The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Blu-ray Movie Review

She is no man.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III February 18, 2025

Chances are when (Arwen?) you say "animated Lord of the Rings movie", those of a certain age will likely think of the oddball Rankin/Bass production from 1978 or The Hobbit from a year earlier. They each have a special spot in my core memory that was later almost completely erased by the monumentally popular live-action Peter Jackson films from the early 2000s. Other nooks and crannies of author J.R.R. Tolkein's bibliography have been explored but the deepest cut now belongs to The War of the Rohirrim, a recent anime-inspired feature film that's built from a segment of LOTR's Appendix A; sources vary on the exact details, but it's anywhere from a few lines to maybe a page and a half.

For a full synopsis and my take on the main feature, please see my recent review of WB's separate 4K edition. Our own Brian Orndorf was slightly more critical of the film and his theatrical review can also be read here.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As usual with my separate reviews of WB's 4K and Blu-ray editions, my general feelings about its overall appearance and aesthetic can be found in my coverage of the UHD disc, which is published here. In short, The War of the Rohirrim is a gorgeously-designed film with strong visual merits, albeit one that leans on detail backgrounds, color, and costume design rather than a consistently smooth framerate. From that perspective this Blu-ray holds up admirably well against the inevitable superior 4K, if only due to expected format limitations, as the main difference involve stiffer contrast levels and slightly less convincing color reproduction. Otherwise, fine detail and textures are similar -- this is, after all, a native 2K production -- and the fundamentals are covered nicely, and I didn't even spot any noticeable compression artifacts or other issues on this capably-encoded 50GB disc. Those watching it on small to mid-sized displays (65" or less, relatively speaking) will find a lot to like here and, while the 4K again beats it for obvious reasons, this 1080p/SDR presentation is far from a consolation prize and will please those who haven't moved on to UHD yet.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For my thoughts on the excellent Dolby Atmos mix (identical on both HD and UHD discs), please see my review of the 4K edition. Please note that the audio dub and/or subtitle options vary on each format, though.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with attractive cover art and a Digital Copy redemption code. The limited bonus features are identical to the 4K edition and are detailed in that review but listed below.

• Return to Helm's Deep: History Becomes Legend (12:53)

• Middle-Earth & Anime: A Marriage of Creativity (6:52)

• Héra: A New Hero for Middle-Earth (6:53)

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Some fans initially decried The War of the Rohirrim as a cheap attempt by New Line Cinema to protect film rights, which is a fair point but undercuts what the animation team was able to achieve here. The world of The Lord of the Rings is unusually well-fit for animation and, despite a handful of script and narrative issues, the visuals and sound design work in tandem to make a real case for its existence, both briefly on the big screen and now on home video. Separate 4K and Blu-ray options are offered as stand-alone-releases, with each offering proportionately great A/V specs, and an all-inclusive Steelbook combo pack is also available for die-hard fans and collectors.