If you think that people who obsess over fictional things are a bit cooky, look away now.
***
Right, so let's talk about Middle Earth.
Where do I even start? There's way too much to talk about.
Way too much.
My first Middle Earth experience was watching The Lord of the Rings trilogy when I was about 11. I fell in love.
Gosh, I had never seen anything like it. It was beautiful and full of adventure and absolutely chock-full of the most amazing characters. It was scary, definitely, but there were also moments that made you laugh. It was emotionally impacting and at the end of it all I felt as if I had learned something.
Of all the wonderful characters, my favorite is Sam. Samwise the Brave. He encompasses a lot of what I love about LOTR. On the outside, he's just a sweet, simple little hobbit - but over the course of the trilogy, you realize how much he's capable of. Like, SPOILERS he simply walks into Mordor. He saves Middle Earth. He gives the best speeches of all time. I dunno, I guess that's just kind of. You know. Inspiring.
I was pretty excited to hear that The Hobbit, a book I loved, was being adapted into film. Another Peter Jackson Middle Earth Trilogy? IT'S CHRISTMAS.
"Adventures. Nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things. Make you late for dinner."
- Bilbo
Peter Jackson did not stick to the book. He made a huge trilogy out of one small children's book. He even made up completely new characters and invented side-plots. And - oh, ghastly! - he even added a love triangle.
Peter Jackson, you are my hero. I wouldn't change a thing.
|Seriously, guys, what are you looking at? Is Thranduil being fabulous again?|
Pete, you brought this story to life and made me feel for each individual character. You created characters to route for and cry over, and brought so much emotion into such a simple tale. Are they perfect movies? Nope. Are they anywhere as good as the Lord of the Rings? Um, no. But are they wonderful? Heck yeah.
Thanks for all the hard work, Peter and crew. I'm sad it's over, but I'm also happy to see your work complete.
Night is now falling
So ends this day
The road is now calling
And I must away
Yesterday we watched BOFA for the second time. It (again) gave me so many feels I just had to express it somehow. Thank goodness I have a blog.
Basically, these books and film trilogies are my favorite things ever. Kthanksbye.
love,
Hannah
(P.S I realized that my bae didn't make an appearance in this post. So here.)
Woohoo! Middle Earth fangirls unite! Truly awesome post! :)
ReplyDeleteYESHHH!
DeleteAlso, thank you :)
DeleteLovely post! It made me smile and even tear up a little. :) I also watched the LOTR films for the first time when I was about 11. It was kind of a thing with me and my dad, because my mom isn't crazy about the films (she doesn't care for all the battle scenes, though she has gone with us to see the Hobbit films at the theater). We used to have LOTR marathons every so often. Then I went through a phase when I was about 13 or 14 when I was absolutely obsessed with all things LOTR. Posters in my room, pictures plastered on my school folders and notebooks, etc. That was probably around the time when I read the entire trilogy through (first and only time I've made it to the third book so far).
ReplyDeleteI was too young to see the trilogy in theaters the first time, so I've really loved seeing the Hobbit films in theaters. I don't approve of all of Peter Jackson's changes and additions and I wish he had kept more of the lighter, whimsical feel of the book, but I've still enjoyed the movies and I can't wait to see the last one.
And I'm definitely rereading the Hobbit and the LOTR trilogy this year. It's time. :)
(It's taken me much longer to write this comment than it should have because I keep getting distracted by all of that adorable winking happening just above the comment box. :)
Thank you so much for this sweet comment! That's all really awesome :) I'm hoping to reread The Hobbit this year, too! I hope you enjoy reading them again!
Delete(Agghhh I know I stared at that gif longer than I'd care to admit.)
Middle Earth for the win!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to hear for once that somebody else comment on the fact that though The Hobbit movies are nothing like the book, both things are still wonderful in their own sense. I'm as well both a Pete & Tolkien fan. =)
Love your blog, by the way. This is my first time commenting. :}
~Adaline
Yes! Very well put. I'm usually a book-purist, but in this case I can just love the movies for what they are.
DeleteThank you so much for commenting!
Okay, I was so excited when I saw this post! I'd say that my biggest fandom is LOTR/The Hobbit, and I love it when people feel the same about them. I think I was twelve when I read the books first, and finally, when I was thirteen, my mom let me watch the movies. (She really isn't into action adventure movies, so it was kinda' a big deal for me. (-; ) Uggggg... Isn't LOTR sooooooo beautiful?! Like, I can't even...
ReplyDeleteAnd great thoughts on The Hobbit. That is almost exactly how I feel about it! There are some aspects about the movie that I wish Peter Jackson had stayed truer to the book in, but honestly, I'm not a complete Tolkien purest. I like Tauriel and I like how more characters were focused on in the movies. It made me more emotionally attached and I walked away from the cinema speechless and with watery eyes. Gosh, I should really go see it again! Peter Jackson has an amazing imagination and all of his movies are stunning. (Though I have to agree with you, LOTR will always be the best. (-;) Sorry about my long gushing comments. Sometimes I get a bit carried away... Happy (late) New Year by the way (-:
Yes yes yes! We're kindred spirits for sure :)
DeleteThanks for this comment! Happy late New Year to you, too!
Yes, LoTR and the Hobbit! I'm going to miss the series... I've read a bit of the Hobbit, but haven't read LoTR, and watched all of the movies... And my friend, who is the biggest LoTR and Ender's Game fan out there, sat me down in a chair and began to have a conversation resembling to one that teachers are trying to be gentle to get a really burning point through my head. I planning on reading it over summer break, though!
ReplyDeletexoxo Morning
http://theworldthroughmywindowsill.blogspot.com
Haha! :) I'm going to miss them too. I hope you love the books!
DeleteI just watched The Fellowship Of the Ring with my family last week, so this post made me smile. I haven't seen the new movies for The Hobbit yet, but I enjoyed all the LOTR books. The movies are a bit long for me - but you are right, the setting is fantastic. Just fantastic. Great post.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sus!
DeleteOh my goodness, I love the Hobbit movies! I'm about halfway through the book and I also love that. I was actually meaning to read the book first, but we ended up doing a Hobbit movie marathon. (Which was amazing!) Now to watch the LOTR movies! (Going to attempt to read the books as well but I've heard they are quite a hard read...)
ReplyDeleteWhat was your favourite Hobbit movie? I think mineis probably Battle of the Five Armies, but they are all good!
Loved the blog post! :)
P.S. Sorry if this comment comes up twice, I posted it before but wasnt sure if it worked...
Ooo, a marathon? I bet that was awesome!
DeleteI'd say my favorite Hobbit movie is BOFA. I always love the finales the best :)
Seriously, guys, what are you looking at? Is Thranduil being fabulous again? = hehe, exactly. :D
ReplyDeleteI love that picture of the cast and Jackson. :)
xx
Haha, Thranduil is epic :D Thanks for commenting!
Deletethe bae. 'nuff said. THE BAE.
ReplyDelete*long drawn-out sigh*
Also, John Watson/Bilbo makes my heart happy. I love this post and I love people who are cooky about fandoms and old books/movies and dragons and good actors and Sherlock, *cries because I'm tired and Christmas break is over*
this is beautiful.
Thanks, Olivia!! Thanks for appreciating the cookiness. ;)
DeleteI do love LOTR and The Hobbit but...but I feel like I'm not a really good fan so I feel bad about ever flailing! I only read The Fellowship and I didn't really like it. *cries* SO I FEEL LIKE A BAD FAN, YES? I do love the movies though. I was obsessed with them and was so so desperate to write a fantasy series that would live up to LOTR. Or Narnia. I think I'm 98% a Narnia fan. ;-)
ReplyDeleteBut I still want to see the last hobbit movie!
Peter Jackson obviously has amazing and endless creativity...even if I half the time call him Percy Jackson. My bad. xD
HEY! All fans are equal. You have the right to flail as much as the next person. :D thanks for commenting!
Deletehahahha..the end... ;) you're hilarious and adorable. and this post was amazing.
ReplyDeleteHehe! That's so sweet, Abbey! Thank you!
DeleteAhh Hannah, I love this post! I'm still walllowing in post-Middle-Earth sadness right now. When we went to see BOFA we were the last to leave and as we were almost at the door Billy Boyd sings "I bid you all a very fond farewell..." Ugh. Feels. COME BACK TO NEW ZEALAND AND LIVE AS HOBBITS AMONG US. It's sad because having these movies filmed here have become a huge part of our culture and it's sad to think that the filming and premieres and all that are over. (And that Martin and Aidan and Richard will most likely never live here again. Apparently Orlando Bloom will, though, so there's still hope.)
ReplyDeleteThanks for putting up a picture of the bae. Also, wise move not posting any pics of Thranduil. I don't think Blogger is adequately prepared to handle that much fabulousness.
P.S. Also when you come visit me, we can hike the Tongariro Crossing. It's 19.4 km but you end up at the base of Mt Doom. WE CAN SIMPLY WALK INTO MORDOR.
CAN'T WAIT TO SIMPLY WALK INTO MORDOR WITH YOU.
DeleteThis is a really sweet comment :) I love how NZ embraced the fact that they are thought of as Middle Earth now. Super cool country. :)
Loved this post. =)
ReplyDeleteLOVE THIS POST! Middle-earth is my home. I love your blog, dear. :)
ReplyDeleteThis was the best. ♥♥♥ LOTR is the best. Oh, and while sometimes I'm such a snobby Tolkien purist, I LOVED BOFA. Like, loved. It was so courageous, and good, and heroic, and brave, and... and... *runs for the thesaurus*. When the evil seems impossible to fight, and the odds overwhelm you, you don't run, you stand and fight.
ReplyDeleteAND THE LAST GOODBYE AHHHHHHH.