The Hobbit Movie - An Unexpected Journey
by TerriRexson
An Unexpected Journey is the first of two Hobbit movies by Peter Jackson.
The First Hobbit Movie: An Unexpected Journey
This page is about the first Hobbit Movie. Yes, there are two Hobbit movies being made by Peter Jackson to cover the whole story of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
The first movie is called An Unexpected Journey and is due for release in December 2012. The second movie is called There and Back Again (the subtitle of the Hobbit book) and will be out in December 2013.
And did you know, there's going to be a Lego Hobbit theme too!
Let's look at the promotional poster and get a feel for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. It's Bilbo Baggins inside his hobbit hole, Bag End, looking out into the world.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Poster
2012 Movie Promo Flyer 11 X 17
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| The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Poster - 2012 Movie Promo Flyer 1... Only $12.00 |
Who plays Bilbo Baggins in the Hobbit Movie?
Bilbo Baggins is played by Martin Freeman. I don't watch much TV but I'm familiar with Martin Freeman having watched him in The Office and more recently Sherlock. Excellent choice for the hobbit, I'm so pleased to see a British actor in the role.
Freeman's Sherlock Holmes co-star is in The Hobbit film too, he plays Smaug the dragon.
If you're wondering who Martin Freeman is, the check out the excellent BBC Drama, Sherlock (as in Holmes.) Freeman plays Dr Watson to Cumberbatch's modern day Sherlock Holmes. That will give you something to watch while you wait for the Hobbit movie.
Hobbit Movie Trailer
We have a Hobbit movie trailer to watch well in advance of the movie itself. And it's excellent. Well worth watching:
An Unexpected Journey - Hobbit Movie Trailer
What we See in the Hobbit Trailer
The Hobbit trailer is looking amazing. I keep watching it over and over!
Martin Freeman looks like a superb choice for Bilbo Baggins.
I've recently read the Unexpected Party, the first chapter in The Hobbit and I have admit I hadn't expected the dwarves song to be as beautiful as this.
We get to see plenty of Gandalf and hints of the adventure to come. We get to see Sting, Bilbo Baggin's sword. (It's an elven knife really, but to a Hobbit it's a sword.)
And there's even a bit of Gollum. It's going to be wonderful to see Andy Serkis reprise his role of Gollum in the Hobbit.
Peter Jackson's Update from the Set of the Hobbit Movie
Peter Jackson is making a series of video blog entries about the making of The Hobbit. These are really interesting and entertaining. I've included the first one above and you can find the rest at The Hobbit Blog.
More Videos at the Hobbit Movie Blog
The Hobbit Movie Rating
Is the Hobbit Movie Suitable for Children?
Is the Hobbit Movie suitable for children? That's what a lot of parent's will be wondering. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit as a children's book and I read it as a child aged around 9 I think.
We don't yet know what rating The Hobbit movie will get. Some are suggesting PG-13 because that's what the Lord of the Rings movies were. But The Hobbit is a book for older children. I do hope The Hobbit gets a PG rating. It would be a real shame if the movie isn't suitable for older kids - the age range Tolkien original wrote the story for.
Hobbit Movie Release Date - US
The first Hobbit Movie, An Unexpected Journey is due for US release on Friday December 14th 2012.
Hobbit Movie Release Date - UK
Yes! The Unexpected Journey, first Hobbit Movie UK release date is Friday 14 December 2012. We won't have to wait longer.
An Unexpected Journey
I am really looking forward to the Hobbit films. I first read The Hobbit as a child at primary school. The Hobbit is of course a children's book by Tolkien, but it's well loved by adults too as the prequel to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
I've decided to re-read The Hobbit before the movie comes out. I'm reading the early chapters aloud to my children. At 5 and 3.5 they are probably a bit young, but they are enjoying it so far. I may need to improvise a little when we get further in to the story, or just stop and save the rest for later. (I'll finish reading it myself though!)
I'm reading their Dad's old copy, but it's disintegrating! I think I might have to buy the Kindle edition. I know the kids will want to read it when they're older.
You can buy the Hobbit as a paperback or in a Kindle version if you want to remind yourself of the story before the movie.
But do expect Peter Jackson to make some changes - he certainly did with the Lord of the Rings movies.
Other Versions of The Hobbit
The Hobbit Cartoon Movie.
There is a cartoon version of the Hobbit that was made in 1977. This one does have a PG rating.
I don't think I've seen it, I've just ordered a copy to share with my kids. This version of the Hobbit has a PG rating and reviewers suggest it's suitable even for young children.
It won't be up to the cinematic standards of Peter Jackson's Hobbit adaptations, but it looks like a good alternative for younger kids.
The Hobbit Cartoon Movie
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| The Hobbit |
The Hobbit Lego
Another 2012 Fantasy Movie
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Are you looking forward to the Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Movie?
Great minds think alike, Jo ;-) I just finished re-reading The Hobbit, the original addition, not the annotated one and now I am working my way through The Lord of the Ring ...
I can't wait for this! This time we don't even have the worry of wondering how faithful the films will be, because Peter Jackson already did such a wonderful job on 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy. I trust him with this one too.
That trailer and the blog videos were so enticing. I can see me re-reading 'The Hobbit' (again...) sometime this year too.
Looks like we have a few Hobbit fans here! I'm having a brilliant time reading the book to my five year old. We've just got past Gollum. I think the film is likely to be too grown up for him though which is a shame - if it gets a PG rating I'll be looking out for early reviews. Ah well, there's always the DVD in future, well more likely online streaming by then.
Lucky you Lis! You could write the first review of the film her on Wizzley then, unless we have other NZ based members here of course ;-)
I think its released a couple of day's earlier in New Zealand - Jackson got a lot of stick for not having the first LOTR world-wide premier in Wellington - so he does let us see it first now!
Just heard Billy Connolly has been cast as a Dwarf
Lovely article! I can't wait until The Hobbit comes out in December, thanks also for the link to the behind the scenes blog, I do love background information ;-)