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daughter.of.twilight
The Shire
Dec 5 2007, 2:07pm
Post #1 of 15
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Hope everyone is still doing okay 
I was (yet again) re-watching LoTR and I thought of asking here something that I have discussed with various other people over time - namely around the character of Gimli.
I was wondering what you think of his characterisation, especially in terms of the fact that he has a strong Scottish accent in the films. And wondered further if anyone reads either positive or negative connotations into that characterisation.
D.o.T
Discussing National Identity In Jackson's Films Here
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DunedainRonin
The Shire
Dec 5 2007, 2:37pm
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I dont know why..but I always pictured dwarves with a scottish accent. It just seems to "fit" them, and when I read about Gimli I have a scottish accent on him as well. Gandalf has a very "british" accent. I thought it was spot on myself, and I have a feeling any more movies that come out with dwarves in them are going to duplicate what mr davis did..
heck..even in world of warcraft..they have a scottish accent...
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weaver
Half-elven
Dec 5 2007, 4:00pm
Post #3 of 15
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well, it does help to differentiate him...
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Not only by height, but by dialect, I guess. It did not bother me, though I am not one to understand the cultural differences involved.
Weaver
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Owlyross
Rohan
Dec 5 2007, 4:16pm
Post #4 of 15
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As the Glaswegian scots have a reputation for, how shall I put it, feistiness and temperament... So in that way I can see why they did it. The guttural qualities of the Sots accent seem to translate well into the Dwarf language, Khazad Dum sounds great said with that accent.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both."
Benjamin Franklin
The world is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think.
Horace Walpole (1717 - 1797)
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énethoraï
Registered User
Dec 6 2007, 12:40am
Post #6 of 15
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But then again, I saw the first two movies before reading the books, so unfortunately, I always pictured Gimli as John-Rhys Davies' interpretation of him.
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Finding Frodo
Tol Eressea
Dec 6 2007, 6:03am
Post #7 of 15
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I always thought dwarves seemed German, or maybe Russian -- a vague and probably incorrect impression based on perceived similarities in language. IIRC, somewhere in Letters Tolkien compared dwarves to Jewish people (I hope that's not offensive to anyone). It was very surprising to hear Gimli speaking with a Scottish accent, especially when he calls Aragorn "laddie". It doesn't really bother me, but it isn't what I had in mind.
Where's Frodo?
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DunedainRonin
The Shire
Dec 7 2007, 2:04pm
Post #9 of 15
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Okay...so How about this Silly question...?
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okay, lets do it this way...
What about the LOTR cartoons and Hobbit Cartoon?
Did the Dwarves there have a accent?
How many dwarvish characters can you guys recall besides Gimili and what kind of accent did they have?
I can think of several..but they are game based. You have the dwarves from WOW which do have the scottish accent going...
You have the dwarf from that horrible dungeons and dragons movie...he had a scottish accent...*(not to mention he was all wrong)*
*thinks* I doubt you could count the "halflings" from Willow, since they were more hobbits than dwarves, but they had the whole scottish accent going too..
anyone else?
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Elizabeth
Half-elven
Dec 7 2007, 7:05pm
Post #10 of 15
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isn't his accent, which I like a lot, but the fact that he's used for comic relief and is the focus of way too many cheap laughs.
Jackson was generally using various British regional accents for the characters (orcs are Cockneys, for example), and Pippin has a somewhat different Scottish accent.
Son of Elizabeth in Frodo's tree
March, 2007
Elizabeth is the TORnsib formerly known as 'erather'
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BuckyUnderbelly
Lorien
Dec 7 2007, 9:18pm
Post #11 of 15
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You're absolutely right about that.
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I totally agree. The few minutes of Gimli's "comic relief" moments were really my ONLY real gripes in the entire 13 or so hours of the LOTR film trilogy. I was really disappointed that he was often used to generate lowest common denominator laughs. He's always been one of my favorite characters (perhaps because I'm a stout, sturdy, hairy fellow myself!) and I found that these occasional moments of burping, farting, or tossing really robbed him of his dignity. Perhaps I'm being oversensitive, but those moments bugged me.
And since he was the only Dwarf we get to know in those films, it kind of robbed the whole race of its dignity as well.
I also regret that perhaps his finest character moment was omitted from the theatrical cut of Fellowship. His "She gave me three" moment after the Lothlorien gift-giving sequence made me seriously mist up. It was beautiful and heart-felt. Arguably my favorite moment in the first film. Which is saying a lot. They should have done more of that kind of thing. We didn't need belching and tossing.
I'm not saying the character couldn't have been used to generate the occasional laugh. But my complaint is in the kinds of laughs they went for. As a writer myself, I can tell you, there are plenty of ways you can make a character funny without sacrificing his dignity. They could have gone a hundred different ways, like playing up his bellicose and blustery side -- the proud warrior. But instead they chose the belching and farting. Disappointing.
The treatment of Gimli is really my ONLY concern about PJ & Co. possibly making The Hobbit. I have a nagging (and probably unfounded) fear of how he'd handle a whole movie full of Dwarves. I fear how goofy and base the whole undertaking could become.
Let's hope I'm just being paranoid!
"In Hollywood the screenplay is a fire hydrant. And there's a line of dogs around the block." -- Frank Miller
(This post was edited by BuckyUnderbelly on Dec 7 2007, 9:19pm)
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N.E. Brigand
Half-elven
Dec 7 2007, 10:10pm
Post #12 of 15
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There is a Semitic cast to their language.
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Tolkien's comparison also involved both being a wandering people whose native tongue was of a totally different character to the other peoples in the lands in which they lived.
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We're discussing The Lord of the Rings in the Reading Room, Oct. 15, 2007 - Mar. 22, 2009!
Join us Dec. 3-9 for "In the House of Tom Bombadil".
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frodolives
Lorien
Dec 8 2007, 1:09pm
Post #13 of 15
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I have completely "fixed" Gimli's buffoonery in my re-edited versions of the films. I do like the Scottish accent however.
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Galadriel Lady Of Light
The Shire
Dec 21 2007, 6:19am
Post #14 of 15
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In the films they made him funny I loved the way Gimli & Legolas Were with Each other They both made my laugh. The way they done the Gimli character in the films, (To me Anyway) He came across as someone who likes to hide their sensitive emotional side behind an image of rudeness & humor. The Fact They gave him a scottish accent made him more believable because a lot of the scotts I've met have been that way till you earn their trust.
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Patty
Immortal
Dec 21 2007, 6:25am
Post #15 of 15
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I'd forgotten that "she gave me three"
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moment was missing from the theatricals..
You're absolutely right--it shows Gimli in a whole new light AND most importantly, set (along with Legolas's smile) the new tone for their relationship. Shoulda been there, shoulda been there.
For Gondor!
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