Kate's Point of View

I caved. I succumbed to peer pressure and an annoying curiosity. I watched Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring.Over the years, I’ve proudly announced to anyone who would listen that I have never seen any of the Star Wars films nor any of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I have no logic behind the Star Wars resistance except that it seems to really bug a lot of people. For Lord of the Rings, I actually had good reasoning. When I was in high school I read the Lord of the Rings series as well as The Hobbit and I loved them. I was transported into other worlds and I loved how Tolkien’s words translated into how I pictured the characters. Once you see a movie, it is my experience that any preconceptions you had for characters’ appearances and voices go out the window.

Several months ago I saw a preview for the movie version of “The Hobbit.” It looked so good! And, I realized that I had officially forgotten enough of the book that watching it might be okay. Furthermore, I had forgotten enough of the Lord of the Rings trilogy that watching the movies might be an option for me.

Several years ago – it will be four years come this February – I actually went to Hobbiton while on my honeymoon in New Zealand. Picture me during the tour of Hobbiton, surrounded by Lord of the Rings freaks and trying not to let on that I had no clue what anyone was talking about. Fortunately, the tour was actually pretty awesome. One thing our tour guide told us that really impressed me was the level of care Peter Jackson took to be true to the book. That was such a vote in his favor! There have been plenty of things I have avoided (Harry Potter) simply because I get so indignant over how people refer to the book versus the movie or to related books.

I’m digressing.

Wonder Boy and I watched Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. I am pretty sure this was a dream come true for Wonder Boy. Normally he has to watch his geek movies when I am otherwise occupied. Some reactions to the film:

• It’s long. I think I got bed sores on my butt from sitting still for so long. But overall it was pretty good!
• While I have certainly not sought it out, I know quite a bit about the Lord of the Rings movies. I did not know Orlando Bloom was in them. He looks so different! Make-up job well done.
• In part because I was able to watch the movie from the vantage point of having been in Hobbiton, I have such a huge respect for the movie trickery done in terms of making the actors all look such different heights.
• I heart Ian McKellan.
• I was distracted at several parts during the film thinking about the merchandising that must have occurred afterwards. You know people have replicas of that ring as their wedding bands.

Here’s the one additional takeaway I had. Seeing a much-hyped movie, a movie that some cult-like following, long after its release can be dangerous. I have been told by countless people how this movie is awesome. I think it was hyped up too much. I mean, I thought it was good, but not awesome.

Here are some photos of Wonder Boy and I in Hobbiton:

My reaction to going to Hobbiton.

Wonder Boy’s reaction to visiting Hobbiton.

This is Hobbiton. The Hobbiton scenes were filmed on a farm and the family who owns the farm is allowed to maintain the structures but not the decorations and things from the movie, hence the white-washed buildings.

Wonder Boy and I in Bag End. We are clearly taller than Hobbits.

The tree from the party scene.

This post originally appeared on Kate’s Point of View. © Kate. All rights reserved.