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I read "The Hobbit" when I was very young, and then again when I got older, and found new things to appreciate. I tried reading LOTR when I was younger and got lost. Then, after watching the first LOTR movie (FOTR), I went back and tried reading LOTR again, and this time, I understood it more and appreciated it for what it is. There are some very long sequences that I still skimped through (Tom Bombadil and the Tombs come to mind), but other than that, I got through it all.

Why? I think that Peter Jackson's films manage to bring LOTR to life, which helped to visualise some of the characters as I read the books. If a character wasn't in the films, that's fine - I just used my imagination.

But don't get me started on the Hobbit films ... oh boy. Dwarves bathing in the Imladris fountain, dwarves in barrels fighting against orcs, and dwarves in the Lonely Mountain recreating a giant gold statue of a dwarf - which then melts and falls on top of Smaug. And he shakes it off. Not to mention Legolas jumping up stairs in the air. That just didn't work for me - it felt like PJ putting it in because it looked cool. As for the female elf (I forget her name) and her romance with Fili (or was it Kili) - it just felt contrived.

The rest of the film made sense, though. It just felt like PJ tried to do too much - i.e. the "silly dwarf" scenes (e.g. barrel rolls, fountain-bath, gold statue) were designed for kids who'd go "Wow, dad! Cool!!!", and the serious/horror scenes (e.g. Gandalf in Mirkwood, Gandalf captured by the incarnation of Sauron, Gandalf before the gates of the Lonely Mountain) were for people who had read the Silmarillion.

In short, I think PJ couldn't figure out who his audience was - so the films did too much, which irritated the people who knew the book back to front. I hope that made sense - it feels like I just ranted a little (sorry!) *blush*

The 70s Rankin & Bass Hobbit cartoon was the best version. It also has the best music.

These were the versions I grew up on. Still own the VHS tape, simply because it's sentimental to me.

Tawmis wrote: ↑Fri Apr 19, 2019 3:11 am These were the versions I grew up on. Still own the VHS tape, simply because it's sentimental to me.

It had the coolest sound effects! I was crushed to learn that when I bought the DVD release that it had remixed all the audio and left out 80% of all those great sound effects. That pushed me to search for and eventually discover the "Hi-Fi Hobbit" project which combined the high fidelity of the DVD video with the original audio in best possible format. The music and speech isn't as nice, but the sound effects are intact!

Tawmis wrote: ↑Fri Apr 19, 2019 3:16 am The question is - would you say someone was WRONG for disagreeing with you?
Or would you just accept that's their opinion?

I wouldn't say they're wrong. I am very particular and precise with my use of the word "disagree." I would only accept an informed opinion, though.

I certainly would want to know more about why. I wouldn't normally just accept it and move on without any conversation. Especially if I feel like a group of people are being misrepresented. Plus, geek-based conversations are right up my alley.