Very good start here! What did we miss? How would you rate this one to the first movie of LOTR? Full Reactions on Patreon: www.patreon.com/baddmedicine The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug movie reaction: kzclip.org/video/AofMFbVK1lU/бейне.html
@Nietsewitch That's because Tolkien needed to build the world logic and history before he could set stories in that world and make both it and them believable. The stories Tolkien published in his life show the shape of the world and how it works, The Silmarillion shows why it is that shape and works that way. However, Tolkien wouldn't publish anything until he was satisfied that it was perfect to the smallest detail and he was never quite satisfied with The Silmarillion. He kept tweaking it until his death and never published it. Christopher was the one who published its most complete version posthumously, and even then he published it with a disclaimer and a letter from his dad to explain his intent for The Silmarillion. I have to wonder how many of the Unfinished Tales and other works that have been published posthumously would have been included if Tolkien had finished it.
I recommend watching the behind the scenes for lotr and the hobbit because theres a lot of fun stuff in there too and I’m sure most of your questions will be answered about the making of the movies 🎥
In the movies, we never see the eagles talk as they do in the books. But they are (iirc) basically a kingdom unto themselves, and asking them for help would be like negotiating with the elves or any other free people. They're friends with Gandalf and will help bail him out, but they're not servants, and they're definitely not going to be flying horses for the dwarves. Even when Gandalf is rescued from Saruman's tower in LOTR, by Gwahir the Windlord, the eagle makes it clear to Gandalf that he will not fly him "to the ends of the earth"; Gandalf has to find a horse to resume his journey.
For the LOTR especially it's not the glaring 'plot hole' people think it is. I know the reason often given for not using the Eagles, was Tolkien saying he didn't want to overuse them as a deus ex machina and the idea that they arent a taxy service. Even if you take those out of the equation though if you actually think about if that plan would work the answer is no. The whole mission is to SNEAK into Mordor. Aragorn showing Sauron the sword (it happens a little earlier in the books before, the siege of Gondor) is to bait him into starting his war earlier than planned so he starts sending out his armies so Mordor is not swarming with orcs. They want Sauron to think they also intend to use the ring in the war rather than destroy it. They correctly assume it wouldn't occur to Sauron that they would want to destroy such a powerful weapon, and no one would be able to resist its corruption and not use it. The attack on the Black Gate was a battle they knew they couldn't win, it was only to get Sauron to march his remaining armies to the gate so Mount Doom is undefended. If they tried to just fly some giant eagles straight up to Mount Doom while all Saurons armies are there, they would of been easily seen coming long before they reach the Mountsin. Sauron would then know they intended to destroy the ring and have every orc in Mordor lead by the nine waiting. So just fly the eagles there and drop it in is a terrible plan, certain to fail. We know the eagles can be harmed by arrows. They would simply be pincushioned with arrows as they try to land and the ring would fall straight into Saurons hands.
@Darth Revan I'm not a Tolkien scholar by any means! I read it all as a kid a long time ago, just recently started re-reading some to refresh my memory.
@Darth Revan Yes, they speak in the books, and that's why they speak in those other adaptations. By "the movies" I meant just Jackson's films. Jackson uses the moth device to suggest communication between Gandalf and his mute eagles. Similarly, in the book I don't think Bilbo needs to put the ring on to hear the spiders speak in Mirkwood. I might be wrong, but I think Jackson does this just to ease the audience into the idea. Talking animals on screen often come off as silly and campy, so he wants to do it sparingly.
In the 1977 Hobbit Movie, Gwaihir does speak. He explains that Gandalf saved him from an arrow that struck his wing, and so now he saves Gandalf and the Company from the Goblins as a thank you. Not sure if that actually happens in the books, been many years since I have read them, but I know in the 70's/80's Hobbit and LOTR Movies, the Eagles do speak, at least Gwaihir does.
Quinn is correct, the trolls are those that we see when Frodo is poisoned by the Nazgûl in the Fellowship of the Ring where Sam remarks: "Look mr. Frodo, it's mr Bilbo's trolls!" when they lay Frodo to rest for a bit with Aragorn in a clearing. The way the trolls argue over how to cook them is also how Bilbo tells it at his birthday party to the kids if you recall.
This trilogy has a slightly different feel and style compared to Lord of the Rings. I’ve always felt that, in universe, part of that reason is that the events of The Lord of the Rings is a story being retold from Frodo’s perspective. But this trilogy is being retold from the perspective of Bilbo. The variations in how the two hobbits write down their own adventures is part of why we the audience see the stories a little differently.
Also, The Hobbit was an adventure story reccomended to boys ages 8-10 in 1937, while LoTR is a fantasy epic, and an historical account written for an older audience, and published in the early 60s. And The Silmarillion is like a textbook crossed with the bible. Lol dunno how the Amazon series will feel. I'm worried and excited.
@Rebeca Leah Also it is explained that why Bilbo wasn't that effected is because Sauron hadn't regained so much of his power. While Frodo was travelling with the ring Sauron was starting the get powerful again. All he needed was ring. Naturally it was darker. But I agree with both of you. The stories being child vs adult book and bilbo vs frodo pov.
@Rebeca Leah i mean yeah it being a children book is a bigger reason . But thats kinda what he is saying . Frodo wrote it as an adult story while hobbit was written as a childrens story for frodo i imagine
The Hobbit was published in 1937. It is a children's book with 300 pages. Due to popular demand, the publishers wanted a sequel. After 20 years, the Lord of the Rings came out with 1,050 pages. Peter Jackson wanted to make the Hobbit first into a film but coulnt get the copyrights. But he had an access to LotR IP. And the rest is history.
@azazello 17 JRR Tolkien was orphaned at the age if 12. His father died at age of 3 of rheumatic fever, and his mother died of diabetes. He was raised by a Catholic priest, and encouraged to be an acedemic. He learned Latin, and studied several languages. He wanted to be a linguist. He served as an officer in the British army in WWI, and was in the Battle of the Somme, one if the most horrific battles in history. Some estimate there were as many as 1.3 million casualties and at the end of the battle, the allies captured less than 50 square km. Kitchner's Army, in which Tolkien served, was a volunteer force comprised of the fittest, best educated civilian recruits possible. They suffered 57,000 casualties on the first day of the war. Tolkien developed trench fever, and was sent to an hospital. He had recurring bouts of fever and he spent much of the next 3 years in an Army hospital bed. Virtually every man who served under him was killed at the Somme, while he lay in bed. While serving in the trenches, Tolkien began to create Middle Earth as a way to use his imagination and escape the horror around him. During his prolonged confinement to a hospital bed, he began to write prolifically, and put down on paper his creation. He made maps and mythologies, social orders, and entire languages for each of the races. Much of this work was published after his death, titled the Silmarillion. He never intended any of that to be published. He spent 3 years in an Army hospital bed, and was discharged in late 1919, nearly a year after the war ended. After the war, he got a job as a professor at Oxford, and he became good friends with CS Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia, Alice in Wonderland). They forced a literary club called The Inklings. CS Lewis once commented to The Inkilings that they had read all the good books that existed. If they were to read anything good in the future, they would have to write it themselves, and challenged each of them to write. (BTW, CS Lewis was a short, simple man, who loved to garden, smoke his pipe and drink beer at the ale with his friends. He had a low booming voice, and he talked slowly with carefully chosen words. He was the inspiration of both the Hobbits and Treebeard.) The Hobbitt was begun as a short story told at a Christmas party, mostly for the benefit of his children. It became a Christmas tradition, and every year he wrote one chapter until he completed the story. By pure luck, someone who qorked for a publisher heard of the story and asked him to submit the story for consideration of publishing. It was published, with around 300 pages, and became hugely successful. The publisher asked him to write a follow up story. But, WWII broke out, and the publisher forgot about the offer. Tolkien however had been writing about Middle Earth since 1916, and progress on LOTR continued for 20 years. The publisher expected another children story, but Tolkien presented his masterpiece, Lord of the Rings. It was supposed to be one book, but it was over 1200 pages. In post WWII Britian, paper was rationed, and it was illegal to print that much paper in in a book. So, the publisher broke up the story in 3 pieces, and released them separately. The reason the story is so rich is that he had spent almost 40 years creating this world, down to minute details, and the Hobbitt really didn't go into much depth. Tolkien died in 1973, but his son began to organize his works, his side stories and unfinished projects, beginning in 1980. He published 7 stories from 2007-2018. But, much of what we consider fantasy was created by Tolkien. Elves, dwarfs, goblins, wizards... Tolkien created a huge part of that mythology.
Oak is a reactor who has an interesting, cute personality for me. He's like, his eyes sometimes make him looks like hes asleep during the reaction, but all of a sudden you'll hear his voice excited about something. I think it's cute 🤣
4:44 Tolkien actually invented the pronunciation and spelling of Dwarven (possessive) and Dwarves (plural). As well as Elven and Elves. Before that it was always Dwarf (possessive) / Dwarfs (plural) and Elf/Elfs. His editor and publisher really tried to get him to change it, but he refused. Being a master linguist and having deep knowledge of the roots of the words, he was adamant that Dwarven/Dwarves and Elven/Elves made more sense. Which is what we now use today.
I like the Lord or the Rings better myself, and it took me until the end of the second movie in the Hobbit trilogy to understand why. TLOTR was undeniably epic. It had a few funny moments but mostly it was a serious and weighty series. I mean it was understood that the world depended on the mission succeeding. Then the Hobbit comes out and you know it is Bilbo’s story and you expect it to be just as epic as TLOTR. But it isn’t. It isn’t played as serious or weighty. Instead you have singing dwarves and goblins and a the quirky brown wizard with bird poop on his head. And the trolls that act stupid but not terrifying at all. After TLOTR it was a let down at first for me. But then I kind of got it. This was when the ring was first found and evil was just starting to creep back in the world. It wasn’t reestablished and everyone was fighting for their lives yet. So it was a much more innocent time. And the mission wasn’t really life or death for the world or even a country or a race of people, it was a small group trying to reclaim a mountain that was their home and held their treasure in it. It wasn’t really meant to be an epic story, just a grand adventure story. Once I got that and watched the movies with that in mind, I liked and appreciated them a lot more.
@O. B. Finally, someone points this out. People want to blame Jackson, but this was how it was supposed to be. Like it or not, The Hobbit is a children's story. Sure, Jackson added stuff, and not all of it was gold, but Jackson always tried to stay true to Tolkien's intentions. And Tolkien wrote The Hobbit for children. So, clearly, Jackson wanted to keep it lighter at times for this reason, instead of trying to make it as serious as LotR. I'm sure nowadays people reading The Hobbit might not see it as a kids' book, because compared to stories written recently, it seems less obviously for children, with more complex vocabulary. But back then, things weren't as dumbed down for kids as they are now. They were simply done more with a clear moral message in mind and with more whimsy. I think Jackson really stayed true to this, for the most part. Is it as great as his LotR trilogy? No. But that doesn't mean it's awful or a travesty. Then again, I'm female and while I'm kind of tomboyish, and honestly probably too "old" (40) to be this way, I still love me some whimsy 😆 So perhaps things I like are things other Tolkien fans might not be crazy about 🤷♀️ (For example, I'm one of the few who are still pissed we didn't get Tom Bombadil in the LotR films. I logically understand why Jackson decided to skip "trippy side quest with hippie forest daddy", but I'm still sad about it 😆 So maybe my taste sucks. And that's fine)
The trouble is not with the viewer expecting it to be epic, it's with the studio expecting it to be epic. It should've been 2 2-hour movies with less of the serious tones, and just replace any Azog scenes with Bolg.
@redcactusify yeah the mocaps, but still, when comparing to say an Aragorn fight with Lurtz at the end of Fellowship, it felt more...natural. Yeah the troubled production of the Hobbit films is a whole topic, and the decision to split into three movies was rather late into development, still I think that there were ways to try not to exaggerate and do over-the-top stuff, the Smaug fight/chase scene throughout the Mountain was a bit...well let's say silly for the whole thing was whacky, the whole thing with the statue and molten gold :) hehe, and it still ended on a cliffhanger, maybe if a cliffhanger was inevitable, they should have done something dramatic like use this scene from the book and make it into conclusion: "But the enchanted desire of the hoard had fallen from Bilbo. All through their talk he was only half listening to them. He sat nearest to the door with one ear cocked for any beginnings of a sound without, his other was alert for echoes beyond the murmurs of the dwarves, for any whisper of a movement from far below. Darkness grew deeper and he grew ever more uneasy. "Shut the door!" he begged them, "I fear that dragon in my marrow. I like this silence far less than the uproar of last night. Shut the door before it is too late!" Something in his voice gave the dwarves an uncomfortable feeling. Slowly Thorin shook off his dreams and getting up he kicked away the stone that wedged the door. Then they thrust upon it, and it closed with a snap and a clang. No trace of a keyhole was there left on the inside. They were shut in the Mountain! And not a moment too soon. They had hardly gone any distance down the tunnel when a blow smote the side of the Mountain like the crash of battering-rams made of forest oaks and swung by giants. The rock boomed, the walls cracked and stones fell from the roof on their heads. What would have happened if the door had still been open I don't like to think. They fled further down the tunnel glad to be still alive, while behind them outside they heard the roar and rumble of Smaug's fury. He was breaking rocks to pieces, smashing wall and cliff with the lashings of his huge tail, till their little lofty camping ground, the scorched grass, the thrush's stone, the snail-covered walls, the narrow ledge, and all disappeared in a jumble of smithereens, and an avalanche of splintered stones fell over the cliff into the valley below. Smaug had left his lair in silent stealth, quietly soared into the air, and then floated heavy and slow in the dark like a monstrous crow, down the wind towards the west of the Mountain, in the hopes of catching unawares something or somebody there, and of spying the outlet to the passage which the thief had used. This was the outburst of his wrath when he could find nobody and see nothing, even where he guessed the outlet must actually be. After he had let off his rage in this way he felt better and he thought in his heart that he would not be troubled again from that direction. In the meanwhile he had further vengeance to take. "Barrel-rider!" he snorted. "Your feet came from the waterside and up the water you came without a doubt. I don't know your smell, but if you are not one of those men of the Lake, you had their help. They shall see me and remember who is the real King under the Mountain!" He rose in fire and went away south towards the Running River."
The Eagles won't go near the dragon. It's a simple as that. There are no birds around the Lonely Mountain because Smaug is there. That's why the lone thrush that goes there and taps the mountain is significant. It's an omen of change.
Martin said the Gollum scene was one of the first scenes they did and they played prettt much the whole thing start to end in one take like a play and they both loved it. Also fun fact Andy Serkis was a second unit director on these movies!
After you finish the Hobbit series, I would recommend watching "the last goodbye". It's a song sung by the actor who played Pippin. It's a beautiful wrap up to both trilogies.
These three movies are fun, but the behind-the-scenes about it are almost even more fascinating. Peter Jackson took over as director after Guillermo Del Toro dropped out after two years of pre-production. Jackson really worked himself exhausted completing what was originally going to be two films, and turning them into three. All the same, the next two are awesome!
Lindsey Ellis has a great 3 part documentary on the films on her channel, interviewing actors and flying out to New Zealand. Anyone interested in bts stuff should watch that one.
100% AGREE! I bought ALL of the movies in extended/Director's Cut, because the added material is (to me), even MORE enjoyable than the films (which ARE awesome!) HOW Jackson went from the 'Slasher' movies he made, to the 'LoTR/The Hobbit' in quality, is absolutely incredible!
Balin, the eldest member of the group and the dwarf that was telling about the story of how Thorin Oakenshield took up a piece of wood and defended his father against Azog (the battle where Azog killed his grandfather the king by beheading), is the dwarf that is lain in the tomb in the Fellowship of the Rings. The pages that Gandalf reads from in that tomb was taken from the skeleton remains of Ori, the dwarf who doesn’t like eating green things and was the loudest and longest one to burp from Bilbo’s dining room table. Gloin is Gimli’s father. They did a great job on casting and makeup because he does look similar to the character we all know and love from LOTR, Gimili.
Some trivia: one of the dwarves in this company is Gloin, that’s Gimli’s father, he’s the one who reacted to Elrond offering them food; also Balin is the one whose tomb we saw Gimli cry over in Moria in the first film, and it was Ori’s body who was clutching the book that Gandalf picked up to read about what had happened. The LOTR is a more traditional fantasy epic, whereas I always felt that the Hobbit is more of a whimsical adventure tale, after all, it was written to be more or less of a children’s story. I always thought the first Hobbit movie really captured that style of lighthearted whimsy. The later films kinda changed tone to be more serious to line up with LOTR and the more darker moments to come. The Hobbit trilogy isn’t perfect and there was a lot of issues behind the scenes in getting these films made. But overall I still enjoyed them very much and this cast is absolutely wonderful.
Dragons loving gold has been a common thing in fantasy. I once heard the explanation that gold is to a dragon as a good bed is to us. And considering that most dragons live for ages and are often depicted as lazy or endless slepers, then you can image how much a good "bed" would mean for a dragon. BTW I just read this somewhere and do not remember where, so this might not be applicable within the LotR universe. I just remember that I liked the explanation.
I wouldn't say mist dragons are lazy, considering they merely sleep and rest for the right moments and time to come, so they awaken considering, they can live forever.
Its mostly a matter of pride, greed and self-admiration, almost to the point of narcissism. You consider yourself the greatest being, so all the treasure is supposed to belong to you and nobody else, especially if a treasure has history and is a symbol of wealth. Higher beings, as simple as that. Pride is everything to a dragon. To add even more to that, regarding the laziness, when dragons collected all the treasure, it also acted as a means to attract adventurers and other enemies. Gold attracts many foes. Well guess what that's the easiest way to get food in your doorstep. Dragons absolutely loved that part of getting food this easily so it adds even more to their plan of hoarding gold. Always has been like this, in various dragon mythologies.
There is the notion that even dragons don't know why they desire gold and other valuables, they just do. Sure they are depicted as sleeping on and/or in it but really that is just because that is the best place to be in order to protect it even while sleeping. All dragons, good or evil are depicted as desiring hordes of treasure. In some stories they do so as a show of power but really that is just a side-effect, they don't gather treasure to let others see how powerful they are, they have nothing to prove, in fact sometimes a more powerful dragon will just come along and take a less powerful one's hoard. This lack of reason is why coveting masses of wealth above all else is called "Dragon Sickness," even in other stories, because it is a madness.
You guys remind me of my dad so much, funny and endearing big guys who like movies. Whatever I miss him, your videos make me feel less alone. Great work! I'm glad I found your harry potter's reaction.
I watched this movie in the cinemas, and when Smaug appeared at the end and growled, the whole room shook. It felt like he was right there, and it put my heart in my throat. I've never been so in love before!
I think the problem for a lot of people is that they're comparing it to the Lord of the Rings, to me personally I do enjoy the Hobbit movies, however to me the CGI is a bit of a disappointment. Not because the CGI looks bad, a lot of the CGI looks better, but the unnecessary CGI for a lot of things that the Lord of the Rings did practical. Basically a similar issue as between the older Star Wars movies and the prequels, when most things went CGI.
This! I absolutely love the Hobbit trilogy but the overuse of CGI throws off the whole experience a bit. Especially, when you watch it after LotR. The whole trilogy has a hazy, blurry look to it. Still love it, though. Gave me Thorin 💕
This. There was just something more... engaging about LOTR's practical effects, especially as far as the Orcs are concerned. The Hobbit trilogy are good movies, but I've always thought their over-reliance on CGI was unfortunate. Overall though, The Hobbit (the novel) had a much more kid-friendly feel, so I can at least shrug off the special effects as an attempt at a more "family movie" vibe or something. lol
i know a lot of people talk about the eagles and how they could fly them there. but if i remember correctly in the books when they talked to the eagles they were very self centered and pretty much refused to involve themselves with land walkers unless it suited them or just a whim. hence why they only showed themselves at the end of return of the king. there could be more to it, it has been a long time since i read the hobbit.
Anyone who makes that argument is silly 🤣 it’s pretty explained a lot as to why they couldn’t fly the eagles 🤣the boys have also already spoke about this exact thing in their lotr reactions … Oh I realise how why u probably commented it after seeing them have a lil joke at the end there .
"forged in Gondolin" tells us the swords are from the First Age of Middle Earth. 6000+ years old. Gondolin was a hidden Elf city in the First Age. It was eventually destroyed by the forces of Morgoth. He is the Satan of Middle Earth and Sauron was one of his servants. They are very powerful swords indeed, and Sting was also made then. (as a dagger or something like that)
I'm so curious if they'll reference or depict these details in the Amazon series. I'm also worried they'll totally mess it up. I'm gonna cross my fingers, toes, arms and legs. Lol
Yeah Fili and Kili are Thorin's nephews that line was clearly blessed with the handsome dwarf genes 🤣🤣 they did try a few things with Kili like a biggee nose etc but it all looked pretty unnatural so they didn't change too much. Kili's actor btw is pretty well known here (Aidan Turner) he's the lead of a period drama called Poldark. Also Thorin's actor (Richard Armitage) is pretty established too. Ken Stott who plays Balin has been in a few things here too but I'd say of the dwarves Bofur (errr...he's the one that has the chat with Bilbo when he's considering leaving before they meet the Goblins) is the most well know he's played by James Nesbitt he's in loaaads of shows here in the UK & Ireland. Nori (err, he doesn't have many lines..he has the sort of star shaped hair) is played by Jed Brophy who is good mates with Peter Jackson and had a lot of extra parts on LOTR. Including the Uruk rider ofthe warg that takes Aragorn pver the cliff, and the squeaky orc that gets decapitated for dinner when they want to eat Merry and Pippin 🤣. I also believe he's a rohan soldier, an elf, a ring wraith at points..he crops up a lot. And his son actually played Aragorn and Arwen's son in the vision she has in Return of the King!
I love how Oak kept all HP stuff with him haha I’ve been a HP since I was a kid but I didn’t get into Tolkien’s world until the Hobbit. The reason is because when LOTR came out I was too young to understand the story. On the other hand, I did love the Hobbit and it felt weird because many LOTR fans hate it so when I turned 30 I gave it another chance and I fell in love with it. That’s when I first saw your videos and here I am waiting for your new reactions.
For Tolkien “goblin” and “orc” are two translations of the same word. He wrote The Hobbit first and you could definitely say he didn’t expect it to do so well and hadn’t quite merged the entire LOTR world with the hobbit in full early on. This is all very broad summary, but basically he made a second edition of the book lining everything up better and has been quoted in letters that he just likes the word orc better and it feels more accurate. But there are definitely differences in orcs and it comes down to sub-breeds
I'm a fan of the books and movies, I even love The Hobbit films for what they are. Could they have made just one movie? Yeah probably, but what they added is fun and adds depth to the story. The first one is also very true to the book and they stray as they go on. I constantly quote "what does it got in its nasty little pocketses?!" "He stoles it!" and "these are Rhosgobel rabbits, I'd like to see them try!" The Misty Mountains Song was also almost what I used to walk down the aisle. So yeah, even as a book fan, I still love these movies
05:04 - To quote a line from the 1982 movie, The Flight of Dragons, “Because dragons tend to ignite ordinary bedding, they must find a soft metal to sleep on, and gold proves most comfortable for them.” 😉 That’s an interesting animated movie to watch, and it’s based around the 1979 book of the same name by Peter Dickinson. Though I prefer LOTR over The Hobbit (both in terms of books and movies), I love how they portrayed Smaug here and I’m excited for your reactions to his full reveal. I admit, though, my heart was stolen by Draco in the 1996 movie DragonHeart - a more compassionate dragon, when compared to Smaug, but just as mighty. If you have not seen DragonHeart, I whole-heartedly recommend it - Sean Connery voices Draco, and David Thwelis also stars (you’ll recognise him from Harry Potter - he played Lupin). Tolkien famously said, “I desired dragons with a profound desire”, and, in terms of the books, The Hobbit was published in 1937, and LOTR between 1954-5. Originally, LOTR was supposed to be a two-volume set (along with The Silmarillion, which goes into the mythology of the world in which Middle-earth can be found), but the publishers felt that LOTR would be too long for readers, so it was divided into three volumes (each with two parts). The Hobbit was a singular volume, and meant to be a story for children. In terms of filming, if I recall correctly, all three LOTR movies were filmed concurrently between October 1999-December 2000, whereas filming for The Hobbit took place between July-December 2011 and then again in May-July 2013. Thanks for a great reaction, guys! Looking forward to the next one. 😊
Actually the Hobbit and even more so LotR are classic ww1influenced stories. I think Tolkien came up with these ideas in the trenches. He went with a group of his closest friends to war and he was the only one who survived. There are many elements in lotr that can be found in war literature of that time. Also the theme of pity and not getting corrupted by power is very strong. One key moment in the book is when Sam sees his first dead human enemy. He wonders what reasons he fought for and if he would not rather have stayed at home just like him. Tolkien as a linguist first came up with the languages and then build the world around them. He also mourned that Roman culture had wiped out many of the original cultural heritage of Britain and other parts of Europe so he came up with Middleearth as a legend of what could have been in former times.
Also read or heard somewhere that Tolkien wrote letters home to be read to his son with the story of the Hobbit, a bit in each letter. Was a very long time ago so i may be misremembering.
Some things to notice. In the first LOTR movie you can see Bilbo telling the story with the trolls to some children during his birthday party. You can also see the statues of the trolls. In the drarf company you have Gloin which is Gimli's father (he is the one that thought Elrond insulted them when he offered food) and the oldest dwarf is Balin. Yeah it is Balin's grave that Gimli finds inside Moria (where they fight the Cave Troll). Sadly Gimli's father died from the octopus monster (the watcher of the lake) in Moria's entrance...
I assume Dragons are like birds who collect shiny things, just because it's shiny. Even though we didn't see much of it in the reaction, the song scene in the beginning is my favorite part. I've been looking forward to you guys reacting to this for a while, so I can't wait for more!
AW YEEE HERE WE GO. Guys I cannot tell you, as someone who saw the initial LOTR films, they became my favourite movies ever and I've never stopped loving them, the build up to this first movie was SO SO exciting. Getting leaks of the soundtrack, Peter Jackson posted a couple of behind the scenes not too spoilery video diaries of production. I remember one of them ending with the reveal of Christopher Lee which was so much fun. I woke up at 3am to watch the stream of the New Zealans premiere then went to uni later that day. I have such strong wonderful memories of the whole build up. Ugh I just...these movies were like such a big Peter Jackson middle earth hug it completely eclipsed any issues I had with them and I do have a couple but generally i just love them. The book is a much easier read than LOTR and i busted through it and it was very fun. Martin Freeman is one of my favourite actors I'm so pleased they went above and beyond to get him for this (they literally had to delay production because he was committed to season 2 of Sherlock and initially had to turn down the role and Peter Jackson was saying about being sat in bed watching Sherlock on his ipad like...gahhh we need him! 🤣🤣). ANYWAY i should probably actually watch this video.
I grew up with the LOTR , as a little kid I would watch them constantly! When the hobbit came out, I watched them in the theater which I didn't do with LOTR because I was too young, but that was an incredible experience. My sister who has read all the books, always told me not to question Tolkiens great mind, there is always a reason for everything in his stories.
The Hobbit was initially written stand-alone in the 30’s for his children, which is why it has a different tone than LOTR. Once LOTR came into the picture he reworked The Hobbit to feed more into LOTR. For instance the one ring that Gollum finds was just one of many magical rings found in the world in the original book before it was reworked, then it was changed to be this all powerful, all consuming thing
Goblins, in most fantasy settings, are just tiny cousin to Orcs. Tolkien used Goblin as another word for Orc, but between the movies and the fandom, it's come to be a way to differentiate between the normal-size orcs that make up most of Mordor's armies, and the smaller, scarwnier "Goblins" seen in Golbintown and in Moria.
I love your reactions guys!!!!! For years I read the Hobbit and LOTR. I liked the Hobbit movies but there were a lot of things that weren’t in the book especially with the next two Hobbit movies. The movies had lots of fight scenes to make it more appealing to boys and men. I saw this movie the day it came out in Albuquerque, dec 14th, Sandy Hook tragedy.🥺🥺🥺🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
I really hope going forward you watch the extended versions (especially for the third film)!! There are a lot of amazing scenes that were for some reason taken out of the theatrical cut.
One thing to note: Because Hobbits are longer-lived than humans, they age differently too. A 33 year old hobbit (which is how old Frodo was when he first left the Shire IIRC) is considered a young adult, a 20-something is a teenager.
I think Tolkien wrote some lore (songs, poems, cultures, mythology, languages...) for the world while he was in the trenches of the 1WW and then write The Hobbit based on that as a story for his kids... that's why The Hobbit was a bit simpler than the other ones, but i still love them. I love your reactions and your reviews, I hope you enjoy the other two movies as much as I did (my favourite one was the second one "Desolation of Smaug" by the way). PD: Don't worry Oak, i also wondered why the eagles didn't take them until the end, in both journeys hahaha
You know that Tolkien was asked about why the Eagles didn’t fly them to the mountain or Frodo to Mordor. His answer was “Shut Up!”. The eagles don’t give a F about men who shoot at them with arrows when they hunt their sheep. So they don’t frequent population center. It was a children’s story Tolkien was surprised and I think you can see his writing improved from first chapter of hobbit to the last chapter. He never intended to write the Lord of the Rings the popularity of the Hobbit forced him into it. There is a movie Called Tolkien it’s very good from what I hear. He started creating Middle Earth as a child. If you read the Dead Marches it is a description of the Battlefield of the Somme where Tolkien fought. He even used the term no and lands. The Silmarillion is the Creation story and would make several good movies in their own rights. He started the Silmarillion during the war and it was published after his death.
That audio clip of Tolkien saying, "Shut up" is fake, FYI. Just a joke someone made. I knew right away because there are real surviving audio clips of him and he sounds different, not to mention he very much had an answer to the eagle question. And he didn't start his mythology as a child but in the trenches of WWI. Some of his childhood experiences influenced his later work (for instance, as a toddler he was bitten by a venomous spider in South Africa, and later back in England he lived for a time in a place that surely inspired the Shire) but he didn't start the stories then.
Uhm... no the eagles dont fly them around because gandalf was given 3 favors from the Lord of Eagles after Gandalf saved him. As a gift the eagles helped with the battle atop the cliff with Azog. They helped when gandalf fell and needed a ride from the top of the tower when he was trapped. He then asked for help at the Black Gates as a last resort to still the gaze of Sauron as it was fixed on Frodo. So while you are partially correct.
My first reaction to the Hobbit? I cried right in the intro, from the first moment that I heard that music start up. I was just so ecstatic to be back in middle earth again, I had to quickly collect myself so I didn't miss anything else. Then I cried again when I saw Frodo happy and cheerful and whole again. It was tough man.
Dwarves' envy of Elves goes back to the time of their creation. they were created by one of the Valar named Aule who kind of jumped the gun on Eru's plan that Elves were to be first born. so they were put to sleep until the Elves were created & then brought back out. you can see how that might lead to an inferiority complex. also created with the Dwarves? Ents, to protect the trees from Dwarven axes.
I was so ready for this! Great reaction as always! Love y’all fellas! Y’all help me get through the week watching yalls videos I’ve watched the Harry Potter series with y’all 2 times now 🤣
32:20 Goblins are Orcs. Just a different kind of breed and they live under mountains (especially the Misty Mountains). Similar to how the Uruk-Hai that Saruman creates in LOTR, are also Orcs.
Lord of the Rings was just so amazingly epic when it came out (still is) and you could feel it was made with so much love and passion, I think the hobbit doesn’t quite have that feel, also it probably should have been 2 movies. It’s an amazing book though. Also after the travesty that was RoP it is definitely looked upon more fondly now from those who were not keen 😊
So, fun fact: Billy Boyd actually wrote "The Last Goodbye" for these films, and he borrowed a guitar from my best friend to work on it while he was at a local convetion. We both worked for the show, and a call went out to everyone asking if someone had an acoustic guitar that he could borrow. My friend did, and brought it for him!
Liked your reaction! As I think the source material (only one book, mainly for kids) for the prequels is much more difficult than the OT, for me the movies are very good! I wondered how to make three movies out of this, but I think they did a good job! At some points it was a little too much, for my taste, but overall I enjoyed the films very much.
Nori the dwarf is played by actor Jed Brophy.... he played most different parts in LOTR 😊 His son played Aragorn and Arwens son in LOTR 😊 And Yes you are right, the 3 trolls appear in LOTR 😊
Very nice reaction guys. As I recall, Tolkien got started writing because he totally loved languages. J.R.R. and his brother were born in South Africa, their Mother decided to bring them to England because she was concerned for their health and also where she had family. Soon after, her husband died in South Africa and she was left pretty stranded because her convertion to Catholicism caused her family to reject her. At the time she was homeschooling her boys, quite well I should say, as she was well educated and knew several languages. She was helped by a very decent Catholic Priest, Father Francis Xavier Morgan who recognized the boys' talent and got them both into good schools. Soon thereafter the boys' mother also died. After graduating from Oxford J.R.R. was drafted into the English Army where he served on the Western front where he lost several of his University friends and nearly died himself from illness. He actually started making notes for LOTR while in the trenches. After his return to England and marriage to the love of his life Edith, he began writing "The Hobbit" as a novel to entertain their own children. The rest as they say is history! That's the short version!
I read The Hobbit aged 9, LOTR at 10 and The Trilogy from 11+. Loved it all, having a crazy life in South London in the 70's, it was a way out for me!! 🙂🍻 Fantastic watching my fellow Americans being infected with the JRRT bug is cool. 😉🍻🇬🇧🇺🇲
What I liked most about the Hobbit as a book was its dense but yet entertaining way of telling the story. It never had this feeling of being an epic trilogy, like the Lord of the Rings, to it and that was what really made it an outstanding piece of literature to me: brief in its extent, but without a lack of any sort. The decision to make three movies out of a story that derives its charm from being not too extensive, was a step in the wrong direction to me. The result are enjoyable movies, but they often feel forced in a way, which can be seen especially in the next parts with all the flashbacks to things, that weren't even in the books. Since the second Hobbit movie, I was under the impression that they no longer told the story of the Hobbit (as the book) but rather prepared th LotR movies.
My personal issues with these films first start with the double frame rate of 48fps It makes the cinematography look like a video game, in particular the goblin kingdom sequence, and Radaghast on his rabbits, (you have Desolation of Smaug out so I'll also add the barrel river sequence from that one as well) But my biggest issues is all the orcs/goblins are CG characters, there's no one in make-up/costume, so comparing that to the original trilogy is a huge difference that very easily shows Think back to the battle of Helms Deep and Pelenor Fields and the end of Fellowship, those are real people in insane make-up and costumes, and they look frightening, they feel frightening because those orcs are really there Then look at Azog and his orc posse, it looks fake because it is fake, just looking at it you know it's not real, so it kind of ruins the immersion and takes me out of the story And that's a huge difference that I feel really matters and is important if you're going to tell a fantasy story The more real you can make a fantasy story appear, the better Obviously there has to be exceptions in certain cases, like a Dragon, obviously that can't ever be real, but the suspension of disbelief is easier for something like that And when you have orcs being faked that 10 years prior were able to be achieved realistically, it's a real shame that I feel takes the audience member out of it a bit I also feel the stakes aren't really as high in these films until only certain moments, but for the majority of these films I feel the stakes are generally very low I also was upset that the forced perspective that was famously used in the first trilogy was abandoned for this trilogy and Ian McKellan had to film all of his scenes alone and was digitally added in and there's actually a story that he blew up on set at one point being upset about the situation (rightfully so) saying "this is not why I became an actor" because the whole point of acting is you're supposed to act with scene partners and he was forced to be alone. Well his mic was still hot, so the actors playing the dwarves heard him and they felt really bad for him so they all brought items and whatnot that represented their characters to his area where Ian films his scenes to make him feel better and to try and remedy the situation. It just felt like less care went into these films than the original trilogy. And All in all this trilogy just feels more fake whereas the original trilogy felt more real That said, I still very much enjoy these films for what they are, it's still fantastic work done by all but I feel that a lot of mistakes were made in making these films sadly
I agree with everything here. The cgi and fps were big disappointments for me. I think if PJ had his way then it would've been filmed just like lotr with practical effects, but it sounds like there was massive interference from the high-ups and he wasn't allowed the time or resources to do it his way, hence the cgi.
19:55 Quinn is correct, those trolls are the large statues that you see in the torchlight while Aragorn is looking for athelas/kingsfoil to help keep Frodo from succumbing to the Morgul blade he'd been stabbed with. Sam points them out in an attempt to keep Frodo awake and aware, "Look Mr Frodo, it's Mr Bilbo's trolls!" 43:00 Lol, they don't really touch on it in the movies, but in fairness to the books, there was an answer provided on why the eagles don't just carry them the whole way...the settlements of Men along the way would try to shoot them down for hunting the flocks of sheep, and the eagles don't want to take the risk of getting shot just to ferry some dwarves around. 55:00 The first Hobbit movie was quite good, and stayed pretty true to the source material. The second and third movies are where they started stuffing in filler to expand them and justify making a third movie, because the studio really really wanted another trilogy despite the book not being long enough a story to support one. Some of the filler is quite good, as it's from Tolkien's own writing (appendices from LOTR and the Hobbit), and some of it is pretty terrible (stuff that the studio came up with). Had they just stuck with Tolkien's material (both the Hobbit and the appendices material), they could've made two exceptional films that would've been very well-received. Instead, well, they did what they did, we got what we got, and it got the reception it got.
Trolls turn to stone in the sun, other than Saurons newer bred trolls, the olog-hai, they can tolerate the sun. But no evil creatures can really stand sunlight, which is why Sauron spreads black clouds with his armies. It enhances the orcs, trolls, and Nazgul to fight under his shadow. The wild stone trolls in this movie can't stand it at all and therefore turn to stone. They're referenced twice in the Fellowship of the Ring, once during Bilbos birthday when he tells the story to the children, and once again after Frodo has been stabbed by the Witch King, they stop under the same petrified stone trolls.
Gondolin: an Elven kingdom in the First Age, famous for evading destruction by the first Dark Lord Morgoth by building in a secret location inspired in a dream by one of the Valar. Gondolin lasted nearly 400 years, an impressive feat.
Nice to see you diving back into The Middle-Earth! I have mixed feelings about The Hobbit series, and a lot of the criticism I have is not the fault of the film crew but because of the alterations and additions the Warner Bros studios demanded from them. If the crew had had more artistic freedom, I feel the series would have been a lot better. (This is something the actors have talked about as well) But I still like the series, or actually, I absolutely LOVE the 1rst movie, especially the extended edition that gives us more scenes and time to really get to know the characters better. The 2nd movie is good, there's a lot I really like about it, but well the 3rd movie is in my opinion a hot mess with some a few great scenes thrown into it. The ending of the 2nd movie and the whole 3rd movie suffered the most from the changes I think - like Warner Bro's decision (and partially Jackson's it seems) to make The Hobbit into a trilogy. Plus as there was a lot of changes behind the scenes and next to no prep-time for the crew before the filming began, which probably affected the films quite a bit. Still, the acting was amazing, I adore all the dwarves and a lot of the other characters and I was very happy the see this story come to life. And the developing relationship between Therin and Bilbo is so beautifully done and the actors did a great job & had great chemistry - which is important because I feel that their relationship is basically the heart of these movies.
I love the Hobbit films. Sure, they're not as great as the LOTR films, but they're still really good. I own Desolation of Smaug and I have a habit of watching it at least once every year. Benedict Cumberbatch voiced Smaug the Dragon and also the Necromancer/Sauron in disguise. His Black Speech is pretty good.
God I had the worse day ever. Now, finally, both kids are sleeping and I can enjoy your new upload. Thank you so much for your videos. It really feels like meeting up with friends at the end of a long day and watching something together.
They filmed most of the trilogy at the same time with a few breaks here and there but not breaks in the sense that they filmed the first movie, had a long break then came back for movie 2. Like they did like 18 months or so with the actors basically living in New Zealand i believe. Initially they were going to do 2 movies and then part way through production when it had nearly ended, they decided to make it into 3 so they had a couple of months break or so then came back and did some more weeks of filming. If i remember correctly.
In the books, goblins & orcs are the same thing, Tolkien uses the names interchangeably. For some reason, Peter Jackson decided to make them separate creatures.
Love that you guys do this! I also posted awhile ago about eagles... everyone gets caught up on that but very easy explanation. Not your typical dork. Hot nerd over here 😊 My bf refused to watch these movies until I showed him your channel. Seriously...thank you!
The Hobbit will always top Lord of the Rings for me. Mainly because it was the first book I read that wasn’t a kids book, I was 9 or 10 years old and re-read the death out of that book (which I still have, battered with loose pages 40 years later) So there’s a sentimental attachment for me and Bilbo will always be THEE OG hobbit for me.
the Eagles are definitely not Gandalf's Flying Taxi Service. they're Emissaries of the Valar, at the service of Manwe Sulimo, Chief of the Valar; sometimes they're called Eagles of Manwe. because of his position & history Manwe has deep insights into the Mind of Eru & His intentions. all of which means he has a pretty good idea of when & where his Eagles will be needed to help out a situation so he can direct them there at the right time.
The main reason why many people dislike the Hobbit trilogy is because if you have read it along with the LotR trilogy then you realize that while Peter Jackson brilliantly captured the story from the LotR and stuck closely to the events of the book, the Hobbit has lots of movie tropes and events completely made up just to fill up three movies. In particular the last of the three movies portrays a battle that Bilbo didn’t even witness in the book. He was knocked out and missed it. In the book it’s a couple of pages at best yet they managed to make a rather long movie out of it.
IM SO EXCITED! Been waiting to see you go on this unexpected journey (see what i did there lol) and i cant wait to see how you react to this trilogy! The Appleton Oak I'm sure will love it as much as LOTR :)
Concerning the goblins, originally they were just another name for orcs. Orcs and goblins were essentially the same in Tolkien's original writings. But come the Jackson films, while it never outright states it the implication is that orcs are the more organised and humanoid ones that work for Sauron and Saruman, while the goblins are the more feral cave-dwelling ones that don't seem to be as subservient to Sauron and Mordor (ie the ones we see in Moria in the LOTR trilogy, and the ones we see here).
I don’t understand all the hate/dislike for this series. I grew up reading the books and watching the 70s animated versions of The Hobbit and LOTR, and while they were good, they left a lot to be desired in many ways. Getting live-action versions with modern effects and fantastic actors was a dream come true.
My main issue? CGI man, cgi dwarves, cgi orcs, cgi, cgi cgi. SOOOOOOO much could have been done practical but they chose the easy way of just making everything digital, it sucked the life out of these movies for me. So much so that even Sir Ian McKellen was saddened by everything that was done. And CGI Orcs man, stupidest decision ever, I can't get over it XD
@Evija3000Some scenes could have been shorter instead of drawn out for more drama I agree. And yeah some of it is filler, but other stuff is from the Appendices of Lord of the Rings that Tolien wrote himself, and that Peter Jackson decided to add into the Hobbit movies. I completely agree that the dwarf/elf romance between Kili/Tauriel was unnecessary. Not only was it awkward, it completely undermines the power of Legolas and Gimli's relationship as the first dwarf/elf friendship in literal centuries.
I was a great reader in my youth and read all the books. I have seen all the movies and now that they are all out, I watch them in order starting with The Hobbit. Am stoked.
Well, Tolkien wrote the hobbit first as a children's book. He created the entire world in the SimRillian. The Lord of the Rings was a masterpiece of creation with regard to all the languages alone. There is very interesting piece of trivia, and t h at is Tolkien and cs Lewis of lion witch and the wardrobe fame meet every Thursday night at a pub in Oxford called he Eagle and the Child to discuss story ideas. They were called the inkling. I was blessed to go there and had their favorite ale it was a wheat based flavor.
The use of gold for the dragons especially for Smaug is melt the gold and use it as extra sections of armor. Along side its called "Dragon Sickness" for a reason, also known as "Greed".
I enjoyed the brief talk about how people look at the source material compared to the films when it comes to these big franchises. I know that if I’ve read the books before the movies came out, I always enjoy the books more just because you built that world from words off a page through your imagination. That’s not to say that I don’t still enjoy the movies a lot of the time, but as a fan of franchises like these you almost always get caught on things that you built up in your head to be important that were then just discarded from the films, so it can feel like a let down if your missing little details or bits of information that to you, and probably others in your position, mean so much to the overall story. I’ve long since gave up on going into movie franchises like these with super high expectations after reading the books, now I just go in hoping that they stay true to the story as best they can and keep the same spirit from the source to make an enjoyable film. In fact when a book I enjoy is made into a movie I almost always go with someone who has never read the source material and is going in blind, and I look to them as my thermometer for how well they did in transitioning to film. There’s always that twinge of disappointment but I ignore that to the best of my ability as long as my thermometer enjoys it and gets the broad strokes that I think they should from seeing the movie alone. My most recent experience with this was with the movie Ready Player One as I was a huge fan of the book and read it probably 6-7 times before the movie came out, and I think they did pretty good for the most part but I still enjoy the book far more than the movie even though I know it cover to cover. Which if you haven’t seen it, I do recommend watching Ready Player One, as well as the original book! It’s not a long read.
Glad that I found this channel the way you do these videos is amazing. I must say the hobbits get a lot of hate from others but I enjoyed the movies so much. Edit: I hope u do the next two movies soon got my sub.
for me, the Lord of the Rings films were fantastic adaptations of the books. My dad, a Tolkein fan ever since he was a child (the books were his escape from poverty growing up), sobbed watching LotR because he said it was like seeing his imagination played out on the big screen ... and my dad is not usually an emotional person. But the man was an absolute mess. We had our expectations way too high when we went to see The Hobbit, especially myself as a HUGE fan of Martin Freeman, and when we left the theater my dad said 'that was fine and at least I had fun'. For me what took away from the magic was the "overuse" of CGI - especially in the underground goblin lair and the white orc. What made LotR was unique and special to me were all the practical effects and the make-up/prosthetics. I also, while I love their faces, was not a fan of making some of the dwarves (the ones who are written to be more of the 'hero' sorts) more handsome by traditional Western beauty standards to fit this "heroic hottie" standard. I understand the marketing and filmmaking reasons for this, but I had been looking forward to some more nontraditional heroes and not fall into this trope of 'heroes are only handsome'. But that is my own personal soap box XD I realized pretty early on that I could not go in to The Hobbit films with the same expectations I had for LotR, and once I rewired my thinking to just go in and enjoy my revisit to Middle Earth...I liked the film (and the two follow ups) much more. I've never felt the urge to sit down and watch all three of The Hobbit films back to back and have my Middle Earth binge weekend, but I will rewatch the LotR extended editions in a weekend binge at least once a year (sometimes the commentary versions instead of the films themselves). The dwarves all singing the Misty Mountain song is one of my favorite parts of this trilogy :3 Also, just for a bit of fun for you gentlemen now that you have seen this, go watch The Hillywood channel's parody videos for LotR and The Hobbit. Some good fun fan appreciation! The Hobbit: kzclip.org/video/qXFQFnUdh5I/бейне.html The Lord of the Rings: kzclip.org/video/1wNnbMCrtZg/бейне.html
I love the Hobbit! 5/5 movie for me! It's simply amazing and I enjoy the dynamic between Bilbo and Thorin and the other dwarves :) I also prefer Bilbo > Frodo as a main character 😅
The eagles could most definitely fly them all the way this time, BUT. While eagles are ancient and powerful creatures, akin to maiar that are Gandalf, Saruman or Sauron, they prefer not to meddle in Middle-Earth business (unless asked), and most (non-elvish) Middle-Earth inhabitants see them as beasts at most. Archers would be of great danger to them, not to mention they would be travelling towards a dragon, who by definition can fly. Edit: The main trilogy reason would be a different one altogether, they wouldn't want to be anywhere near the ring for the same reason Gandalf and Galadriel feared to touch it.
I love everything about what you said here, but I'd just like to say that the first dragon in Middle Earth, Glaurung couldn't fly. Not to detract from what you said that is, it was well known that Smaug could fly.
I agree about the Eagles. The journey would have been much shorter. Thank you again for share your reactions to this movie and the series. Just like Harry Potter it great watching you react for the first time.
For all intents and purposes, "goblin" and "orc" are interchangeable in Tolkien. The larger, brutish ones we saw in LotR that Satuman created were Uruk-hai, which are a cross between Goblin-Men (goblins crossed with men) and Orcs (Regular goblins) to make them more hardy.
"Hobbit" was published first but the thing is that it was at first edition a book separated from this whole universum of Arda. Tolkien started to write Arda universum about 1915 or 1916 writing at first short poetries about meetings between men and elves (at first they were named "gnomes" and they were magical, beautiful and wise but also a bit smaller than humans) - and by the times of publishing of "the Hobbit" he didnt want to mix up this short kids adventure story with his great universum of Arda in which we can find Gondor and Numenor and Galadriel and Sauron and Valars and such. There were some bits from it in "the hobbit" like Rivendell and lord Elrond, and an unnamed king of woodland elves. But in the first edition Gollum was big dark monster, not originated from hobbits and the ring was only a magic trincket of invisibility, and Gollum was even helpful to Bilbo and showed him the way out after their riddle game. It was only after LOTR was published in 50s - as a sequel of "the hobbit" (by request of the publisher) but the setting of LOTR was obviously more like the setting of "The Silmarilion" with great continents and empires than the setting of "the hobbit" - that Tolkien had to change many things in the old book to connect it to the new book. :)
Quinn, glad your buddies like the movies. Pretty sure they’ll like the others. You’re right; the Hobbit was contemplated in 2003 but not announced until much later. Hope you have Amazon prime so you see the series the Rings of Power when it debuts this fall. It will be set in the Second Age with Elves Elrond, Galadriel, Cirdan, Gil-galad fighting Sauron as he tricks Celembrimdor into making the all the rings distributing them to men and dwarves to control them. I think see may see the men of Numenor too like Elendil and Isildur.
These movies are a lot more fun, comical and over the top than the LotR, a little bit of head cannon I’ve always had is that we are being told this story directly by bilbo himself who will of course make up and embellish some details.
The reasons for dragon hordes have been hotly debated and still remain a mystery. One theory is that before dragons die, they devour their horde. The speculation is that they can either bring their riches to the afterlife with them due to their magical nature, or that the amount of treasure they devour will determine whether they are accepted into whatever realm dragons go to when they die or if they simply fade into nothingness.
Only 2 % of the information Tolkien had written on Middle Earth actually made it into published books. That is how deep he delved into making this world. I understand Chris Tolkien, JRR's step-son, helped with advice on the Hobbit movies. So, in my opinion, since Chris Tolkien is the curator of all things Middle Earth, and he consulted on this, I think any additions were greenlit so work for me.
I still love to watch the hobbit movies. The first one is fine but the other two have a lot of changes and added things that are very unnecessary. There was also a lot of pre production problems and Peter Jackson couldn't plan this trilogy the way he did with LOTR.
remember the story Bilbo told the kids at his Party? about the 3 Trolls who wanted to eat them? now you know how it went down. you'll also see them in their final frozen form in Fellowship on the way to Rivendell.
There's extended versions of these movies. But if you're interested, there's a movie that's a prequel/origin story to this whole franchise...... one that in my opinion is vastly underrated, Tolkien. A bio pic on his life, & his inspiration for his works, where he got his ideas. It's up to y'all when y'all finish this trilogy
if you think Bilbo's food stores are excessive just remember how Merry & Pippin ate. Hobbits really like to eat, you need something for Second Breakfast too,
Very good start here! What did we miss? How would you rate this one to the first movie of LOTR?
Full Reactions on Patreon: www.patreon.com/baddmedicine
The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug movie reaction: kzclip.org/video/AofMFbVK1lU/бейне.html
Wait! What was the meme?! I'm so curious!
@Badd Medicine "How many rabbits to pull a sled"? Suppose it depends on if You or Frodo is sitting in it. lol
@Badd Medicine You should react to „Tolkien“. I watched it and it‘s good.
@Nietsewitch That's because Tolkien needed to build the world logic and history before he could set stories in that world and make both it and them believable. The stories Tolkien published in his life show the shape of the world and how it works, The Silmarillion shows why it is that shape and works that way. However, Tolkien wouldn't publish anything until he was satisfied that it was perfect to the smallest detail and he was never quite satisfied with The Silmarillion. He kept tweaking it until his death and never published it. Christopher was the one who published its most complete version posthumously, and even then he published it with a disclaimer and a letter from his dad to explain his intent for The Silmarillion. I have to wonder how many of the Unfinished Tales and other works that have been published posthumously would have been included if Tolkien had finished it.
I recommend watching the behind the scenes for lotr and the hobbit because theres a lot of fun stuff in there too and I’m sure most of your questions will be answered about the making of the movies 🎥
In the movies, we never see the eagles talk as they do in the books. But they are (iirc) basically a kingdom unto themselves, and asking them for help would be like negotiating with the elves or any other free people. They're friends with Gandalf and will help bail him out, but they're not servants, and they're definitely not going to be flying horses for the dwarves.
Even when Gandalf is rescued from Saruman's tower in LOTR, by Gwahir the Windlord, the eagle makes it clear to Gandalf that he will not fly him "to the ends of the earth"; Gandalf has to find a horse to resume his journey.
For the LOTR especially it's not the glaring 'plot hole' people think it is. I know the reason often given for not using the Eagles, was Tolkien saying he didn't want to overuse them as a deus ex machina and the idea that they arent a taxy service. Even if you take those out of the equation though if you actually think about if that plan would work the answer is no. The whole mission is to SNEAK into Mordor. Aragorn showing Sauron the sword (it happens a little earlier in the books before, the siege of Gondor) is to bait him into starting his war earlier than planned so he starts sending out his armies so Mordor is not swarming with orcs. They want Sauron to think they also intend to use the ring in the war rather than destroy it. They correctly assume it wouldn't occur to Sauron that they would want to destroy such a powerful weapon, and no one would be able to resist its corruption and not use it. The attack on the Black Gate was a battle they knew they couldn't win, it was only to get Sauron to march his remaining armies to the gate so Mount Doom is undefended. If they tried to just fly some giant eagles straight up to Mount Doom while all Saurons armies are there, they would of been easily seen coming long before they reach the Mountsin. Sauron would then know they intended to destroy the ring and have every orc in Mordor lead by the nine waiting. So just fly the eagles there and drop it in is a terrible plan, certain to fail. We know the eagles can be harmed by arrows. They would simply be pincushioned with arrows as they try to land and the ring would fall straight into Saurons hands.
@Darth Revan I'm not a Tolkien scholar by any means! I read it all as a kid a long time ago, just recently started re-reading some to refresh my memory.
@saeger That makes sense. Hey, you seem to know a lot about Tolkien's works, can you fact check what I said so I don't give false information haha
@Darth Revan Yes, they speak in the books, and that's why they speak in those other adaptations. By "the movies" I meant just Jackson's films. Jackson uses the moth device to suggest communication between Gandalf and his mute eagles.
Similarly, in the book I don't think Bilbo needs to put the ring on to hear the spiders speak in Mirkwood. I might be wrong, but I think Jackson does this just to ease the audience into the idea. Talking animals on screen often come off as silly and campy, so he wants to do it sparingly.
In the 1977 Hobbit Movie, Gwaihir does speak. He explains that Gandalf saved him from an arrow that struck his wing, and so now he saves Gandalf and the Company from the Goblins as a thank you. Not sure if that actually happens in the books, been many years since I have read them, but I know in the 70's/80's Hobbit and LOTR Movies, the Eagles do speak, at least Gwaihir does.
Quinn is correct, the trolls are those that we see when Frodo is poisoned by the Nazgûl in the Fellowship of the Ring where Sam remarks: "Look mr. Frodo, it's mr Bilbo's trolls!" when they lay Frodo to rest for a bit with Aragorn in a clearing. The way the trolls argue over how to cook them is also how Bilbo tells it at his birthday party to the kids if you recall.
Which is how it actually happens lol
@VojtaTube Fair enough. You see the trolls in the background, but nobody points it out in dialogue.
@garlicxlr Not true, both scenes are in theatrical version.
But only in the Extended Edition.
This trilogy has a slightly different feel and style compared to Lord of the Rings.
I’ve always felt that, in universe, part of that reason is that the events of The Lord of the Rings is a story being retold from Frodo’s perspective. But this trilogy is being retold from the perspective of Bilbo. The variations in how the two hobbits write down their own adventures is part of why we the audience see the stories a little differently.
I knew what this comment was going to say before i finished reading and i completely agree
Also, The Hobbit was an adventure story reccomended to boys ages 8-10 in 1937, while LoTR is a fantasy epic, and an historical account written for an older audience, and published in the early 60s.
And The Silmarillion is like a textbook crossed with the bible. Lol dunno how the Amazon series will feel. I'm worried and excited.
Woah! You blew my mind, sir! Incredible way to look at the two stories!
@Rebeca Leah Also it is explained that why Bilbo wasn't that effected is because Sauron hadn't regained so much of his power. While Frodo was travelling with the ring Sauron was starting the get powerful again. All he needed was ring. Naturally it was darker.
But I agree with both of you. The stories being child vs adult book and bilbo vs frodo pov.
@Rebeca Leah i mean yeah it being a children book is a bigger reason . But thats kinda what he is saying . Frodo wrote it as an adult story while hobbit was written as a childrens story for frodo i imagine
The Hobbit was published in 1937. It is a children's book with 300 pages. Due to popular demand, the publishers wanted a sequel. After 20 years, the Lord of the Rings came out with 1,050 pages. Peter Jackson wanted to make the Hobbit first into a film but coulnt get the copyrights. But he had an access to LotR IP. And the rest is history.
@Douglas Snyder Oh wow thanks. You must be a big fan of him.
@azazello 17 JRR Tolkien was orphaned at the age if 12. His father died at age of 3 of rheumatic fever, and his mother died of diabetes.
He was raised by a Catholic priest, and encouraged to be an acedemic. He learned Latin, and studied several languages. He wanted to be a linguist.
He served as an officer in the British army in WWI, and was in the Battle of the Somme, one if the most horrific battles in history. Some estimate there were as many as 1.3 million casualties and at the end of the battle, the allies captured less than 50 square km. Kitchner's Army, in which Tolkien served, was a volunteer force comprised of the fittest, best educated civilian recruits possible. They suffered 57,000 casualties on the first day of the war.
Tolkien developed trench fever, and was sent to an hospital. He had recurring bouts of fever and he spent much of the next 3 years in an Army hospital bed. Virtually every man who served under him was killed at the Somme, while he lay in bed.
While serving in the trenches, Tolkien began to create Middle Earth as a way to use his imagination and escape the horror around him. During his prolonged confinement to a hospital bed, he began to write prolifically, and put down on paper his creation. He made maps and mythologies, social orders, and entire languages for each of the races. Much of this work was published after his death, titled the Silmarillion. He never intended any of that to be published. He spent 3 years in an Army hospital bed, and was discharged in late 1919, nearly a year after the war ended.
After the war, he got a job as a professor at Oxford, and he became good friends with CS Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia, Alice in Wonderland). They forced a literary club called The Inklings.
CS Lewis once commented to The Inkilings that they had read all the good books that existed. If they were to read anything good in the future, they would have to write it themselves, and challenged each of them to write. (BTW, CS Lewis was a short, simple man, who loved to garden, smoke his pipe and drink beer at the ale with his friends. He had a low booming voice, and he talked slowly with carefully chosen words. He was the inspiration of both the Hobbits and Treebeard.)
The Hobbitt was begun as a short story told at a Christmas party, mostly for the benefit of his children. It became a Christmas tradition, and every year he wrote one chapter until he completed the story. By pure luck, someone who qorked for a publisher heard of the story and asked him to submit the story for consideration of publishing.
It was published, with around 300 pages, and became hugely successful. The publisher asked him to write a follow up story. But, WWII broke out, and the publisher forgot about the offer.
Tolkien however had been writing about Middle Earth since 1916, and progress on LOTR continued for 20 years. The publisher expected another children story, but Tolkien presented his masterpiece, Lord of the Rings.
It was supposed to be one book, but it was over 1200 pages. In post WWII Britian, paper was rationed, and it was illegal to print that much paper in in a book. So, the publisher broke up the story in 3 pieces, and released them separately.
The reason the story is so rich is that he had spent almost 40 years creating this world, down to minute details, and the Hobbitt really didn't go into much depth. Tolkien died in 1973, but his son began to organize his works, his side stories and unfinished projects, beginning in 1980. He published 7 stories from 2007-2018.
But, much of what we consider fantasy was created by Tolkien. Elves, dwarfs, goblins, wizards... Tolkien created a huge part of that mythology.
@papalaz4444244 What do you mean by that? Pls elaborate.
@azazello 17 Can you stop wasting your life "This channel doesn't have any content" trying to ruin threads and waste other people's time?
Oak is a reactor who has an interesting, cute personality for me. He's like, his eyes sometimes make him looks like hes asleep during the reaction, but all of a sudden you'll hear his voice excited about something. I think it's cute 🤣
😂😂😂🤙🤙🤙
4:44 Tolkien actually invented the pronunciation and spelling of Dwarven (possessive) and Dwarves (plural). As well as Elven and Elves. Before that it was always Dwarf (possessive) / Dwarfs (plural) and Elf/Elfs. His editor and publisher really tried to get him to change it, but he refused. Being a master linguist and having deep knowledge of the roots of the words, he was adamant that Dwarven/Dwarves and Elven/Elves made more sense. Which is what we now use today.
I like the Lord or the Rings better myself, and it took me until the end of the second movie in the Hobbit trilogy to understand why. TLOTR was undeniably epic. It had a few funny moments but mostly it was a serious and weighty series. I mean it was understood that the world depended on the mission succeeding.
Then the Hobbit comes out and you know it is Bilbo’s story and you expect it to be just as epic as TLOTR. But it isn’t. It isn’t played as serious or weighty. Instead you have singing dwarves and goblins and a the quirky brown wizard with bird poop on his head. And the trolls that act stupid but not terrifying at all. After TLOTR it was a let down at first for me.
But then I kind of got it. This was when the ring was first found and evil was just starting to creep back in the world. It wasn’t reestablished and everyone was fighting for their lives yet. So it was a much more innocent time. And the mission wasn’t really life or death for the world or even a country or a race of people, it was a small group trying to reclaim a mountain that was their home and held their treasure in it. It wasn’t really meant to be an epic story, just a grand adventure story. Once I got that and watched the movies with that in mind, I liked and appreciated them a lot more.
I enjoyed both. The story of lotr was better but I enjoyed the Hobbit.
@O. B. Finally, someone points this out. People want to blame Jackson, but this was how it was supposed to be. Like it or not, The Hobbit is a children's story.
Sure, Jackson added stuff, and not all of it was gold, but Jackson always tried to stay true to Tolkien's intentions. And Tolkien wrote The Hobbit for children. So, clearly, Jackson wanted to keep it lighter at times for this reason, instead of trying to make it as serious as LotR.
I'm sure nowadays people reading The Hobbit might not see it as a kids' book, because compared to stories written recently, it seems less obviously for children, with more complex vocabulary.
But back then, things weren't as dumbed down for kids as they are now. They were simply done more with a clear moral message in mind and with more whimsy.
I think Jackson really stayed true to this, for the most part. Is it as great as his LotR trilogy? No. But that doesn't mean it's awful or a travesty.
Then again, I'm female and while I'm kind of tomboyish, and honestly probably too "old" (40) to be this way, I still love me some whimsy 😆 So perhaps things I like are things other Tolkien fans might not be crazy about 🤷♀️
(For example, I'm one of the few who are still pissed we didn't get Tom Bombadil in the LotR films. I logically understand why Jackson decided to skip "trippy side quest with hippie forest daddy", but I'm still sad about it 😆 So maybe my taste sucks. And that's fine)
The trouble is not with the viewer expecting it to be epic, it's with the studio expecting it to be epic. It should've been 2 2-hour movies with less of the serious tones, and just replace any Azog scenes with Bolg.
The Hobbit is a children's book.
The Lord of the Ring is a book for adults.
@redcactusify yeah the mocaps, but still, when comparing to say an Aragorn fight with Lurtz at the end of Fellowship, it felt more...natural. Yeah the troubled production of the Hobbit films is a whole topic, and the decision to split into three movies was rather late into development, still I think that there were ways to try not to exaggerate and do over-the-top stuff, the Smaug fight/chase scene throughout the Mountain was a bit...well let's say silly for the whole thing was whacky, the whole thing with the statue and molten gold :) hehe, and it still ended on a cliffhanger, maybe if a cliffhanger was inevitable, they should have done something dramatic like use this scene from the book and make it into conclusion:
"But the enchanted desire of the hoard had fallen from Bilbo. All through their talk he was only half listening to them. He sat nearest to the door with one ear cocked for any beginnings of a sound without, his other was alert for echoes beyond the murmurs of the dwarves, for any whisper of a movement from far below.
Darkness grew deeper and he grew ever more uneasy. "Shut the door!" he begged them, "I fear that dragon in my marrow. I like this silence far less than the uproar of last night. Shut the door before it is too late!"
Something in his voice gave the dwarves an uncomfortable feeling. Slowly Thorin shook off his dreams and getting up he kicked away the stone that wedged the door. Then they thrust upon it, and it closed with a snap and a clang. No trace of a keyhole was there left on the inside. They were shut in the Mountain!
And not a moment too soon. They had hardly gone any distance down the tunnel when a blow smote the side of the Mountain like the crash of battering-rams made of forest oaks and swung by giants. The rock boomed, the walls cracked and stones fell from the roof on their heads. What would have happened if the door had still been open I don't like to think. They fled further down the tunnel glad to be still alive, while behind them outside they heard the roar and rumble of Smaug's fury. He was breaking rocks to pieces, smashing wall and cliff with the lashings of his huge tail, till their little lofty camping ground, the scorched grass, the thrush's stone, the snail-covered walls, the narrow ledge, and all disappeared in a jumble of smithereens, and an avalanche of splintered stones fell over the cliff into the valley below.
Smaug had left his lair in silent stealth, quietly soared into the air, and then floated heavy and slow in the dark like a monstrous crow, down the wind towards the west of the Mountain, in the hopes of catching unawares something or somebody there, and of spying the outlet to the passage which the thief had used. This was the outburst of his wrath when he could find nobody and see nothing, even where he guessed the outlet must actually be.
After he had let off his rage in this way he felt better and he thought in his heart that he would not be troubled again from that direction. In the meanwhile he had further vengeance to take. "Barrel-rider!" he snorted. "Your feet came from the waterside and up the water you came without a doubt. I don't know your smell, but if you are not one of those men of the Lake, you had their help. They shall see me and remember who is the real King under the Mountain!"
He rose in fire and went away south towards the Running River."
I love these movies. Not as good as the LOTR trilogy but they are incredibly enjoyable
The Eagles won't go near the dragon. It's a simple as that. There are no birds around the Lonely Mountain because Smaug is there. That's why the lone thrush that goes there and taps the mountain is significant. It's an omen of change.
The idea of dragon fire hitting the eagles turns my blood cold. Just no.
Martin said the Gollum scene was one of the first scenes they did and they played prettt much the whole thing start to end in one take like a play and they both loved it. Also fun fact Andy Serkis was a second unit director on these movies!
After you finish the Hobbit series, I would recommend watching "the last goodbye". It's a song sung by the actor who played Pippin. It's a beautiful wrap up to both trilogies.
These three movies are fun, but the behind-the-scenes about it are almost even more fascinating. Peter Jackson took over as director after Guillermo Del Toro dropped out after two years of pre-production. Jackson really worked himself exhausted completing what was originally going to be two films, and turning them into three. All the same, the next two are awesome!
I totally agree. I seriously have watched the behind-the-scenes more often that the movies itself!
Lindsey Ellis has a great 3 part documentary on the films on her channel, interviewing actors and flying out to New Zealand. Anyone interested in bts stuff should watch that one.
I would have loved to see a Del Toro interpretation. Studios are bastids.
Yes! Agreed! Since they liked the 20th HP anniversary, they would really enjoy the behind the scenes of lotr!
100% AGREE!
I bought ALL of the movies in extended/Director's Cut, because the added material is (to me), even MORE enjoyable than the films (which ARE awesome!)
HOW Jackson went from the 'Slasher' movies he made, to the 'LoTR/The Hobbit' in quality, is absolutely incredible!
Balin, the eldest member of the group and the dwarf that was telling about the story of how Thorin Oakenshield took up a piece of wood and defended his father against Azog (the battle where Azog killed his grandfather the king by beheading), is the dwarf that is lain in the tomb in the Fellowship of the Rings.
The pages that Gandalf reads from in that tomb was taken from the skeleton remains of Ori, the dwarf who doesn’t like eating green things and was the loudest and longest one to burp from Bilbo’s dining room table.
Gloin is Gimli’s father. They did a great job on casting and makeup because he does look similar to the character we all know and love from LOTR, Gimili.
Some trivia: one of the dwarves in this company is Gloin, that’s Gimli’s father, he’s the one who reacted to Elrond offering them food; also Balin is the one whose tomb we saw Gimli cry over in Moria in the first film, and it was Ori’s body who was clutching the book that Gandalf picked up to read about what had happened.
The LOTR is a more traditional fantasy epic, whereas I always felt that the Hobbit is more of a whimsical adventure tale, after all, it was written to be more or less of a children’s story. I always thought the first Hobbit movie really captured that style of lighthearted whimsy. The later films kinda changed tone to be more serious to line up with LOTR and the more darker moments to come.
The Hobbit trilogy isn’t perfect and there was a lot of issues behind the scenes in getting these films made. But overall I still enjoyed them very much and this cast is absolutely wonderful.
Dragons loving gold has been a common thing in fantasy. I once heard the explanation that gold is to a dragon as a good bed is to us. And considering that most dragons live for ages and are often depicted as lazy or endless slepers, then you can image how much a good "bed" would mean for a dragon. BTW I just read this somewhere and do not remember where, so this might not be applicable within the LotR universe. I just remember that I liked the explanation.
I wouldn't say mist dragons are lazy, considering they merely sleep and rest for the right moments and time to come, so they awaken considering, they can live forever.
@ActionAlex Or socialists with power😏
Its mostly a matter of pride, greed and self-admiration, almost to the point of narcissism. You consider yourself the greatest being, so all the treasure is supposed to belong to you and nobody else, especially if a treasure has history and is a symbol of wealth. Higher beings, as simple as that. Pride is everything to a dragon. To add even more to that, regarding the laziness, when dragons collected all the treasure, it also acted as a means to attract adventurers and other enemies. Gold attracts many foes. Well guess what that's the easiest way to get food in your doorstep. Dragons absolutely loved that part of getting food this easily so it adds even more to their plan of hoarding gold. Always has been like this, in various dragon mythologies.
There is the notion that even dragons don't know why they desire gold and other valuables, they just do. Sure they are depicted as sleeping on and/or in it but really that is just because that is the best place to be in order to protect it even while sleeping. All dragons, good or evil are depicted as desiring hordes of treasure. In some stories they do so as a show of power but really that is just a side-effect, they don't gather treasure to let others see how powerful they are, they have nothing to prove, in fact sometimes a more powerful dragon will just come along and take a less powerful one's hoard. This lack of reason is why coveting masses of wealth above all else is called "Dragon Sickness," even in other stories, because it is a madness.
You guys remind me of my dad so much, funny and endearing big guys who like movies. Whatever I miss him, your videos make me feel less alone.
Great work! I'm glad I found your harry potter's reaction.
This is a great compliment 🤘 sorry to hear about your father. Pretty cool to hear he enjoyed films too!
I love Thranduil character..
Lee Pace was so good with this role 😊😊
I watched this movie in the cinemas, and when Smaug appeared at the end and growled, the whole room shook. It felt like he was right there, and it put my heart in my throat. I've never been so in love before!
I think the problem for a lot of people is that they're comparing it to the Lord of the Rings, to me personally I do enjoy the Hobbit movies, however to me the CGI is a bit of a disappointment. Not because the CGI looks bad, a lot of the CGI looks better, but the unnecessary CGI for a lot of things that the Lord of the Rings did practical.
Basically a similar issue as between the older Star Wars movies and the prequels, when most things went CGI.
This! I absolutely love the Hobbit trilogy but the overuse of CGI throws off the whole experience a bit. Especially, when you watch it after LotR. The whole trilogy has a hazy, blurry look to it.
Still love it, though. Gave me Thorin 💕
These movies would have been filled with practical affects if Peter wasn’t on a time constraint due to the higher ups being petty annoyances.
This. There was just something more... engaging about LOTR's practical effects, especially as far as the Orcs are concerned. The Hobbit trilogy are good movies, but I've always thought their over-reliance on CGI was unfortunate. Overall though, The Hobbit (the novel) had a much more kid-friendly feel, so I can at least shrug off the special effects as an attempt at a more "family movie" vibe or something. lol
i know a lot of people talk about the eagles and how they could fly them there. but if i remember correctly in the books when they talked to the eagles they were very self centered and pretty much refused to involve themselves with land walkers unless it suited them or just a whim. hence why they only showed themselves at the end of return of the king. there could be more to it, it has been a long time since i read the hobbit.
Anyone who makes that argument is silly 🤣 it’s pretty explained a lot as to why they couldn’t fly the eagles 🤣the boys have also already spoke about this exact thing in their lotr reactions …
Oh I realise how why u probably commented it after seeing them have a lil joke at the end there .
"forged in Gondolin" tells us the swords are from the First Age of Middle Earth. 6000+ years old.
Gondolin was a hidden Elf city in the First Age. It was eventually destroyed by the forces of Morgoth. He is the Satan of Middle Earth and Sauron was one of his servants. They are very powerful swords indeed, and Sting was also made then. (as a dagger or something like that)
@beetle bob Well they did mention "The enemy" and pretty boi Sauron is there too so my hopes are high.
I'm so curious if they'll reference or depict these details in the Amazon series. I'm also worried they'll totally mess it up. I'm gonna cross my fingers, toes, arms and legs. Lol
Yeah Fili and Kili are Thorin's nephews that line was clearly blessed with the handsome dwarf genes 🤣🤣 they did try a few things with Kili like a biggee nose etc but it all looked pretty unnatural so they didn't change too much. Kili's actor btw is pretty well known here (Aidan Turner) he's the lead of a period drama called Poldark. Also Thorin's actor (Richard Armitage) is pretty established too. Ken Stott who plays Balin has been in a few things here too but I'd say of the dwarves Bofur (errr...he's the one that has the chat with Bilbo when he's considering leaving before they meet the Goblins) is the most well know he's played by James Nesbitt he's in loaaads of shows here in the UK & Ireland. Nori (err, he doesn't have many lines..he has the sort of star shaped hair) is played by Jed Brophy who is good mates with Peter Jackson and had a lot of extra parts on LOTR. Including the Uruk rider ofthe warg that takes Aragorn pver the cliff, and the squeaky orc that gets decapitated for dinner when they want to eat Merry and Pippin 🤣. I also believe he's a rohan soldier, an elf, a ring wraith at points..he crops up a lot. And his son actually played Aragorn and Arwen's son in the vision she has in Return of the King!
I love how Oak kept all HP stuff with him haha I’ve been a HP since I was a kid but I didn’t get into Tolkien’s world until the Hobbit. The reason is because when LOTR came out I was too young to understand the story. On the other hand, I did love the Hobbit and it felt weird because many LOTR fans hate it so when I turned 30 I gave it another chance and I fell in love with it. That’s when I first saw your videos and here I am waiting for your new reactions.
Oh yeah, I don't think anything here that's Potter merch will be moving. Lol interesting to here you started with the Hobbits.
This is my FAVORITE of the ENTIRE series - both Hobbit and Rings. The humor, music, and action - just delightful. ❤️
For Tolkien “goblin” and “orc” are two translations of the same word. He wrote The Hobbit first and you could definitely say he didn’t expect it to do so well and hadn’t quite merged the entire LOTR world with the hobbit in full early on. This is all very broad summary, but basically he made a second edition of the book lining everything up better and has been quoted in letters that he just likes the word orc better and it feels more accurate. But there are definitely differences in orcs and it comes down to sub-breeds
15:20 i was so happy to see they added Radagast the Brown. he was always one of my favorite Tolkien characters, despite his limited time on the page 💜
i really love that the actor is the 7th doctor too
I'm a fan of the books and movies, I even love The Hobbit films for what they are. Could they have made just one movie? Yeah probably, but what they added is fun and adds depth to the story. The first one is also very true to the book and they stray as they go on.
I constantly quote "what does it got in its nasty little pocketses?!" "He stoles it!" and "these are Rhosgobel rabbits, I'd like to see them try!" The Misty Mountains Song was also almost what I used to walk down the aisle. So yeah, even as a book fan, I still love these movies
05:04 - To quote a line from the 1982 movie, The Flight of Dragons, “Because dragons tend to ignite ordinary bedding, they must find a soft metal to sleep on, and gold proves most comfortable for them.” 😉 That’s an interesting animated movie to watch, and it’s based around the 1979 book of the same name by Peter Dickinson.
Though I prefer LOTR over The Hobbit (both in terms of books and movies), I love how they portrayed Smaug here and I’m excited for your reactions to his full reveal. I admit, though, my heart was stolen by Draco in the 1996 movie DragonHeart - a more compassionate dragon, when compared to Smaug, but just as mighty. If you have not seen DragonHeart, I whole-heartedly recommend it - Sean Connery voices Draco, and David Thwelis also stars (you’ll recognise him from Harry Potter - he played Lupin).
Tolkien famously said, “I desired dragons with a profound desire”, and, in terms of the books, The Hobbit was published in 1937, and LOTR between 1954-5. Originally, LOTR was supposed to be a two-volume set (along with The Silmarillion, which goes into the mythology of the world in which Middle-earth can be found), but the publishers felt that LOTR would be too long for readers, so it was divided into three volumes (each with two parts). The Hobbit was a singular volume, and meant to be a story for children. In terms of filming, if I recall correctly, all three LOTR movies were filmed concurrently between October 1999-December 2000, whereas filming for The Hobbit took place between July-December 2011 and then again in May-July 2013.
Thanks for a great reaction, guys! Looking forward to the next one. 😊
For me my favorite dragon is Saphira from Eragon 😊
Actually the Hobbit and even more so LotR are classic ww1influenced stories. I think Tolkien came up with these ideas in the trenches. He went with a group of his closest friends to war and he was the only one who survived. There are many elements in lotr that can be found in war literature of that time. Also the theme of pity and not getting corrupted by power is very strong. One key moment in the book is when Sam sees his first dead human enemy. He wonders what reasons he fought for and if he would not rather have stayed at home just like him.
Tolkien as a linguist first came up with the languages and then build the world around them. He also mourned that Roman culture had wiped out many of the original cultural heritage of Britain and other parts of Europe so he came up with Middleearth as a legend of what could have been in former times.
Also read or heard somewhere that Tolkien wrote letters home to be read to his son with the story of the Hobbit, a bit in each letter. Was a very long time ago so i may be misremembering.
Some things to notice.
In the first LOTR movie you can see Bilbo telling the story with the trolls to some children during his birthday party. You can also see the statues of the trolls.
In the drarf company you have Gloin which is Gimli's father (he is the one that thought Elrond insulted them when he offered food) and the oldest dwarf is Balin. Yeah it is Balin's grave that Gimli finds inside Moria (where they fight the Cave Troll). Sadly Gimli's father died from the octopus monster (the watcher of the lake) in Moria's entrance...
I assume Dragons are like birds who collect shiny things, just because it's shiny. Even though we didn't see much of it in the reaction, the song scene in the beginning is my favorite part.
I've been looking forward to you guys reacting to this for a while, so I can't wait for more!
AW YEEE HERE WE GO. Guys I cannot tell you, as someone who saw the initial LOTR films, they became my favourite movies ever and I've never stopped loving them, the build up to this first movie was SO SO exciting. Getting leaks of the soundtrack, Peter Jackson posted a couple of behind the scenes not too spoilery video diaries of production. I remember one of them ending with the reveal of Christopher Lee which was so much fun. I woke up at 3am to watch the stream of the New Zealans premiere then went to uni later that day. I have such strong wonderful memories of the whole build up. Ugh I just...these movies were like such a big Peter Jackson middle earth hug it completely eclipsed any issues I had with them and I do have a couple but generally i just love them. The book is a much easier read than LOTR and i busted through it and it was very fun. Martin Freeman is one of my favourite actors I'm so pleased they went above and beyond to get him for this (they literally had to delay production because he was committed to season 2 of Sherlock and initially had to turn down the role and Peter Jackson was saying about being sat in bed watching Sherlock on his ipad like...gahhh we need him! 🤣🤣). ANYWAY i should probably actually watch this video.
Haha all good. Thanks for this🤘
we know where Balin ended up - "Balin son of Fundin, Lord of Moria"
I grew up with the LOTR , as a little kid I would watch them constantly! When the hobbit came out, I watched them in the theater which I didn't do with LOTR because I was too young, but that was an incredible experience.
My sister who has read all the books, always told me not to question Tolkiens great mind, there is always a reason for everything in his stories.
Not bad advice from your sister. Will you be checking out the new series on Amazon?
The Hobbit was initially written stand-alone in the 30’s for his children, which is why it has a different tone than LOTR. Once LOTR came into the picture he reworked The Hobbit to feed more into LOTR. For instance the one ring that Gollum finds was just one of many magical rings found in the world in the original book before it was reworked, then it was changed to be this all powerful, all consuming thing
Goblins, in most fantasy settings, are just tiny cousin to Orcs. Tolkien used Goblin as another word for Orc, but between the movies and the fandom, it's come to be a way to differentiate between the normal-size orcs that make up most of Mordor's armies, and the smaller, scarwnier "Goblins" seen in Golbintown and in Moria.
I read the book as a kid and I love both the book and movies. Can't wait to see you guys react to part 2.
Glad to see you boys are tackling "The Hobbit" at last.
I for one, cannot wait to see Oak's reaction to the second movie!
I love your reactions guys!!!!!
For years I read the Hobbit and LOTR.
I liked the Hobbit movies but there were a lot of things that weren’t in the book especially with the next two Hobbit movies.
The movies had lots of fight scenes to make it more appealing to boys and men.
I saw this movie the day it came out in Albuquerque, dec 14th, Sandy Hook tragedy.🥺🥺🥺🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
I really hope going forward you watch the extended versions (especially for the third film)!! There are a lot of amazing scenes that were for some reason taken out of the theatrical cut.
One thing to note: Because Hobbits are longer-lived than humans, they age differently too. A 33 year old hobbit (which is how old Frodo was when he first left the Shire IIRC) is considered a young adult, a 20-something is a teenager.
I think Tolkien wrote some lore (songs, poems, cultures, mythology, languages...) for the world while he was in the trenches of the 1WW and then write The Hobbit based on that as a story for his kids... that's why The Hobbit was a bit simpler than the other ones, but i still love them.
I love your reactions and your reviews, I hope you enjoy the other two movies as much as I did (my favourite one was the second one "Desolation of Smaug" by the way).
PD: Don't worry Oak, i also wondered why the eagles didn't take them until the end, in both journeys hahaha
You know that Tolkien was asked about why the Eagles didn’t fly them to the mountain or Frodo to Mordor. His answer was “Shut Up!”. The eagles don’t give a F about men who shoot at them with arrows when they hunt their sheep. So they don’t frequent population center. It was a children’s story Tolkien was surprised and I think you can see his writing improved from first chapter of hobbit to the last chapter. He never intended to write the Lord of the Rings the popularity of the Hobbit forced him into it. There is a movie Called Tolkien it’s very good from what I hear. He started creating Middle Earth as a child. If you read the Dead Marches it is a description of the Battlefield of the Somme where Tolkien fought. He even used the term no and lands. The Silmarillion is the Creation story and would make several good movies in their own rights. He started the Silmarillion during the war and it was published after his death.
That audio clip of Tolkien saying, "Shut up" is fake, FYI. Just a joke someone made. I knew right away because there are real surviving audio clips of him and he sounds different, not to mention he very much had an answer to the eagle question.
And he didn't start his mythology as a child but in the trenches of WWI. Some of his childhood experiences influenced his later work (for instance, as a toddler he was bitten by a venomous spider in South Africa, and later back in England he lived for a time in a place that surely inspired the Shire) but he didn't start the stories then.
Uhm... no the eagles dont fly them around because gandalf was given 3 favors from the Lord of Eagles after Gandalf saved him. As a gift the eagles helped with the battle atop the cliff with Azog. They helped when gandalf fell and needed a ride from the top of the tower when he was trapped. He then asked for help at the Black Gates as a last resort to still the gaze of Sauron as it was fixed on Frodo.
So while you are partially correct.
My first reaction to the Hobbit? I cried right in the intro, from the first moment that I heard that music start up. I was just so ecstatic to be back in middle earth again, I had to quickly collect myself so I didn't miss anything else. Then I cried again when I saw Frodo happy and cheerful and whole again. It was tough man.
yes! please do sherlock series after this..same actors.. brilliant performances..
Dwarves' envy of Elves goes back to the time of their creation. they were created by one of the Valar named Aule who kind of jumped the gun on Eru's plan that Elves were to be first born. so they were put to sleep until the Elves were created & then brought back out. you can see how that might lead to an inferiority complex. also created with the Dwarves? Ents, to protect the trees from Dwarven axes.
I was so ready for this! Great reaction as always! Love y’all fellas! Y’all help me get through the week watching yalls videos I’ve watched the Harry Potter series with y’all 2 times now 🤣
32:20 Goblins are Orcs. Just a different kind of breed and they live under mountains (especially the Misty Mountains). Similar to how the Uruk-Hai that Saruman creates in LOTR, are also Orcs.
I'm not a big fan of the Hobbit movies, but I'm still gonna watch because I love your reaction videos. Call the doctor!!
hahaha Lets goooooo! We have seen comments on our LORTs with people that either liked or didn't.
Lord of the Rings was just so amazingly epic when it came out (still is) and you could feel it was made with so much love and passion, I think the hobbit doesn’t quite have that feel, also it probably should have been 2 movies. It’s an amazing book though. Also after the travesty that was RoP it is definitely looked upon more fondly now from those who were not keen 😊
So, fun fact: Billy Boyd actually wrote "The Last Goodbye" for these films, and he borrowed a guitar from my best friend to work on it while he was at a local convetion. We both worked for the show, and a call went out to everyone asking if someone had an acoustic guitar that he could borrow. My friend did, and brought it for him!
Liked your reaction!
As I think the source material (only one book, mainly for kids) for the prequels is much more difficult than the OT, for me the movies are very good! I wondered how to make three movies out of this, but I think they did a good job! At some points it was a little too much, for my taste, but overall I enjoyed the films very much.
Nori the dwarf is played by actor Jed Brophy.... he played most different parts in LOTR 😊 His son played Aragorn and Arwens son in LOTR 😊
And Yes you are right, the 3 trolls appear in LOTR 😊
@Siruh you mean "skilled " 😉
Yes! He is a killed stuntman and actor, he played a total of 7 roles throughout the LOTR and Hobbit movies
Very nice reaction guys. As I recall, Tolkien got started writing because he totally loved languages. J.R.R. and his brother were born in South Africa, their Mother decided to bring them to England because she was concerned for their health and also where she had family. Soon after, her husband died in South Africa and she was left pretty stranded because her convertion to Catholicism caused her family to reject her. At the time she was homeschooling her boys, quite well I should say, as she was well educated and knew several languages. She was helped by a very decent Catholic Priest, Father Francis Xavier Morgan who recognized the boys' talent and got them both into good schools. Soon thereafter the boys' mother also died. After graduating from Oxford J.R.R. was drafted into the English Army where he served on the Western front where he lost several of his University friends and nearly died himself from illness. He actually started making notes for LOTR while in the trenches. After his return to England and marriage to the love of his life Edith, he began writing "The Hobbit" as a novel to entertain their own children. The rest as they say is history! That's the short version!
I read The Hobbit aged 9, LOTR at 10 and The Trilogy from 11+. Loved it all, having a crazy life in South London in the 70's, it was a way out for me!! 🙂🍻 Fantastic watching my fellow Americans being infected with the JRRT bug is cool. 😉🍻🇬🇧🇺🇲
What I liked most about the Hobbit as a book was its dense but yet entertaining way of telling the story. It never had this feeling of being an epic trilogy, like the Lord of the Rings, to it and that was what really made it an outstanding piece of literature to me: brief in its extent, but without a lack of any sort. The decision to make three movies out of a story that derives its charm from being not too extensive, was a step in the wrong direction to me. The result are enjoyable movies, but they often feel forced in a way, which can be seen especially in the next parts with all the flashbacks to things, that weren't even in the books. Since the second Hobbit movie, I was under the impression that they no longer told the story of the Hobbit (as the book) but rather prepared th LotR movies.
My personal issues with these films first start with the double frame rate of 48fps
It makes the cinematography look like a video game, in particular the goblin kingdom sequence, and Radaghast on his rabbits, (you have Desolation of Smaug out so I'll also add the barrel river sequence from that one as well)
But my biggest issues is all the orcs/goblins are CG characters, there's no one in make-up/costume, so comparing that to the original trilogy is a huge difference that very easily shows
Think back to the battle of Helms Deep and Pelenor Fields and the end of Fellowship, those are real people in insane make-up and costumes, and they look frightening, they feel frightening because those orcs are really there
Then look at Azog and his orc posse, it looks fake because it is fake, just looking at it you know it's not real, so it kind of ruins the immersion and takes me out of the story
And that's a huge difference that I feel really matters and is important if you're going to tell a fantasy story
The more real you can make a fantasy story appear, the better
Obviously there has to be exceptions in certain cases, like a Dragon, obviously that can't ever be real, but the suspension of disbelief is easier for something like that
And when you have orcs being faked that 10 years prior were able to be achieved realistically, it's a real shame that I feel takes the audience member out of it a bit
I also feel the stakes aren't really as high in these films until only certain moments, but for the majority of these films I feel the stakes are generally very low
I also was upset that the forced perspective that was famously used in the first trilogy was abandoned for this trilogy and Ian McKellan had to film all of his scenes alone and was digitally added in and there's actually a story that he blew up on set at one point being upset about the situation (rightfully so) saying "this is not why I became an actor" because the whole point of acting is you're supposed to act with scene partners and he was forced to be alone. Well his mic was still hot, so the actors playing the dwarves heard him and they felt really bad for him so they all brought items and whatnot that represented their characters to his area where Ian films his scenes to make him feel better and to try and remedy the situation.
It just felt like less care went into these films than the original trilogy.
And All in all this trilogy just feels more fake whereas the original trilogy felt more real
That said, I still very much enjoy these films for what they are, it's still fantastic work done by all but I feel that a lot of mistakes were made in making these films sadly
I agree with everything here. The cgi and fps were big disappointments for me. I think if PJ had his way then it would've been filmed just like lotr with practical effects, but it sounds like there was massive interference from the high-ups and he wasn't allowed the time or resources to do it his way, hence the cgi.
19:55 Quinn is correct, those trolls are the large statues that you see in the torchlight while Aragorn is looking for athelas/kingsfoil to help keep Frodo from succumbing to the Morgul blade he'd been stabbed with. Sam points them out in an attempt to keep Frodo awake and aware, "Look Mr Frodo, it's Mr Bilbo's trolls!"
43:00 Lol, they don't really touch on it in the movies, but in fairness to the books, there was an answer provided on why the eagles don't just carry them the whole way...the settlements of Men along the way would try to shoot them down for hunting the flocks of sheep, and the eagles don't want to take the risk of getting shot just to ferry some dwarves around.
55:00 The first Hobbit movie was quite good, and stayed pretty true to the source material. The second and third movies are where they started stuffing in filler to expand them and justify making a third movie, because the studio really really wanted another trilogy despite the book not being long enough a story to support one. Some of the filler is quite good, as it's from Tolkien's own writing (appendices from LOTR and the Hobbit), and some of it is pretty terrible (stuff that the studio came up with). Had they just stuck with Tolkien's material (both the Hobbit and the appendices material), they could've made two exceptional films that would've been very well-received. Instead, well, they did what they did, we got what we got, and it got the reception it got.
Trolls turn to stone in the sun, other than Saurons newer bred trolls, the olog-hai, they can tolerate the sun. But no evil creatures can really stand sunlight, which is why Sauron spreads black clouds with his armies. It enhances the orcs, trolls, and Nazgul to fight under his shadow. The wild stone trolls in this movie can't stand it at all and therefore turn to stone. They're referenced twice in the Fellowship of the Ring, once during Bilbos birthday when he tells the story to the children, and once again after Frodo has been stabbed by the Witch King, they stop under the same petrified stone trolls.
Wow. Couldn't even imagine that you'll be watching the Hobbit so soon. Thanks, guys, for your reactions. Go on 🤘😜
Eu sou fanática pelos livros e filmes , acho Smaug o melhor dragão de todos os que já vi em filmes.
Gondolin: an Elven kingdom in the First Age, famous for evading destruction by the first Dark Lord Morgoth by building in a secret location inspired in a dream by one of the Valar. Gondolin lasted nearly 400 years, an impressive feat.
Nice to see you diving back into The Middle-Earth! I have mixed feelings about The Hobbit series, and a lot of the criticism I have is not the fault of the film crew but because of the alterations and additions the Warner Bros studios demanded from them. If the crew had had more artistic freedom, I feel the series would have been a lot better. (This is something the actors have talked about as well)
But I still like the series, or actually, I absolutely LOVE the 1rst movie, especially the extended edition that gives us more scenes and time to really get to know the characters better. The 2nd movie is good, there's a lot I really like about it, but well the 3rd movie is in my opinion a hot mess with some a few great scenes thrown into it. The ending of the 2nd movie and the whole 3rd movie suffered the most from the changes I think - like Warner Bro's decision (and partially Jackson's it seems) to make The Hobbit into a trilogy. Plus as there was a lot of changes behind the scenes and next to no prep-time for the crew before the filming began, which probably affected the films quite a bit.
Still, the acting was amazing, I adore all the dwarves and a lot of the other characters and I was very happy the see this story come to life. And the developing relationship between Therin and Bilbo is so beautifully done and the actors did a great job & had great chemistry - which is important because I feel that their relationship is basically the heart of these movies.
I love the Hobbit films. Sure, they're not as great as the LOTR films, but they're still really good. I own Desolation of Smaug and I have a habit of watching it at least once every year. Benedict Cumberbatch voiced Smaug the Dragon and also the Necromancer/Sauron in disguise. His Black Speech is pretty good.
God I had the worse day ever. Now, finally, both kids are sleeping and I can enjoy your new upload. Thank you so much for your videos. It really feels like meeting up with friends at the end of a long day and watching something together.
They filmed most of the trilogy at the same time with a few breaks here and there but not breaks in the sense that they filmed the first movie, had a long break then came back for movie 2. Like they did like 18 months or so with the actors basically living in New Zealand i believe. Initially they were going to do 2 movies and then part way through production when it had nearly ended, they decided to make it into 3 so they had a couple of months break or so then came back and did some more weeks of filming. If i remember correctly.
In the books, goblins & orcs are the same thing, Tolkien uses the names interchangeably. For some reason, Peter Jackson decided to make them separate creatures.
Love that you guys do this! I also posted awhile ago about eagles... everyone gets caught up on that but very easy explanation. Not your typical dork. Hot nerd over here 😊 My bf refused to watch these movies until I showed him your channel. Seriously...thank you!
The Hobbit will always top Lord of the Rings for me. Mainly because it was the first book I read that wasn’t a kids book, I was 9 or 10 years old and re-read the death out of that book (which I still have, battered with loose pages 40 years later) So there’s a sentimental attachment for me and Bilbo will always be THEE OG hobbit for me.
I loved the Hobbit movies.
I never understood why some people didn't like these.
Loved the cast
Bilbo grows up inside our hearts, doesn’t him?
Whooo Hooo!!! You guys are in for a fun ride with lots of great surprises!!! I totally love these movies almost as much as Lord of the Rings. 😁😍😎
the Eagles are definitely not Gandalf's Flying Taxi Service. they're Emissaries of the Valar, at the service of Manwe Sulimo, Chief of the Valar; sometimes they're called Eagles of Manwe. because of his position & history Manwe has deep insights into the Mind of Eru & His intentions. all of which means he has a pretty good idea of when & where his Eagles will be needed to help out a situation so he can direct them there at the right time.
The main reason why many people dislike the Hobbit trilogy is because if you have read it along with the LotR trilogy then you realize that while Peter Jackson brilliantly captured the story from the LotR and stuck closely to the events of the book, the Hobbit has lots of movie tropes and events completely made up just to fill up three movies. In particular the last of the three movies portrays a battle that Bilbo didn’t even witness in the book. He was knocked out and missed it. In the book it’s a couple of pages at best yet they managed to make a rather long movie out of it.
IM SO EXCITED! Been waiting to see you go on this unexpected journey (see what i did there lol) and i cant wait to see how you react to this trilogy! The Appleton Oak I'm sure will love it as much as LOTR :)
Haha touche
Concerning the goblins, originally they were just another name for orcs. Orcs and goblins were essentially the same in Tolkien's original writings. But come the Jackson films, while it never outright states it the implication is that orcs are the more organised and humanoid ones that work for Sauron and Saruman, while the goblins are the more feral cave-dwelling ones that don't seem to be as subservient to Sauron and Mordor (ie the ones we see in Moria in the LOTR trilogy, and the ones we see here).
I don’t understand all the hate/dislike for this series. I grew up reading the books and watching the 70s animated versions of The Hobbit and LOTR, and while they were good, they left a lot to be desired in many ways. Getting live-action versions with modern effects and fantastic actors was a dream come true.
My main issue? CGI man, cgi dwarves, cgi orcs, cgi, cgi cgi. SOOOOOOO much could have been done practical but they chose the easy way of just making everything digital, it sucked the life out of these movies for me. So much so that even Sir Ian McKellen was saddened by everything that was done. And CGI Orcs man, stupidest decision ever, I can't get over it XD
@Evija3000Some scenes could have been shorter instead of drawn out for more drama I agree. And yeah some of it is filler, but other stuff is from the Appendices of Lord of the Rings that Tolien wrote himself, and that Peter Jackson decided to add into the Hobbit movies.
I completely agree that the dwarf/elf romance between Kili/Tauriel was unnecessary. Not only was it awkward, it completely undermines the power of Legolas and Gimli's relationship as the first dwarf/elf friendship in literal centuries.
@Di :3 So true.
After Amazon drops their degeneracy, these movies will shine as a beacon of hope.
I like the first movie a lot, but then everything went down the hill with the other two. They are good entertainment but so many unnecessary changes.
Never clicked on something so quickly!!! Loving your reactions so far! I cannot wait to see what you think of the next two! ☺️
I was a great reader in my youth and read all the books. I have seen all the movies and now that they are all out, I watch them in order starting with The Hobbit. Am stoked.
The byplay between y'all is awesome to watch. Loved the reaction.
Well, Tolkien wrote the hobbit first as a children's book. He created the entire world in the SimRillian. The Lord of the Rings was a masterpiece of creation with regard to all the languages alone. There is very interesting piece of trivia, and t h at is Tolkien and cs Lewis of lion witch and the wardrobe fame meet every Thursday night at a pub in Oxford called he Eagle and the Child to discuss story ideas. They were called the inkling. I was blessed to go there and had their favorite ale it was a wheat based flavor.
The use of gold for the dragons especially for Smaug is melt the gold and use it as extra sections of armor. Along side its called "Dragon Sickness" for a reason, also known as "Greed".
I enjoyed the brief talk about how people look at the source material compared to the films when it comes to these big franchises. I know that if I’ve read the books before the movies came out, I always enjoy the books more just because you built that world from words off a page through your imagination. That’s not to say that I don’t still enjoy the movies a lot of the time, but as a fan of franchises like these you almost always get caught on things that you built up in your head to be important that were then just discarded from the films, so it can feel like a let down if your missing little details or bits of information that to you, and probably others in your position, mean so much to the overall story. I’ve long since gave up on going into movie franchises like these with super high expectations after reading the books, now I just go in hoping that they stay true to the story as best they can and keep the same spirit from the source to make an enjoyable film. In fact when a book I enjoy is made into a movie I almost always go with someone who has never read the source material and is going in blind, and I look to them as my thermometer for how well they did in transitioning to film. There’s always that twinge of disappointment but I ignore that to the best of my ability as long as my thermometer enjoys it and gets the broad strokes that I think they should from seeing the movie alone.
My most recent experience with this was with the movie Ready Player One as I was a huge fan of the book and read it probably 6-7 times before the movie came out, and I think they did pretty good for the most part but I still enjoy the book far more than the movie even though I know it cover to cover. Which if you haven’t seen it, I do recommend watching Ready Player One, as well as the original book! It’s not a long read.
Glad that I found this channel the way you do these videos is amazing. I must say the hobbits get a lot of hate from others but I enjoyed the movies so much. Edit: I hope u do the next two movies soon got my sub.
for me, the Lord of the Rings films were fantastic adaptations of the books. My dad, a Tolkein fan ever since he was a child (the books were his escape from poverty growing up), sobbed watching LotR because he said it was like seeing his imagination played out on the big screen ... and my dad is not usually an emotional person. But the man was an absolute mess. We had our expectations way too high when we went to see The Hobbit, especially myself as a HUGE fan of Martin Freeman, and when we left the theater my dad said 'that was fine and at least I had fun'. For me what took away from the magic was the "overuse" of CGI - especially in the underground goblin lair and the white orc. What made LotR was unique and special to me were all the practical effects and the make-up/prosthetics. I also, while I love their faces, was not a fan of making some of the dwarves (the ones who are written to be more of the 'hero' sorts) more handsome by traditional Western beauty standards to fit this "heroic hottie" standard. I understand the marketing and filmmaking reasons for this, but I had been looking forward to some more nontraditional heroes and not fall into this trope of 'heroes are only handsome'. But that is my own personal soap box XD
I realized pretty early on that I could not go in to The Hobbit films with the same expectations I had for LotR, and once I rewired my thinking to just go in and enjoy my revisit to Middle Earth...I liked the film (and the two follow ups) much more. I've never felt the urge to sit down and watch all three of The Hobbit films back to back and have my Middle Earth binge weekend, but I will rewatch the LotR extended editions in a weekend binge at least once a year (sometimes the commentary versions instead of the films themselves).
The dwarves all singing the Misty Mountain song is one of my favorite parts of this trilogy :3
Also, just for a bit of fun for you gentlemen now that you have seen this, go watch The Hillywood channel's parody videos for LotR and The Hobbit. Some good fun fan appreciation!
The Hobbit: kzclip.org/video/qXFQFnUdh5I/бейне.html
The Lord of the Rings: kzclip.org/video/1wNnbMCrtZg/бейне.html
I love the Hobbit! 5/5 movie for me! It's simply amazing and I enjoy the dynamic between Bilbo and Thorin and the other dwarves :) I also prefer Bilbo > Frodo as a main character 😅
The eagles could most definitely fly them all the way this time, BUT. While eagles are ancient and powerful creatures, akin to maiar that are Gandalf, Saruman or Sauron, they prefer not to meddle in Middle-Earth business (unless asked), and most (non-elvish) Middle-Earth inhabitants see them as beasts at most. Archers would be of great danger to them, not to mention they would be travelling towards a dragon, who by definition can fly.
Edit: The main trilogy reason would be a different one altogether, they wouldn't want to be anywhere near the ring for the same reason Gandalf and Galadriel feared to touch it.
I love everything about what you said here, but I'd just like to say that the first dragon in Middle Earth, Glaurung couldn't fly. Not to detract from what you said that is, it was well known that Smaug could fly.
I agree about the Eagles. The journey would have been much shorter. Thank you again for share your reactions to this movie and the series. Just like Harry Potter it great watching you react for the first time.
For all intents and purposes, "goblin" and "orc" are interchangeable in Tolkien. The larger, brutish ones we saw in LotR that Satuman created were Uruk-hai, which are a cross between Goblin-Men (goblins crossed with men) and Orcs (Regular goblins) to make them more hardy.
I still don't wanna know how you cross goblins with men 😵💫
"Hobbit" was published first but the thing is that it was at first edition a book separated from this whole universum of Arda. Tolkien started to write Arda universum about 1915 or 1916 writing at first short poetries about meetings between men and elves (at first they were named "gnomes" and they were magical, beautiful and wise but also a bit smaller than humans) - and by the times of publishing of "the Hobbit" he didnt want to mix up this short kids adventure story with his great universum of Arda in which we can find Gondor and Numenor and Galadriel and Sauron and Valars and such. There were some bits from it in "the hobbit" like Rivendell and lord Elrond, and an unnamed king of woodland elves. But in the first edition Gollum was big dark monster, not originated from hobbits and the ring was only a magic trincket of invisibility, and Gollum was even helpful to Bilbo and showed him the way out after their riddle game. It was only after LOTR was published in 50s - as a sequel of "the hobbit" (by request of the publisher) but the setting of LOTR was obviously more like the setting of "The Silmarilion" with great continents and empires than the setting of "the hobbit" - that Tolkien had to change many things in the old book to connect it to the new book. :)
Quinn, glad your buddies like the movies. Pretty sure they’ll like the others. You’re right; the Hobbit was contemplated in 2003 but not announced until much later. Hope you have Amazon prime so you see the series the Rings of Power when it debuts this fall. It will be set in the Second Age with Elves Elrond, Galadriel, Cirdan, Gil-galad fighting Sauron as he tricks Celembrimdor into making the all the rings distributing them to men and dwarves to control them. I think see may see the men of Numenor too like Elendil and Isildur.
These movies are a lot more fun, comical and over the top than the LotR, a little bit of head cannon I’ve always had is that we are being told this story directly by bilbo himself who will of course make up and embellish some details.
The reasons for dragon hordes have been hotly debated and still remain a mystery. One theory is that before dragons die, they devour their horde. The speculation is that they can either bring their riches to the afterlife with them due to their magical nature, or that the amount of treasure they devour will determine whether they are accepted into whatever realm dragons go to when they die or if they simply fade into nothingness.
Only 2 % of the information Tolkien had written on Middle Earth actually made it into published books. That is how deep he delved into making this world. I understand Chris Tolkien, JRR's step-son, helped with advice on the Hobbit movies. So, in my opinion, since Chris Tolkien is the curator of all things Middle Earth, and he consulted on this, I think any additions were greenlit so work for me.
"But Gold can only be exchanged for goods and services. Why does the dragon want it if not to spend it?"
He loves the shiny shit.
I still love to watch the hobbit movies. The first one is fine but the other two have a lot of changes and added things that are very unnecessary. There was also a lot of pre production problems and Peter Jackson couldn't plan this trilogy the way he did with LOTR.
remember the story Bilbo told the kids at his Party? about the 3 Trolls who wanted to eat them? now you know how it went down. you'll also see them in their final frozen form in Fellowship on the way to Rivendell.
There's extended versions of these movies. But if you're interested, there's a movie that's a prequel/origin story to this whole franchise...... one that in my opinion is vastly underrated, Tolkien. A bio pic on his life, & his inspiration for his works, where he got his ideas. It's up to y'all when y'all finish this trilogy
if you think Bilbo's food stores are excessive just remember how Merry & Pippin ate. Hobbits really like to eat, you need something for Second Breakfast too,