Anticipation was sky-high when Amazon first announced plans to bring Middle-earth to television, but The Rings of Power quickly became one of the most divisive entries in the Tolkien adaptation canon. Debates have raged around everything from character arcs to pacing, and the show’s mixed reception has left Amazon’s long-term small-screen ambitions for The Lord of the Rings uncertain.

Yet despite The Rings of Power ’s problems , none of them prove Amazon can’t handle fantasy. In fact, some of the strongest fantasy storytelling of the last few decades has been forged under the Prime Video banner. The twist is that Amazon’s biggest fantasy wins aren’t live-action, they’re animated.

If Amazon truly wants its next Lord of the Rings series to succeed , the clearest blueprint i

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