Hobbit Notes #4

This is the last of the Hobbit Notes for PJ's first movie. I finished reading chapter 6, "Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire." Generally speaking, PJ stayed rather close to the story line, except for the following:

1. Again, there are No Orcs. And the goblins that are present, do not ride on the backs of Wargs. Azog the Goblin (whom PJ makes look like a Saruman White-Hand Orc) is, of course, not present either.  However, I was very wrong when I said that Wargs are not mentiond in The Hobbit.  They are. Wargs are just large mountain wolves. In the movies, however, PJ really makes them look very little like wolves --

-- and much more like hairy wild boar, or warthog. I mean really -- how does this look anything like a wolf?

Tolkien says that his wargs are wolves. "The evil wolves over the Edge of the Wild" are what he calls them. They should look just like wolves, and perhaps just behave in a more evil way than some.

2. Bilbo does not save Thorin's life, thereby enlisting his gratitude and friendship. In fact, three times in this chapter Bilbo is tail-end Charlies, so to say, and only barely makes it with the group as they escape danger. He appears suddenly among the group when they escape the goblin gate (as PJ shows), he only barely makes it into a tree before the snapping wolves arrive, and he's rescued by the eagles only because he grabs onto a dwarf's legs. He is no hero in this section of the story; he's hungry as only a hobbit can be, after not eating for a couple of days.

3. Gandalf and his magical moth -- this is pure fabrication on PJ's part. Gandalf does not send for help, and the eagles only show up because they see the fire (which Gandalf does set), and they wonder what's going on with those wolves. The goblins come along almost as an afterthought and set up the dwarves' trees as a kind of bonfire. Tolkien even says Gandalf is about to hurl himself down upon the goblins and wolves in a fiery attack which would (Tolkien says) certainly take his life. In the book, Gandalf is not nearly so all-powerful and god-like as PJ makes him out to be.

4. The pine trees do not fall off the cliff. Thorin does not hug Bilbo. They're all taken back to the eagles' eyrie where they cook themselves supper and sleep soundly. And from this perch they do not see the Lonely Mountain.

I found this chapter to be plenty scary enough in the book, as it is, and I wonder why PJ decided to take such grand departures. His departures seem designed to reconfigure the characters -- to make Gandalf more powerful, or Bilbo more heroic, or Thorin more angry. These adjustments taken together can change the story line considerable, and change the relationships in it. Again, just remember always -- the very best Hobbit we'll ever have is between the covers of Tolkien's book.

Hobbit Notes #3

Riddles in the Dark:
I finished reading Chapter 5 of The Hobbit. Of all the parts of PJ's movie, this section, Bilbo and Gollum's meeting in the heart of the mountain and the transfer of the ring, was my favorite. It felt most like what Tolkien had written. Or so I thought, until I reread the chapter. Actually, I should deal with chapters 4 and 5 both, including the battle of the stone-giants and the dwarves' altercation with the goblins in the mountains.

First, Gandalf is with them on the mountains when the storm hits. The ponies are with them also. PJ's depiction of the giants' stormy fight was wonderful, but the troop is never thrown from one cliff edge to another. They do want shelter, and hide in a cave. They don't fall through the bottom of the cave; there's a crack in the back wall that slowly opens while they're asleep. Bilbo does not, does not, try to leave and abandon the mission. And Thorin does not criticize him and call him worthless! Again, PJ is introducing more personal conflict into the story line than ever existed. (This kind of thing bothers me the most.)

Gandalf disappears with a crash of light from his staff in the cave, when the dwarves are kidnapped. They are led by their captors to see the Great Goblin, their ponies are eaten and all their possessions are taken. Then Gandalf reappears, kills the Great Goblin quickly, darkens the cavern, and leads the 14 friends away at a run. Bilbo is carried on various dwarves' backs because he can't keep up.

Peter Jackson's "Great Goblin"

This is the point at which Bilbo is separated from them -- he falls off a dwarf back, bonks his head and passes out.

All in all, PJ's description of the events in the goblin cavern are much more extensive and elaborative than Tolkien's. The long chase scene did not occur, or if it did, it was in pitch darkness, which PJ of course could not use. The Great Goblin's corpse did not fall on anyone. I did enjoy PJ's goblin lair with all its ladders and swaying bridges.
On to the riddles. In the book: Bilbo does not fall down into the mountain's heart with a goblin on his heels, Gollum does not snag the goblin and kill him, and Bilbo does not see Gollum lose the ring. Bilbo finds the ring in the pitch darkness on the tunnel floor, and puts it in his pocket before he ever meets Gollum.

Gollum, in the cartoon version

Bilbo finds the edge of the lake, and Gollum surprises him absolutely, by appearing suddenly in his boat on the water's edge. They play the riddle game almost immediately, at Gollum's suggestion -- he seems to enjoy riddles. Sadly, PJ omitted 2 rounds of the riddle game! I didn't notice it in the movie, but I sure did when I read the book.  And remember Gollum's slimy, rocky island in the middle of the lake? Omitted also. This I do find sad -- Gollum's paddling out to the island to look for his ring, his whispers to himself, his screeches of despair echoing over the water back to Bilbo who waits uncomfortably, his frantic return in his boat as he hisses his suspicions about Bilbo's pocket, the impending danger -- all this  I remember causing me great excitement when I read the book years ago. It's excellent storytelling. Does it not transfer well to the screen? I don't know. But I was sad when I realized that it was omitted.

There are differences in the race to the back door also. Bilbo slips on the ring by accident, in his pocket, quietly. He doesn't fall down and send the ring flying into the air (just like Frodo on the Prancing Pony floor), and have it slip on his finger. No, no, no. He turns invisible unknowingly, falls in the tunnel, and Gollum runs right past him. And he pops off his buttons when he's escaping out the back door as the goblins are watching -- when he's invisible! -- so only his buttons show, flying through the air when they are no longer attached to him. Brilliant! Why didn't PJ use that? No clue.

I do find PJ's whole depiction of Gollum excellent, and always have. The split personality. Right down to his six teeth. And Bilbo's character is excellent, and Gandalf's. Perhaps casting and character development is one of PJ's gifts. The only exception I'd make is Thorin. Although I love Richard Armitage, I simply disliked the sullen, angry image of the dwarf. Perhaps there was just not enough to go on in the book? I wish PJ had not opted for a character development in Thorin that darkened the story even more.

Hobbit Notes #2

I've now read chapters 2 and 3 of Tolkien's The Hobbit. Here are some more departures that Peter Jackson takes in his movie, from the book.

The trolls: Although PJ's interpretation of the troll scene was fun to watch, much of it is inconsistent with the book. The ponies were not stolen. The troll does not think he blew Bilbo out of his nose. The dwarves wander into the troll camp a few at a time, and Thorin comes last, cautiously. The dwarves are put in bags, but are never put on a spit over the fire. Gandalf does show up, and he contributes his voice to the trolls' conversation to anger and confuse them, delaying until sunrise. He does not crack a rock open with his staff. PJ got the Gondolin swords correct though.

Thorin and the elves: There's no evidence in the book that Thorin hates or distrusts the elves, any more than other dwarves do. There's no baggage or history here of resentment and distrust. There's not fussing between Thorin and Gandalf about such things. When Gandalf tells the dwarves that they're going to Rivendell to rest, they're fine with that. All that conflict in Rivendell when the dwarves arrive? Not in the book at all. Rivendell is a valley with a house -- the last homely house. It's not an elegant city of arches and draperies. And the elves are not stately, somber, serious no-funs of Middle Earth. They're actually rather silly, merry, and ridiculous. They tease the dwarves with silly songs as they enter the valley. There is no meeting in Rivendell with Saruman and Galadriel, no discussion of the Necromancer. The dwarves do not sneak off. They stay 14 days, I believe, rest and eat, and go on their merry way refreshed.

There are no orcs or goblins, period, in this section of the book. The company is not attacked by orcs on wargs. As a matter of fact, I don't recall any wargs at all in The Hobbit. All of this dark conflict is put in the movie for one purpose only: to make Peter Jackson's movie more scary, for an older audience, and to make it more similar to his trilogy movies. It robs the movie of the light-hearted fun with which the book delights us.

 Note: The purpose of these posts is to note PJ's departures from the original book. In this way, I hope Tolkien's book will maintain its own integrity and identity, rather than becoming confused with a movie which only somewhat resembles it. The movie is enjoyable. I'm not condemning PJ for his work, just noting that the book and the movie are not interchangeable.

The Hobbit

I grew up, as you did, with Tolkien's Hobbit. I read it several times, fell in love, moved on to the trilogy and eventually The Silmarillion.  It was part of growing up, and a fine part. I married a Tolkien fanatic, and we made sure our offspring imbibed the books as we had.

I had not read The Hobbit in many years, perhaps decades, when I saw Peter Jackson's movie three nights ago. Mr. Jackson is only two years older than I, so probably he grew up with the same Tolkien love, and his movies must at some level reflect Middle Earth as he sees it.

I, however, sat through his Hobbit movie listening to my husband, a Tolkien scholar of sorts and a Tolkien purist certainly, groaning and grumbling and swearing he'd not come to any more Peter Jackson movies.

So, without further ado, I plan to make a list of significant departures from the book, that Mr. Jackson chose to make. I do not judge his motives; I'm sure he had astounding limitations and priorities and restrictions that produced these departures. Still, departures they are, and each one chips away a piece of Tolkien's world as we all know it.

1. Bilbo loves visitors. He has many pegs in his hall, because he loves for people to come by. Somehow, Peter Jackson (hereafter called PJ) depicts him as a curmudgeonly hermit who does not want any company.
2. Bilbo's hobbit hole is designed as a single tunnel with rooms off of that tunnel, not a prairie dog maze.
3. Hobbits wear bright colors, green and yellow particularly, and their feet are covered with curly brown hair. Perhaps that would have been too cheerful and whimsical for PJ's movie?
4. Bilbo's pipe is massive, even by human standards, and reaches nearly to his feet.
5. Gandalf's hat is blue.
6. Thorin is an old dwarf, and he comes with Bombur, Bifur, and Bofur. He is not youngish and sullen.  He initially praises Bilbo as "a most excellent and audacious hobbit," blesses him and exalts his wine and ale.  Gloin is the one who doubts Bilbo in chapter 1.
7. Bilbo is more complex in chapter 1 than PJ allows. His Tookish heart is stirred and won over to the idea of an adventure, and he's excited to go, during the night of song and planning. PJ depicts him as altogether alarmed and unwilling to go. This is simplistic, inaccurate, and sets Bilbo's character for the viewer from the beginning.
8. The music. Granted, PJ did try, and I enjoyed the one dwarf song. But there was lots of music in chapter 1; it sets a tone of beauty and mystery, and lends great complexity to the dwarves' character. And the dwarves have carried their instruments with them -- cellos and a harp, a drum and clarinets. The music weaves a magical web in Bilbo's home and his imagination, and helps woo him to the task at hand.
9. Azog is a goblin, not an orc. This depiction of him as a massive orc, much like the ones Saruman bred at Orthanc, is ludicrous.  As a goblin, he could not have fought during daylight.
10. Thorin's father went insane in the dungeon of the Necromancer. Why PJ decided to include so much of Radagast and Dol Guldur, the Necromancer and his acts, and failed to mention this one important link involving Thorin, I cannot guess.

This is chapter 1, as I go back now and read again Tolkien's The Hobbit. I enjoyed many parts of the movie, particularly Martin Freeman's rendering of Bilbo, in spite of PJ's failings on that score. The music was sublime, and I wanted more of it. I wanted more magic and less violence. I wanted more musing and less mayhem. I wanted Tolkien's story for a 10 year old, instead of a modern movie for a 25 year old whose appetite tends toward decapitation and terror. Still, there are wisps of Middle Earth in the movie, and for that I'm thankful.