Want to take a brief dip into Middle-earth without committing to your couch and television for hours and hours? If so, the latest 8-Bit Cinema from CineFix is for you. They’ve condensed The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug into three minutes of animated, video game style silliness. I would happily watch the entire film trilogy in this format or play a video game with a similar narrative:

The cut takes Thorin and company from Bag End to the showdown with the Goblins in just over a minute. Blink and suddenly you’re in the Lonely Mountain. You do lose some key scenes and dialogue along the way, but this interpretation hits enough of the highlights to cover the gist of the story.

My biggest takeaway is that the “Misty Mountains Cold” track sounds fantastic even when it’s synthesized, and I would like to buy it on iTunes. Also, 8-bit Smaug is a little adorable.

Tell about your favorite part of the animation in the comments!

HT: Laughing Squid