The Hobbit — J.R.R. Tolkien

Purposely written as a tale recounted by J.R.R. Tolkien to Christopher—his son and editor—before hitting the sack, The Hobbit faddishly burgeoned and established a solid domicile within the world of literature. While a myriad of authors had already published works on the fantasy genre way before Tolkien, the enormous success of The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings served as a catalyst in the resurgence of the said brand, causing him to be widely labeled as the “father” of modern fantasy literature—or to be exact, the “father” of high fantasy.

Throughout the years, the term fantasy became synonymous with that of Tolkien’s work’s generic facet. A teeming band of authors were said to have been influenced by Tolkien’s creations—Christopher Paolini, J.K. Rowling; to name a few. Comprehensively enough, Tolkien’s imaginative vision of Middle Earth stimulated the already flourishing creativity and wit of those who eventually ended up in line with his craft.

Being the predecessor of a likewise anticipated trilogy, The Hobbit on the contrary, steered clear from the darker tone that The Lord of The Rings solidly established. It is a friendlier, wonderfully jovial tale that will definitely appeal to all ages. Encompassing an exhaustive routine of adventure-fueled scenes, there’s no wonder every page will provide you with a flurry of mixed emotions, thoroughly synthesized for that persistent provocation of fervor.

The narrative style, on the other hand, somehow reminds me of Alexandre Dumas’. Tolkien aims to address his audiences directly, almost as if you are both sitting on a bench, chatting like old friends. He reminisces past events as well as supplies you with subtle hints with forthcoming events, in a way that isn’t bothersome but surprisingly fun.

And oh, Middle Earth was exquisitely portrayed and appeared to be vividly picturesque in every corner. You can almost believe that Tolkien had seen this fictional world as Bilbo Baggins himself!

Ahh… Bilbo Baggins. The diminutive, gentle creature with furry feet. He’s not the finest archetype of what you call a hero, you see. Eating an early breakfast and a rather late one, smoking pipe in his fanciful armchair is what he does best. Is this one of Gandalf’s bantering monkeyshines?

Definitely not! Bilbo Baggins is one hobbit you shouldn’t belittle! There is more to that queer duck than meets the eye!

No matter how little Bilbo is, he blatantly attempts to lure the readers into his endearing demeanor and wins your heart in a fleeting moment by reviving his dormant gallantry. Would the dwarves still live to see the stolen treasures from their ancestry if it weren’t for Bilbo saving them from the vicious creatures so vigilantly committed to killing them?

Needless to say, The Hobbit motivated me to visit the whole series. But at the moment, The Lord of The Rings should have to wait—for I still have a pile of books waiting to be read!

 

Rating: ★★★★✰

Callan McCauliffe Dishes on The Hobbit

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, directed by Peter Jackson who brought to life Middle Earth in The Lord of The Rings, is the first of a three-part film adaptation of the 1937 novel The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, which opened up in theaters on December 14, 2012.

I myself did not hesitate to spend on a movie ticket. I was totally exhilarated since four of my cousins plus my sister are going to watch with me. Sadly, the exhilaration turned to dejectedness as soon as they revealed that they couldn’t come due to church activities (it was a Sunday night) and the other one got too absorbed in her shopping trip, failing to check her phone for texts and missed calls and forgetting to keep track of time. (I know, I should’ve yanked her hair. lol) I ended up watching with only my sister, but who cares? At least I didn’t missed out on anything, but they did!

Oh, I’m actually getting too far-off from the Callan McCauliffe thingy here. (Sorry!) Anyways, not only is Callan a great, handsome, young actor but he also have a lot to say in different stuff. Read here what he has to say about The Hobbit:

Ahh The Hobbit. If you’ve not seen it already you should, I think.

A few more movies a year in which not much thinking is required, but one can still become engrossed in imaginative storytelling, would be a marvelous thing indeed. Not too many as to make us want for the movies we already have (and leave us in a reverse of the pickle we are in), but enough to balance it out a bit, so that there are a few less think-a-lots and think-a-nots, and a few more simple adventures, with interesting characters, and wonderful things to see, where the level of tinkering is somewhere in the middle.
If you go into a film without a checklist of long adjectives, I think you’ll find that you’ll enjoy a great deal more of the movies, you see.
To pay such a meager amount to see the result of the massive cumulative effort that is most films, is a gift many overlook.
If you can be entertained by a movie, provided you’re not laughing at it’s expense—it is a good movie, or at least, it’s a good movie for you. If not, you may find that it’s not actually a bad film, but rather that it’s just not your type of film, and that you’re better off seeing something more suited to your personal tastes.

Too long, didn’t read:
The hobbit was great and we need more movies like it.

We shared the same thought after all. 🙂

 

Movie trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOGsB9dORBg