So we have a map of Middle Earth, but how big a section of the world is that?

Were there other large forces at play in those other parts of the world that could have resisted world domination from Sauron if he had won Middle Earth?

I've read the lotr books when I was younger and got hooked on them for the longest time and still very much enjoy them. I've recently purchased the Hobbit books as well as the Silmarillion, what order should they be read so they follow one after another?

Can everyone elaborate more about the relationship between the Ents and the wizards, when I read this line my mind immediately thought that Radagast would be considered here as a wizard who would, “really care about trees”, alongside Gandalf?

Apologies if this is covered elsewhere in the legendarium - I’m still new to most of the universe:)

Is there anywhere I can purchase a large print version of the books?

I have just finished my costume, and this is the first photo of me in it. Unfortunately, I haven't watched anime yet because it won't be released in cinemas in my hometown :( Waiting for the digital release...no high expectations, I hope I'll enjoy it!

So logistically I GET that it's Frodo, but so many posters of LOTR feature Aragorn first and foremost, or Gandalf, and Frodo is somewhere in the background. Like I get it, Aragorn is the titular character of ROTK, but he isn't the main character, so why do so many posters feature him?

I was absolutely blown away. It's a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. I almost didn't want to cut it, but it was amazing

I get that Desolation of Smaug wasn’t perfect, some of the CGI was wildly excessive (the barrel river sequence) and not good, and the series probably could’ve been condensed to two long movies instead of 3 but I genuinely don’t get the hate this trilogy gets.

Martin Freeman is so personable and expressive as Bilbo it’s hard for me NOT to like the movies. And I get the love triangle between Legolas, Tauriel, and Kili was cheesy, but it’s so easy to overlook it. I also understand it strays from the books quite a bit, but I think on its own it’s not a bad trilogy.

Might also be an unpopular opinion but I like the final battle in Battle of the Five Armies. Paired with that movie opening with the Smaug destruction sequence, and ending with such a good heartfelt moment between Thorin and Bilbo, I think that movie checks all the fantasy boxes for me personally.

Early returns show an 82.6% drop of in Friday ticket sales from opening week to this week.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/date/2024-12-20/?ref_=bo_hm_rd

The animation wasn’t great, but other than that, I was quite happy with it. It was leagues above Rings of Power for me. It actually felt like Tolkien. It didn’t rely on nostalgia or “hey! Remember that thing from the movies! That thing was cool, right!” Nearly as often as RoP. There were a few moments where the nostalgia baiting was overboard, but in general I really enjoyed the stories of Helm and Hera.

I don’t know about all of you free peoples of Middle Earth but the march of the Rhùn to the Black Gate is one of the best Horns in the LOTR/Hobbit franchise. I know that there are many horns in the Movies but I’m telling you the Rhún is by far one of the best. Second for me would be the Horn of Rohan and Third for me would be the Harad horn coming in on those enormous Oliphants. I’d love to hear y’all’s opinions on the matter though.

In the beginning of The Hobbit, small groups of Dwarves knock on Bilbo's door every so often. Later in the book, to introduce the Dwarves to Beorn, Gandalf sends one or two of them at a time to ensure he accepts them. In both cases, the Dwarves seem to overwhelm the host by keeping them constantly occupied. This suggests that Gandalf likely used the same strategy with Bilbo before Beorn.

Is this all intentional by Tolkien?

P.S. Nevertheless, I find it frustrating how the movies depict this, as it’s one of the most interesting things of the book, in my opinion.

Art: Alan Lee

Do we know which of the 7 Elendil brought from Numenor were major if any?

I have an adorable LOTR story to go with it as well, it takes place last Christmas holiday time.

My partner had never seen LOTR, she had seen bits and pieces when it came on TV but had never sat down and watched the trilogy, said it wasn't her usual type of movie. So, naturally, I immediately booked 3 evenings for us to watch the movies, extended editions of course. What can I say? I'm a brave man.

Well, it turns out that she doesn't like them after all. She loves them! She was incredibly invested in the story and characters, it was infectious and I must say it felt like I was seeing them for the first time the way I was effected by the story. There were not a insignificant amount of times we both were in ewal emotional tears towards the last 3rd of ROTK. I've seen these films a dozen times, never have a cried during any moment before, let alone so frequently.

There's something really special about those moments we shared together that are quite unlike any other I've had with her. It brought us closer together and it's all thanks to TLOR.

Today is the year anniversary of the start of our first watch and she gifted me these this morning with a request that we watch them again. It's times like this that I absolutely adore being alive and for the existence of my partner who is absolutely incredible in every way.

Anyways, this will probably be buried and ignored but I wanted to share this story with people who hopefully can appreciate it and to ask a question.

Have any of you, had the pleasure of introducing a LOTR virgin to the films? If so, how did it go?

Merry Christmas everyone.

I was young, and had some comprehension issues, I guess you could say.

Somehow, during RoTK, I got Arwen and Eowyn confused. I thought Arwen nursed Faramir until falling for him and Aragorn ended up with Eowyn. I even reasoned it out that Aragorn had to marry her for the good of the realm. I thought the Arwen/Faramir romance was wild development, but he was a cool dude, so who was I to judge.

It was not until the movies came out that I discovered my error. I was even kinda smug feeling, thinking how crazy it was going to be for people to find out Aragorn doesn’t end up with his true love.

Suffice to say, I was quite thrown when things turned out the way they did. I then went and reread the books, and wondered what I was on when I first read them. It made for a memorable movie watching experience though!

Both feel like absolute reads