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Galadriel55 · 10-09-2012, 07:23 PM

I have not read anything about it, so my thought are only my opinion on the matter and should not be treated as facts.

Firstly, I would think Tolkien wouldn't want to have his characters depicted like this.

While he has comedy in TH and LOTR, it is not purely comedy followed by more ridiculous comedy and some more mockery and comedy and a touch of adventure to give a Happily Ever After. His characters and his plot have depth to them beyond the Disney, they have complexity, they are not so purely clack-and-white (aha, if it's a princess, she's gonna be the good one and she likely has some evil stepmother and/or which that hates her... Instead, is Gollum good or bad? Does Radagast need redemption? Is Feanor good, evil, manic, or all three?)

Secondly, on a similar note, Tolkien's characters are different. Disney's are pretty much the same. If you see a princess cartoon, that princess will almost always have some set characteristics, and all shehas to do is change her dress and hair colour to turn from Cinderella into Sleeping Beauty. The prince is of course this gallant hero who saves everyone. These characters don't even have personalities, they just have appearances.

Tolkien's characters, on the other hand, have personalities. You can't say Beren and Turin have the same personality placed into different plots, because they are vastly different. You can't even say Merry and Pippin have the same personality, even though they are like brothers.

I would say that TH is the simplest work in the canon, and you don't really have that many differences between the Dwarves' personalities. That's because you don't need that many differences. They are a small crowd. Some stand out from the crowd - we get a lot of characterization of Thorin, and only slightly less of Balin. And the rest are not treated as major characters.

So I think Tolkien wouldn't want his characters to be fitted into a stereotypical frame and have the whole movie ridiculing them by making them do random funny things like tripping over and falling into things and what have you. Disney seems to sift out all the details and depth and leave only the "fun" layer. And... that's not something an author would want to happen to his story. And this idea fits in well with what Inzil quoted.

10-09-2012, 07:23 PM	#3
Galadriel55 Blossom of Dwimordene Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: The realm of forgotten words Posts: 10,310	I have not read anything about it, so my thought are only my opinion on the matter and should not be treated as facts. Firstly, I would think Tolkien wouldn't want to have his characters depicted like this. While he has comedy in TH and LOTR, it is not purely comedy followed by more ridiculous comedy and some more mockery and comedy and a touch of adventure to give a Happily Ever After. His characters and his plot have depth to them beyond the Disney, they have complexity, they are not so purely clack-and-white (aha, if it's a princess, she's gonna be the good one and she likely has some evil stepmother and/or which that hates her... Instead, is Gollum good or bad? Does Radagast need redemption? Is Feanor good, evil, manic, or all three?) Secondly, on a similar note, Tolkien's characters are different. Disney's are pretty much the same. If you see a princess cartoon, that princess will almost always have some set characteristics, and all shehas to do is change her dress and hair colour to turn from Cinderella into Sleeping Beauty. The prince is of course this gallant hero who saves everyone. These characters don't even have personalities, they just have appearances. Tolkien's characters, on the other hand, have personalities. You can't say Beren and Turin have the same personality placed into different plots, because they are vastly different. You can't even say Merry and Pippin have the same personality, even though they are like brothers. I would say that TH is the simplest work in the canon, and you don't really have that many differences between the Dwarves' personalities. That's because you don't need that many differences. They are a small crowd. Some stand out from the crowd - we get a lot of characterization of Thorin, and only slightly less of Balin. And the rest are not treated as major characters. So I think Tolkien wouldn't want his characters to be fitted into a stereotypical frame and have the whole movie ridiculing them by making them do random funny things like tripping over and falling into things and what have you. Disney seems to sift out all the details and depth and leave only the "fun" layer. And... that's not something an author would want to happen to his story. And this idea fits in well with what Inzil quoted. __________________ You passed from under darkened dome, you enter now the secret land. - Take me to Finrod's fabled home!... ~ Finrod: The Rock Opera