The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024) Thoughts

Hey everyone-  this weekend, I saw The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim; an anime adaption of the Middle Earth saga from director Kenji Kamiyama. Though it may not reach the heights it aims for, it is still a film that I can address here; so let's get started.

Courtesy- Wingnut Films/New Line Cinema/WBD

The movie takes place during the Second Age; nearly 200 years before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring. As former childhood lovers become opposing leaders of warring factions, a decisive founding battle for the fate of Middle Earth is set to begin.

Kamiyama has worked on a number of projects I've enjoyed, which include Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Blade Runner Black Lotus (which I've been meaning to take a look at); and "The Ninth Jedi" segment of Star Wars Visions. The animation of the film, while no Ghibli or Ufotable level of quality, does a great job of capturing the overall look and feel of the Peter Jackson films on a smaller scale. That said, I do admit some of the CG backgrounds do make me wonder if I misplaced my Playstation controller at times.

Of course, one thing that bears mentioning is the production of the film. While Kamiyama and his team clearly had enthusiasm for the project; the business side is where things get interesting. While MGM and Amazon currently hold the rights to the books, New Line and WBD still hold a stake in the Peter Jackson films made in years past. One key reason why this film was made is to maintain that stake, something known as the ashcan copy in industry terms. It wouldn't even be the first time this happened with a Tolkien adaptation- just over a decade before the Rankin/Bass animated version of The Hobbit (which featured numerous future alumni from Studio Ghibli in the crew), there was an animated pitch from Bill Snyder that ran all of 12 minutes of storyboards. You see this all the time in the comic adaptation sphere, with the most well-known being the Roger Corman-produced version of the Fantastic Four. That never saw official release (with copies often circulating online), and was made solely to fulfill a contract.

Still, while there are familiar aspects you will recognize (most notably a posthumous appearance from Christopher Lee as Saruman from archive recordings); it does work as an expanded universe story. It's not the biggest movie I've covered or will cover here; but I have no regrets over spending time to watch it. It's no Boy and the Heron, but I give it a 4 out of 5. That's all for now, take care.