An interesting article on the transformation of LotR into a family film.

I don't think the films watered down the book characterizations; I think they humanized them. Not for the hobbits, who are from the book's perspective ordinary-size--but for the humans, and to a lesser extent for the elves and the dwarf. In the books the people are giants, people from the age of heroes, full of certainty. In the movies they are all much more unsure of whether they can meet the demands fate places upon them.

I could never connect with the book's Aragorn, who seemed to find it really easy to become king, at least from a mental perspective; the movie Aragorn, who struggles in TTT to reconcile his Elven upbringing with his Mortal blood and who in ROTK has to brace his shoulders after being crowned but before turning to the people of Gondor, is much more appealing to me than the book Aragorn.

That said, am I the only person who returns to the books and doesn't imagine the movie actors? They just fall away. There I am, thinking Aragorn's kind of a jerk again and Frodo is much thinner and browner and not nearly as pretty as Elijah Wood.

scrappy, you are not alone regarding your feelings about Aragorn/Arwen, nor regarding your impression(s) of Eowyn--from first to last.

But as it was, it was about ten minutes where it was Frodo Is Dead, No Wait, He's Fine And Happy, Well Maybe He's A Bit Alienated, Oh Hey He's Completely Incapable Of Enjoying Life. Not enough time to sell the impact everything had on Frodo.

Now--don't get me wrong--I wish they'd been able to include the Scouring of the Shire, but I think Jackson sold us a steady diet of the impact that everything had on Frodo, throughout the movies, and didn't need to sell it at the end. We had this happy little hobbit, who grew thin, and pale, and wraith-like, and was slowly corrupted to the point where he more strongly identified with Gollum-Smeagol than with Sam. He couldn't remember what strawberries taste like. I was already there. The translation of this book to film didn't thrill me the way FotR did, but things like that worked.

Of course, I'm not very far from Sean when it comes to Faramir, either.

And just because I've been meaning to post this since Saturday night: * PIPPIN'S SINGING BROKE ME. *

eta...

That said, am I the only person who returns to the books and doesn't imagine the movie actors? They just fall away. There I am, thinking Aragorn's kind of a jerk again and Frodo is much thinner and browner and not nearly as pretty as Elijah Wood.

I didn't re-attempt the books (tried them when I was too young, and not so interested) until after FotR, so I keep the movie's actors in my mind. I know what you mean though, although for me, it's usually better to keep the people my brain gave me. For example, no film version of Little Women has ever replaced my head's own pictures of them, but that's good.

I love Eowyn. I like Aragorn/Arwen. Strangely, do not find them mutually exclusive. I wish Liv Tyler had less wispiness and more gravitas, and think she did best in the first film, when (not coincidentally) she was given the most varied stuff to do; but I do think that the problem lies in the writing emphasizing a mystical connection between the two of them and not the length and depth of their attachment. Still, the greatness of Arwen's sacrifice to be with Aragorn comes through.

Also, I have strong residual Faramir/Eowyn leanings from the books, because when I was twelve it made perfect sense for my two favorite characters to get together just because they were my favorites.

I know what you mean though, although for me, it's usually better to keep the people my brain gave me.

Oh, it is better. I'm sure if I tried I could imagine the actors in, but I don't want to. The books and the movies are separate experiences.

ETA - Okay, Gandalf does look more Ian-McKellan-like than he used to.

Ian just *is* Gandalf. I don't think you can blame your brain-Gandalf for bowing under pressure.

eta...

It's like Clark Gable's Rhett Butler. Of course, I think I've read Gable was Mitchell's brain-Butler, too.

I already had a strong picture in my head of Frodo, Sam, and the other hobbits, as well as Gandalf, but most of the others have been supplanted with the film faces (especially Boromir, just because I prefer the movie version over the book one).

I'm flying out to Seattle to see my sister and mom for Christmas today, and was talking to Mom last night. I reminded her that probably on Friday I'll be taking both of them to RotK. After chatting a bit, I asked her if she had anything planned for the day today, before I arrive, and when she said no, I suggested that she pull out my sister's dvd of TTTEE, just so she could remind herself of what happened "Previously, on Lord of the Rings..." (she saw it with me in the theater last Christmas, but hasn't seen it since). I'm hoping she does, so she'll be even more involved in RotK. She liked FotR but not excessively (she kept getting Aragorn and Boromir confused, until one of them died), and would have fallen asleep in TTT if it were any later in the day.

Did we learn nothing from Castamir?

BWAH!

Oh, this made my day.

That said, am I the only person who returns to the books and doesn't imagine the movie actors? They just fall away. There I am, thinking Aragorn's kind of a jerk again and Frodo is much thinner and browner and not nearly as pretty as Elijah Wood.

Oh yes, except that I never thought Aragorn was a jerk. But Book!Frodo is much older than Elijah Wood.

Yes, like what--30 years older (plus the 9 years that were hopped right over in FotR).

The one thing I missed from the FotR book was the good conspiracy between the Hobbits, to help Frodo. Film!Mippin look like they're only along for the ride, because they were stealing vegetables.