It has been almost a quarter of a century since Peter Jackson brought J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy to the big screen. The world of Middle-earth was brilliantly brought to life with the journey of Bilbo Baggins.

A single appendix from the J.R.R. Tolkien novels is the primary foundation for a 2 1/4-hour animated prequel set more than 100 years before the events of “The Hobbit.” “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” presents new characters and new battles but almost everything about it feels stale.