Comparing The Hobbit book vs. movie
If you haven’t read The Hobbit, please go read it first, unless you want spoilers.
They travel through enchanted forests, encounter various mystical creatures, and are taken hostage numerous times. The Hobbit has a fairly straightforward plot, but Peter Jackson decided to change some things in the plot before he released his film adaptation(s) of The Hobbit in 2012. Here are some key differences between the two:
Length
The Hobbit is around 300 pages. Instead of keeping it to 1 or 2 movies, Jackson decided to make three separate 2 ½-hour films (around 7 and a half total hours). In comparison, the Lord of the Rings series consists of more than 1,100 pages, which was also made into 3 movies (spanning 11 hours). If you do the math, it’s pretty obvious the movie adaptation of The Hobbit is expanded much more. Many things are added as fillers, and many scenes from the book were omitted.
Tauriel
In the 2nd and 3rd movies, Kili, one of Bilbo’s dwarf companions, falls in love with Tauriel, a female elf. But not once is the name Tauriel mentioned in the The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings. Tauriel ends up not doing much: she creates a love story with Kili, and then she watches him die. Tragic. There’s virtually no romance in The Hobbit, and to me, there’s really no point in including Tauriel.
Azog
The huge, monstrous orc Azog is the main antagonist of the movie. In the book, his name is only mentioned in a small sidenote, which, funnily enough, states that Azog died long before Bilbo was born. His sole purpose in the movie is to offset (and kill) Thorin.
Thorin
There are a few things different about Thorin. In the
book, Thorin is described as a pretty chill guy. At the beginning, he has his
doubts about recruiting Bilbo to accompany them on their journey, but it’s
mostly just pettiness (until he’s corrupted). Over the course of the novel, Thorin
eventually learns to trust Bilbo. Instead, in the movie adaptation, he’s always
unnecessarily mean towards Bilbo: it feels kind of personal sometimes. In the
end of both versions, Thorin sees the error of his ways after the Arkenstone
corrupts him. In the movie, he deserts his allies fighting to their deaths
below him, while he tries to solo Azog, his personal nemesis, resulting in his
death. In the book, it’s much different: he realizes that his armies are losing
their ground, and he rallies them for a final push.
Overall, it’s your decision to either read the book or
watch the movies first, but I hope this brief comparison makes your decision
easier.
- Anthony
Hey Anthony! I've actually seen book version of The Hobbit a few times in libraries but I didn't know much about it that would make me want to check it out. But I think it's kind of cool that the author decided to expand on the novel a lot when making the movie but for a 300 page book 3 movies is a lot! Nice job on going into the details of what's different in the movies though. I think I might read the book first because as I said 3 movies is quite a lot. Good job on the review!
ReplyDeleteHey Anthony, I haven't read the book yet (sorry), but I watched most of the movies and they were pretty enjoyable. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteHey Anthony! Thank you for this review, now I made up my mind and chose to read the book because 3 movies for the Hobbit is a lot! Fabulous book review!
ReplyDeleteHey Anthony, I haven't read any of the books, but I watched all of the movies for both series that you mentioned and they are very long. It's interesting how much the movies expanded on everything compared to the books, even adding characters that weren't even mentioned in the book. Like you said, "There's virtually no romance..." and I completely agree because there's nothing that would require any sort of romance in "The Hobbit." I really enjoyed reading your blog and seeing some of the key differences between the book and movies. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHey Anthony! I remember watching the Hobbit movies and loving them, and I always kept this thought in the back of my head. I think this blog post really convinced me to read this book. I also really find it interesting that Azog was just a minor character in the book, while he was the main antagonist in the movies.
ReplyDeleteHi Anthony, I watched The Hobbit movies when I was younger, I will read the book as well to see these differences in person! Great blog!
ReplyDelete