The Last Homely House

The Movie: The dwarves follow the pathway until the rocks clear away to give them a beautiful view of an elven outpost. Gandalf introduces the dwarves to the "Valley of Imladris," which Bilbo recognizes by its common name: Rivendell. He is awestruck by its beauty. Thorin is angry that they have been taken to "their enemy," and argues that the elves will try to stop them. Gandalf does not disagree, so recommends that he do the talking. The Company makes its way to the entrance of Rivendell, where they are greeted by the elf Lindir. Gandalf asks for Elrond, but Elrond isn't there. When he asks where he is, a familiar warhorn in the distance answers him. The armored warriors from the previous scene ride up, and encircle the dwarves. Thorin commands everybody to close ranks, Bofur tosses Bilbo in the center, and they all ready their weapons until Elrond dismounts and speaks with Gandalf. He complains, in Elvish, of the presence of orcs at their borders. Elrond politely speaks with Thorin, who is curt and rude in response. Elrond says something in Elvish that the dwarves take offense to, until Gandalf translates: it was no insult, but an invitation to break bread.

"What kind of steak you think they'll be serving?" "Depends. What kind of animal just up and dies when you surrender at it?" 

The Book: Bilbo sees a mountain in the distance, and when he's told it's the beginning of the Misty Mountains, and not Erebor, he starts to think of home. Gandalf is leading the way to Rivendell, where Thorin's Company is expected. Thorin raises no complaints. They walk for a full day, until its dark. Bilbo was falling asleep in the saddle when he suddenly caught the smell of elves, who burst out in song from the trees:

O! What are you doing,

And where are you going?

Your ponies need shoeing!

The river is flowing!

O! tra-la-la-lally

here down in the valley!

O! Where are you going

With beards all a-wagging?

No knowing, no knowing

What brings Mister Baggins

And Balin and Dwalin

down in the valley

in June

ha! ha!

O! Will you be staying,

Or will you be flying? 

Your ponies are straying!

The daylight is dying!

To fly would be folly,

To stay would be jolly

And listen and hark

Till the end of the dark

to our tune

ha! ha!

Tra-la-la-lally! Here down in the valley!

Bilbo is excited, and a little scared. The dwarves, however, were annoyed: sometimes elves tease dwarves, especially about their beards. An elf makes fun of Bilbo for being on a pony ("Isn't it delicious!" he says), and they sing another song that isn't transcribed. A young tall elf comes out from the trees, welcomes Thorin and Gandalf to the valley, and invites Thorin's Company in to supper.

What difference does it make? This is, obviously, an enormous change. Thorin's racism isn't an attribute of the character in the book. In fact, the only dislike the dwarves have towards elves is a bit of annoyance since they don't like having their beards made fun of. This is very different from the deep-rooted hatred evinced in the movie. Thorin holds no grudge, and doesn't have to be coerced into traveling to Rivendell. The scene itself is significantly less tense as a result: no insulting tone from Thorin, no raised weapons. Instead, we get song. The elves of the movie are significantly different in tone and demeanor than the book. They're still tall, graceful, and wise, but significantly more somber as well. Tolkein's elves are jolly and goofy, while Peter Jackson's are somber and serious. 

My Opinion: This is the kind of change that Peter Jackson shouldn't be making - it's one that he doesn't necessarily have to make, and seems to be just trying to make an "improvement" over the source material - but I quite honestly love these changes. Elrond is one of my favorite characters, and I really wouldn't enjoy seeing him prance around and singing a silly song. He was spared the Radagast treatment, and for that I'm thankful. I've also talked about my appreciation for Thorin's racism - I think it fits the overall plotlines of the Lord of the Rings universe, and just makes for a deeper, more interesting character. The two elements added together made the scene more dramatic and interesting. It's another example of The Hobbit changing from a light-hearted children's novel to a more serious adult film, but that's not a bad thing. Not everything has to be a ridiculously comical attempt to - 

Oh. Right.

Orc Attack

The Movie: Radagast hops on his sled and draws the orcs off, out of the woods and into a vast open plain. They follow him, while Gandalf and Thorin's Company run in a separate direction. On a few occasions, the Company is forced to change course, as they risk running into the orc pack that is chasing Radagast. Gandalf is leading them somewhere, and when Thorin demands to know where, he refuses to say. The dwarves huddle behind a rock As Radagast speeds off, a warg-mounted orc hops on the rock. Thorin nods to Kili, who shoots it before it can call the alarm on its warhorn. Dwalin, Thorin, and Bifur kill it, but the rest of the orc pack can hear the sounds of combat. Gandalf gives the order to run. Thorin's Company is running out of places to go, as the orcs surround and begin close in on them. Gandalf has disappeared. "He's abandoned us!" yells Dwalin. Thorin commands the dwarves to hold their ground, but Gandalf, having found a secret path, calls them to him. Thorin guards the entrance of a small rock tunnel that each dwarf slides down; he joins them last. A warhorn sounds, heralding the entrance of several armored warriors on horseback, who shoot the orcs down. As the orcs retreat, Thorin inspects an arrow that had killed an orc. Their saviors are elves.

"Fucking elves. You know they hug trees, right? What do you think they do with small shafts of wood?"

The Book: No such scene occurs. There are no orcs hunting Thorin's Company.

What difference does it make? The inclusion of the orc pack is huge. Not just in this scene, but in the movie itself. Unlike the trolls, or the Goblin King, the orcs are not present in the book in any way. Peter Jackson has added a new threat that constantly hounds the dwarves. This means that not only are scenes like this one invented out of whole cloth, but they have to be squeezed in between scenes that actually did happen in the books. This necessarily throws off the pacing of The Hobbit, and changes the order and reasoning of events. Furthermore, by making this a recurring threat, it adds an entire new plot line that requires its own climax and resolution. The more changes like this that occur, the less faithful the movie is to the book.

My Opinion: I'm of two minds here. First, it's a change that didn't have to be made. Unlike the fight with the trolls, or some small condensing of dialogue, this is not a change that was made to streamline the book into a good movie adaptation - it's a wholly unnecessary addition. It was exciting to watch, certainly, but that doesn't justify adding a villain just to chase the characters from one book scene to another. This is more than a mere modification. At this point, Peter Jackson is changing the story of the book. But on the other hand, he did need a reason to get Thorin to go to Rivendell. Thorin's racism, which is in my opinion an excellent bit of characterization, is not in the novel, either. He wouldn't have just taken the Company to Rivendell unless he absolutely had to. Furthermore, since the movie version of The Hobbit is divided into a trilogy, each movie would need a small story arc of its own. A buildup in the first movie for a climax in the second or third would just be bad storytelling. At least Peter Jackson put the orc attacks in places where they would not conflict with the rest of the novel's story. It's better to use it to propel the dwarves to Rivendell than, say, to have the orcs be allies of the trolls or something. It's not a change that I'm really happy with, but it's one that I can understand, and appreciate, the reasoning behind.

That said, I want to talk about what the fuck Radagast was doing. He said he would lead the orcs away, and that's what it looks... at first. He bragged about the speed of his rabbits, and sure enough, he's faster than the Gundabad Wargs. The movie shows Radagast exiting the forest first, then chased by the orcs, then Thorin's Company running out on foot. So why the hell did the dwarves keep running into the orcs? Why were they anywhere near them when Radagast just speeds away? Was he just going in circles or something? Did he forget what he was supposed to have been doing?

To be fair, we did watch him get stoned just five minutes ago. 

Old Toby

The Movie: Radagast, on his sled, bursts into the scene through the foliage. He is screaming about thieves and murder until he realizes where he is, and Gandalf introduces him to the Company. Radagast says was looking for Gandalf; he has something important to tell him, but when pressed, can't remember what he was going to say. He grows flustered that he'd lost his thought, then pulls a stick insect out of his mouth. Radagast and Gandalf walk away from the dwarves, and the brown wizard starts discussing the sickness that has befallen the Greenwood. Gandalf grows interested when Radagast mentions the spiders, which had come from Dol Guldur. Gandalf is surprised; the old fortress is supposed to be abandoned. Radagast tells of his investigation, and how he felt an evil presence. He was attacked by an uncloaked Nazgul, and saw the Necromancer, who whispered his name. Radagast grows distraught at the retelling, so Gandalf offers him his pipe and says "a little Old Toby will help settle the nerves." Radagast inhales deeply, and zones out with a goofy look on his face. Gandalf voices his doubts about the Necromancer, until Radagast shows him the sword of the creature that attacked him: "That is not from the world of the living," he says ominously. Thorin's Company hears a howling; Bilbo fears it may be wolves. Two wargs attack the Company, though they are quickly killed by Thorin, Kili, and Dwalin.

It was nice of this stone cold badass to let Kili fire off an arrow before fucking that warg's day up. It's important to let Little Beardless feel important every now and then.

Thorin realizes that an orc pack is nearby, and Gandalf declares that they are being hunted. Ori brings even worse news: the ponies have bolted. Radagast offers to draw them off, but Gandalf warns him that the Gundabad Wargs will outrun him. "These are Rhosgobel rabbits!" says Radagast. "I'd like to see them try."

The Book: No such scene occurs. There is no indication that Radagast was involved in the investigation at Dol Guldur. Thorin's Company is not attacked by wargs at this time, and they had their ponies until they were all captured by the Goblin King. This scene is entirely an invention of the movie.

What does it matter? I'd like to keep my discussion about the investigation of the Necromancer and Dol Guldur in another post, but one very important thing here is worth mentioning: Gandalf's insistence that Dol Guldur is abandoned. In the book, he knows it isn't - in fact, it's where he found Thorin's father, half dead, tortured by the forces of the Necromancer. The depth of this change is actually quite significant, but like I said, it's a topic for another post. I just wanted to draw attention to it here before discussing it again. Radagast plays a very large role in things, now - both by being the catalyst that draws Gandalf's attention to the Necromancer, and by saving the dwarves from the orc attack. His presence causes changes that further distances the plot of the movie from the plot of the book.

My Opinion: We know Gandalf's worth. And as shitty a character as Radagast is, we know he's a capable fighter. Many of the dwarves are warriors. Why, then, are they running from an orc pack, when they have two wizards with them? It's ridiculous. It's bad enough that the scene has nothing to do with the source material, but it's so incredibly contrived that it honestly drew me out of the story. Why retreat? Why not stay and fight?

Radagast, once again, proves to be a humiliating disappointment. His entrance into the scene is marked by shouting random bad things (thieves? fire? Are you warning people, or just screaming about shit you dislike?), then he just continues to act goofy and stupid. I don't know what was up with that bug in his mouth. A random, Family Guy-esque non-sequitur joke? Or is it supposed to be funny that he actually transports insects in his mouth? His battle with the Witch King was pretty cool, but any hopes I had for the character were dashed when I saw him take a hit of Gandalf's Old Toby.

Yeah, we get it, he just got high. Were the cartoon tweety bird sound effects really necessary?

As much as I hate Radagast, though, I really do like the decision to have him involved in the investigation of Dol Guldur. He does live closer to it than anyone else, and it absolutely makes sense to have him notice the darkness in Mirkwood (née Greenwood). This is an excellent decision on Peter Jackson's part, one that fits the role of the overarching storyline, as well as the purpose of the wizards. If only Radagast wasn't such a fucking joke, I'd give it my full support.

The Troll's Treasure

The Movie: It's morning, and all the dwarves have been freed from their bondage. Thorin approaches Gandalf as the wizard inspects the petrified trolls and asks, "Where did you go to, if I may ask?" Gandalf replies, "To look ahead." When asked what brought him back, he says, "Looking behind." Thorin smiles and nods, then insults Bilbo for getting them into trouble. Gandalf defends Bilbo for knowing to stall for time. They discuss the oddness of trolls coming down this far south, and Gandalf muses that they used to travel around these parts when "a darker power ruled." They look for, and find, the trolls cave. It's filthy and smelly, but filled with gold. Bofur thinks its a shame to leave it unattended, so Gloin has Nori fetch a shovel. Thorin examines a pair of swords covered in webs. Examing the steel, Gandalf realizes they are of elvish make. Thorin nearly puts his sword back in disgust before Gandalf tells him that he'd never find a finer weapon. Bofur, Nori, and Gloin fill a chest with gold and bury it in the cave. Thorin orders everyone to leave, but Gandalf notices a short sword covered in rubble. He decides to give it to Bilbo. Bilbo protests, having never wielded a sword in his life. Gandalf tells him the sword is of "elvish make," and will therefore glow blue when orcs or goblins are near. He tells Bilbo that true courage is not knowing when to take a life, but when not to take a life.

"You do realize I abstain from killing people all the time, right? I don't need a sword to do that."

The Book: After the dwarves are released from their bags, they demand to hear Bilbo's account of the troll incident. They berate him for trying to pickpocket the trolls, until Gandalf mentions that there ought to be a cave nearby that they should search for. They find it easily, but it is closed off by a large stone door. No amount of pushing, or Gandalf's magic, can open it. Bilbo finds a key that one of the trolls had dropped during their fight, and they use that to open the door. The troll's cave is full of gold, food, and weapons. Two swords catch their eyes, due to their beautiful, jewel encrusted scabbards and hilts. Thorin and Gandalf claim these for themselves, and Bilbo takes a knife. Gandalf notes that the swords were not made by men or trolls, but does not mention their elvish origin. Fili makes the decision to leave, but not before all the dwarves have taken as much food as they could. The dwarves sleep until afternoon, and then bury all the pots of gold in a secret area by the river. A great many spells are placed over the treasure to protect it - the text does not say if it's Gandalf who places the spells or not, but it's safe to assume that he is the only magic user in the Company. Thorin then asks Gandalf where he'd gone off to: the conversation plays out almost exactly as it does in the movie, only Thorin gets annoyed at Gandalf's mysterious answer and asks him to speak more clearly. Gandalf mentions that he'd visited Rivendell, and says that they will be going there in a few days time.

What difference does it make? The contents of the troll's cave is, broadly speaking, the same in both film and movie. The food in the troll's cave is not present in the movie, due to the fact that the dwarves in the movie are not suffering from dwindling rations. The gold and weapons are still prevalent. Orcrist and Glamdring are in simple leather sheathes in the movie, instead of the ornate, jeweled works of art described in the novel. Bilbo's role in opening the door is taken away entirely, and Gandalf's conversation to the hobbit about mercy is an invention of the movie. These both change the characterization of Bilbo Baggins.

My Opinion: I'm okay with the decision to remove the stone door, and consequently, the key that Bilbo finds. It's weird to think of the three stupid trolls digging out some hole in the ground, and then magically erecting a door that even a wizard couldn't open. It was also necessary that their shelter be somewhat temporary in the movie; it is an important plot point that trolls are unusual this far south, and giving them a permanent home with a sealed door would undermine that. I'll talk a little more about this plot point when I discuss the White Council. 

I like that Gandalf gives Bilbo the elvish knife, but I disagree with the decision to have him talk to Bilbo about mercy like he does. It's a weird sentiment to share with somebody who doesn't even want to carry a weapon: "It's better to NOT kill." Why give him a sword if you're going to encourage him not to use it? If he seems hesitant to own and use a weapon, wouldn't you instead want say something that may inspire bravery or confidence? I get that it foreshadows Bilbo's encounter with Gollum, but it doesn't make a lot of sense outside of that context. Furthermore, it somewhat undermines Bilbo's decision to spare Gollum. His gentle nature and sense of morality should have been sufficient, not a lecture he remembers from earlier.

Dawn Take You All

The Movie: About half the dwarves (Dwalin, Fili, Bifur, Bofur, Ori, Nori, and Dori) are tied up on a spit over a cookfire, while Bilbo and the rest of the dwarves (Bombur, Thorin, Oin, Gloin, Kili, and Balin) are all in a pile beside the fire. The trolls start to argue about how to cook the dwarves, but William tells everyone to hurry up - dawn is coming, and he doesn't fancy being turned to stone. Hearing this, Bilbo comes up with a plan. He tells the trolls that the dwarves will need something stronger than sage for seasoning. When challenged by William, Bilbo claims to know the secret to cooking dwarves: skinning them alive. The dwarves start yelling at Bilbo for being a traitor. Bilbo notices Gandalf scurrying behind some bushes just as Tom decides that he'll just eat them raw. He picks up Bombur for a snack, but Bilbo interrupts him by stating that he - and all the dwarves - have parasites. Thorin catches onto what Bilbo is trying to do, and kicks Kili. The dwarves loudly, and comically, start to play along with the hobbit's ploy. William, however, is also onto Bilbo, and angrily claims that "this little ferret" is taking them for fools.

You really think this is the face of somebody who's lying to you?

Just then, Gandalf appears atop a rock, and shouts that the "dawn will take you all!" He thrusts his staff down, shattering the rock beneath him, and allowing the light of the rising sun through. The trolls are all instantly turned to stone.

The Book: The trolls were arguing about how to cook the dwarves, and after much discussion, Bert came up with the idea to just roast the dwarves now, and eat them later. "No good roasting 'em now, it'd take all night," said a voice, and the trolls began arguing again. They finally agreed to boil the dwarves, but once again, a voice dissented against it, confusing the trolls and making them fight. Each time they came to an agreement, the voice disagreed; each time they heard the voice, the trolls thought one of the others was speaking. Then, a voice that sounded like William's cried out: "Dawn take you all, and be stone to you!" It had been Gandalf speaking the whole time; at that moment, the light came over the hill and turned the trolls to stone.

What difference does it make? This is a pretty huge one. The movie gives significant responsibility to Bilbo here; he very quickly acts after hearing the troll's weakness to sunlight, and acts quite deliberately to stall them before he even knows Gandalf was present. He's the reason the trolls didn't kill the dwarves immediately, before the dawn. Gandalf, too, was given a largely different role (since he was no longer responsible for stalling the trolls); his sundering of the rock was instrumental in exposing the trolls to such sudden sunlight. The conflict is resolved similarly to the book, but with sizable differences that change and expand the roles of the key players.

My Opinion: I'm all for things that make Bilbo Baggins look better, but this one really wasn't necessary. I don't want to start guessing at Peter Jackson's motivations, but, it looks like he's trying to speed up the pace in which Bilbo becomes a useful, contributing member of Thorin's Company. I get that, and I like it, but this is a little too much, too early. The troll incident suffices as an example of Bilbo screwing up royally - it's the sort of thing to show just how much he's grown later. One day, when he's killing spiders and dissing dragons, he can look back on this night and laugh.

"Remember when I nearly got you all killed by trolls? Yeah... good times."

A personal disappointment: I was looking forward to seeing how they were going to make Gandalf's voice sound like the trolls. Was Ian McKellan going to do his best troll impression? Were they going to use special effects to blend the voices together? Were they just going to use the troll's voices, having Gandalf use magic to literally make his voice sound exactly like theirs? It could have been a cool effect. Instead, we got a lame Bridge of Khaza-dum ripoff. 

Roast Mutton

The Movie: Bilbo overhears the trolls (named Bert, William, and Tom) talking as he creeps into their camp: "Mutton yesterday, mutton today, and blimey, if it don't look like mutton again tomorrow," says William. Bert, the cook and apparent leader, corrects William: it's "fresh nags" he's got. Tom complains that he doesn't like horse, but Bert is happy to have anything better than that leathery old farmer. Tom sneezes into the stew Bert's making as Bilbo struggles with the knot that's tied up the ponies. He sees a knife tucked into Tom's belt, and decides to steal it to cut the rope. The trolls continue to discuss William's awful cooking, including his use of squirrel dung as seasoning, as Bilbo sneaks behind Tom.

Ever met someone who's breath smells like they literally just ate a shit sandwich? Imagine what their ass smells like.

Bilbo's timing is awful: Tom feels a sneeze coming on, so grabs his hankey - and the hobbit, too, by accident. He sneezes all over Bilbo before realizing what he has in his hand. Weirded out by the way Bilbo squirms, Tom tosses him on the ground. William asks him if he's a squirrel, and Bilbo answers, "I'm a burg - a hobbit." Tom calls him a "burglarhobbit" and the three trolls try and grab him. After a little bit of dodging, William picks Bilbo up by the feet and asks if there's any more little fellows around. Bilbo immediately says "no," but Tom thinks he's lying, and wants to hold his toes over the fire. Kili bursts out of the bushes alone, and attacks Tom with his sword. He demands the trolls drop the hobbit, so they throw Bilbo at him. That's when the rest of Thorin's Company attacks: wielding swords, hammers, axes, and spears. 

I'm pretty sure Dori straight-up castrates Bert here.

In the chaos, Bilbo takes Tom's knife and cuts the knot keeping the ponies prisoner. The trolls notice what he's doing and grab him, holding him by the arms and legs. They threaten to rip his arms off unless the dwarves lay their weapons down. Following Thorin's lead, they begrudgingly do so, and all 14 members of Thorin's Company are captured.

The Book: One of the trolls says exactly the same line as the movie: "Mutton yesterday, mutton today, and blimey, if it don't look like mutton again tomorrer." The difference is, the complaint is valid this time: the trolls do not have horses to cook, nor had they just recently eaten a farmer's family (though William does make mention of Bert and Tom having had eaten an entire village and a half). Bilbo is unseen, and having discovered that its trolls at the campfire, has done his job and can report back to the dwarves. But he remembers reading that a truly exceptional burglar would not go back empty handed. To impress the others, he tries to pickpocket William as the trolls drank. William's pocket had a purse in it, but it was a magic purse, that spoke as it was touched: "'Ere, 'oo are you?" it squeaks, giving Bilbo away. Bilbo is immediately snatched by the neck and asked what he is. He answers: "Bilbo Baggins, a bur - a hobbit," and the trolls call him a "burrahobbit." They lift him by his toes and ask if there's any more of his sort hiding around. Bilbo says, "Yes, lots," then immediately says "No, none at all." He then pleads with the trolls, offering his services as a skilled cook if the trolls would only leave him alive.  William wants to let the hobbit go, but Bert wants to hold his toes over the fire, and they have a fight over it. 

Bilbo is dropped in the confusion, but struck by a wild swing from Bert and lay stunned. He watches the trolls fight for a short while, then Balin approaches the campfire. The trolls stopped fighting immediately and shoved a sack over Balin's head. Tom declares that there must be more dwarves, so they hide in the shadows. One by one, the dwarves approach, and one by one, a bag is placed over their heads. Bifur and Bombur had put up a fight when cornered. Thorin comes last, and Bilbo (who had escaped and hidden behind a tree) shouts that there are trolls; so Thorin leaps near the fire, grabs a flaming branch, and fights the trolls before a bag is placed over his head. All the dwarves are captured, and Bilbo is still hiding in the woods.

No pressure.

What difference does it make? Though this scene plays out very similar to the book - some lines are word-by-word identical - there are a number of very sizable changes involved. The first large change is the object Bilbo tries to steal. In the movie, he needs to steal the knife to cut the ponies free. In the book, there are no ponies for him to retrieve, and in fact his whole purpose there is to gather information, but he wants to steal something to impress the others. The magic talking purse he accidentally grabs is not in the movie at all. While the bag doesn't play any sort of vital role in the plot, it's one of the few magic items in The Hobbit; leaving out makes the world seem that much less magical. The method of capturing the dwarves is a large difference, too. The trolls are shown to be much smarter in the novel than they are in the film, by hiding and laying ambushes for each of the dwarves. The dwarves, comparatively, are shown to be much less intellligent in the book: they don't know what's at the campfire, and walk up one-by-one to get kidnapped. Only three of them put up any sort of fight. Bilbo's evasion of capture is important, as it changes how this conflict is resolved.

My Opinion: Some changes I like, some I don't. The talking purse always struck me as a little out-of-place in the novel, especially considering the role of magic, and magic items, in the Lord of the Rings saga as a whole. I'm personally alright with them removing it, but I can understand somebody disagreeing with this change - it's not really the kind of change to Tolkein's word Peter Jackson should be changing. The way the kidnapping of the dwarves was handled in the movie, though, is significantly better than the novel. I was honestly dreading this scene when I first saw the movie. It would get very tiring, very fast, to show a dwarf walk up, get a bag over his head, then another dwarf walks up and gets a bag over his head, etc etc etc. A battle like this is more climatic, interesting, and exciting - and it doesn't make any significant changes to the plot or characters involved. 

Also: in the movie, all the dwarves, and Bilbo, are captured the same way. A sack is tied around them in such a way that their arms and legs are bound, but their heads are free. In the book, all the dwarves have a bag over their head, yet Bilbo managed to evade capture. This is another example of a minor change that will affect the conversation Bilbo has with Smaug; in addition to having been chosen for the lucky number, Bilbo "came from the end of a bag, but no bag went over [him]." Again, this loses meaning since he was no longer the only one of Thorin's Company to avoid getting a bag over his head (though, technically, none of them got a bag over their head, so...)

Approaching the Trolls

The Movie: The dwarves have made camp for the night, and as Bilbo distresses over Gandalf's disappearance, Bofur says "He's a wizard! He does as he chooses." Then, he gives Bilbo two bowls of stew to take to Fili and Kili, who are watching the ponies. Only, as he arrives, Fili and Kili have some grave news: two of the ponies are missing. Something big had taken them, big enough to uproot some trees. Fili and Kili don't want to worry Thorin, so they decide that Bilbo, their burglar, should be the one to handle it. They see the light of a campfire at a distance, and hear the crude voices of trolls. The three of them get a little closer, just in time to see that one of the trolls had snatched up another two ponies. Fili and Kili decide Bilbo is so small the trolls wouldn't even see him, so they push him forward, telling him to hoot "twice like a barn owl once like a brown owl" if he needs them. The dwarves quickly disappear, and Bilbo works up the courage to creep forward.

Despite some initial reservations.

The Book: The dwarves are frustrated with their inability to make a fire in the rain. To add to their troubles, a pony bolts for no reason into the river, and Fili and Kili nearly drown trying to rescue it - but not before it lost most of the companies food supplies. Balin is the lookout, not Fili and Kili (the text explicitly states that he is "always their lookout"), and he notices a light in the distance. None of the dwarves, or Bilbo, are separated from each other. They argue about the fire, some dwarves claiming that it was too dangerous, and others arguing that it could mean some food and dry clothes. Oin and Gloin get into a fight. They decide to check out the fire, and they all creep ahead together. After getting a little closer, Thorin tells Bilbo that it's his job as the burglar to get as close as he can and make sure everything is OK. If he can't come back, he's to "hoot twice like a barn owl and once like a screech owl." Bilbo was off, before he could argue that he didn't know how to hoot like any owl.

What difference does it make? The differences here are minor. Once again, Peter Jackson plays around with the characterization of the dwarves. But like I said earlier, there's so little individual personality to them in the novel, it doesn't really matter. The changes here all lead up to the same situation: that is, Bilbo sneaks into the troll's camp by himself. It doesn't matter if the dwarves could or couldn't light a fire, or which dwarf told Bilbo to hoot like an owl.

My Opinion: For the most part, I like the changes made here. The desperation of the dwarves in finding food is an important factor in the decision to have them infiltrate the mysterious campfire. If this reasoning remained in the movie, then Thorin's decision to not go to Rivendell would be even worse - he'd essentially be risking starvation due to his own prejudices. In order to preserve Thorin's desire to avoid the elven settlement, Peter Jackson had to change the reason Bilbo needed to sneak up to the trolls. This is a good change, one that allows Peter Jackson to keep his own vision of Thorin's development without sacrificing anything important in the meantime. I also like that the dwarves' inability to make a fire was not a factor in the movie. The novel explains that "dwarves can make a fire almost anywhere out of almost anything," and that Oin and Gloin were particularly gifted at it. If they couldn't make a fire, how did the dimwitted trolls make one?