The Hobbit Films

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

So... how do they stack up when compared to the Lord of the Rings movies?

 

[Smugpugmug]

They're worse than the LOTR films. How they made 3 movies based on a 300 page book is beyond me.

 

[Karin1984]

Have you seen Lindsay Ellis' videos on the Hobbit? If not, watch it. It's a two part analysis with three videos on where it all went wrong.

 

[MamaMermaid]

Personally, better. The Hobbit holds a very special place in my heart.

 

[BrianL]

Honestly, I think they're slightly better, but the LOTR trilogy is good too.

 

[KayMichigan]

They had a great cast but unfortunately Peter Jackson got carried away and turned a small, charming story into a bloated, overblown CGI mess. Part of it was probably the studio telling him he had to draw it out into three movies so they'd make more money, but it never should have been more than two. The padding they added to the story didn't do anything to enhance it.

The sad thing is that they had such great actors, and great backstories for all the dwarves, but only three or four of them got anything to do and the rest were just background.

The 1977 Rankin/Bass cartoon version actually got a lot closer to the heart of the story and did it in only 90 minutes, even if they did make the elves blue.

 

[Karin1984]

The sad thing is that they had such great actors, and great backstories for all the dwarves, but only three or four of them got anything to do and the rest were just background.

One of my favourite scenes is just a 5 second shot of Thorin working as a blacksmith among humans. I would love to hear more about what happened there.

In one of the videos by Lindsay Ellis, she got to interview John Callen (Oin). He basically tells that the studio wanted the handsome dwarfs in the limelight, and the rest were just highest paid extras in history. He also says that the trilogy lost the heart, the brotherhood and their journey.
Saddest thing of all was that Kiwi dwarf actors weren't invited to the world premiere in London due to 'budget reasons'.

 

[Mysterian]

They had a great cast but unfortunately Peter Jackson got carried away and turned a small, charming story into a bloated, overblown CGI mess. Part of it was probably the studio telling him he had to draw it out into three movies so they'd make more money, but it never should have been more than two. The padding they added to the story didn't do anything to enhance it.

The sad thing is that they had such great actors, and great backstories for all the dwarves, but only three or four of them got anything to do and the rest were just background.

The 1977 Rankin/Bass cartoon version actually got a lot closer to the heart of the story and did it in only 90 minutes, even if they did make the elves blue.

I love the Rankin/Bass version. Good version for kids to see too.
Was reminded of this when the news about Angela Lansbury came out. She played one of the more memorable characters in Rankin/Bass' The Last Unicorn.

 

[Mysterian]

The Hobbit could have gotten away with two movies at the most. I like that Peter Jackson likes to immerse the viewer but this Hobbit series of yours is much too much, Peter!

 

[KayMichigan]

One of my favourite scenes is just a 5 second shot of Thorin working as a blacksmith among humans. I would love to hear more about what happened there.

That would have been great!

In one of the videos by Lindsay Ellis, she got to interview John Callen (Oin). He basically tells that the studio wanted the handsome dwarfs in the limelight, and the rest were just highest paid extras in history. He also says that the trilogy lost the heart, the brotherhood and their journey.

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up! And it's a real shame because they had all the ingredients for a really great set of movies. But they wanted it to be another Lord of the Rings with Aidan Turner being this trilogy's heartthrob complete with a tragic love story with an elf (even though Tolkien was pretty explicit about elves and dwarves not getting along which made Legolas and Gimli's friendship all the more remarkable). They added all sorts of junk into the narrative that the story didn't need and bogged it down until the original story got lost. Bilbo practically became a side character. And Bombur, who's one of the more prominent dwarves in the book, didn't end up having ANY lines!!

Saddest thing of all was that Kiwi dwarf actors weren't invited to the world premiere in London due to 'budget reasons'.

That is sad! They should have found a way to include them.

 

[KayMichigan]

I love the Rankin/Bass version. Good version for kids to see too.
Was reminded of this when the news about Angela Lansbury came out. She played one of the more memorable characters in Rankin/Bass' The Last Unicorn.

Yeah, very sad about Dame Angela, but she had a great long life!

The Rankin/Bass version is a fave of mine too. They also did a cartoon version of "The Return of the King" which was not quite as successful an adaptation but still worth a look!!

 

[Walt's Dream]

"I'm going on an adventure!" Favorite scene.