The Hobbit Preview
A Preview “Get it?”
December 22, 2011
By Oliver Layco
December 14, 2012 can’t come fast enough. After a few director changes, studio changes, and months of filming, the first footage of The Hobbit has been unleashed upon us; and all I can say is, I can’t wait to return to Middle Earth.
There is everything in this trailer I was expecting and much more. It introduces the basic characters and plot to the audience. It starts off with Bilbo talking to Frodo with a familiar tune accompanying them in the background. Then it goes to a flashback of Gandalf the Grey first asking Bilbo to go off on an adventure. We are then treated to some shots of the Shire and Bilbo going about his business saying that he can’t leave Bag End. This provides a simple sense of what Frodo referred to in the introduction of Fellowship of the Ring when he told Gandalf, “Before you came along, we Bagginses were very well thought of. […] Never had any adventures or did anything unexpected.”
This small glimpse shows those who haven’t read the trilogy or its prequel that the Bagginses were very much like normal Hobbits, small folk concerned with agriculture and good food.
We are then introduced to the twelve dwarves: Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori, Ori, and Thorin Oakenshield. The dwarves have been revealed before in their costumes over summer and through the production videos put up. But seeing them assembled in motion is just a spine chilling effect. Then to top it all off they start to sing one of their many songs from the book that carries out through a good portion of the trailer.
We then see some familiar environments and some new ones. We see Rivendell and Bilbo walking up to Narsil; we see Gandalf sharing a moment with Galadriel. Gandalf is also seen wandering about in what we can only assume is the dungeons of Dul Guldor. In the Hobbit book Gandalf is gone for a long period exploring this place due to rumors of the Necromancer taking up residence there. There’s also a sting sighting as we see Bilbo unsheathe the sword. The trolls that eventually turn to stone make a small appearance.
Since the book is being split into two movies, there was no Smaug sighting nor were there any Legolas or Evangeline Lily sightings. I know for a fact that BBB’s own J.D. Cook and I have already watched the trailer more times than we care to admit. Overall everything is done right with this trailer; from the scenes included to the way they incorporated the music. In the last scene we see the one ring in Gollum’s cave with an appearance by Gollum himself. Next December cannot come fast enough. Check the trailer out below.
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