The Hobbit Movie Vs Book

The Hobbit Movie’s thirst for action in the movie has sacrificed key parts of the true story. The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien, and movie by Peter Jackson begins with a peaceful Hobbit who is pulled out of his usual environment and called to an adventure. He is joined by Dwarves and a mentor, Gandalf, to reclaim the Dwarves gold long forgotten in a mountain protected by a dragon, Smaug. The differences in character are present in the chapter, Inside Information, where Bilbo has two encounters with Smaug, one being a life threatening event. Tolkien’s original portrayal of Bilbo’s courageous and heroic character playing the role as the primary leader as well as Smaug’s sinister and manipulative character have wildly been altered to much simpler …show more content…
These changes have resulted in a very different movie that is much less effective at telling the original story. In the novel Bilbo is displayed as a strong leader among the Dwarves, however, it is quite the opposite in the movie. This display of leadership can be taken from the book as, “‘Ponies take some catching, I believe, after a long start. And so do burglars,’ he added as a parting shot, as he darted back and fled the tunnel”(Tolkien 227). In this scene, Bilbo is the one who makes the escape from the great Smaug. He uses his riddles and his overall cleverness In order to distract Smaug, which allowed him to make his escape, while the dwarves cower in their tunnel. He also managed to accomplish this feat all by himself with no clue of what to expect of Smaug. This shows Bilbo as a leader, which is a great part of Bilbo’s changing characteristics. Bilbo is the definite …show more content…
We can see the real Smaug in the book as, ¨’A fourteenth share, I suppose, or something like it, those were the terms eh? But what about delivery? What about cartage? What about armed guards and trolls?’¨(Tolkien 225)We can see that Smaug is very witty, his words and assumptions make Bilbo question his whole journey and everything he’s done for the dwarves. He makes Bilbo very paranoid and confused, he gets filled with thoughts that he might just be a tool for the dwarves that will be long forgotten. He wants to get in Bilbo's head and make him turn on his friends, the dwarves. He only begins to appear fierce after Bilbo flees and he unleashes his fiery breath. In contrast, in the film, Smaug is much more of a powerful force than a smart trickster. Smaug is relentlessly unleashing his fire and attacking the dwarves. He does not have the same mental effect on Bilbo and is a much larger physical than a mental threat. Peter Jackson has most likely done this to add more action and to make the film more enjoyable, as this will pull more viewers than a talking scene. It is also harder to display Bilbo’s thoughts in a film than in a book. He has made this change to enhance the visual appeal of the film, however, it has taken out the true, smart, trickster Smaug that is displayed in the true