I quite liked the part in the Hobbit where you're led to believe Radagast is concerned for the spiders closing in on his home, when in fact he was only worried about his animals. The spiders wouldn't have had a chance.
The portrayal of Radagast by Sylvester McCoy was entertaining-and I suspect it was Tolkien’s intent that Radagast pay more attention to the lower order creatures than the Free Peoples, since he was chosen by Yavanna, who INSISTED on his inclusion.
@@soundrogue4472 I quite liked the part where Bilbo doesn't expect a journey but then the dwarves show up (again, unexpectedly); and when he leaves to catch up with them he has a change of heart and shouts "it's Hobbit'ing time!" Everyone at my theater clapped at that part. This is truly ONE of THE films of all time.
Radagast was originally known as Aiwnedil, a Maiar in service of Yavanna, the Valië queen of the Earth and nature. When the Valar dispatched the Istari to Middle-Earth to assist the Free Peoples against Sauron, Aiwendil was not originally intended to be among them; Yavanna pleaded, in fear for Middle-Earth's flora and fauna, that he be included in their number on her behalf, as her emissary in defence of the nature of Middle-Earth, as a shepherd of its birds and beasts. The leader of the Istari, Curumo (or Saruman) didn't want to take Aiwendil, but agreed to Yavanna's will out of respect. So that considered, I feel that Radagast fulfilled the purpose he was sent to serve, and did so with dedication; it was not the point of his presence to involve himself directly in the affairs of Men or even Elves; he was sent as a guardian of Nature, on behalf of Yavanna, and when Gandalf, et. alt sailed West, Radagast was not at all abandoned for failing his mission - his mission was ongoing, unending, and he served that purpose faithfully.
This is my opinion as well. Saruman cared nothing for the birds, beasts, and flora of middle earth and thus his disdain for Radagast. He was always of the opinion that Radagast's mission was a worthless waste of time. I believe this gave us some insight into Saruman's mind from the very beginning. With that, Radagast was still more powerful than most of the beings in middle earth.
Love this comment. I recommend everybody this Tolkien Untangled video about the topic. Radagast is definetely one of my favourite characters. Cheers from Madrid! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lVFq9sHpClo.html
Completely concur with @hydorknight01's analysis; Radagast performed the role he was called upon to play as one of the Istari. I was disappointed that TBS chose to characterize this as having 'forgotten' or 'strayed from' his original purpose. In the absence of information, TBS choosing to assert a somewhat negative interpretation does a disservice to the lore and in fact serves to reinforce the dumbed down 'I let birds sh!t on my head' BS that the Peter Jackson team chose to saddle Radagast with.
Ir would never happen. Tom was disinterested in anything like teamwork and rasagast was fine on his own more or less. Tom was a ture neutral character. His aide in the Fellowhsip was invaluable but really Tom would have lead into more unanswerable questions in that movie. WHat would Radaghast and Tom team up for after sauron's defeat? Would Tom still exhist in the current miiddle earth aafter Sauron? Tolken tried a sequel after the lord of the rings and couldnt gather as to what villain would be used after defeating something like sauron and the one ring.
I think Radagast simply chose a separate path for opposing Sauron compared to Gandalf. The Blue Wizards too chose a different path as they went far far to the East where it's speculated that they helped stop Sauron's influence from gaining even more traction than it already did. Radagast chose to fight Sauron by protecting nature. Helping to prevent more beasts from falling under Sauron's control and acting as in informant for Gandalf and Saruman as animals are far better for gathering intel than people.
Tolkien wrote that after the war of the ring and the fall of Saruman, Gandalf and King Ellessar searched Isengard. There they found the staffs of the blue wizards. The garments of Isuldur, which he wearing when the orcs killed him. It would seem Saruman was evil almost from the beginning. Did he kill the blues? Did he strip the dead body of Isuldur looking for the One Ring? Tolkien left that one dangling.
I personally don't think Radagast failed his mission. I'd like to think that Yavanna, being the Vala responsible for animals and plants, begged Curumo to take Radagast (one of her own Maiar) with him, because she had the well-being of all the animals and plants of Middle-Earth in mind (who would also suffer under Saurons rule). So Radagast's mission might have been to fight against Sauron, yes, but particularly to care for the other living beings and not meddling in the wars of elves, men and orcs that much. So yes, I think he is indeed underrated.
Yavanna DID send him; she pleaded with Curumo (Saruman) to take him with the Istari to Middle-Earth as her servant and emissary, for that express purpose of protecting the fauna and flora of the continent from Sauron's shadow. In my opinion, he didn't fail, and when the White Council sailed West, Radagast remained in Middle-Earth; his task was unending, and he was at home with it.
I absolutely agree! We tend to be quite focused on the humanoid beings in the tales, and with good reason, but I would also like to think that Yavanna was concerned for all the other forms of life in Middle-Earth. We see examples of Melkors power corrupting even animals and plants, maybe she already knew this to be a possibility? I would say that sending Aiwendil to watch over those who would otherwise be overlooked by the other Maia was quite a sensible strategy.
@@FriedeSeiMitDir In fairness to the Professor, Tolkien knew far more and understood much more-deeply his creation than any of us could hope to. There may be aspects of Radagast's story and/or character that remain unpublished, or even un-noted and therefore lost to us. Tolkien may well have had good reason to conclude that Radagast failed his appointed task - but as the published lore stands, I feel that his task was ongoing and unending, and he was happy to pursue it in-perpetuity, as perhaps Yavanna wished of him; at the conclusion of the War of the Ring, only *Sauron's* threat ended; the Shadow of Morgoth's influence overall remained, and the fauna and flora of Middle-Earth still needed a guardian.
Agreed - his mission was no doubt two fold. 1 - To investigate Sauron's behaviour in Middle Earth and with it seek out this so called RING OF POWER. 2 - To protect the birds, beasts and plants from the evil that was Sauron, especially as the other Wizards were less likely to
Anyone that is super in touch with nature, loves small animals and knows their ways and communicate with them on a regular basis is a badass. Also, he talked with the giant eagles so that's super powerful too.
Well, mostly underestimated is his obvious bravery. The Istari arrived, while the Necromancer took seat in Dol Guldur. Radagast chose to settle almost in his neighbourhood. Yeah, he neglected his task of having an 'eye on Saruman' to have an eye on Sauron directly. Unlike any other of his cousins. Of course he didn't know the about the Necromancer's true identity, anyways he headed directly to battle. He was a Maia of Yavannah, sent to protect beasts and birds and stuff. So he did. He literally accomplished his job very well and braveley. Guess he didn't go back to Valinor because he liked it here and all the Nature.
This is mentioned in the video, sure enough Gandalf mentions his “good cousin Radagast” to Beorn in the Hobbit. And that’s even in the original 1937 first edition, not retroactively added in later editions. I think that’s interesting and I wonder just what Tolkien had in mind with cousin Radagast back then.
Very few of the inhabitants of Middle Earth knew who the Wizards really were or where they were from so a cover story wasn't a bad idea. Perhaps they were 'cousins' in the sense of being created at the beginning of time together?
Radagast was my favorite character in the hobbit. I myself have chickens and a pigeon loft, some cats. I absolutely love being around them all and makes me happy that they are comfortable around me as well. What he says at 6:21 really resonates with me. I love observing and learning their language and ways.
Radagast is such a great character, and I wish there was more information about him and his life in middle earth! They should definitely make a movie or show more about him!
Characters like the hobbits, bombadil, radigast and the elves. ents, all were one with and cultivated nature. I think that was Tolkien's primary message. Appreciate and care for nature. Friendship selflessness controlling desire find peace. So much wisdom.
He was a servant of Yavanna and as the Keeper of Her Influence, plants and animals, he did an excellent job at that. Don't trust Saruman's opinion, it was the reasoning of a narcissistic sociopath.
He should have appeared in LotR too. Besides, maybe that distracted but good role was exactly what he was meant to do, protecting the forests and beasts from further influence from the darkness.
*given the nature and personality of Radagast lends itself to the speculation as to if he was friends with or knew Tom Bombidil and what sort of conversations would result in such a meeting*
He makes me think of the hero in Errantry, who forgot his purpose: His message came, and errand too! In derring-do and glamoury He had forgot them, journeying And tourneying, a wanderer.
I think the 1st & 2nd Jackson Hobbit movies do ( aside from the literal birdcrap ) do Radagast justice. He does temporarily defeat the Witch-king of Angmar, heals and animal friend of the malignant sorcery of the Necromancer/Sauron, and, once it is clear to the spiders that he is no longer distracted by healing the animals, the spiders waste no time getting out of his way. I think the 3rd Hobbit film in Jackson's set badly undermines both Gandalf and Radagast... everyone but Galadriel, really, and it makes her look almost laughably insane rather than her usual regal air; but the 1st two movies, I think, do Radagast justice, and also give a better presentation of Gandalf's powers than Jackson's Rings adaptations did, overall . I'll also add, I feel certain that Radagast wasn't refused a return on the ships to Valinor. Even Saruman was offered a last chance. Radagast, more likely, simply wasn't interested in returning, having become enamoured of the fauna of Middle-Earth as is stated.
I mean, personally I really like Sylvester as Radagast, but then he was the actor who got me into Doctor Who so he'll always hold a special place in my nerd heart lol
I enjoyed The Hobbit's take on Radagast. I was hoping that the Amazon series would have taken on the Easterling assault on Dale and Erebor. During the battle Radagast shows up and uses his abilities with animals to calm the oliphaunts and convince them to go home. Thus turning the tide of the battle.
@@ScorchMat I made it up. I think that the Battle of Dale would have been a much better direction for Amazon to take as well as other stories of the Third Age. You could include Gollum's escape and have the Mouth of Sauron visit Erebor and give Dain the ultimatum for the Ring.
I thought that Radagast in the Hobbit movies was too silly overall. But, then, this was the child's version of the character, befitting the Hobbit. Perhaps he was depicted in the best possible way in that story. If Radagast had been depicted in LOTR, he would have to be portrayed more seriously.
Gandalf only protected men, elves, dwarves and Hobbits from Sauron. Radagast protected all the other living creatures. I'd like to think from Radagast's point of view, he was doing the truly important job, while Gandalf had the lesser task with the "troublemaking" species who were always starting wars over gems and petty stuff.
The scenes with Radagast were my favorite scenes in The Hobbit movies. One speculation I would like to see; what would happen if Radagast took the Ring?
You can kinda put the 3 wizards on a spectrum. Radagast is a true wandering vagabond, and has the powers there-in. Has he ever been inside of a city at all? Gandalf is the middle ground, being out and about and also maintaining ties with civilizations. Saruman is on the far end. He seems only concerned with cosmopolitan matters and has little interest in the wild ways of the woods. He stays secluded in his tower gaining lore. He communicated with Treebeard only out of proximity and minute interest. Just a theory.
This 3 Istari look like persons from Druid order. Saruman is a Bard keeper of lore and knowledge, Radagast is Ovate wise sage that have close tights with nature, Gandalf is wise Druid that help communities with his knowledge and skills. Maybe Tolkien knew some Druids of his time ? I'm not familiar with his biography.
I absolutely loved radicast. He would defend a hedgehog with as much power and ability as he can muster! That's not the character of a bad person. That's a badass. If he was real I would have been his friend and been proud of it! To him all life is precious just the way it should be. Just because it's not a human life doesn't make it any less beautiful or magical! I absolutely love that character
I would have loved a direct statement from Radagast..."Men and Elves are your concerned Gandalf...I am here to care for nature and all animals who cannot protect themselves ". Such a statement would have clarified his mission for the average movie goer.
I always felt like Radagast was meant to be the most powerful of the Istari, given Tolkien's love of rural life and the allegorical nature of the Lord of the Rings (industry killing rural life). Radagast is heavily connected to nature and the beasts and plants of Middle Earth. It's much like the way Tolkien wrote Tom Bombadil, who was the epitome of rural living, as seemingly god-like. He just doesn't use that power to wage war because he knows how it would effect the creatures who would be caught in the crossfire.
I would wish radagast all the luck in the world and I don't know what the god of that legendarium would do but I think he would show him mercy. You punish wicked people for doing bad things and hurting other people. You don't punish people for wanting to be left alone and not hurting anyone else. Protecting animals is a righteous cause . Radagast in my mind survived all the way through till the end of time where they welcomed him back because he never did anything but help.
Radagast is supposed to be on the level of Saruman and Gandalf but choose to focus in nature. He has very little real impact on the LofR story. Not that he is less powerful, just he is not involved in the fighting
*i see him as a protector of those who could not fight in or do battle as Elves, Dwarfs and Men were waging against the Dark Lord and his fell creatures and races...so in that respect he succeeded in what he was intended to do*
In Nick Perumov's sequels to the "Lord of the rings" Radagast was left behind for his failure, but with a new mission to monitor that evil does not keep back into the lands...
I enjoyed Radagast through the Middle Earth stories but my biggest gripe is that Tolkien didn't flesh-out the character more, also the Blue wizards could have had a larger role in the final battle in Mordor. It would have been great to see Radagast fight the Wargs in Rohan and maybe being an influence at the Ent-moot. Apologies for criticising Tolkien here but they feel like loose ends in a masterpiece
Radagast chose animals over Elves and men because he saw the latter as too contrary and arrogant. Radagast preferred to be neutral as he could be just like the animals that were his friends. He helped out Gandalf as a messenger even orchestrated Galdalf"s escape from Saruman. Sylvester Mccoy did a marvellous job as portraying Radagast the Brown.
Weaker is misleading, he's a minor character because he does not care about the peoples of middle earth. His background means his powers relate to the natural world, not the world of elves and men. I feel that if he was dealing with his areas of interest he would be 'more powerful' than the other Istari in many senses. Saruman can mislead him and Gandalf recognises his innocence/good nature but we know nothing of his actions or role during the war of the ring although he clearly abandoned his original purpose. He is held in high esteem by Beorn and the eagles so his actions can be assumed to be generally beneficial to the communities of Rhovanion and Mirkwood. Regarding the portrayal the 'smoking' and 'mushroom' references feel a little 'cheap' and obvious to me and the action scenes in the hobbit are rubbish compared to the live action LotR movies. I would have liked a lot more subtlety about the character.
I beg to differ on the point that Radagast abandoned or lost his purpose; I would say, rather, his purpose WAS to shepherd and protect the flora and fauna of Middle-Earth, on behalf of Yavanna, the Valië queen of the Earth and nature as her servant and emissary, by whose will he was included among the Istari at all. He had little to no involvement in the War of the Ring, and was NOT abandoned in Middle-Earth for failing that mission - because it WASN'T his mission. His mission was ongoing and unending; he was not intended to return to the West, nor, perhaps, did he wish to, being at home with his purpose.
Like many, I didn’t really like the Hobbit movies. Lots was added the need not have been and much was left out which should have most definitely have been kept. Again, like many, when I first heard that Jackson was taking the film on, I had high hopes. For one, after what he had done with the trilogy, I thought he would bring that sense of dark wonder to the film and make the book stand up in its own right rather than just being the kind of throw away “other Tolkien book” which so many see it as. My other great hope was that the character of Radagast would be expanded on and that we would maybe get an insight in to this enigmatic forest dweller and friend of Beorn. Of course, we got none of that. Instead, any of the mystery was pretty much ignored and we got a fairly vacuous character whom was neither here nor there. Much liberty was taken in to basically adding a comedic character that didn’t really serve much purpose with regards to how he is in the book. I agree that Silvester McCoy played him well, but I have to wonder if he could have done a lot more with a character with more depth. I think his portrayal was a waste of a great opportunity for Jackson, but then, so was the whole trilogy.
I kind of thought that each of the three wizards were sent to advise a different race. Saruman to the elves with white symbolizing their purity. Gandalf to the men with gray symbolizing their moral ambiguity, and radagast to the dwarves with brown symbolizing the earth since dwarves were first created with the earth. Their paths are also tied to those races. As elvish power wanes and they give up on middle earth Saruman loses his purpose and turns to darkness. Radagast becomes less and less relevant because so too do the dwarves.
Radagast helped rescue Gandalf from Orthanc, didn't he? How did that butterfly get there to carry Gandalf's message to the eagles? Why were the eagles willing to help so much? Maybe Radagast helped the eagles too. I think Radagast did good and had a good life :) He was not suited to fighting the enemy directly.
I thought the film portrayal was silly, but I didn't mind that it was there. We know that there were five. We know that Saruman turned evil, and basically just that the Blue Wizards existed, as even Tolkien seemed to waffle on them, and their history, and act like "the author hasn't told me about them, either, so I don't know", when they were brought up. With that, it is neat to see that, at least then, Gandalf wasn't already the only Wizard actually trying. I've said this before, but while I am overall glad that Tolkien never wrote his depressing sequel, one thing I might have liked to see in it was Radagast having to "step up". Gandalf was gone; his mission completed, but there were still problems in the world, and old evils resurfacing. While Radagast is no Gandalf, it might have been fun to see him, in this world of less fantasy, and magic, trying to help the new heroes, as Gandalf would have, but having to be more confident.
It is said that in the War of the Last Alliance, all creatures except elves were split in two that day. For this reason, I think that Radagast was sent with the same mission as the other Istar, in the context of guiding creatures other than the Children of Ilúvatar.
I do not think that Radagast failed in his mission at all. I think he focused on his true mission, the mission given to him by Yavanna, and that was to help and assist the olvar and kelvar against Sauron, whereas the other Istari's roles were to aid and assist the men and the elves. I think that Aiwendil (Radagast) served the purpose that Yavanna intended him to serve, and that was to protect the creations under her care, trees and animals, from the Maiar of her husband, Aulë, Mairon and Curumo. If you frame it in this way, then Radagast role takes on a similar role to that of the Ents and their role of counteracting the potential damage of Aulë's creations, the Dwarves.
Radagast was deliberately sent by Yavanna to be responsible and to care for the nature of middle earth because of his natural inclination to lean towards things flora and fauna, he didn't fail because that's exactly what he did and he didn't return with Gandalf and the others because he took the mission he was charged with very seriously and devoted himself wholeheartedly to it. I would say because he chose to stay and continue with what he had been charged with to do he is actually the most successful of all the istari because being immortal he's still there doing it still.
I believe Radagast would fight, but only directly like we see Saruman fight, with magic bestowed on him as a wizard. However, his concern was animals and plants. I think his view was the same as why Rohan didn't let Sauron buy horses from them 'for he put beasts to evil use'. To prevent that happening was Radagast's mission or the mission he took upon himself when seeing how things were, most of all in Mirkwood. Whilst Tolkien does say only one returned to Valinor, that is in the annals of Men, and it's possible that once The Western lands were free of Sauron's influence, later in the Fourth Age, or maybe the Firth Age, he returns with his mission completed, or maybe he has remained and became the source of gods of nature or the first of the Druids.
I really like radagast in the movies. I'm sure it wasn't how he normally is in the books but I really like the character. I have a hard time hating or disliking anyone it's good to animals. He was a good guy and I really wish we knew what happened to him
Would you be interested in doing a power tier list? Like in a power level sense? Think it would really help people to understand characters power levels in comparison to other characters etc.
Perhaps, Radigast on going presence in Middle Earth might also be tied to Tom Bombadil? We know that Tom was there during the First age and there is no mention of his leaving Middle Earth either.
The only stipulation I would place on Radagast’s portrayal in the Hobbit is we don’t get to see his abilities on display for mastery of shapes and colors. Maybe showing how well he could hide with camouflage from the spiders or how he’s able to shapeshift his body to look like a rock. Other than that I enjoyed it.
What-if video idea for you to do: What if Gandalf never fell at the Bridge of Khazad-dum and continued with the fellowship to Lothlorien and on forward?
As already mentioned, being aligned with Yavanna, his purpose (commission, if you like) his task might well be beyond the collective needs of the free peoples. Deeper matters from the song of Ainur needed bulwarking against the corruptive nature of Sauron’s dark arts. Far devolved, but no less important, it featured little in the narrative of the tale told. Speculation, of course - but what good would there have been in tasting victory at the end should the very fabric of creation have been sullied beyond recompense or repair? All I will draw to this is the blight left in the Shire on that mound where Saruman fell at the end. Just a thought …. 😉
I think the problem here is that we are analyzing him based on a human/elf/valar centric point of view. As a defender and protector of the natural world, he would obviously look like he failed in his mission from our point of view. I like to think he was preventing the natural world from succumbing to the will of Sauron and that he stayed to continue protecting the natural world from all threats to it.
I think Radagast in the movies was good for it shows him taking action during the War of the Ring. As for returning West, I think it's possible that Radagast simply decided to stay in Middle Earth and the natural world that he loved.
It's not that he is an inferior wizard but just an inferior character. As an istari he has great power but is given no call to use it in any shown moment. Plus his character isn't one of violence but given the opportunity I'd wager he could show much more potential
Being a messenger certainly is not demeaning. Gandalf himself reluctantly comes to Saruman, when summoned. And later, to Théoden he offers council and the passing along of messages. Mobile networks are poorly established in Middle Earth, being restricted to a little telepathy plus the 7 Palantiri that Elendil imported from the West.
Radagast seems to be (IMO) the equivalent of Aquaman from DC Comics. By himself he can appear foolish and useless. However when riled, he can summon an army of creatures and beasts to aid him. He may have been weaker in the Magical Arts then Gandalf or Sauraman, but he makes up for it in versatility and healing.
If Radagast hadn't done what Gandalf asked, then middle earth would have maybe lost its way. Gandalf was the only one with a real plan and purpose. And I believe Radagast and Bombadil were more alike. They probably done a few mushrooms together, no doubt, then went out and wound up old man willow.
Yes I believe maybe, probably was an ent who lost it because of what happened to the entwives. Sauron destroyed old willows' love which made him vengeful malicious?!
Well... for a character that is merely mentioned, what, one time in the Hobbit book, I find it amazing how much of an arc he gets in the movie, along with all of the other characters they forced into it. I could literally spend hours tearing the Hobbit movies apart.
For myself, Rhadagast is not on my radar for a topics. Okay, Rhadagast is a Maia in service to Yavanna, who is concerned with fauna. So Rhadagast is only following his nature. Making friends with creatures of the wild did prove useful. Keeping track of Ork & goblin movements, plus darker things. However, Rhadagast's lack of personal attension in matters of the One Ring, and delaying Gandalf are matters of serious concern!
In a weird way I think The Hobbit movies did him justice. I don't mind them using him as comic relief, and it's pretty reasonable for him to be a socially awkward hermit. A constant theme in the books is that the seemingly week or foolish often have hidden strength. The Hobbit movies had much bigger problems then their portrayal of Radagast. For example, they tried to turn a light episodic kids book into a serious three-part story complete with unnecessary cameos and a romance that made no sense.
I like this character...I mean he is the best aider for gandalf the most effective and trustworthy, gandalf has weakness but radagast was there to uplift or save him.
What blows my mind is the idea that Radagast is a maiar as are balrogs and even Sauron. I wonder if Yavanna could picture him if push came to shove fighting a balrog to save the Ents? For that matter did the Treebeard and Tom Bombadil interact with Radagast?
The fact that he was left behind rings true of Christian themes in a sense. That is, "no other gods before me". While loving the creatures of the earth is not evil, he abandoned a higher purpose out of love for something else. Neglecting his duties could have meant the downfall of the nature he loved, and so his love was self-serving.
The movie portrayal of Radagast was really really terrible. It made him out to be an incompetent fool, I think that was far from the truth of him. He was Javanna's pick and I doubt that she would have picked so unwisely. He was under Her orders and his priorities would have been Her's.
Radagast, it could be said, in a way, was seduced by the beauty of Middle Earth, the same reasons the Elves were reluctant to leave (and some never did). Valinor, the undying lands, had a perfect beauty. Middle Earth has a different type of beauty.
But when you think about Tolkien's Christianity, it could easily be said that he was fallen. Though not treacherous, he failed to carry out his role in Eru's plan. He lived for his own interests.
Saruman: Radagast? Do not speak to me of Radagast the Brown. He is a foolish fellow. Gandalf: Well, he's odd, I'll grant you. He lives a solitary life... Saruman: It's not that. It's his excessive consumption of mushrooms! They've addled his brain and yellow his teeth!
Sauruman's focus was on power, so Radagasts complete disregard for that seemed to be foolish, but that was didn't mean Sauron was right. Radagasts focus was on the well-being of the natural world, & giving a voice to those who had none. Of course he didn't have "proper" social skills, he rarely interacted with the peoples of middle earth, so he had no reason to modify his behavior to please the "civilized" folk.
The movie did him bad tbh. He did his job as far as im concerned, he wasn't a fighter and cared more for the beasts and bird's. He Aided gandalf and Without his actions the story could have been different. Like gandalf said in the hobbit.. " Saruman believes its only Great power that can over come evil but that is not what I have found, Its the simple things" or something to that description, i can't remember the rest 😂 , but basically saying the kindness of others and goodness of one's character can be enough to give you hope and defeat Evil. Gandalf saw radagast the brown a good fellow with a good heart.. He didnt abandon them..
When I heard Peter Jackson intended to include Radagast in the ultimately massively flawed Hobbit movies, I was fine with it. But it had to be approached carefully and respectfully. He was overtly comical, and shoehorned in unnecessarily like so many of the characters. We all know The Hobbit should have been two movies at a maximum length of two hours. Such a huge wasted opportunity. I agree with many fans though, as a youngster I always wanted to know more about Radagast and was ultimately very frustrated by how little Tolkien told us. But mystery was always a massive part of his stortytelling.
Been years since I read LOTR. In the Books, I thought Radagast was awesome shrouded in mystery. He was quiet kept to himself, induldged in Nature and communicating with beasts etc. In my mind he was on the same level as the other Istari wizards. In the Peter Jackson adaptation of the Hobbit, I thought he was terrible. The Portrayal made him seem like some fool, high as a kite, brain addled, covered in animal excrement, unclean. I didn't really like that portrayal at all.
They did a good job of the character tried to at least show that there are different sides of the astari. Radagast yeah was flawed character but he made an effort. I guess you can say that token probably tried to base him around a person he knew or people have heard of that were rejecting of humans after the war because they were either betrayed or they lost too many that they shut themselves away from society. And just surrounded them with animals and nature went into the Wilderness to get away from that.
I read LOTRs in the 1970s. I thought he was just a hippie! The films are more a "reimagining" of his character where he probably is a bit more sympathetic to our modern sensibilities!
Here's where I fall. The 3 of that order commanded armies and multiple plan over long periods of time. Rads was shown to only heal a single animal at a time and that's was a bad portrayal. With that much power he should have influenced more living things away from evil and maybe there was even animal good vs evil wars. What if he had the same war as Gandalf but animals instead of men and elves. Second the movies wanted the aloofness and strangeness of Tom b. I think thr movies merged the characters while also not showing any power as the director wanted the audience to feel the life and death of Gandalf
Radaghast was treated horribly in the hobitrr series. THough I did like the fact they gave him a role he was not a stupid as he portrayed in those movies
At least he has a story, if not how could Jackson truly discard important details in the story, something that Jackson has corrupted for more children than can be considered as anything helpful for those people, understandably no one wants to read it, starting to read either books is unrelated to what the films could have been.
Since Radagast The Brown was not a central character, and Peter Jackson was trying to keep the story moving forward and focused on Bilbo and The Dwarves, his portrayal was just right, not too much and not too little, just enough to make his points, and keep the story moving. If he wanted to, Sir Peter could go back and do a whole Radagast movie, but I don't see that happening any time soon. Maybe in the 2030's.
the movies made him look silly with the bird poop running down ... they could of did without that , made me look at him as a silly dr doo little type of wizard...
The actor didn't bring enough to the part; and I feel that the actor, and script didn't bring enough to the part, which should have required a much larger encompassing of the mythical nature of Radagast, and all of the Istari--wizards--!
