Arthur Rankin, producer of animated version of The Hobbit, has died

Previously I have rather unapologetically made my criticisms of Peter Jackson's theatrical adaptations of the great J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit (first of An Unexpected Journey and second of The Desolation of Smaug).  There is, though, one adaptation of The Hobbit that I enjoyed the first time I saw it and still do today, that produced by Rankin/Bass, the same folks who perhaps more famously gave the world the Christmas classics such as Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman:

 

What perhaps pleases me most about this animated version of The Hobbit is its fidelity to the songs found throughout the book (that, and the fact that the opening line of the book was unaltered).  A similar fidelity is likewise found in the much abbreviated version of The Return of the King, which Rankin/Bass also produced and which I also enjoy (both of which I have brought with me to Rome).

I mention this today simply because Arthur Rankin, Jr. died last week in Bermuda at the age of 89.