In the early months of 1999 my mother hauled her two boys to the Grapevine Public Library. While I was busy casting about the children's book section, she went out of her way to pull a large, dully colored book down from the shelf and force me to hold it and look at it. While I gaped in impatience at the cover, she explained that although she had never read the book or the author, it was a book I would probably like.
As mothers tend to be, she was correct in her assessment. After all, I had plowed through CS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia nearly six times.Taking her consultation into account, and with all the skills of discernment I possessed, I looked at the book with the map with a lonely mountain and the desolation of Smaug, decided it was silly, and returned it to the shelf. Thus ended my first interaction with J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
Accelerate now to the end of 2006. I had read the account of the Baggins adventure twice, the companion Lord of the Rings thrice. I still reckon on the four part cycle by Tolkien as one of the finest reads on my shelf, and relished the movies by Peter Jackson.
Enter 2012, as the Hobbit receives a three movie rendition of its own and audiences across the United States visited beloved Middle Earth yet again, enthralled by the deeply human story of the Halfling struggling amidst all the joy and terror and perils this fantasy world can offer.
The movie represents the book quite well. Tolkienoids will appreciate the inclusion of the musical numbers which were often notably absent from the LOTR trilogy. Continuity folks will revel in the inclusion of Ian McKellen reprising Gandalf the Gray. Purists will adore the time lovingly spent in Bag End, the lines of the script taken straight from the quill of Tolkien, and the dedication to a properly blown smoke ring. Young and old alike ought to be entranced by Smaug, the Kingdom Under the Mountain, the Goblin kingdom, the Trolls and the Eagles.
In fact, there is something in this movie for everyone to enjoy. It is long. It is obsessed with the world of its creation. It does bear obvious foreshadowing and superfluous additions to the story. Regardless, The Hobbit remains enjoyable and even memorable, which is something many films, sequels, and prequels fail to achieve. (Here's looking at you Lucas!) Do yourself a favor and spend a few more hours in enthralled by Middle Earth.
As mothers tend to be, she was correct in her assessment. After all, I had plowed through CS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia nearly six times.Taking her consultation into account, and with all the skills of discernment I possessed, I looked at the book with the map with a lonely mountain and the desolation of Smaug, decided it was silly, and returned it to the shelf. Thus ended my first interaction with J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
Accelerate now to the end of 2006. I had read the account of the Baggins adventure twice, the companion Lord of the Rings thrice. I still reckon on the four part cycle by Tolkien as one of the finest reads on my shelf, and relished the movies by Peter Jackson.
Enter 2012, as the Hobbit receives a three movie rendition of its own and audiences across the United States visited beloved Middle Earth yet again, enthralled by the deeply human story of the Halfling struggling amidst all the joy and terror and perils this fantasy world can offer.
The movie represents the book quite well. Tolkienoids will appreciate the inclusion of the musical numbers which were often notably absent from the LOTR trilogy. Continuity folks will revel in the inclusion of Ian McKellen reprising Gandalf the Gray. Purists will adore the time lovingly spent in Bag End, the lines of the script taken straight from the quill of Tolkien, and the dedication to a properly blown smoke ring. Young and old alike ought to be entranced by Smaug, the Kingdom Under the Mountain, the Goblin kingdom, the Trolls and the Eagles.
In fact, there is something in this movie for everyone to enjoy. It is long. It is obsessed with the world of its creation. It does bear obvious foreshadowing and superfluous additions to the story. Regardless, The Hobbit remains enjoyable and even memorable, which is something many films, sequels, and prequels fail to achieve. (Here's looking at you Lucas!) Do yourself a favor and spend a few more hours in enthralled by Middle Earth.
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