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‘The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug’: 6 Book To Film Comparisons
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The Hobbit The Desolation Of Smaug

For an epic like Peter Jackson’s film trilogy of The Hobbit, whose source material has a major and rabid fanbase, there’s going to be a lot of dissection of the adaptations (that’s why it helps to watch the filmmaker’s 30 hours of Blu-ray bonus features). The folks over at the Tolkien fan site The One Ring have brought attention to a list, created by fan Gary Appenzeller, of the differences and similarities between The Hobbit book and its 3-film adaptation. The list, which includes instances from the first two films of the planned trilogy, is quite lengthy and even notes some of the very minor details.

Below are six items from the list that pertain to The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug, which was released in theaters on December 13, 2013.

The instances below in bold are from Appenzeller’s list; the text accompanying each item was written by me.

And, obviously, SPOILERS for The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug.

  • Bilbo’s taunting – Attercop, Tomnoddy, Lazy Lob

    When the dwarves are caught by the spiders, in the book, Bilbo sings to taunt the spiders and lead them away from his companions. This taunting, delivered in the book in song where the hobbit calls the creatures names like Attercop, Old Tomnoddy, Lazy Lob, and Crazy Cob, is not in the film. In the book, it’s explained that while the insults might not be great ones, Bilbo had to make them up by himself on the spot and that “no spider ever liked being called Attercop, and Tomnoddy of course is insulting to anyone.”

  • Kili is shot by a goblin.

    In the film, Kili is shot by a goblin during the barrel escape, but this doesn’t happen in the book. In the film, Kili is the good-looking one amongst the dwarves and his on-screen injury serves to fuel the love triangle side story with the female elf Turiel, who is a character that was created by the filmmakers.

  • The barrels are chased along the river bank by goblins, and Legolas and Turiel fight them.

    Though the barrels, with the dwarves in them, are going along the river in the book, the film adds in goblins running alongside them on the river bank and attacking them, with the elves Legolas and Turiel running along as well while fighting off the goblins. Legolas, while a major character from Tolkien’s Lord Of The Rings trilogy, is not part of The Hobbit; Turiel, as previously mentioned, is not a creation of Tolkien and was added into the film adaptation, appearing for the first time in Smaug.

  • Bard finds a parchment that indicates that Thorin is the King Under The Mountain

    In one of those convenient situations in the film, Bard The Bowman, who snuck the dwarves into Lake-town, finds a parchment that proves that Thorin is the actual King Under The Mountain as claimed. This isn’t something that’s in the book.

  • Bilbo’s hair is burned off the back of his head and feet, and his skin is scorched.

    While Bilbo is in the dragon Smaug’s lair, the dragon breathes lots of fire, and as with most action films, no one gets burned or even singes a single eyebrow. It’s the same in Smaug, though in the book, it states that Bilbo gets scorched and the hair on the back of his head and feet get burned off and the dwarves even try to do something for his burns. In the film, he pretty much walks out unscathed, even after being surrounded by fire.

  • The dwarves (and Bilbo) battle Smaug by tricking him into starting up some furnaces and covering him with molten metal.

    In the book, the dragon and the dwarves never encounter each other and Bilbo is the one who faces Smaug in his lair. In the film, there’s an entire sequence added where after a while, the dwarves come to rescue Bilbo and trick the dragon into starting up the furnaces, thereby melting the gold in the lair and conveniently covering the greedy dragon in molten metal. While this was a highly difficult and unlikely feat for the dwarves, its success did make for some spectacular action on screen.

Click here to take a look at Appenzeller’s massive list of similarities and differences compiled so far.

Jackson’s first film installment, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is out now on Extended Edition Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, and DVD. The Desolation Of Smaug is out in theaters now, while the final film, There And Back Again, arrives in theaters on December 17, 2014.

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48 Comments »

  1. I’ve read The Hobbit back in 1977, and damn, Peter Jackson, talent he may be, has SCREWED this movie in significant ways.

    Comment by SubSumeYou — December 30, 2013 @ 9:08 pm

  2. Quit bitching, the movie was awesome and you know it

    Comment by Fuckyoubitch — December 31, 2013 @ 1:14 am

  3. and anybody says that, smaug Call thorin oaken shield. When he recives that title After erebor escape??….

    Comment by David Calderon Huerta — December 31, 2013 @ 5:29 am

  4. People need to just take the film for what it is. The films are great in
    their own right. Do things happen in them that don’t happen in the book
    – yes. Should that matter, no not really. As long as it’s enjoyable.
    May I remind people that one of the most widely recognised great films
    is The Shawshank Redemption. The book only has 94 pages. The Curious
    Case of Benjamin Button is a 3 hour film and comes in at 126 pages. In
    my opinion adding stuff doesn’t make it worse but it makes it a lot
    richer. I think Peter Jackson and co have done a cracking job.

    Comment by DavieP — December 31, 2013 @ 5:39 am

  5. Madam or sir, you’ve not yet come back to your good senses. Good day.

    Comment by SubSumeYou — December 31, 2013 @ 11:01 am

  6. Pfft….let’s see you work on a book that is your heart and soul and spirit and let it get adapted for the screen and get back to us about how you feel when the studios asks for some changes.

    Comment by SubSumeYou — December 31, 2013 @ 11:07 am

  7. Feel free to try and make your own adaption of the book that you think is better.

    Comment by Rehab — December 31, 2013 @ 11:33 am

  8. Save it, you aloof mind hole.

    Comment by SubSumeYou — December 31, 2013 @ 11:48 am

  9. If you were able to read in 1977 you are too old to be relevant. Please keep your rantings on Facebook with the other people your age.

    Comment by OldPeopleAreDumb — December 31, 2013 @ 12:12 pm

  10. I hear you and there are other book to movie adaptations that I’ve hated. A lot dont actually make much sense unless you’ve read them. I’ve read LoTR and The Hobbit and I’m a massive fan of them. Im also a huge movie fan and I think they should be separated in peoples minds otherwise you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. If you only made films completely true to the book cinema would be incredibly dull. Recently saw The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Apart from the fact that there is a guy called Walter Mitty who daydreams the film was practically completely all made up by the screenwriter and it was fantastic.

    Comment by DavieP — December 31, 2013 @ 12:24 pm

  11. I have the same enthusiastic devoted love for books and movies, as you do, DaviesP, however, I just don’t feel that way about taking liberties and making changes that take things out of context, this is the story of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin and his people, not of Peter’s consideration to introduce fiction for the benefit of whom?

    No one benefits, it is a cheat and deceit .

    Maybe, you’re forgiving and it’s okay for you to buy into the product, fine. I won’t.

    Comment by SubSumeYou — December 31, 2013 @ 12:44 pm

  12. Thank you for your nincompoop input, Internet forum nagging house wife. Next….

    Comment by SubSumeYou — December 31, 2013 @ 1:21 pm

  13. Clearly your a dumbass hipster and every single comment here disagrees with you, and if your too Ignorant to see that. I’ll spell it out for you, you are wrong and quite stupid.
    P.s. your a fucking nobody, your opinion is valueless and your voice will never be heard

    Comment by Fuckyoubitch — December 31, 2013 @ 3:13 pm

  14. Faggot

    Comment by Fuckyoubitch — December 31, 2013 @ 3:13 pm

  15. Lol

    Comment by Fuckyoubitch — December 31, 2013 @ 3:14 pm

  16. Haha schooled you there, you didn’t even have an analytical response, lol, you ill conceived dickhead

    Comment by Fuckyoubitch — December 31, 2013 @ 3:16 pm

  17. You’re not making sense still, sonny boy. And what shall you do with faggots? You’re going camping?

    Comment by SubSumeYou — December 31, 2013 @ 3:18 pm

  18. You bring no surprises, of course, you would pat yourself on the back, what else is to be expected from a lonely moron, a category you hold down very well all by yourself. : )

    Comment by SubSumeYou — December 31, 2013 @ 3:25 pm

  19. Every major change to the film serves to diminish Bilbo’s contribution.

    -His spider rescue is much diminished in time and scope.
    -The barrel plan was something he worked out over time, the barrels were sealed, and Bilbo was completely responsible for the plans stealthy success.
    -The scene with Smaug is intended to show Bilbo trading barbs with Smaug, taunting him cleverly, and smart enough to stay invisible the whole time.
    -Instead of Bilbo spying Smaug’s weak spot, and word eventually reaching Bard, it’s a legend Bard is already aware of.
    -The dwarves confronting Smaug to save Bilbo — completely ridiculous from start to finish.
    -Bilbo hesitates to wear the ring, and takes it off too soon every time. In the book he wore the ring for long periods, wisely, though in the elven halls being a nonentity wore on him (another greatly abbreviated element).
    -All throughout this part of the book, the dwarves are shown as flawed, impetuous, and vulnerable, while Bilbo is careful, clever, and stealthy, simply because someone has to be. We see that Gandalf, against all initial appearances, chose the lucky number very well.

    In short, this movie covers the part of the book where Bilbo comes into his own, where he becomes Spiderslayer, Barrel Rider, Lucky Number, and yes Burglar. Jackson completely loses that in his insatiable desire for increasingly ludicrous, emotionally empty, no-stakes spectacle.

    Why call it the “The Hobbit” when Jackson clearly wanted to make “Thirteen Fireproof Dwarves and Their Little Mascot”. Ironically, Bilbo is mostly just a witness to the events to come. If we must have three movies, this one should have been his chance to shine.

    Comment by Latverian Diplomat — December 31, 2013 @ 9:07 pm

  20. Lol, what the fuck are you saying? Your not making any sense, you sir are a fucking retard but I’m sure you are already well aware of that

    Comment by Fuckyoubitch — January 1, 2014 @ 1:36 am

  21. Oh my god, just shut the fuck up, faggot, your a fucking nobody, your just embarrassing yourself

    Comment by Fuckyoubitch — January 1, 2014 @ 1:38 am

  22. Haha, you have nothing to say, your fucking hopeless. Here, take some advice from your superior, me. Quit bitching about multimillion dollar franchises, which get great reviews and are more successful than your will ever be in ten life times. Second move your fatass out of your mother’s basement and find a job. And most important, get your dad’s dick out of your mouth, fuckface

    Comment by Fuckyoubitch — January 1, 2014 @ 2:02 am

  23. You are diseased.

    Comment by SubSumeYou — January 1, 2014 @ 7:53 am

  24. Seriously stop with the smart comments, The movies may differ from the book, but a lot of it was taken off of appendixes and notes that J.R.R. Tolkien wrote himself. Stop going on websites and spreading your useless thoughts on the movie, no one cares. The movies were excellent and a lot of people think it was as well. Your just an attention seeker and a troll. If you hate the movies so much, don’t watch them, stop crying like a baby and get over it and if that’s too hard for you try making the movie your self which you would do half as well as Peter Jackson does. Not even that you would do horrible, so fuck off the internet.

    Comment by Bilbo Baggins — January 1, 2014 @ 9:29 am

  25. You are a cancer and I’m here to cut you out

    Comment by Fuckyoubitch — January 1, 2014 @ 4:13 pm

  26. Haha nothing coherent to say as a response, you dumbass

    Comment by Fuckyoubitch — January 1, 2014 @ 4:14 pm

  27. Seriously? Ha ha ha……you’re a disease.

    Comment by SubSumeYou — January 1, 2014 @ 10:14 pm

  28. All you do is squawk, squawk, squawk…..so, this is what spending some time with you in your underwear world you call your life is like LOL

    Comment by SubSumeYou — January 1, 2014 @ 10:17 pm

  29. Lol you just admitted to the fact that your wrong haha. And what the fuck is that, you want to see my underwear? I knew your some middle aged faggot living in his mothers basement

    Comment by Fuckyoubitch — January 1, 2014 @ 10:54 pm

  30. Nothing new? Typical

    Comment by Fuckyoubitch — January 1, 2014 @ 11:01 pm

  31. Shaddup, stupid.

    Comment by SubSumeYou — January 1, 2014 @ 11:03 pm

  32. ♪♪♪Hm-mmm.♪♪♪

    Comment by SubSumeYou — January 1, 2014 @ 11:05 pm

  33. Haha you can’t even spell anymore, your judgement is impaired. You can’t even come up with a response thats even remotely intelligent

    Comment by Fuckyoubitch — January 2, 2014 @ 1:16 pm

  34. Typical, no response that sounds even remotely intelligent

    Comment by Fuckyoubitch — January 2, 2014 @ 1:18 pm

  35. Dipshit, can’t come up with a remotely intelligent response, you are truely pathetic

    Comment by Fuckyoubitch — January 10, 2014 @ 8:00 pm

  36. You are like a demented attention seeking groupie force of one, ten days after and you’re still on the rag with this? ROTFLMAO. why don’t you bust a blunt or have sex or something? LOL I think the stress is definitely screwing your mind, noodles. Ha ha ha Yeah, you better have sex with somebody, don’t know who, to calm your goofy stressed self out . Ha ha ha

    Comment by SubSumeYou — January 10, 2014 @ 8:15 pm

  37. Typical, resorting to name calling like a ignorant teen, this article is shit and now I have gotten you to admit to it. Nothing coherent, analitical, productive, or even creative to say. get a real job at McDonalds or something, it’s the only job you can acquire with credentials like yours, that will inevitably lead nowhere

    Comment by Fuckyoubitch — January 10, 2014 @ 11:19 pm

  38. Yawn, it’s a Friday night, leave the computer alone and go out with a girl you nervous nag. Ha ha ha

    Comment by SubSumeYou — January 10, 2014 @ 11:49 pm

  39. As expected, you have run out of things to say, you’re a sad, lonely child, with nothing better to do

    Comment by Fuckyoubitch — January 11, 2014 @ 1:16 pm

  40. Blah

    Comment by SubSumeYou — January 11, 2014 @ 7:59 pm

  41. Yep, nothing left in that ignorant head of yours

    Comment by Fuckyoubitch — January 12, 2014 @ 2:00 am

  42. Ha ha, Go hang yourself, mental instability.

    Comment by SubSumeYou — January 12, 2014 @ 9:33 am

  43. Again, no surprises, you are typical and unjustified. Nothing in that piece of shit mind of yours

    Comment by Fuckyoubitch — January 12, 2014 @ 1:09 pm

  44. I find it kind of strange you think Bilbo is diminished, he’s perfect in this film, he’s there when it matters but he doesn’t get in on every single scene and we can see other viewpoints and side stories. Audiences aren’t stupid, we don’t need it spelling out that Bilbo is a little genius in every scene. We understand that just fine from the things he does in PJ’s script.

    – The spider rescue was enjoyable to watch, he distracted the spiders, named his sword, rescued the dwarves and even managed to have a scene showing the effect of the ring on him, which was a nice touch because of the previous LoTR films.
    – Bilbo IS responsible for the escape of the dwarves from the Elf King’s palace, sure they added the extra action sequence but it was fun and did not diminish the fact it was basically down to Bilbo’s wits. Martin Freeman was great in that entire scene. I don’t think seeing a shot of some sealed barrels floating down the river would have the same effect on screen, you need to show things visually with film and keep the audience coming back for more ; sealed barrels bobbing along a river or dwarf filled open barrels with interaction AND a fight scene that even includes a well loved character in Legolas?
    – With Smaug, I don’t think having Bilbo play riddles would work as well, because they already used that with Gollum and so it would seem repetitive. Some whingers already complained about the story using the repeat themes/scenes (such as the eagles that were also used in LoTR). Jackson has to cater to a huge audience of fans, casual cinema goers, first timers and critics, not just book purists. Even without riddles, Bilbo and Smaug have a great scene together.
    – For Bilbo to tell Bard about the weak spot he would have to leave the mountain, or they use talking animals which seems twee for the tone of PJ’s films, he obviously prefers to interpret the books in a more serious, dark tone. It’s only a minor tweak and it makes sense that a man living near the dragon would already know a few tales and legends about it, I think it’s nice how they worked in that Bard was the descendant of the man who caused the weakness in Smaug.
    – the dwarves confronting Smaug. How is it ridiculous that a group who have travelled so far would try physically reclaim their home and kill the beast? They already tried to escape the mountain with no confrontation but we see that is not an option. Nobody has helped them, they can only rely on themselves and they are trying to kill the beast with what they know will hold his attention long enough for them to try, gold. This scene also sends out another message about the greed, madness and vanity of the dwarves by showing the statue their ruler had made of himself.
    – In the entire two films the dwarves and Bilbo are shown with exactly the same qualities as you have described, except they are given far more character development than in the book, Thorin alone has become a huge fan favourite because of his flaws, his darkness, his good side and the actor’s skill in capturing all this. I am glad the dwarves have been made more serious rather than a bumbling line of little men who look like garden gnomes with their bright little stockings and colourful hoods. In the beginning of the book Gandalf comically mentions to Thorin that his grandfather and father had their beards singed by the dragon. He explains everything about Smaug’s torching of Dale, whereas Jackson brilliantly SHOWS us this all happen. I don’t see tragedy and hopelessness in the childish beginning of the Hobbit book, it’s obviously a children’s book and I almost expected Noddy and Big Ears to show up and help out.

    Comment by Anastasia Nemcova — January 14, 2014 @ 8:37 am

  45. Personally I love the Hobbit films. I’ve read all of Tolkien’s books and for some reason I am opened minded enough to enjoy both books and films.
    It is making me kind of sad how some people are so filled with hate over minor changes but they are totally ignoring all the good points about the films, including the soundtrack and the way the languages of Tolkien are given voice rather than being confined to pages. I’ve seen far too much whingeing and whining along the not too exaggerated lines of “Oh but why would we care about the good points when the barrels aren’t sealed! Boohooo the elves have a bigger role and the Prince of Mirkwood is actually living in his own father’s palace which just wasn’t in the book! sob sob I don’t care if the Hobbit was written before Legolas was invented and Tolkien himself wasn’t exactly happy with it and prone to editing things years after it was MY childhood favourite! Beorn doesn’t have that “hilarious” scene where the dwarves we’ve already met get reintroduced by Gandalf, Oh no there’s a female elf expanding on the roles of the unnamed elves in the book and having romance hinted at too my life is ruined!”

    Comment by Anastasia Nemcova — January 14, 2014 @ 8:44 am

  46. I enjoyed the changes made in the film. I did prefer the way the came upon the wood elves in the book better. It would have been cool to see a film representation of them chasing the light of the camp and seeing the lights go out and everything going quiet as they approach the elves camps. That was when Thorin was captured by the elves. Thorin didn’t get trapped by the spiders. He was already prisoner to the elves before the other dwarves were captured.

    Comment by Dre LeBlanc — January 14, 2014 @ 3:06 pm

  47. That’s really the only thing so far that I wish had been included in the film, as I think it would’ve made Mirkwood feel more mystical and magical.

    Comment by EgyptianSpaceDog — April 6, 2014 @ 5:10 pm

  48. It may just be me, but I don’t really feel like there were that many changes, only things that were reworked/expanded upon to suit the films better. I’m definitely glad Bard was developed beyond a “grim-faced man”, and the inclusion of the events at Dol Guldur works. I think the book’s storyline would’ve been too much to be properly shown in one (or even two) films, though the added scenes are necessary to help break it up.

    Comment by EgyptianSpaceDog — April 6, 2014 @ 5:12 pm

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