Get It - Dec 2012

Review
An Unexpected
Journey for a
1937 children’s
book
DON’T
MISS!
‘The Hobbit’
JRR Tolkien’s classic masterpiece, ‘The
Hobbit’, is expected to draw hordes of
fantasy fans to cinemas countrywide as
it makes its debut on our big screens on
14 December.
Three fantasy-adventure films will
follow the journey of Bilbo Baggins in
his epic pursuit to reclaim the lost Dwarf
Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome
dragon Smaug.
It may seem like a cliché now - the
unlikely hero confronting a dragon -
but Tolkien’s imaginative hero quest
between the Age of Faerie and the
Dominion of Men was an immediate hit
75 years ago and the original fantasyadventure
set the tone for books and
films following the mythic fantasy theme
for many years to come.
When the book was first published
in 1937, millions of people, young
and old, fell in love with the story
commencing with a modest Bilbo
Baggins comfortable in his hobbit hole
in Hobbiton, The Shire, when an old man
04 Get It Zululand December 12
with a staff and a tall pointed hat, a long
grey cloak and a very long white beard
appears and falls into conversation with
the hobbit.
‘The Hobbit’ was originally intended
to be a children’s tale. However, the
overwhelming success of the book
illustrates how countless individuals of
all colours, shapes and sizes across the
globe could and still can identify with
the wonderfully simple Bilbo Baggins.
Perhaps, deep down, we all feel like
little hobbits wanting only the comfort
and peace of a warm place safely tucked
away in the world. However, on the
other hand, there is Bilbo’s fun side as
he secretly harbours a love for maps,
explorations and fairy tales.
Today, after a 17-year-pursuit to film
the fantasy novel, Peter Jackson is finally
giving us the prequel to ‘The Lord of the
Rings’.
Jackson originally expressed interest in
filming ‘The Hobbit’ in 1995, envisioning
‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’
as one trilogy, but could not get the
production rights to his first choice, so
he soldiered on to produce the wellreceived
trilogy ‘The Fellowship of the
Ring’ (2001), ‘The Two Towers’ (2002) and
‘The Return of the King’ (2003).
Anyone who enjoyed being
transported to Middle Earth by Jackson’s
‘Lord of the Rings’ would be overjoyed
about its upcoming prequel trilogy.
‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’
will be the first installation of the film
series with ‘The Desolation of Smaug’
to follow in 2013 and ‘There and Back
Again’ in 2014.
The series will star Ian McKellen,
reprising his role as Gandalf, Martin
Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, Richard
Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, and
Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug.
Several other actors will reprise their
roles from The Lord of the Rings,
including Andy Serkis, Hugo Weaving,
Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Ian
Holm, Elijah Wood, and Orlando Bloom.