Tone of Hobbit = Bilbo's point of view?

S

squitzl

The Shire
I was just pondering over some of the irksome bits and pieces that we've seen in the hobbit that seem to be overdone, whether for comic relief or otherwise (Bifur's head for example). The thought occured to me that perhaps, with the bookends (Bilbo and Frodo) the films are probably going to be set up with Bilbo telling the story to Frodo and, as we know, Bilbo had a bit of a tendency to exaggerate.


So what are your thoughts on if they used this device to give it a more cheeky childlike tone? Would it even work without Frodo interjecting with "Really Bilbo?" and Bilbo mumbling something about "Just hush and listen boy". (Oh god I hope something like that doesn't happen. ) And how could that include the Dol Guldur subplot where Bilbo isn't present? Will that part of the story be told with different screen colouring, as though it is real and gritty, to differentiate between the real story and the exaggerated (Bilbo's).

Or am I just being ridiculous?[:P]
 
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That would just be awful! The only thing that should cut a scene are flashbacks. Having Frodo interupt the story would just make him irritating - if anything, it would be hugely detrimental to the (film) character.

And I never particularly liked the idea that Bilbo exaggerated. Just keep everything literal, otherwise it could get silly.

I think the bookened scenes should remain as bookend scenes. Have Old Bilbo start the story, screen fades to 60 years earlier, and the rest carries on by itself.
 
But I do wonder if the story told through Bilbo's filter would be more light, colourful and silly. Whereas the Dol Guldur scenes would be the more realistic Middle-Earth in the late third age i.e. Sauron's returning. I get that impression partly due to the grimness of the scenes we've seen of that subplot so far. But that could just be the setting of Mirkwood in general. And the dwarves do look quite caricaturey, compared to the lotr ones.
 
Bifur's axe has gained a special place in my heart. It gives me hope that The Hobbit will retain some of the magic and whimsical innocence of the book and not entirely give in to gritty Game of Thrones "realism".
 
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I still haven't warmed to it. [:(] It's just a little too far imo. But I love that they've kept the lighter tone all around, for me it represents all that is 'The Hobbit' and keep the tone of Tolkiens narrative jokes. Perhaps irksome was the wrong choice of words. I meant more along the lines of things that initially may have seemed a little dubious like the axe-in-head and how Radagast and his Hare-sled might have seemed for some (I love that idea personally).
 
Haha cool I didn't know that. Is the hare sled included in any of the appendices? Or has PJ done his research?
 
He is an avid reader of mythology and might also be responsible for Dain's porcine steed as it has similar roots. But it could have been sourced by someone else on the design team. Perhaps John Howe...the myths are not secret.
 
.. until I see how it all fits together. When I've seen, then I'll judge - at the moment it's like trying to understand a jigsaw from a few odd pieces.
 
is to use precisely the kind of framing device you describe.


I think it would work beautifully and that there are many precedents of this being done well:
  • Princess Bride
  • Fried Green Tomatoes
  • Neverending Story
as well as good reasons for The Hobbit, in particular to be done in precisely this way:
  • Bilbo is a known prolific writer and storyteller
  • details about the process of writing, debating, and editing various forms of writings with others is detailed within the pages Tolkien wrote
  • *and those details actually impact the course of the events in the stories themselves*
  • Bilbo has a ready recipient of his story-telling in Frodo, his adopted heir who proceeded to finish off the editing of Bilbo's book
  • During The Hobbit, there are many "stopping and resting points" in between an otherwise constant stream of action already (Rivendell, Bilbo's house, The Elvenking's prison, arrival in Laketown and preparation for a journey to the Lonely Mountain, arrival on the doorstep of the Lonely Mountain, the dwarves exploring Smaug's vacated treasure before the arrival of the men and elves - if this is annoying to someone, then they must already be annoyed or wanting to eliminate these parts of the story or shorten them (which may not fully do the story justice) since the story already stops and waits for us to hear from the narrator at these points (and others) as it is
This kind of device isn't unheard of, has a history of success in movie-making, and fits The Hobbit in a unique way. Even Tolkien himself used such a device in The Quest for Erebor which is a story that coordinated many elements from the appendices.
See http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/The_Quest_of_Erebor


Now, that does not mean that The Hobbit + appendices must be done this way. There are some reasons not to do it this way this time:
  • It clashes with the flow of the LOTR trilogy which doesn't work with the idea that these 6 films could be a set
  • This kind of framing device really can't just be inserted at the last minute - if it isn't there in the earliest planning stages then it is stupid to add it in later since that could require major casting changes, script rewrites, and additional set locations
  • It tends towards adding additional characters to live in the frame which may work for DOS and TABA but not AUJ
  • It adds a layer of complexity in a story that is already complex (however, it also serves as a "gluing element" between various pieces of related story bits across appendices, space, and time)
 
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