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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Liking
Jan. 10th, 2013 03:32 pmI was not terribly excited to go see The Hobbit. Not only had friends' feedback been mediocre to poor, but my own personal relationship with the book was defined by frustration and disappointment. Two of child-Tealin's favourite things were Watership Down and David the Gnome,* so naturally adults were keen to recommend I read The Hobbit, as it was in the same vein of light-fantasy adventure, but I never took to it. I was reassured that this was because I was 'too young for it'; I read it again when I was older with the same result and was told I was 'too old.' Shortly after the last disappointment I discovered a different fantasy universe and spent the rest of my teenagerhood enthusiastically immersed in Redwall.
*Did anyone else see this cartoon? I swear it was on Nickelodeon back in the day, but I am coming to think I was the only child in North America who was tuned in at that time because none of my friends has heard of it.
I thought at the time that I just wasn't compatible with Tolkien. In retrospect, I think the real problem was that I was a preteen girl who loved epic adventure: a protagonist who hated the idea of leaving home and was going through something of a midlife crisis was someone I could neither relate to nor cheer on. It is an odd choice for a kids' book, when you think about it. Perhaps instead of suggesting I read it again in a couple of years, those kind adults should have told me, 'wait until you're on the threshold of middle age and have done some travelling yourself, then watch a film adaptation in which Bilbo Baggins is played by a completely endearing actor.' Because ... contrary to expectation and experience, I really enjoyed it.
Two important cards should be laid on the table at this point:
1. I saw the film in 2D, at 24fps (normal frame rate). I believe this made an enormous difference as I was not distracted by gimmicks. The 48fps alone probably would have ruined it for me.
2. I went into it with the sage advice of a good friend, which I pass on to you in case you have not seen it yet: Don't watch it like it's a movie – pretend instead that you're having a marathon of episodes from your DVD box set of The Hobbit miniseries.
( Rambling about a Rambling Flick )
( And now, trying to talk about it as an actual movie... )
A curious thing, though, to send it off: As much as I enjoyed watching the film, time with the characters, and visiting Middle Earth again, I'm not really keen on seeing it again. Maybe the desire will grow – after all, I only saw it a couple days ago, and it's quite an investment of time – but usually I can tell after the first viewing whether it's a movie I'll be seeing again, and this one I was happy to have seen and enjoyed once. Take what you will from that.
*Did anyone else see this cartoon? I swear it was on Nickelodeon back in the day, but I am coming to think I was the only child in North America who was tuned in at that time because none of my friends has heard of it.
I thought at the time that I just wasn't compatible with Tolkien. In retrospect, I think the real problem was that I was a preteen girl who loved epic adventure: a protagonist who hated the idea of leaving home and was going through something of a midlife crisis was someone I could neither relate to nor cheer on. It is an odd choice for a kids' book, when you think about it. Perhaps instead of suggesting I read it again in a couple of years, those kind adults should have told me, 'wait until you're on the threshold of middle age and have done some travelling yourself, then watch a film adaptation in which Bilbo Baggins is played by a completely endearing actor.' Because ... contrary to expectation and experience, I really enjoyed it.
Two important cards should be laid on the table at this point:
1. I saw the film in 2D, at 24fps (normal frame rate). I believe this made an enormous difference as I was not distracted by gimmicks. The 48fps alone probably would have ruined it for me.
2. I went into it with the sage advice of a good friend, which I pass on to you in case you have not seen it yet: Don't watch it like it's a movie – pretend instead that you're having a marathon of episodes from your DVD box set of The Hobbit miniseries.
( Rambling about a Rambling Flick )
( And now, trying to talk about it as an actual movie... )
A curious thing, though, to send it off: As much as I enjoyed watching the film, time with the characters, and visiting Middle Earth again, I'm not really keen on seeing it again. Maybe the desire will grow – after all, I only saw it a couple days ago, and it's quite an investment of time – but usually I can tell after the first viewing whether it's a movie I'll be seeing again, and this one I was happy to have seen and enjoyed once. Take what you will from that.
