FIRST TIME Watching The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | REACTION & REVIEW 

Our Journey into this magical world continues, now through the eyes of Bilbo! Want to watch the next 2 Hobbit Movie reactions EARLY and access our UNCUT reactions? Join us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/spartanandpudgey

This comes up a lot. The eagles are not wild animals, but a kingdom unto themselves. They wouldn't permit themselves to be used as horses any more than elves or dwarves would. They do favors for friend Gandalf but even that goes just so far. They would not agree to carry a mob of dwarves cross-country, just so the dwarves could save time. In the books the eagles speak, but this aspect of them is left out of the movies.

one of the reasons gandalf wanted to help the dwarves was that he suspected Sauron will be back and he wanted to avoid Smaug joining the dark lord in the war to come

You have to remember the Ring has a will of its own, Gollum didn't drop it by accident, it abandoned him, the wording specific that it made itself fall out of his pocket, the same way it found a way to end up on Bilbo's finger, to make him see its power, to make him think its useful, because it being used will get Sauron's attention eventually

The main separation between Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings is that the Hobbit was originally a bedtime story that Tolkien told his kids that he just eventually wrote down and published. Its much simpler in scale, go sneak in a dragon ruled mountain and steal his gold, and the journey getting there. Lord of the Rings is the more grand sequel that Tolkien wrote almost 20 years later

You get to see Balin and Ori alive! When the Fellowship got down into the mines of Moria, Balin (the white haired dwarf) was the tomb in the chamber that caused Gimli the most distress and Ori (the young one with the bowl cut and strong knitwear game) was the one who wrote everything down until the moment he died so that whoever found them would have a record.

Fun fact about the Hobbiton set; for LOTR the set was only temporary (like most movie sets) and was demolished after they wrapped. When they came back to film The Hobbit trilogy the land owner only agreed to them rebuilding the set if it was made permanent for them to use as a tourist attraction.

"Why does the dragon want gold?" Tolkien was a literary scholar, so he drew inspiration from European myths and legends. In Europe, dragons traditionally represented the worst sins, including and especially gluttony and greed. Dragons would desolate an area, then plunder as much treasure as possible to hoard in their cave. They'd then slumber upon it, and guard it fiercely. They might also demand that surrounding villages or kingdoms pay them tribute of more treasure and/or maiden sacrifices under threat of their homes being destroyed and their crops burned.

Regardless of any of the production problems, the CASTING was fantastic. Absolutely love Martin Freeman as Bilbo

Fun fact: that scene with the mountain trolls is exactly the same story old Bilbo was telling the kids at the beginning of Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship of the ring.

It never ceases to amaze me that Tolkien was born in 1892! He started telling the Hobbit to his four children when he was 38. The book wasn't published until 1937. I found it in the 1960s in the school library and he became my favorite author. ❤ The dwarf Gloin in the Hobbit was Gimli's father.

The Hobbit story is set 60 years before the Lord of the Rings story. Bilbo had the One Ring for that long after finding it in Gollums cave and then leaving it to Frodo. Bearing the Ring for 60 years seemed to have only prolonged Bilbo's life. In the Lord of the Rings Story, Frodo held the Ring for just over a year before it was destroyed. However, Smeagol held the One Ring for 500 years, which is why it consumed him, turning him into the creature Gollum.

Saruman wasn't corrupted at this point (the One Ring was thought to be lost as of now), but he was always prideful. On how he got to be corrupted: Saruman wasn't just interested in Ring-lore, he was categorically obsessed with it, and was the undisputed master of it by the time of the War of the Ring (barring those who had participated in their creation, i.e. the Elves and Sauron himself). He was not unlike a scientist who, through exposure to whatever disease they are trying to cure, ends up contracting that very disease. Like some research scientists of today, he was very much detached from the real world and dealing entirely with abstractions. Instead of mentally living in an ivory tower, he literally resided in the impregnable tower of Orthanc. This is in stark contrast to Gandalf, who was much more of a field operative. Saruman likely thought of himself as the ultimate realist, seeking to fight fire with fire.

The eagles are not there to carry people around at any moment,they are emissaries of Manwe (Gandalf's boss we can say in a very superficial way). We saw them helping people 3 times: 1. Gwaihir (the chief of the eagles) helped Gandalf at Isengard because he owed him a favour 2. They helped in the final battle at the Black Gate because it was the decisive moment for Middle Earth 3. In this movie they helped the hobbits because they were very near their nests and they could see the flames and the orcs singing,so they went to see what was happening and,hating the orcs,they helped Gandalf and the dwarves

Some people seem to think that the eagles are like a taxi service. They are their own faction. With their own wants and desires and hierarchy.

In the book, the song the dwarves sing in Bilbo's house (Misty Mountains Cold) is what actually convinces him to join them. In that moment he felt all of their ambition and desire to get their home back and it also awakened the Took side of himself that longed for adventure and exploration. They did it perfectly in the films, it's not just a pretty song, you FEEL it like Bilbo did.

The extended edition of this movie also tells the backstory why Thranduril wouldn't help the dwarves. Several years earlier, he had commissioned the dwarves to take the White Gems of Lasgalen and fashion them into a necklace for his wife. Depending on who's telling the story, Thror either decided to keep the jewels for himself or because the Elves short-changed them on payment. This is the scene where the elves are visiting Thror in the beginning.

Gloin is Gimli's dad, and was at the counsel of Elrond in the first LOTR movie.

For all the shortcomings of the Hobbit movies, the "riddles in the dark" scene really is excellent 😊

The difference between LotR and the Hobbit is also so clearly visible in the BTS documentaries. Where those for LotR just like pure magic and you could see the joy and craftmanship of all the people involved, you just see a completely different mood for the Hobbit ones. Ian McKellen breaking down in from of a greenscreen is so heartbreaking. And the pressure on Peter Jackson was so immense, it's really an accomplishment on its own that he managed to finish 3 movies that were practically forced on him.

The eagles can't be commanded. They are servants of the Valar, and when they do stuff it's effectively divine intervention. When they come in the Hobbit, they just happened to be passing by at the time so help them. In the Lord of the Rings when Gandalf is stuck in the tower, Gwahir, the lord of the eagles owes Gandalf so helps him out

Bilbo's mother was Belladonna Took. She also happens to be Frodo's grandaunt, and great grandaunt of Merry and Pippen. The Took family was considered strange by other hobbits because they regularly went on adventures.

For the record, the chapter from the book called Riddles in the dark, aka the part with Gollum and the riddles, is literally an insanely good adaptation. Best part of the entire trilogy when it comes to adapting it perfectly. Amazing.

A lot of people didn't believe The Hobbit would be as good as LOTR... This was so sad and it affected Richard Armitage, the actor who played Thorin because it put a lot of pressure on him since he was a very important character in this trilogy. In the bts of the first Hobbit, you can see him avoid the camera, he was sitting alone trying to revise his lines, he would hide from anything that could show him off to the world because he knew how fans can be and he didn't want to fail them if he didn't do a good job. I am saying all this to say that no matter the connection between the worlds, The Hobbit can stand on its own feet as a trilogy, It may not be as grand and amazing as LOTR but it is awesome in its own way. As a fan of both the books and movies, I can differentiate and appreciate the two trilogies for what they are, hope others can do the same, and as always thank you guys for deciding to do a reaction to these movies as well!

The giant spiders are all related, they are all spawns of Ungoliant, an ancient evil ( long story ). These are more distant related, but Shelob from LOTR was closer to Ungoliant. And god I love how Galadriel shows up 😁

The reason Gandalf doesn't use magic is basically two reasons. One is that he is basically a demi-god sent down from the heavens to guide and protect everything Good in Middle Earth not directly influence the world with his magic. He basically isn't allowed to use them all the time. Second is its very taxing and draining to use it.

The friction between the elves and dwarves actually started way earlier in the first age. The elven king Thingol had a silmaril, one of the 3 most beautiful jewels in the world made from the last of the earlier light, full of power so they were tempting kind of like The Ring. King Thingol hired some dwarves to fix the Silmaril into another piece of jewelry he could wear around his neck, but when the dwarves had completed it they demanded to get the necklace as payment for the job. Completely unfair ofc, they basically just wanted to rob him of the Silmaril. Thingol obviously got mad but the dwarves didn't care and assassinated him then ran off with the Silmaril. Ever since elves and dwarves have had bad blood.

You guys are so wholesome, I really appreciate how genuine you are for us.

One thing to remember is that Gimli introduced himself as "Son of Gloin" and that Gloin is in this series.

"Home is behind, the world ahead" you may recognize this as part of the song Pippin sung when Faramir rode to certain death. Also, in case you didn't realize, Balin, the old dwarf, is the same Balin whose tomb Gimli weeps over in lord of the rings. And Ori, the young dwarf, is if I remember correctly the dwarf holding the book. The reason the wizards don't use more of their powers is, to make a long story short, because they are not allowed. In middle-earth wizards aren't humans who learned magic, they're Maiar, angelic beings who sang alongside Eru Iluvatar, the one true god, and the valar, the greater spirits/gods, when they sang all of creation into being. After the song was sung and given shape by Eru iluvatar the Valar and the Maiar went into the world to see what they had created. The Valar reside in Valinor, over the seas to the west. A lot of stuff happened that I wont go into but long story short, the way to valinor was cut off and the world made round so that none could sail to valinor, they'd instead end up in the east. Only the Elves can sail the straight way, essentially sailing out of our dimension and fading away into Valinor. When Melkor, the true enemy was defeated, Sauron, his lieutenant, took up the mantle of the dark lord. Again a lot happened, but eventually he forged the one ring, around this time the Istari, the 5 wizards, came to middle-earth to help the free peoples in their fight against Sauron. Now the reason they don't use magic to solve all of mankinds problems is because that is not their purpose. It is not the job of the Maiar to wave away all of our problems, like parents they are there to guide their children, but ultimately they are just there to oversee the children as they grow. Gandalf will not fight our battles for us, it is our own duty, and through fulfilling it mankind can grow into his own, as we see with Aragorn for instance. The reason he became the man we was meant to be, is BECAUSE Gandalf didn't do everything for him. Gandalf merely advises, and guides, and is very limited in what he's allowed to do. In fact, he only has a fraction of his power on middle-earth, when he is sent back as gandalf the white he is sent back with a bit more, as to fulfill his purpose. The reason Gandalf does more when he fights for instance the balrog is because the Balrog, like Gandalf, is a Maiar, a fallen one. If Gandalf is an angel, then the balrog is a fallen angel, a demon. Many Maiar were on the side of Melkor at the time. Since the Balrog is a maiar, like gandalf, and not a mortal threat, it is not really something mortals can be expected to fight, it's not exactly their duty, that duty falls on Gandalf. This is also why he can fight Saruman using magic, since Saruman too as an Istari. When Gandalf leaves Frodo with the ring, it takes 17 years before he comes back. Bilbos 111th birthday was at the same time as Frodos' 33rd birthday party (the age hobbits come of age). When Frodo leave the shire on the quest for the ring he is 50, the same age bilbo was on his adventure, and the entire adventure takes 13 months. When Frodo meets Bilbo again in Rivendell they haven't seen each other for 17 years, which is why he seems so much older, Bilbo is 128. Bilbo is 131 when he sails away from middle-earth, being the oldest hobbit in history, beating out the old took who only managed 130.

All of the blades forged in Gondolin-like Sting, Bilbo's/Frodo's sword, as well as Glamdring, Gandalf's sword, and Orcrist, Thorin's-should glow blue like Sting. Gondolin was one of the great elf kingdoms in the First Age, when there was still a lot of magic left on the world, and many of the elves of Gondolin were Noldor born in Valinor during the Years of the Trees, and have immense power. The elves of Gondolin had such hatred of the orcs that they effectively forged that hatred into their swords, which is what makes them glow blue in the presence of orcs. Glamdring, the sword Gandalf has, was made for Turgon, the king of Gondolin, and one of the High Kings of the Noldor, who was incredibly powerful. He was the second son of Fingolfin, who himself was one of the most powerful elves to have ever existed, who fought in single combat against Morgoth, the first dark lord-Sauron's master, basically Satan, the guy who made the dragons like Smaug, and managed to wound and permanently maime him. Turgon was also very powerful, though not as ating as his father. He ended up being killed during the seige of Gondolin, along with many other great elf lords, such as Ecthelion, who killed the lord ofbthe Balrogs-Gothmog, as the cost of his own life. It's possible that Orcrist, Thorin's sword, may have been the sword of Ecthelion, especially given how well known the sword is by the orcs, and how Ecthelion and his House were said to have slaightered the most orcs during the seige of anyone ever, so they would have reason to hate the blade.

The Tooks are one of the larger, more influential families of the Shire. They are also known for being more adventurous and unpredictable than most other hobbits. It is said that one of the ancestors of the clan might once have taken a "fairy" wife, probably just a hobbit way of explaining away their "un-hobbitlike" traits. The Old Took, head of the clan, is a friend of Gandalf's, and various young Tooks have been known to go off and have adventures from time to time. Peregrin "Pippin" Took was a young cousin of Bilbo and Frodo's, and definitely had all the Tookish tendencies in abundance, but without any tempering wisdom at the beginning of their adventure ("fool of a Took!"). Bilbo's mother was "the fabulous Belladonna Took", who married the very staid and sober Bungo Baggins. The Baggins family was known for being extremely respectable and predictable ("you knew what a Baggins would say about anything without the bother of asking him"). So Bilbo is half Took and half Baggins. The beginning scenes where Gandalf is trying to enlist Bilbo in his adventure and Bilbo is against it and then changes his mind at the last minute are described in the book as being a battle between his Baggins side ("no adventures thank you, nasty uncomfortable things, make you late for dinner") and his Took side (He suddenly wanted to go on adventures and carry a sword instead of a walking stick). His Tookish side won.

The riddles in the dark scene, with Gollum and Bilbo, is one of my favorite parts of this trilogy. My absolute favorite is every scene with Smaug in it, because I just absolutely love his voice and presence. Can't wait to see your reaction to the next two films! 💙

This is by far the best hobbit movie, its basically a shot for shot adaptation of the book this far (the third movie is like the last 40 pages of the book or something while this is like half the book)

Just so you know. Hobbits are very conservative folk. Most of them like the way of life they live (which is definitely worth liking) and they are very suspicious of these "adventures". Persons like Bilbo or Frodo, who went on exploring the world behind Shire are quite rare exceptions to the rule and most of the hobbits don't appreciate their ways :) Most of hobbits live and die in the same land, without seeing what's behind it.

If you remember from LOTR Gimli had said we can go through the mines of Moria, my cousin Balin would give us a warm welcome. Or something like that. But Balin is his cousin. And he’s introduced in LOTR as Gimli son of Gloin. So Gloin is his father

Oddly, I actually saw the Hobbit first. It made me fall in love with the world. I enjoy LOTR much more, but these movies are still great to me and have an awesome overall story. Well worth watching. Happy you like them

I laughed seing again Pudgey saying things before the film says exacly the same sentence few seconds after. Nice reaction. 😉

The Hobbit trilogy ends with a song sung by the actor of Pippin. The song is amazing and i recommend that you watch the official version instead of the movie version. In the official version they made a ending video that is a mix of behind the scenes from the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It always hits me in the feels and it make it feel like a good farewel to the entire world and series.

I love how Erebor in the prologue looks majestic and the armors of dwarves also look majestic :)

Aragorn was probably an adult in this timeframe. Remember, he rode to West with Eowyn's grandfather. He's pretty long lived.

I enjoy how you guys get pumped up by Gandalf's presence. It's very fitting for his ring, Narya, as it's the Ring of Fire, and its "special power" if you will is like a boost of courage to people around Gandalf.

@10:26 this scene was invented for the movie and serves as the "nudge" Gandalf mentions to Frodo during their first scene in The Fellowship of the Ring. "If you're referring to the business with the dragon, I was barely involved. All I did was give your uncle a little nudge out of the door." In the book, The Hobbit, Gandalf literally did nudge Bilbo out the door to catch up with the dwarves. When they were busy adapting the book into screenplay form, they decided to have Gandalf give Bilbo a metaphorical nudge instead so that Bilbo then makes up his own mind to go after the dwarves the next morning. A stronger character moment for him.

Just realised that Gandalf saying "home is behind, the world is ahead" is the same as the first lines of Pippins song in Return of the King.

That small gesture of mercy towards Gollum was what stopped the ring from consuming Bilbo as it did him.

Spartan, the song played at the end of this film (at the beginning of the credits) is called "Song of the Lonely Mountain." It is sung by Neil Finn. The music of that song serves as the primary Dwarves' theme in the films. It's a great song with amazing lyrics! You should give it a listen!

If you haven't already, I'd advise checking out the extended scenes on youtube. There's a really sweet one in Rivendell between Bilbo and Elrond, where Elrond tells Bilbo he is welcome to stay there if he wants. When you've seen that - it makes a bit more sense that Bilbo tries to go back there before Bofur catches him.

Tolkien was not a writer by profession, but a Professor of Old English at Oxford. He had written a book earlier, The Silmarillion, which was a collection of stories about Middle Earth. This was in the 20's and no publisher was interested in publishing because there wasn't much interest in fantasy literature. There was some by Lord Dunsany, William Morris and others but they were not widely popular. Tolkien was grading some his student's tests when he wrote the opening sentence to The Hobbit," In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit." on a blank page. He later filled out the rest of the story and read it to his children, who loved the story and said he should show his publisher. The publisher showed it to his young son who also loved it. The Hobbit was published in 1937 and became a best selling children's book and received many awards not only in the UK but also in the US. So, the publisher told Tolkien he should write a sequel. It took Tolkien over seven years to write The Lord Of The Rings. At first the story was about Bilbo returning the ring with the help of a lot of other hobbits. He would get to the part of the story were they meet the Black Riders and he would stop not knowing who they were. Not being a writer, he would put the story aside and then start over at the begining. Eventually after four or five tries, he changed Bilbo returning the ring to Frodo and reduce the group to five, Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin and Fatty Bolger(who was left out of the movie) and he realize that the story could fit in his Middle Earth creation and the Black Riders were controlled by Sauron. When he finished the novel it was about a thousand pages long. This was just after WW2, the publisher said we can't publish a novel this size and expect to sell it. So, Tolkien broke up the novel into three sections, the first was published in 1954 and each a year after to generally good reviews. In the 60's is when the popularity took off and has remained so ever since.

Bilbo never had the Eye of Sauron on him while wearing The Ring like Frodo, which is the reason it had less of an effect on him mentally. The Ring knew Frodo was trying to destroy it and was trying it’s best to corrupt him.

this movie has the best casting ever, Lee Pace as Thranduil? damn awesome.

Great reaction as always and your review was fair. A note on wizards: It would be cool to see more of their magic but it’s just good storytelling that there isn’t a magical solution to everything and they share in the stakes. While technically among the most powerful beings in Middle Earth - they were sent to advise and cultivate relations rather than to interfere with their magic. One of the things - if not the thing - that corrupts Saruman is the excessive use of his powers.

The misty mountains song wasn’t the whole song. Here. I’ll show you: “Far over the Misty Mountains cold, To dungeons deep and caverns old, We must away, ere break of day, To seek our pale enchanted gold. The dwarves of yore made mighty spells, While hammers fell like ringing bells, In places deep, where dark things sleep, In hollow halls beneath the fells. For ancient king and elvish lord There many a gleaming golden hoard They shaped and wrought, and light they caught, To hide in gems on hilt of sword. On silver necklaces they strung The flowering stars, on crowns they hung The dragon-fire, on twisted wire They meshed the light of moon and sun. Far over the Misty Mountains cold, To dungeons deep and caverns old, We must away, ere break of day, To claim our long-forgotten gold. Goblets they carved there for themselves, And harps of gold, where no man delves There lay they long, and many a song Was sung unheard by men or elves. The pines were roaring on the heights, The wind was moaning in the night, The fire was red, it flaming spread, The trees like torches blazed with light. The bells were ringing in the dale, And men looked up with faces pale. The dragon's ire, more fierce than fire, Laid low their towers and houses frail. The mountain smoked beneath the moon. The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom. They fled the hall to dying fall Beneath his feet, beneath the moon. Far over the Misty Mountains grim, To dungeons deep and caverns dim, We must away, ere break of day, To win our harps and gold from him! The wind was on the withered heath, But in the forest stirred no leaf: There shadows lay be night or day, And dark things silent crept beneath. The wind came down from mountains cold, And like a tide it roared and rolled. The branches groaned, the forest moaned, And leaves were laid upon the mould. The wind went on from West to East; All movement in the forest ceased. But shrill and harsh across the marsh, Its whistling voices were released. The grasses hissed, their tassels bent, The reeds were rattling-on it went. O'er shaken pool under heavens cool, Where racing clouds were torn and rent. It passed the Lonely Mountain bare, And swept above the dragon's lair: There black and dark lay boulders stark, And flying smoke was in the air. It left the world and took its flight Over the wide seas of the night. The moon set sale upon the gale, And stars were fanned to leaping light. Under the Mountain dark and tall, The King has come unto his hall! His foe is dead, the Worm of Dread, And ever so his foes shall fall! The sword is sharp, the spear is long, The arrow swift, the Gate is strong. The heart is bold that looks on gold; The dwarves no more shall suffer wrong. The dwarves of yore made mighty spells, While hammers fell like ringing bells In places deep, where dark things sleep, In hollow halls beneath the fells. On silver necklaces they strung The light of stars, on crowns they hung The dragon-fire, from twisted wire The melody of harps they wrung. The mountain throne once more is freed! O! Wandering folk, the summons heed! Come haste! Come haste! Across the waste! The king of friend and kin has need. Now call we over the mountains cold, 'Come back unto the caverns old!' Here at the gates the king awaits, His hands are rich with gems and gold. The king has come unto his hall Under the Mountain dark and tall. The Worm of Dread is slain and dead, And ever so our foes shall fall! Farewell we call to hearth and hall! Though wind may blow and rain may fall, We must away, ere break of day Far over the wood and mountain tall. To Rivendell, where Elves yet dwell In glades beneath the misty fell. Through moor and waste we ride in haste, And whither then we cannot tell. With foes ahead, behind us dread, Beneath the sky shall be our bed, Until at last our toil be passed, Our journey done, our errand sped. We must away! We must away! We ride before the break of day!”

"Here lies Balin, Lord of Moria." remember this from the Fellowship? Gimli and Balin are cousins.

I don't know if anyone else has pointed it out to you guys, but the Great Goblin - the big, fat Goblin king - was voiced by Barry Humphries, the late great Dame Edna.

it's important to remember that Hobbit was written for Tolkien's own kids & Lord of the Rings was written years later, decades before any other fantasy series still remembered in the internet era, D&D was a generation later, Game of Thrones book 1 was a generation after that.

I just realized "Home is behind" and "The world is ahead" was close to the lyrics Pippin sang to Denethor. Idk how I missed that.

-The time that Gandalf was away researching the ring in the "Fellowship of the Rings" was 17 years. Bilbo's birthday party was also Frodo's birthday. Frodo was 33 years old. When he left on the quest of the fellowship 17 years later, he was 50 years old, the same age as Bilbo when he left on his adventure with the dwarves. -At the beginning of "Fellowship" 60 years has passed since the time of Bilbo's adventure. -The trolls in "The Hobbit" (Tom, Bert and William) were mountain trolls. The troll in "Fellowship" was a cave troll, not as advanced as mountain trolls. -The cave with the trap doors in the floor was the goblins "back door", that is why the floor could open up like it did.

Oh, S&P, The Hobbit movies are a lot of fun! As a 50 years long fan of Tolkien's books I could nit pick these movies to death for the numerous diversions from the actual text, but once you let that stuff go and just embrace the fun, these movies really are a good time. Just remember, The Hobbit is a children's book. It's really just an elaborate fairy tale so there's more humor and charm here than you'll be familiar with from LOTR. Just have fun with it. Oh, and do always bear in mind when you talk about "tropes", Tolkien basically created the tropes. Seriously. He took the themes he knew and loved from medieval heroic literature (Saxon, Nordic, Celtic) and he basically created what we recognize today as the modern fantasy genre. The Hobbit is where it all began. 🙂

1:04:00 In regards to the ring's influence on Bilbo vs on Frodo: Remember this takes place place before Sauron really comes back into Power ... This is not really explained in the films, but in the books, Bilbo mentions that recently when he used the Ring he felt as if someone was watching him, something he didn't feel from the first times he used the ring

So excited for this!!!!! Let's go guys :) grabbin popcorn and some butter, kicking out my flip flops and it's time to enjoy! Please DO consider bringing other movies also in the future after The Hobbit trilogy!! there are so many I'd love you to react to

Smaug remains the best CGI dragon in the history of cinema !

Smaug was the last dragon alive at this time in Middle-Earth. And he was the smallest there had ever been. Ancalagon the Black was described as being the size of a mountain.

1:04:34 - The scene at the end of Lord of the Rings, where the four Hobbits return home and have trouble living back in normal life, was written by Tolkien from the perspective of Veterans returning home from war and the troubles they have adjusting to life. Tolkien was a veteran of the war himself and Lord of the Rings was sort of metaphorical of the changes he personally saw - his idyllic youthful carefree life, the terrors of war, then returning home to a world that changed because of industrialization.

I'm excited y'all are watching this trilogy!

So glad you are doing the hobbits. I love them!! Are they as good as lord of the rings? Hell no. Are they good as their own films. Hell yes. Do they take you on a adventure that you can enjoy from beginning to end? Absolutely. Can't wait to see more films with you guys ☺️

Just for Spartan: You absolutely used the word “disparity” correctly. Congratulations on sounding smart! It can be used basically any time you are comparing two things and noting how they are unequal in some manner.

The Tooks are historically the most adventurous (and therefore oddest and most foolhardy) of all of the Hobbit families. They are also possessed of the Hobbit Magic in greater strength than the other bloodlines (ability to hide in plain sight, be overlooked by the big folk, nimbleness, ease of escape, hard to lock up or bind, deep affinity for the countryside and the pastoral life and the cycles of nature, that kind of thing). Merry is a Brandybuck - the more sensible Hobbit family. Pippin was the full-on Took. Baggins blends the two bloodlines and manages somehow to be well-regarded by both sides of the families that frequently make different life choices otherwise. This is why Gandalf knew Bilbo. Gandalf was a longtime friend of the Took family, and Bilbo's aunt Belladonna Took knew the Wizard well enough that he was a guest at Took parties while Bilbo was growing up. (In the Hobbit he's 40-ish I believe).

In ancient Norse legends Dragons are the epitome of greed and covet gold, but are also devious and clever, with powerful personalities. You should NEVER tell a dragon your name as it gives it power over you. Smaug is the ultimate combination of many different Norse legends about dragons, which Tolkien studied in depth. The dragons from Game of Thrones can’t hold a candle to Smaug, as they are more like animals than sentient beings…and Smaug would’ve eaten Daenarys and her dragons whole without pity. When you see Smaug in the next film you’ll understand more. In regards to the film…it’s different to the book “the Hobbit” which was a child’s book, and the story could’ve been told in 1 film, but it wouldn’t’ve been that interesting for adults. The characters in the book, especially the dwarves, are very one dimensional (literally in the books the only difference between them was the colour of their hoods and Bombur was fat) which wouldn’t translate right to the screen…it would’ve been boring…so Peter Jackson and the other writers had to create personalities and back stories for them…not all totally made up, a lot of information was taken from the appendices of the Lord of the Rings. They also added in scenes that weren’t in the book but, according to the appendices, were happening at the same time as the Hobbit. The first film is a little slow as it is giving a lot of exposition (just like Fellowship of the Ring was), but it’s still very enjoyable.

I didn't enjoy The Hobbit movies as much as The Lord of the Rings movies, BUT it was definitely thrilling to return to this world after more than ten years since The Return of the King had come out. Just seeing the costumes, sets and (some) returning characters and hearing the music again was amazing.

The overall Timeline is pretty simple for these films. 3000 years ago, Sauron is destroyed and Isildur takes the Ring. 2990ish years ago, Isildur is killed and the Ring is lost in the Anduin River. 500 years ago, Smeagol kills Deagol and takes the Ring on the banks of the Anduin. 60 years ago, Bilbo finds the Ring and Saruman is searching for the Ring (he's becoming evil). 0 years ago, Frodo receives the Ring from Bilbo, this is roughly where The LOTR begins. 17 years later, Frodo leaves the Shire and a year later the Ring is destroyed. The LOTR films skip the '17 years later' and it's implied to only be a few months after receiving the Ring that he leaves the Shire. During this 17 year gap Gandalf and Aragorn search for Gollum after Gandalf gets the truth from Bilbo about how he found the Ring. Gollum is captured and tortured in Barad-dur and tells Sauron two words, "Baggins" and "Shire". Sauron sends out the Nine Nazgul to find "Baggins" and the "Shire". Aragorn captures Gollum in the Dead Marshes and finds out what he told Sauron and how he found the Ring. Gandalf finds the account of Isildur in Minas Tirith describing how he found the Ring and how to know it's The One Ring. "The markings upon the band begin to face, a secret now that only fire can tell". Aragorn tells Gandalf what he learned from Gollum. Aragorn takes Gollum to be imprisoned by the Mirkwood Elves. Gandalf rushes back to the Shire, now suspecting Bilbo's ring is The One Ring. "I looked everywhere for the creature Gollum, but the enemy found him first". Gollum escapes their dungeons. Leoglas leaves Mirkwood to visit Rivendell to tell Aragorn of Gollum's escape.

I wasnt expecting that "oh naaauuurrr" across the screen 😂

One of the sad references is that the Dwarf Balin, is the skeleton the fellowship find in Moria in Fellowship of the Ring

Dragons in this universe are WAY bigger than in ASOIAF. Smaug is as little one, Ancalagon is truly enormous, his real size is disputed, but its not out there to suggest he was over a mile wide.

One of my favorite things about smaug is he's actually pretty small for a dragon in this world, its just that most of the larger ones died out thousands of years before

At around @16:49 the one troll snot rockets copious snot onto Bilbo Pudgy gets totally nauseous🤢🤮 & gags & dry heaves which is priceless😆😭😂 Too funny I have a weak stomach for foul scents & scenes too

Glad to see you guys watching The Hobbit movies also! Kinda sad, though, that you couldn't do the extended edition for this one but oh well. 🙂 The scenes can be seen on YT as others have said.

Nice reaction. Lord of the Rings is a masterpiece. Fans expecting a similar work is an impossible act. As others have stated it starts with the foundations of the story: The Hobbit is a single book & shorter & simpler story; The Lord of the Rings trilogy is grander & of larger scale. It’s like a short story vs a novel. Both are good but different. One can enjoy The Hobbit for what it is without having to compare it to Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit isn’t as perfect but it’s still an amazing adventure. Plus it’s always a treat venturing back to Middle-Earth, seeing our favorite character again, & getting deeper knowledge of all the histories & lore of Middle-Earth. The Hobbit will certainly bring this world in sharper relief for you - you guys will gain deeper u understanding of the world & story. Already you’ve learn that after a period of peace evil is growing, why there is a rift between Dwarves & Elves, & of course, how Bilbo found the ring. The first movie is the weakest in my opinion. They get better & while they don’t attain a level like the Two Towers & Return of the King they are still amazing & loads of fun. Having fun is what it’s all about. You’re, in essence just sharing Bilbo’s adventure which is always a welcome escape. You’re in for a treat & looking forward to the next two. Methinks you’ll love the next two also.

LOL! Kili and Fili, Thorin’s nephews, young and cute. They added sort of a Merry and Pippin vibe. Bombur is the huge orange-haired dwarf, the brother of Bofur, the dwarf in the hat. Their cousin is Bifur, the dwarf with the axe in his head. Dori, Ori and Nori: Dori with the grey beard and grey braids, Ori has the bangs and Nori has the hair that sticks out on the sides. Oin and Gloin, Oin has the earhorn, Gloin has the dark red hair and is the father of Gimli. Oin and Gloin are brothers. Dwalin, of course, the balding dwarf, and his brother, Balin with the long white hair and beard. Balin is a favorite. You know Thorin Oakenshield of course.

38:33 Fun fact: this was a change from the book. In The Hobbit book, Gollum tells Bilbo to wait while he gets something from his little hut in the cave and then he'll lead Bilbo out. When Gollum leaves, that's when Bilbo hears him yelling and crying out in despair and eventually runs after Bilbo calling him a thief. After losing the riddle game to Bilbo, went to go get the ring and found out it was missing. In other words, Gollum was never intending on letting Bilbo go free - he was going to get the ring, use it to turn invisible, then sneak attack kill Bilbo and eat him.

The Gollum CGI in this is sooooo much better. He looks absolutely fantastic.

I really loved these movies! So excited to see you dive back into this world! :D I'm a Radagast at heart. I've had rabbits for over half my life; they make more sense than people.

Hey so I don't know if you guys are into audiobooks or not, but Andy Serkis (the brilliant actor behind Gollum/Smeagol) has narrated the Hobbit, the Silmarillion, and the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. They're amazingly well done, too.

17 years have passed since Bilbo's 111th and Frodo's 33rd birthday (they shared the same birthday) before Frodo left The Shire. Frodo was already 50 when he set out on the journey to destroy the ring. Also, Bilbo is 50 in this adventure. 50 is considered a prime age for a Hobbit, 33 is their coming of age. That explains why Pippin seems childish out of the bunch because he's the youngest at age 28, not even an adult in Hobbit years.

Great reaction guys! Nice when you realized Gandalf s words ,about knowing when not to take a life, and be so eager to deal out death or destruction. It s part of the Tolkien s story, mercy and grace are always the best choices. Take care

The animosity between elves and dwarves began when the elf king Thingol was murdered by dwarves in the First Age, several thousand years before this.

At 12:20 Gandalf says "But home is now behind you. The world is ahead." In Return of the King, Pippin sings "Home is behind. The world ahead" for Denethor II while Faramir rides out for battle. I never noticed the similarities before.

Aw man I just realized Gandalf saying "Home is behind.... the world's ahead" is literally the first sentence in Pippins song he sings when Denethor is eating and Faramir is charging the Orcs at Osgilitith. "Home is behind... the world ahead.. And there are many paths to tread.. Through shadow.... to the edge of night. Until the stars are all alight. Mist and shadow...cloud and shade All shall fade...all shall...fade."

The most important scenes in the first Hobbit movie are the ones in the Shire. You get to see that Bolbo has known Gandalf since he was a small child, and Gandalf knew Bilbo's parents. Most of the other extra scenes fill out extra information about the world, some of which doesn't pay off until the second and third movie.

Good for y’all for deciding to go on this journey also 😂 hope you enjoy it !

Don't forget that the LOTR was three books, Hobbit was one short book converted to three films.

So, I'm two days late to the party (again), and I wasn't going to comment, but the whole argument about the seventy years at the end forced my hand. Short answer: the movies screw up the timeline. Long answer: in the book, Bilbo left on the Quest of Erebor at the age of fifty; he found the ring just a few days before his 51st birthday, and kept it until he gave it to Frodo at his 111th birthday/farewell party, which incidentally was also Frodo's 33rd birthday party, though they don't mention this in the movies. That's the seventy years everyone talks about: the span of years Bilbo had the ring. In the books, Frodo kept the ring for seventeen years until Gandalf, who had been gone for so long (hunting down Gollum; doing research in Gondor) that Frodo assumed he'd lost all interest in Hobbits, suddenly turned up asking awkward questions about that old ring of Bilbo's. But in the movies, Frodo only has the ring for a year or so before Gandalf comes back with the bad news.

The issue with the hobbit vs the lotr is that in the books, the hobbit came out first. So in the movies they try to force lotr nostalgia. Also lotr is 3 books and 3 movies while hobbit is 1 book made into 3 movies so they have to invent story lines to fill time. Lastly the hobbit overuses CGI, lotr only uses CGI when needed but relies on the natural beauty of new Zealand. The hobbit is almost all CGI

Glad to know both of you are seeing The Extended Version of the last two films. If audiences would have seen the last extended version of "Battle of Five Armies" I think The films would have been better received; For me The Second Age is the best era to read. Too Bad Amazon fucked it up, oh well.

The real issue with this movie is that it is one short book split into 3 movies, which messes with the pacing. The Hobbit was 300 pages while the LOTR trilogy was about 1300. The other issue is the dwarf scenes (like the plate throwing in Bilbo's house and the fighting in the goblin cave) felt a bit cartoonish compared to the previous movies. It was nice to see Middle Earth again though and having Martin Freeman / Benedict Cumberbatch (from the British Sherlock) join the cast is amazing. One last thought - the ring wasn't considered dangerous in the Hobbit. It almost felt like the entire story behind it was conceived after the Hobbit was published because it always felt weird in the books when it passed from Bilbo, who could carelessly use it to vanish, to Frodo, who found it dangerous to use.

41:13 Frodo: “Pity Bilbo didn’t kill him when he had the chance.” Gandalf: “Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo’s hand. Many that live deserve death, and many who die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Do not be too eager to deal out death and judgement. Even the wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play in it, for good or evil, before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.” Frodo: “I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.” Gandalf: “So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” This is the exact moment Gandalf and Frodo were discussing at the crossroads in Moria.

Found y’all from the LOTR trilogy movies and y’all are just quality people

i loved the hobbit movies, the last one is my favourite, especially the extended one. I think you'll enjoy these

Saying the elves live a long life is kind of an understatement @ 3:05

"home is now behind us. The world is ahead" is roughly the opening line to Pippin's song in Return of the King when they attempt to retake Osgiliath. "Home is behind, the world ahead, and there are many paths to tread."

King Tranduil is Prince Legolas father. King of Mirkwood 😊 glad you finally reacted to the Hobbits 😍