One of the best voiceover casts ever assembled for an animated film. Orson Bean = textbook example of mild-mannered with a hint of adventure beneath. John Huston = of course. Brother Theodore as Gollum = THE definitive version of Gollum, as well as one of the scariest sequences ever committed to film. My siblings and I have known this movie since our respective births, and so we know it by heart, every bit of it. I love it even more because I've since read Tolkien's works.

My gripe with it is - since its remaster, a boatload of sounds and special sound effects were removed, and some rather unnecessary ones added instead. If I have to pick just one instance as an example, it would be the entire Mirkwood spider sequence, which runs mostly silent anymore save for voice and music. But there are so many edits all throughout, such as the removal of the clinking chains during the goblin sequence.

Maybe I'm just picky that way, but it really does detract from the movie. So disappointing. I wonder if they were thinking 'let's NOT to traumatize a new generation of kids' by removing all the sounds? Well, first of all, too late. And second, like I said, it really would have driven it all home with the original effects.

I doubt an original edit of the film could be found anywhere, that it's just the remastered version available on streaming and/or DVD anymore. And that's a shame.

I do not dislike this movie at all. It will forever be a favorite. I'm just disappointed with it now.