Thursday 30 August 2012

First look at King Thranduil, father of Legolas!

It's been a little while since my last blog entry here. I've not sat still, I've just been so busy with various other rojects that are all coming to fruition in the meantime. More on some of those projects later, but in the meantime, I wanted to show you something I bought at the Weta Cave today.

The first of The Hobbit books seems to have come out, somewhat unexpectedly and suddenly, and it's called "The Hobbit (An Unexpected Journey) Almanac 2013". The book is a hard cover, issued by HarperCollins Children's Books, and it's essentially a puzzle and activities book for kids. It's a lovely looking book, very glossy and lots of fun stuff for the younger crowd, say, about 7-10 year olds.

The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey - Almanac 2013


What's a little odd is that it's such a high quality pressing - it's supposed to be scribbled on by children, which seems such a waste of a great looking book. It's a beautifully bound hardcover with full colour glossy pictures on all pages. What's also a bit odd is that the book is aimed pretty much at the children that The Hobbit book is aimed at - age 6 and up. Wasn't Peter Jackson making a much darker movie? Why aim this at the younger market? Isn't that a bit like having a "Texas Chainsaw Massacre Crayon Colouring Book"?

One of the most delightful pages is the one that shows King Thranduil (played by Lee Pace) in all his glory. It's officially the first time he's been seen - there's been lots of speculation about what Legolas's father might look like, but here he is!




I have to say - he looks pretty fantastic. You can definitely see a family resemblance between him and his son, right down to the dark eyebrows and the blond hair! Very impressed once again by the Hobbit design team!

Also in the book are some smaller photos of his home:



The last photo here is a great shot of the White Council together somewhere - Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel, and Saruman the White as well.

Click on any of the pictures if you want to see larger versions.


16 comments:

  1. I'd say: There isn't anything to say. Except: THE HOBBIT will be great.

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    1. Will be amazing,
      The photos are so lovely, and the White Council look like the paradise.

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  2. Dear friend,where can I buy this fantastic item.
    I lived in Lisbon Portugal (Europe)
    Best
    Paulo Pereira

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    Replies
    1. Amazon is your best bet, if it isn't already in your local shops...

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  3. He's good but not as good as Legolas. :0(

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  4. The Crown looks silly :|I mean...what is that?!it looks like anything but a crown!

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    Replies
    1. It's actually very close to the description in the book...

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    2. He looks very stern but kinda cute too :0)

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  5. Awesome!! Except Frodo is not Bilbo's cousin :)

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    1. Good call, Mad Rod! I can't believe nobody spotted that before!

      Bilbo is Frodo's uncle, therefore Frodo is not his cousin but his nephew, of course!

      The book has it wrong. WRONG! :)

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    2. According the genealogy within the books, Frodo and Bilbo are actually cousins, however distantly. While Frodo refers Bilbo as his Uncle, this is because Bilbo adopted Frodo after his parents were killed in boating accident on the Brandywine River. I'd imagine after becoming so close to someone it would be weird calling them your 2nd cousin twice removed or some such nonsense, lol. There's also a considerable age gap between Frodo and Bilbo, so it makes sense perhaps that they would use the "Uncle-Nephew" distinction and not the "cousin".

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    3. I stand corrected a second time! I love the internet... :)

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