The Hobbit Film Adaptation:
- Overview
- Bilbo's Introduction & Prologue
- Thorin's Character
- Bard, Bilbo and Slaying the Dragon
- The Necromancer
For discussion of the sequel film to The Hobbit see:
The Bridge Film Hobbit SequelThe Hobbit Film Adaptation Overview
The Hobbit bookcover
Tolkien published his fantasy classic The Hobbit back in 1937. Though the lighthearted story was a children's tale, it proved to be the catalyst for Tolkien developing Middle Earth with his darker fantasy masterpiece The Lord of the Rings.
Peter Jackson’s recent films are fantasy epics with great drama and conflict, horrific enemies, beautiful romances, and complex interweaving narratives to hold viewers’ interest. The Hobbit is also a fantasy story but in contrast it is light and often comical, the story and themes are simpler, and the narrative structure is linear. There is likely to be a temptation to rework The Hobbit story in a darker more adult style.
This approach does not necessarily run counter to Tolkien’s intentions, as Tolkien himself wrote a framework for retelling The Hobbit in the style of Lord of the Rings (in the Appendices and Unfinished Tales).
Jackson's LotR films
While this approach has its appeal, I think it would be the wrong choice for the adaptation. The Hobbit is a brilliant story and provides the opportunity for a more light-hearted and comical take on Tolkien's world that is distinct from the dark themes of despair and the nature of evil that dominate Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit has substantial themes of its own- courage, fate and the dangers of greed- for filmmakers to develop.
Whilst a major reworking of The Hobbit story would be unwise, the film adaptation will require shortening the long story, and making it flow cinematically. There is scope for curbing the more childish elements so that the film feels like it takes place in the same fantasy world as Lord of the Rings (with a different tone to the story).
My proposed plot changes include a prologue to introduce Bilbo's character, making Thorin braver, an earlier introduction for Bard and a more active role for Bilbo in slaying the dragon.
View my Hobbit Film Adaptation in pdf format.