanniae

Auriel Haevasawen · 05-06-2002, 04:05 PM

No.

NinjaFerret · 05-06-2002, 04:32 PM

Anyone else see that in the Lion King, the father lion (dunno the name) is trampled and only has a bent whisker? That bothered me so much when it came out. So I would say the orcs would resemble Ringo Starr and certain political figures that Disney just arbitrarily happens to dislike, Arwen and Galadriel would be a combo of anime and Playboy, the hobbits would look too cute (can't think of any comparable figure) and the odds are they would make their eyes HUGE. If they drew any more attention to or made Frodo's eyes any bigger than Wood's, they would fall out if he bent over. Aragorn would have a chin the size of Mt. Everest, and muscles that pop out in odd places. Legolas would look even more feminine than he does. And... Gimli. They would tear down his masculinity in ways that I don't want to think about. This is painful to think about...

Rose Cotton · 05-08-2002, 05:13 AM

I'd watch the movie just to make fun of it. (I wouldn't mind watching a fellowship can-can for laughs)I actually like most disney movies.(MOSTLY BECAUSE I'VE NEVER HEARD ABOUT THE STORIES THEY MESS UP)But I do agree that I'd be a totall disaster!Imagine how the Balrog would look!!!!!!!!!

Rose Cotton · 05-08-2002, 05:17 AM

I just thought of somthing else.The story line would be totaly messed up. For example: They leave out some Hobbits. They somehow spent only a few minuits in moria. The watcher in the water would either not appear at all or would not be mysterious The fellowship charicter's would be different and not the same people we've known for so long.

Arod · 05-08-2002, 08:54 AM

Well for one thing the fight seens wouldn't have been as brutal. There would be singing hobbits and dancing elves and Bill the pony would talk. No leave it to Jackson. It is better this way.

Birdland · 05-08-2002, 09:28 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>I actually like most disney movies.(MOSTLY BECAUSE I'VE NEVER HEARD ABOUT THE STORIES THEY MESS UP)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Rose - read the original "Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling or "Bambi" by Felix Salten, and you'll see what Disney can do to the classics. I've never forgiven Walt and Co. for what he did to these books, particularly to the "Jungle Book", which I discovered before its "Disneyfication". Mowgli without wolves! What was that man thinking?Disneyfication also ticks me off because when I recommend these wonderful books to young people today, I inevitably get the reaction of "Eeeeeewwww! Disney! I'm too old to be reading Disney stuff!" Then you have to sit there and explain about everything Disney DIDN'T cover, and how he had watered down the original themes....(sigh) It gets so tiresome.Thanks alot, Uncle Walt.

Child of the 7th Age · 05-08-2002, 09:42 AM

I don't have that much interest in seeing an animated Lord of the Rings by Disney or anyone else. I would be interested in having someone do a fine adaptation of The Hobbit, (please not Disney), so that families could take younger children to see it, and just because a quality adaptation of The Hobbit has never been done. (Believe me, I would go see it too!) LOTR is a bit intense if you have small children. My daughter is 9 and a little shy. She loves the stories because I've told many of them to her. She tries to tie in all her school essays to Tolkien themes (just like mom), but she hid her head in my shoulder for significant chunks of the movie. I wonder if there's any possibility of someone coming out with a Hobbit, since LOTR has been such a commercial success? The problem remains that it's geared to a younger crowd, so they wouldn't necessarily inherit the audience from LOTR (except for crazies like me who will go see anything like this). sharon, the 7th age hobbit[ May 08, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]

Frodo Baggins · 05-08-2002, 09:43 AM

Please, NinjaFerret you are going to give me nightmares. Poor Gimli, I hate tho think waht they would do to him.I read "The Jungle Book" by Kipling, liked if a a lot, very different to the movie.[ May 08, 2002: Message edited by: Frodo Baggins ]

ESTEN · 05-08-2002, 09:54 AM

Disney, *** they would destroy the story just like everything else that they have done. Case in point remember the little mermaid, she is suppossed to DIE at the end, not marry a prince so HA. Borimir would most likely still be alive after the end of the first movie. They make so many changes that they end up ruining the original story.

Thulorongil · 05-12-2002, 11:43 AM

Just imagining all this is going to give me nightmares! -Instead of battles they would play tag and if they got too tired would lose and run away -they'd have a dancing contest with the balrog, and Gandalf would end up deciding to stay and learn how. -the Lord of the Nazgul would decide that he didn't want to destroy Minas Tirith, and help them rebuild the wall. -In Bree they would have grape juice instead of beer and ale -hobbits would find pleasure in blowing bubbles instead of pipe weed. -Galadriel would give them a magic potion that would not allow them to be injured.-all this or Sauron would get a bad case of the flu and have to leave, giving the fellowship rule of the world

Thulorongil · 05-12-2002, 11:46 AM

Did you know, though that there is an animated Hobbit? It's about 40 minutes long, and dwarves have foreheads that are 4-feet tall, giant spiders look like bunnies, so do goblins, the eagles have a 1 1/2 foot wing span, and THERE IS MUSIC (the greatest adventure is what lies ahead....la la la la la.......)I gave it to my friend as a joke. It's pretty cute, though

Lossenavariel · 05-12-2002, 12:05 PM

I saw the animated verson and really didn't like it.... it was way to cutsie for me

Ithaeliel · 05-12-2002, 01:06 PM

Disney would completely butcher everything. If there was going to be another animated version at all, it should be done in anime, because those people are not afraid to make people dirty and bloody or a place dark and mysterious and they would probably make it almost as good as any film with live actors. They can put souls into their animations and make an entire feature without anything funny, I like that form better than any other. Arwen and Galadriel would be solemn and beautiful, Aragorn and Boromir would be deep, dirty, and heroic, all the hobbits would probably be amusing but not entirely, the male elves would be wise and handsome. Definitely not Disney! If they made an LoTR series, I'd boycott it! I liked their old movies better, like Snow White and Cinderella! Back then Mr. Walt Disney was alive, and he knew what he was doing!GRRRRRRRRRRR !

03-17-2002, 10:17 PM	#1
spicecubes4sale Guest Posts: n/a	Disney's Lord Of The Rings...??!! Ok, this isn't a new LOTR Animated feature! I was just wondering what will happen had Disney embarked on making an LOTR Animated flick prior to or even the decision of making a live LOTR action flick?! What do you think guys would it look like? Personally, i think an animated feature would be much better than a live-action one, coz in an animation, there's more flexibility and considering the birth of a very high-tech animation technique nowadays, i think the movie would gain much more color and life - there would be no problems in digitally-shrinking the hobbits (coz that effect was quite unpolished in the movie, especially during the Council of Elrond scene), and many others...Now, what do u think?

03-17-2002, 10:53 PM	#2
Kalimac Candle of the Marshes Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Flyover Country Posts: 780	To be honest, the first thing I thought was "Oh no, is this `Ralph Bakshi: The Vengeance'?". The animated hobbits are back, and they mean business! I'm going to admit straight out that my perspective on the value of an animated LOTR is very influenced by memories of the Bakshi atrocity. "I must consult with the Wizard Aruman" etc.<P>That said, I don't think Disney would really do a better job than Peter Jackson's live action version, in fact I think they'd do worse (I'd have more hope for a Pixar LOTR, and Pixar is a division of Disney, but OTOH CGI, while wonderful, is still slightly dicey when it comes to animating really believable humans or part-humans. Even in "Shrek" you couldn't really call Lord Farquaad or Fiona the epitome of realism the way, say, Aragorn or Sam would have to be). But a straight-up Disney cartoon would be problematic for several reasons.<P>1) convincing-looking characters, or: By Elbereth the Fair, You Shall Not Make Them Cute. It's true that they'd have a much easier time getting the proportions right (though to defend Jackson's LOTR, I thought the shrinking effects were actually quite well-done - yes, you could see in a couple of places that they were obviously midget doubles, but you really had to look). But proportions aside, animating humans is not the best thing that Disney does. All the hobbits would have eyes even larger than Elijah Wood's - scary, I know - and would be cute, cute, cute in the Woodland Creatures In "Snow White" way - the sort of faces that seem incapable of even getting a dirt smudge on them. Aragorn and Boromir would probably most resemble John Smith from Pocahontas; not good. As for the Elves, even more than the hobbits these are characters where cuteness would be absolutely fatal to the idea behind them. Do you really think Disney would be able to resist the Cute factor and maybe make the characters look as disheveled and unshaven as they undoubtedly were once in a while?<P>2) Animal companions. I don't mean Bill the Pony. That's fine. I mean a Bill the Pony who can talk. Almost every Disney feature has given the hero or at least the evil foil an animal friend who can talk or at least indicate human-level comprehension. The only instance in LOTR where this kind of thing would be even close to right would be that very brief scene in "Three's Company" with the fox. But this being Disney, they know that this sort of thing amuses cartoon viewers and they'd want to stick with what they've done the last 80 times, so in would go the animal companion - maybe Bill the Pony, maybe a Raven or Eagle who would conveniently tag along with the Fellowship. <P>3) Background scenery and sets. Middle-Earth needs to be dirty, real and convincing or else it will seem so remote that it's impossible to be really concerned about the characters (if they're living in glossy Cartoon Land, of course they'll be fine. They're the good guys). You could achieve that look in a cartoon, but it would take a heck of a lot of work and still not be nearly as convincing as taking five minutes to smudge dirt on Sean Astin's face. <P>4) That's Entertainment! What's a Disney cartoon without a musical number - several in fact? I doubt that the debacle of "Frodo of the Nine Fingers" from the ROTK cartoon would deter the storyboard people too much. I don't know if Gandalf would sing the history of the Ring (hard to find rhymes for "Isildur" and "Sauron") but Frodo would probably have a song about leaving Bag End, Sam would have a song about friendship and following him to end, Aragorn would probably have a solo ("I Just Can't Wait To Be King" maybe ) Merry and Pippin would do a comic duet, etc etc etc. <P>5) Plot changes. You think changing Arwen's role was bad, wait until you see what Disney would do with it (I'm basing this on the books and history stories that they've adapted before). Want to see Merry and Pippin storming Orthanc singlehanded? Want to see Frodo marry Rose Cotton and live happily ever after ever? Want to see Aragorn gaining immortality instead of Arwen losing it? Here's where you would find it. <P>Whew! Sorry, I hope I didn't just steamroll this topic into the ground. I just don't like Disney too much, and just wanted to lay out the reasons against their making a cartoon out of LOTR. If anyone wants to write a rejoinder, please do so . __________________ Father, dear Father, if you see fit, We'll send my love to college for one year yet Tie blue ribbons all about his head, To let the ladies know that he's married.

03-17-2002, 10:57 PM	#3
Bruce MacCulloch Dead Man of Dunharrow Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 652	It couldn't be too much worse than the Rankin/Bass <I>Return of the King</I>. __________________ `A blunderbuss, was it?' said he, scratching his head. `I thought it was horseflies!'

03-18-2002, 05:56 AM	#4
Birdland Ghastly Neekerbreeker Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: the banks of the mighty Scioto Posts: 1,757	Kalimac, you sure you don't work for Disney? You certainly got the formula down right. <P>You forgot one thing: Hobbits speaking street slang, so they will appeal more to the "youth market". PJ managed to keep a rein on that, thank goodness. (Except for "Let's hunt some Orcs!" thing)<P>Disney already butchered The Jungle Book and Bambi. He's not getting his mitts on LOTR!

03-18-2002, 08:59 AM	#5
Araen Haunting Spirit Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 70	Disney would receave hate letters from me if they did half the things that have been mentioned to LotR. Of corse they probily wouldn't kill of Boromir (YEA) so I would send them fan letters about that part. At least I would want to... __________________ "Where is the horse and the rider, where is the horn that was blowing, they have passed like rain on the mountains, like wind in the meadow, the days are damned in the west? behind the hills? there are shadows... "

03-18-2002, 09:03 AM	#6
Durazor Pile O'Bones Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 25	If Disney would make a LotR movie, we would first of all be knocked dead by those A "DISNEY CLASSIC" commercials! (Never noticed that every movie Disney creates is automaticaly a "classic", even stories we never heared about before in our entire lives!) Second of all there would be only one part in stead of three, because no sane person would dare to watch the other parts when seen the first one! (Disney wouldn't even make 2 more parts because not a soul in this world will even dream of watching the first ) __________________ "A Gnoll? Yes, I'm a Gnoll! What's a Gnoll you ask? sigh Just take a look at my avatar!"

03-18-2002, 09:14 AM	#7
Araen Haunting Spirit Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 70	Hobbit's with bigger eyes the Elijah's? Hmmm I could addition for a part then......(if they made the movie that is.)<p>[ March 18, 2002: Message edited by: Araen ] __________________ "Where is the horse and the rider, where is the horn that was blowing, they have passed like rain on the mountains, like wind in the meadow, the days are damned in the west? behind the hills? there are shadows... "

03-18-2002, 01:50 PM	#8
Rosa Underhill Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Waymeet, the Shire Posts: 297	Kalimac, I couldn't agree with you more. Though I enjoy certain Disny flicks ("Mulan" was cool; loved "The Lion King"; "Atlantis" was at least entertaining) Disney is, in breif, scum. If you thought Bakshi butchered LotR, Disney would make his little farce look like the greatest thing to hit animation since the moving picture! shudder <P>And I happened to like the "Return of the King" cartoon, if, for no other reason, than the fact that it was darned hilarious! "Froooodoooo of the Nine Fingers, and Ring of dooooom...." __________________ WWAHD? (What would a Hobbit do?)

03-18-2002, 03:43 PM	#9
Lizzie Guest Posts: n/a	Ugh! I don't even want to be within 100 feet of that movie! Blah!

03-18-2002, 04:37 PM	#10
Eowyn o Rohan Guest Posts: n/a	ugh! shudders What an awful mess of bovine excretion they would have made of it! When I think about what they did to tales like Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame . . . Can you imagine how they would portray hobbits . . .

03-18-2002, 05:50 PM	#11
Aralaithiel Ghost Eldaran Queen Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: A remote mountain in Valinor Posts: 353	~shudder~ You know what song they'd put in the soundtrack! Yesssss....the dreaded (WARNING!)<BR>Leonard Nimoy sings "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins!" <P>Kalimac, you put my thoughts regarding Disney into words exactly!!!! <P>[ March 18, 2002: Message edited by: Aralaithiel ]<p>[ March 18, 2002: Message edited by: Aralaithiel ] __________________ A lelyat, wen! (Quenya Elvish for "You go, girl!"

03-18-2002, 06:09 PM	#12
ElanorGamgee Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 314	I can just see it: Saruman the evil wizard and his not-so-evil sidekick, Stinky the miniature dragon, who sees the error of his ways and joins the hobbits in the end. __________________ Soli Deo Gloria

03-18-2002, 09:48 PM	#13
Kalimac Candle of the Marshes Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Flyover Country Posts: 780	Thanks, Araleithiel and Rosa and everyone. Actually I've never worked for Disney (not even an embittered former employee) I just couldn't stand what they did with their "historical" and "literary" movies (Esmeralda lives!). And to be honest, I also liked "The Lion King" quite a lot, it was just the exception to a long line of cringe-inducing flicks (and I do like the Bakshi LOTR and the Rankin-Bass ROTK, though that's for their value as MST3K fodder, not for their worthiness as exercises in filmmaking). <P>Hope I didn't scare anybody there by being overintense; obviously Disney will never do this now. It's just that I suddenly had a picture of what would have happened if Disney had somehow gotten the rights instead of Peter Jackson...oh, the agony! <P>You're right - Boromir would probably live (probably running away to keep himself from the temptation of the Ring, and re-encountering Frodo and Sam, poor old Faramir being cut out completely). I can't figure out what they would do with Gollum, though. Probably have him and Frodo hold hands and throw the Ring in together (I sense another song there, actually).<P>OK, I'll be quiet. But how do you think they'd handle Gollum? __________________ Father, dear Father, if you see fit, We'll send my love to college for one year yet Tie blue ribbons all about his head, To let the ladies know that he's married.

03-18-2002, 09:56 PM	#14
Araen Haunting Spirit Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 70	I agree with you on the Gollum thing. He'd be cute..... so would orcs. __________________ "Where is the horse and the rider, where is the horn that was blowing, they have passed like rain on the mountains, like wind in the meadow, the days are damned in the west? behind the hills? there are shadows... "

03-19-2002, 04:15 PM	#15
Aralaithiel Ghost Eldaran Queen Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: A remote mountain in Valinor Posts: 353	You would definitely NOT have gruesome battle scenes either! <P>No, instead of just Gollum & Frodo holding hands, you'd have the whole fellowship doing a can-can dance as they tossed the ring into Mount Doom! <BR>A 1, & a 2, & a 3....(Fellowship in a kick line and singing each word between kicks)"Throw the ring into the fire! Into the fire! Into the fire! etc...." (You get the horrorific idea, don't ya? )<P>I must admit though, I do like SOME Disney movies, The Aristocats being my fave.<p>[ March 19, 2002: Message edited by: Aralaithiel ] __________________ A lelyat, wen! (Quenya Elvish for "You go, girl!"

05-02-2002, 06:57 PM	#16
nevfeniel Guest Posts: n/a	I can imagine Boromir dying. Then, when Merry and Pippin see his dead body, start sobbing and just run away right into the orcs. There definitely wouldn't be any blood, or at least not a lot of it.

05-02-2002, 09:23 PM	#17
Aosama, the Wandering Star Wight Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Middle-Earth Posts: 210	Ok. I just about swooned when I read this. A Disney LOTR?!? Not that I'm dissing Disney (love Beauty and the Beast, Robin Hood was cute, the Lion King ruled, if you'll forgive the pun), but I'm still reeling over how they massacred Hercules (don't get me started or you'll be reading this post all night!). What would they do to LOTR? Sam would not be a servant. He'd be a 'friend' just living with Bilbo and Frodo, or maybe even Frodo's brother or cousin. I can definitly imagine Disney adding in a talking animal of some kind! Maybe Saruman would have an "Iago" type bird (from Aladdin; it was good, sequels, uh, WEREN'T), or Bill the Pony would be the smartest person in the Fellowship (always telling them to do this or that). Boromir either a) wouldn't have died, b) wouldn't have been tempted by the ring at all, c) would have been excluded, or d) there would be this huge emotional scene between Merry, Pippin and him <BR>(Boromir: Don't let the quest fail... <BR>Merry: snif we won't let you down Boromir!Pippin: sniff yeah!").<BR>The Prancing Pony would not have "ale". There would be neither any mention of alcohol or pipe tobacco. <BR>Suffer the thought of a Disney LOTR! Reminds me of a quote though...<BR> "Death, death, death! Death take us all!" ... "Death! Ride, ride to ruin and the world's ending!"<BR>tee hee!

05-02-2002, 09:51 PM	#18
Daisy Sandybanks Wight Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: California Posts: 101	Well, persnally, I think Disney would make a wonderful animation of LotR, they are the only company who is the best at that particular task they do, anyone seen Atlantis? Now that, amoung others, was a very good animated film. As long as Disney does not come out with a live action version of LotR, im fine, because they suck at live action movies, sorry, but they really do. <BR>Though, like many of you have already mentioned, that old cartoon version of LotR does keep popping into my head every now and then as I write this, but I highly doubt that Disney would prodce an animated film that bad.<P>Ah! I just invsioned Disney turning LotR into what The Land Before Time turnd out to be, seven freakin' movies?! I mean come on! They wouldn't do that.... would they?<p>[ May 03, 2002: Message edited by: Daisy Sandybanks ] __________________ Knowlege is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Be evil.

05-02-2002, 10:40 PM	#19
Kalla Haunting Spirit Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 57	Hmm...after Pocahontas, or however you spell it...I stopped watching disney. Fairy tales is one thing, but...I dunno. Personally though, I don't think it's possible for any animator to draw what everyone has pictured in their minds. Look at how many people disliked parts of PJ's version...albeit it was superb compared to its predecessor...but...hehe, that was just terrible! I think if anyone ever DOES make another animated version of it, they're going to have to get rid of the residue of the first one. __________________ "I wish the ring had never come to me...I wish none of this had happened." "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."

05-02-2002, 11:35 PM	#20
NinjaFerret Animated Skeleton Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: NYC Posts: 31	If Disney ever made an animated version of LotR, it would be sooooooo PC I think I'd vomit. For one thing they would destroy the women. Instead of having them mysterious and distant, they would be in your face and delivering a Message. Frodo and Co. would be too feminine. I would keep ranting, but I need sleep. <P>May your luck exceed the stench of your oxters. __________________ "An epitaph is a belated advertisement for a line of goods that have been permanently discontinued." - Irvin S. Cobb

05-03-2002, 06:31 AM	#21
Celebmundoiel Animated Skeleton Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Lothlorien Posts: 32	God no, who would do that. If its disney its gonna be like pg and if it is a lot of good parts are cut out plus the actors will not be cute because they would be animated. I seriously hope that doesn't happen. __________________ Roaming in the night through the shadows. You cannot hear me, you cannot see me. I am as agile as a cat. As I run I am low to the ground. I climb trees in a second and run on the branches as if they were the earth’s surface. My appearance is deceitful, I can take life as well as spare. I am Celebmundoiel.

05-03-2002, 02:26 PM	#22
Frodo Baggins Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Bag-End, Under-Hill, Hobbiton-across-the Water Posts: 606	Just can't wait to be king??? Stinky the minanture dragon??? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (pardon, must regain conciousness). You thought the original animated hobbits were wierd looking, what would Disnaey do to them?? shudders Bill the talking pony, scary. Then they'd probably put ten layers of makeup on Eowyn, Arwen, and Galadriel. <P>Frodo and Gollum holding hands and tossing the ring in together, sick. They would only do it, however, after a cutsey, cheesy song haha (am laughing so hard can hardly type) A Cancan dance!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!<P>Yeah, Sam would just be a "friend" I like Sam the way he is. <BR>No pipe-weed??? AAAAAAA!!! No ale, no Old Winyards???? AAAAAA!!!!<P>Another thought, Disney would do Arwen, Eowyn and Galadriel like they do all other women, teeny bitty waists and BIG boobs!<P>Frodo Baggins __________________ "I'm your huckleberry....that's just my game."

05-03-2002, 07:29 PM	#23
KayQy Wight Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Currently Spain Posts: 250	And since they have already shown themselves to be perfectly willing to lower themselves into the depths of Mordor... I speak of their "ability" (brain too tired to think of appropriately scathing synonym) to squeeze the juice out of those great, true classics, like Cinderella and Aladdin, with <I>sequels!!!</I><P>Picture it! Lord of the Rings 2: The Shadow Returns. If even Tolkien was worried about it becoming a cheap thrill, with his care, what would Disney do? deep, heartfelt shudder Frodo and Gandalf would come back over the water to save the day, of course... __________________ Do you really want to know / Or are you a little scared, Afraid that God is not exactly what you'd have Him be? --OC Supertones, "Wilderness" "Good sense about trivialities is better than nonsense about things that matter." -- Max Beerbohm

05-04-2002, 11:40 PM	#24
Kalla Haunting Spirit Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 57	HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! A sequel...that sums it up! Thanks for the laugh, I'd type more but sleep deprivation is winning. __________________ "I wish the ring had never come to me...I wish none of this had happened." "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."

05-04-2002, 11:55 PM	#25
Lady Death Pile O'Bones Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hell Posts: 12	Oh My, a Disney LOTR would be so cute.<BR>Not the new cgi types but the old cell animations like Snow White and Pocahontas. __________________ Mankind's worst nightmare in the form of it's sweetest dream, Lady Death, is ever a woman of contradictions- and with good reason for the blood of both angels and demons flows through her veins. The life of the woman who would become known as Death began as a young girl named Hope in Medieval Europe. Hope was the daughter of Matthias, a 666th generation descendant of the fallen angels, and Marion, a woman so pure her bloodline reached to Heaven

05-04-2002, 11:58 PM	#26
greyhavener Wight Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: austin Posts: 169	Yuck. The music would be sooo Broadway. The battle scenes would be aneseptic. Everyone would look entirely too clean and well groomed. One of the things that drew me in to Peter Jackson's LOTR was the dirt. Each place, each person, even the ethereal elven, exuded reality. Disney doesn't do dirt well. __________________ Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

05-05-2002, 10:28 AM	#27
Lanniae of the Axe Haunting Spirit Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Erebor, Middle earth :) Posts: 68	I was just thinking about this, what LOTR'd be like if Disney got ahold of it!<P>1. No blood. Boromir would die and there would be no blood. Orcs would die by falling off of cliffs so you never see them die. Characters would be sweaty and dirty after battle, but not bloody.<P>2. There would be "six brand-new songs composed by academy-award winners Bob Yoddle and Slick Smith."<P>3. There would be this cheesy stuff where you combine real people and animation, like in parts of Mary poppins and Bednobs and Broomsticks. The hobbits would be fake, along with the background, and the Elves would have Star-trek like clay make-up. Oooh. <P>I shudder to think.<P>~Lanniae __________________ Oh! Ooh! Join my yahoogroup: True to Tolkien!http://groups.yahoo.com/group/true2tolkien/

05-06-2002, 04:05 PM	#28
Auriel Haevasawen Wight Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Nowhere of importance Posts: 240	No. __________________ Auriel

05-06-2002, 04:32 PM	#29
NinjaFerret Animated Skeleton Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: NYC Posts: 31	Anyone else see that in the Lion King, the father lion (dunno the name) is trampled and only has a bent whisker? That bothered me so much when it came out. So I would say the orcs would resemble Ringo Starr and certain political figures that Disney just arbitrarily happens to dislike, Arwen and Galadriel would be a combo of anime and Playboy, the hobbits would look too cute (can't think of any comparable figure) and the odds are they would make their eyes HUGE. If they drew any more attention to or made Frodo's eyes any bigger than Wood's, they would fall out if he bent over. Aragorn would have a chin the size of Mt. Everest, and muscles that pop out in odd places. Legolas would look even more feminine than he does. And... Gimli. They would tear down his masculinity in ways that I don't want to think about. <P>This is painful to think about... __________________ "An epitaph is a belated advertisement for a line of goods that have been permanently discontinued." - Irvin S. Cobb

05-08-2002, 05:13 AM	#30
Rose Cotton Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: A place worse then Mordor........School! Posts: 1,075	I'd watch the movie just to make fun of it.<BR>(I wouldn't mind watching a fellowship can-can for laughs)<P>I actually like most disney movies.(MOSTLY BECAUSE I'VE NEVER HEARD ABOUT THE STORIES THEY MESS UP)<P>But I do agree that I'd be a totall disaster!<P>Imagine how the Balrog would look!!!!!!!!! __________________ "There's nothing you can do, Harry... nothing... he's gone."-Remus Lupin "The closer we are to danger, the further we are from harm."-Pippin (now how can you argue with that logic?)

05-08-2002, 05:17 AM	#31
Rose Cotton Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: A place worse then Mordor........School! Posts: 1,075	I just thought of somthing else.<P>The story line would be totaly messed up. For example: They leave out some Hobbits.<BR> They somehow spent only a few minuits in moria. <BR> The watcher in the water would either not appear at all or would not be mysterious<BR> The fellowship charicter's would be different and not the same people we've known for so long. __________________ "There's nothing you can do, Harry... nothing... he's gone."-Remus Lupin "The closer we are to danger, the further we are from harm."-Pippin (now how can you argue with that logic?)

05-08-2002, 08:54 AM	#32
Arod Animated Skeleton Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Reisterstown, Maryland Posts: 27	Well for one thing the fight seens wouldn't have been as brutal. There would be singing hobbits and dancing elves and Bill the pony would talk. No leave it to Jackson. It is better this way. __________________ "He stands not alone. You would die before your stroke fell."~Legolas

05-08-2002, 09:28 AM	#33
Birdland Ghastly Neekerbreeker Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: the banks of the mighty Scioto Posts: 1,757	<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>I actually like most disney movies.(MOSTLY BECAUSE I'VE NEVER HEARD ABOUT THE STORIES THEY MESS UP)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Rose - read the original "Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling or "Bambi" by Felix Salten, and you'll see what Disney can do to the classics. <P>I've never forgiven Walt and Co. for what he did to these books, particularly to the "Jungle Book", which I discovered before its "Disneyfication". Mowgli without wolves! What was that man thinking?<P>Disneyfication also ticks me off because when I recommend these wonderful books to young people today, I inevitably get the reaction of "Eeeeeewwww! Disney! I'm too old to be reading Disney stuff!" Then you have to sit there and explain about everything Disney DIDN'T cover, and how he had watered down the original themes....(sigh) It gets so tiresome.<P>Thanks alot, Uncle Walt.

05-08-2002, 09:42 AM	#34
Child of the 7th Age Spirit of the Lonely Star Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 5,133	I don't have that much interest in seeing an animated Lord of the Rings by Disney or anyone else. I would be interested in having someone do a fine adaptation of The Hobbit, (please not Disney), so that families could take younger children to see it, and just because a quality adaptation of The Hobbit has never been done. (Believe me, I would go see it too!)<P> LOTR is a bit intense if you have small children. My daughter is 9 and a little shy. She loves the stories because I've told many of them to her. She tries to tie in all her school essays to Tolkien themes (just like mom), but she hid her head in my shoulder for significant chunks of the movie. <P>I wonder if there's any possibility of someone coming out with a Hobbit, since LOTR has been such a commercial success? The problem remains that it's geared to a younger crowd, so they wouldn't necessarily inherit the audience from LOTR (except for crazies like me who will go see anything like this). sharon, the 7th age hobbit<p>[ May 08, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ] __________________ Multitasking women are never too busy to vote.

05-08-2002, 09:43 AM	#35
Frodo Baggins Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Bag-End, Under-Hill, Hobbiton-across-the Water Posts: 606	Please, NinjaFerret you are going to give me nightmares. Poor Gimli, I hate tho think waht they would do to him.<P>I read "The Jungle Book" by Kipling, liked if a a lot, very different to the movie.<p>[ May 08, 2002: Message edited by: Frodo Baggins ] __________________ "I'm your huckleberry....that's just my game."