Why didn’t they show that? It was the whole point of having the Hobbits travel and grow!!!
3 Likes
I think it was only aluded to in visions?
Honestly I think they did a marvellous job with cutting down the books to three massive films and I am positive there’s a lot more material they’ve shot then we have seen so far. Couldn’t tell you about their motivation though. I am sure there’s youtube movies describing that process.
1 Like
I can think of no real reason to not let the kids watch those movies.My youngest did and I have no reason to regret allowing it. Hobbit series, then Lord of the Rings.
2 Likes
You need to know your kids. Some can watch it at 10 years of age and enjoy it, for others is overwhelming.
My father had me watching a number of movies that were not appropriate for my age back then and it did affect me.
I try not to do that with my kids.
5 Likes
I watched the friday the 13th movie when I was 8 at my cousin’s house. I didn’t sleep for weeks.
I would go BALLISTIC if someone did that to my kids
6 Likes
Anyone noticed how different any combat scenes are between the books and the movies? In the books I found most fights to be quite scary and hoped that it’d be over soon. In the movies they are often typical slugfests without any fear of the main actors succumbing to overwhelming numbers.
1 Like
So I’m one of those people that tried reading The Hobbit like 5 times and could never get through it. Something about the writing style just never clicked with me. So when LOTR was originally released I had zero idea what to expect and I instantly fell in love with the series. In fact, I was so excited after watching the first film that I dragged my wife to see it the very next day and she also loved it.
Anyway, when the Hobbit was released I had a lot of anticipation in seeing it based off my experiences with LOTR and when I saw the first movie of The Hobbit series I came away a little disappointed and thought perhaps the other two films would not be worth seeing either. Luckily I was wrong and the other two films in the series were better IMO.
The point of my post is I’m glad many of you loved the books and recommend trying them first. As somebody who generally loves to read (when I make time to do so), that’s what I would attempt to do first before seeing the films as well because generally books are better than films. However, in this case I’m glad Peter Jackson brought the stories to the big screen because without them I’d have no idea what a great series I’d have missed out on.
Agree with others to find the extended version of LOTR if you can. As for appropriateness for a 12 and 10 year old, I’d say the 12 year old will be fine but it might be a bit heavy for the 10 year old, but only a parent can be the final call on that knowing their own kids.
2 Likes
That’s section 4 of my Peter Jackson rant. I really should just write it all down.
Definitely a very, very strong reason for reading the books.
2 Likes
I would just watch them in the order they were made. If you know nothing about Tolkein or his books then you won’t get hung up about if things were missed out. Just enjoy the films for what they are which is a massive adventure story with lots of funny creatures interacting and beating the crap out of one another.
Even historical dramas and films rarely capture how it really was in real life so don’t worry too much about fiction.
5 Likes
I once watched Deliverance with my Mother, I was about 14 at the time neither of us had seen it and the embarrassment when I realised what the “Squeal like a pig boy” scene was about. I carry that with me even after all this time 30 years, be careful what you let those boys watch too soon mate 
3 Likes
This is true, but I would suggest that it also depends on the child too. We allowed my younger son to watch movies that we would not let our older son watch. The younger one was just more apt at separating movies from reality. I’m not saying that he was more “mature” than the older, just better able to handle it.
As far as the movies go, considering how much time you have on hand, I think I would watch the Hobbit first, though I agree it’s not AS good an adaptation as TLoTR, it’s still a good movie. If your kids like fantasy themed stuff, they will like it. Smaug is played very well by Benedict Cumberbatch.
1 Like
Good point. I first read the Hobbit and LoTR when I was 12 and have read them many times since. I even read the Silmarillian once! One of those reads was my wife and I reading them to my first born son when he was an infant.
I was always trying to get people to read them, but few actually would, so when the movies came out and were so popular I felt a little better.
I remember seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark with a friend when I was a kid. The face melting scene when they open the ark had my jaw on the floor. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I looked over at my friend and he had his shirt pulled up over his head. 
2 Likes
There is a Hobbit Trilogy? Who knew?
That’s exactly what I wrote later.
You quoted it two posts up here.
1 Like
Sorry, too much coffee. And not enough discipline to read the entire thread before posting.
1 Like
Um…that’s not really a thing is it? I mean it can’t be! 
1 Like
It’s understood.
LOTR is a Wagner opera.
The Hobbit is a Zeppelin Song.