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The Hobbit and Return of the King were both produced by Rankin and Bass, and theoretically tell the whole story from start to finish, although the first two books of the trilogy are merely summarized in an intro in the RotK movie in an attempt to fit it into a two-hour window... Rankin was quoted as saying that decision came about because he didn't think audiences would sit still for a full adaption of the story.
The animated LotR by Bakshi is an unrelated project. Some time afterward, the rights to all three productions ended up with Warner Bros. who marketed them as a trilogy, which is where the confusion comes from that they're connected.
 

The reason I had asked is that on Amazon you can buy the three movies on disc. The artwork for the covers are similar, making it look like they're all connected. I didn't know there was a Return of the King so I actually thought it was a fake product. It didn't help that when I looked for trailers the video used scenes from the animation but audio from the live action movie. This was an odd little journey.
 

The reason I had asked is that on Amazon you can buy the three movies on disc. The artwork for the covers are similar, making it look like they're all connected. I didn't know there was a Return of the King so I actually thought it was a fake product. It didn't help that when I looked for trailers the video used scenes from the animation but audio from the live action movie. This was an odd little journey.
In case your search didn't turn it up, there's also a Rankin Bass "The Hobbit" movie. It was made for TV in 1977 and I think it was my first exposure to Tolkien.
 


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