How much Frodo grew...

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Don't you think Gandalf seemed more powerful and majestic by the end?

[Noxomanus]

Yes he did...just as in the book. In the beginning he was wise,at the end he was wise and powerful.

[The Saucepan Man]

i thought that there would be some people out there who would agree with me...

Well, I agree to an extent, elfwishes999. Frodo's character did develop through the three films. At the beginning, he was portrayed as young and naive. And, as the trilogy unfolded, he became more mature, responsible and wise. This becomes particularly evident when the Fellowship breaks up and he begins to take more control of the situation. As in the book, he heeds Gandalf's words and shows pity to Gollum. Although the scene where he sends Sam away does slightly mar this, he nevertheless shows pity once more when Gollum attacks him outside Shelob's lair.

But, and this is a big but, his growth as a character is somewhat overshadowed by the extent to which he succumbs to the Ring. I can understand why the film-makers chose to play this up, as they wanted to bring out the power of the Ring (hence the changes to Faramir too). But, to my mind, he "degenerated" far too much far too soon (which was what really overshadowed his growth as a character) and it was also handled rather unsubtly. Where he should have been showing courage and resolve, he was simply rolling his eyes and falling over on his backside.

In addition, because he starts off a lot less mature than the book Frodo, he grows to a much lesser extent than book Frodo. He has much further to go, but never really gets there. Accordingly, although he makes "world-weary" comments in his narrative at the end of RotK, they do not quite ring true and his departure to the Undying Lands makes a lot less sense than it does in the book.

Frodo's character in the film also, I think, suffers from the lack of some of his wonderful dialogue in the book, particularly his exchange with Faramir in Henneth Anun. Time constraints, I suppose, but I would have liked to have seen some of his more substantial dialogue included.

All of this, I think, is attributable more to the film-makers than it is to Elijah Wood. I cannot really fault his acting, more the way in which he portrayed (or was asked to portray) the character. As for his appearance, I have no difficulty with a young Frodo since, in the book, he was (like Bilbo) very "well-preserved" when he set off from the Shire. But it seems to me that Wood lacked the maturity and experience to portray the inner wisdom that book Frodo had, even at the start fo his journey. Hence, film Frodo appears young (in character) and naive at the start.

Having said all that, I can appreciate film Frodo as a character in the film (except the excessive falling over and eye rolling). It's just that he is a quite different Frodo from book Frodo, just as the story told in the film is a quite different story to that told in the book.

And, finally, I really do have to give Wood great credit for his performance from the "Wheel of Fire" speech through to their rescue by the Eagles. His acting in these scenes, I thought, was exceptional and perhaps the closest he got to capturing book Frodo.