"Dwarfs of "The hobbit"." Topic

In this french site you could see the first photos of them.

link

Question: Any actual figures which looks like them?.

Amicalement
Armand

games workshop has the licence and will be making them in due course.

In the book they wear bright clothes and hoods. The only time they wore armor was after Smaug was killed and they had the pick of the loot.

Hmm, nice concepts but not as described (very clearly and frequently) in the book, hopefully that is not how they will look until the end of the story.

As for figures, the old Wizards Chainmail/D&D dwarves are an excellent match for the LotR range (assuming the Gimli style rather than the later, more warhammer influenced Balin).

Yeah, the dwarves don't look close to how they were described in the book. It seems Peter Jackson is gong for gritty and dark.

Thank you for the link Armand. I'm a wee bit dissapointed. I liked the colourful dwarfs as in the book. These ones look too serious… And they don't look like they can play instruments. And we all know how musical Thorins party was…

There are no dwarfs in the book only DWARVES!!! (big pet hate)

I miss Rankin Bass dwarves – like Balin here:

or here:

the rest here: link

They look like serious Dwarves, up for serious ventures involving gold and Dragons.

Take your pick: '80's "rock" band, or Sci-Fi villains in the Star Trek Klingon mold.

Eh, not what I was hoping for, but still looking forward to the films!

I am still looking forward to the movie.

Got to say the dwarves are a zero draw for me anyway, so the odd look to them doesn't faze me.

They remind me of the LotR movie version of the Corsairs of Umbar and certainly not the vision that the text of the Hobbit presents.

These pics sort of sucked some of the hope away from that which I was holding for the film, but hopefully these are some test shots and they will not represent the standard used in the movie.

*****

Maybe they should go back and look at what the dwarves from the Lord of the Rings looked like?

Like these guys posing with Harry Potter's Dad…

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These two are pretty much on par

But Nori, Ori, Dori, are ridiculous.

Maybe these guys will be playing at pull my finger fart jokes, do you want some more beans, and nuk nuk three stooges antics?

Nori looks weird. The other 4 look good to me.

Ori and Dori look like Hobbits to me.

Nori looks like a circus freak or the ratboy.

If I was not a fan of dwarves before this photo does little to promote dwarvy goodness.

The Hobbit is one of my favorite books. All I have to say is these dwarves are terrible. As pointed out above, Tolkiens dwarves were clearly described. These are horrible. What a disappointment.

They look like rejects from Game of Thones Night Watch.

I HOPE he's pulling our legs.

We will never be able to remember which is which anyway.In the book only a couple, including Thorin, stood out. There were the twins, and the fat one.You notice Balin with the benefit of hindsight.
Nothing to stop anyone from making use of the existing LOTR range especially the plastic set.
I recall my brother, long ago, creating Thorin's party, with all the correct hood colours, from Minifigs Mythical Earth figures.

Looking at these pictures has got me thinking that no way would I go on a trip with this bunch of punks. Sort of like your local drug gang coming up and suggesting you take a drive with them to NY from LA in your car. Once outside LA you know you would sort of dissappear in the desert.

The group in the Hobbit sound like a bunch of people it would be fun to go on a road trip with.

Who can spot Gloin?

Hint: He's holding Gimli's axe.

A funny little bit of processing…the Rankin/Bass Hobbit

They seemed to get much of the details of what people looked like…Smeagol was creepy, Gandalf looked appropriate, the hobbits were spot on, the elves I much preferred as a nod towards the more classic fae elves, etc. they even got the voices (great voice work!), the poetry, etc. they got much right…the dwarves wore colorful cloaks, were driven, they were likeable and pitiable with their need for greed…so how did we end up with Ratboy Nori and Hobbit-kin Ori and Dori?

(shakes head)

Good thing I didn't really like dwarves anyway…sigh.

Nori's hairstyle should be redone. Clashes too much, far too Babylon 5 Centauri.

I could see a goblin with that hairstyle, but not a dwarf.

In the promo pics it looks like Dori, full of disgust, has drawn his sword and is preparing to cut off Nori's head.

Ori is keeping eyes forward, he knows what is coming next…

As Martha Stewart would say.."And that's a good thing"…

PJ has evidently carried on with the idea that dwarfs are comic relief.

Funny, I was just thinking the opposite – with 13 dwarves as the central characters The Hobbit should ( I hope !) be free of all the "Dwarf Tossing jokes" which were :

(i) just plain crappola
(ii) not funny anyway
(iii) tragically turned a noble character in the books into comic relief
(iv) not sure about US slang – but in the UK, amongst other things, tossing = . So "lets toss the dwarf" sounds like the start of a sexual assualt. (a used to also be someone who was a drunkard – who tossed off their drinks rapidly – this has pretty much fallen by the wayside)

Agree on some of the dwarves looking a bit klingon. Don't like that.

I'm willing to bet that the dwarves will be bad-ass in their armour for the whole film. Which is, of course, crappola.

Ok, that first bleep is an act of onanism (as explained in the Brick Testament : link – which is NotSafeForWork since it illustrates bible stories graded as : NSV – Nudity Sex Violence ).

The second is a person who makes a toss of something – like a discus or a stone or, in this case, alcholohc refreshment.

Presumably if I toss a die onto the table I should be careful to describe myself as the thrower, even if the action I use is a toss.

I suspect (and hope) these guys are tricked out for the big battle at the end. Those don't look like tavelin' duds to me.

I'm willing to bet that the dwarves will be bad-ass in their armour for the whole film. Which is, of course, crappola.

How many pack mules to carry the armor for them did they have?
What they fought in was what they wore. Or carried.

Tolkien was not big on logistics.

They wore traveling clothes to include cloaks and hoods. Carried musical instruments, daggers and rode ponies for about halfthe trip. They didn't travel armed for bear. They didn't plan on killing the dragon, just steal some treasure. They wanted to get in and out without becoming bbq. They knew from past experience that it was hopeless to try and kill smaug.

"so how did we end up with Ratboy Nori and Hobbit-kin Ori and Dori?"

Quite simple: The Hobbit must now fit in with the LoTR movies. It must get darker, more combat, snappy dwarf-elf concurrence etc. Which, of course, is not a good thing. But its what kids these days are made to want to see. (as opposed to "want to see")

I never expected them to film The Hobbit as written – The Hobbit adopts the pretence that it was actually written by Bilbo – this comforts the child reader it was aimed at because no matter how bleak things get he can't die (how would he write the book if he was dead ?).

LOTR records that Bilbo told stories of his adventures (which no-one believed !).

Peter Jackson actually did this quite cleverly in the Fellowship film – Bilbo, at his party, is telling the stories of his adventures to a group of hobbit children, and makes it more "palatable" for a younger audience.

Which begs the question – why isn't Ian Holm playing Bilbo ? After all, from the end of the Hobbit to the start of LOTR Bilbo hasn't aged. Therefoere he should look just like Bilbo at the start of the Fellowship film. Not much younger. Ian Holm today with a bit of makeup could look a lot like Ian Holm of 10 years ago,

Carried musical instruments, daggers and rode ponies

I reckon you can kiss the songs goodbye, the daggers will be huge axes, and they'll walk as it's more dramatic.

Oh, and the trolls – what's the betting that'll be a big cgi fight, rather than the book's description of the encounter ? I see Gandalf uttering his "dawn take you…" bit from a sweeping low camera angle, his right hand extended in a gesture of defiance and his staff brandished above his head. A wind machine will be whipping his damp hair around his face in a dramatic manner.

I should stop thinking about this, as I'll end up hating the film before I see it !

20thmaine,
I think Bilbo has aged in the books; he just does not look like he has aged as much as he should. I think the new Bilbo was a brilliant choice as the actor is really good who is playing him and will be able to pull it off.

I think a really important thing for everyone (myself included) to remember is that films are different than books and Jackson needs to not only make a good movie but a movie that makes lots of money.

When the gaffer declares Bilbo to be "well preserved" the rather sarcastic rejoinder is –

"Well preserved ? Unchanged more like !"

(IIRC)

films are different than books

Of course – but if you love the books then the qustion will always be "how far are they going to stray from what was written or can be reasobnably inferred" ?

I have no problem with a huge battle with the necromancer of mirkwood – I'll be reasonably happy if there's undead
involved, him being a necromancer and all (but not too many, or why bother having orcs ??). Such an encounter is inferred from the books but not fully described.

Which is why, exciting as they were in the cinema, the only LOTR film I really like is The Fellowship, as it is much more character driven. Byt he second and third films the characters became 2-dimensional and much less important than the action sequences. For Tolkien the action is unimportant (relatively) – the battle sequences take up a tiny fraction of the book. It could have been filmed as a costume drama. Perhaps the classic BBC version of War and Peace is the nearest point of comparison I can think of for an epic that stays vry close to the book – which means a smaller audience perhaps.

20thmaine-- I concur. I loathe the LOTR films. I have no doubt that Gladriel will help the chaos dwarves in defeating Smaug (Smaug being assisted by Sauron), She will be clad in a chainmail bikini and throwing lightning bolts. Aragorn and Arwen will make occasional appearances to spice up the romantic content. Bilbo will provide comic flatulence. The soundtrack will be inspired by Lady GaGa and Eminem. It will, like, totally ROCK!

Some people are getting a bit precious about this.

Geez, it's just a freaking movie.

Yeah, they did not adhere to the storying of the books in the movie.

But at least SOMETHING is getting done.

I don't see anyone here going out to get their filmmaking degree so that they can do the Hobbit as they see fit.

If Jackson had any real competition for the rights to the movies then I expect that we wouldn't be seeing anything for a decade at least.

And, like ALL movies, in 10 or 20 years, someone will come along to re-make the movies as they see fit (yes, hopefully closer to the books… But personally, I don't see those Dwarves as contradicting the books overly much. They do have bright colors in their clothing, and they are not exactly wearing heavy armor).

"20thmaine-- I concur. I loathe the LOTR films. I have no doubt that Gladriel will help the chaos dwarves in defeating Smaug (Smaug being assisted by Sauron), She will be clad in a chainmail bikini and throwing lightning bolts. Aragorn and Arwen will make occasional appearances to spice up the romantic content. Bilbo will provide comic flatulence. The soundtrack will be inspired by Lady GaGa and Eminem. It will, like, totally ROCK!"

Careful Bill, sarcasm is like a terrible poison, use it at your own risk :)

(Let us hope you are wrong on all counts)

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"Geez, it's just a freaking movie.

Yeah, they did not adhere to the storying of the books in the movie.

But at least SOMETHING is getting done.

I don't see anyone here going out to get their filmmaking degree so that they can do the Hobbit as they see fit.

If Jackson had any real competition for the rights to the movies then I expect that we wouldn't be seeing anything for a decade at least.

And, like ALL movies, in 10 or 20 years, someone will come along to re-make the movies as they see fit (yes, hopefully closer to the books… But personally, I don't see those Dwarves as contradicting the books overly much. They do have bright colors in their clothing, and they are not exactly wearing heavy armor)"

You are right sir. And truthfully I don't hate fantasy dwarves…I started reading the Hobbit again. I do like the dwarves. I think I dislike what D&D, GW, and others have done with them.

Agreed that at least something is getting done.

I am crossing my fingers that the Dragon is spectacular.

I like them just fine. They look like Dwarves. It won't detract from the movie. I also like the Hobbit and all the old movies as well.

Ian Holm today with a bit of makeup could look a lot like Ian Holm of 10 years ago,

"The legs, they do not work like they used to."

Ian Holm declined due to health/age related issues.

As Farstar notes…and being 80yrs old has got to have some bearing on his declining the lead.

As we speak, I am working on cinematic interpretation of 'War and Peace'… It will include dancing turtles, scantily clad midget mud wrestling, massive firepower, fast cars, and be set in the StarWars universe. It will also dispense with the boring traditional themes and focus on the various philosophies of basket weaving and Ramen Noodles. I am going to call it 'War and Peace'…
I hope everybody likes it, as it is far superior to the original, IMHO. Besides, we in ShowBiz are beyond judgement (after all, we have the legal rights and nobody ELSE is making a 'War and Peace' movie…)
Now THAT is sarcasm…
Of course, I will go see 'The Hobbit: A New Hope' and essentially become a hippocrit… Yet my points remain unchanged.
Everybody is allowed to like or dislike whatever they want, and I am full of opinions. Please don't take offense. Still, why can't people write their own stories? --Oh wait, smells like money.

"The legs, they do not work like they used to."

Ian Holm declined due to health/age related issues.

Well, I did not know that. If they asked and he declined then that is more than reasonable and I retract any statements suggesting the casting was wrong. I'll cling on a little to the private wish that he could have done it though.

Some people are getting a bit precious about this.

Who ?

I like the look.

As someone correctly pointed out, they aren't wearing armor— aside from Gloin, who appears to be sporting some sort of shoulder piece (which resembles Gimli's traveling outfit… duh— one's the daddy of the other.) Look closely and you'll note that everything else is cloth or leather. They're wearing thick traveling clothes, not armor.

Look also at the "weapons." Oin sports a staff/walking stick, Nori holds a similar staff with a studded head (not a mace), Gloin bears the traditional family axe, and Dori holds what looks like a cutting/chopping blade like a machete— a tool/weapon combo. Ori isn't even armed at all. So what's all this nonsense that they are an armed and armored war party? They're not. Maybe they're not strolling around with no weapons like we happily do today, but then they're going into "The Wild" (in the book), which they happen to know is populated by trolls, wolves, wargs, and goblins, not to mention other stuff left behind after the fall of Angmar. To me, they look like dwarves— miners and craftsmen (and merchants) who have equipped themselves with what they had for a difficult and dangerous journey. Keep in mind that dwarves appear to have a "citizen's militia" style military rather than a standing army, and most of these guys may have even fought in the great Moria War (Thorin did, and presumably both Balin and Dwalin). So they have weapons or tools that can be repurposed as such. (After all, Tolkien says that Durin's army was armed with "mattocks," not axes or swords.) I see no swords in this party, and an axe is both a tool and a weapon.

Yes, Nori's cap/hair style is odd, but it's also visually interesting and distinctive— an important consideration in a group of thirteen dwarves, most of whom are barely identified in the book except by name. In a book you can get away with that— the words say "Nori said," so Nori says it. In a film, the characters aren't wearing convenient little name tags. The audience has to be able to look at the screen and know instantly who each person is. A distinctive look or prop is a big visual cue. So we have Oin with white hair and a black stick, Gloin with reddish-brown hair and an axe, Nori with the a tri-pointed (quad pointed?) hat and a mace-headed staff, Ori with a hood and a short beard, Dori with a white beard and a chopper-tool. Identify 'em once or twice at the beginning, and for the rest of the film, everyone knows who's who at a glance.

From what I see, there's lots to like.

But the meaning of grognard is "grumbler," and this place is full of 'em. *eye roll*

All that really matters is that he does not go for the fast finish for the Battle of the Five Armies like he did for the the last Lord of the Rings movie.

I think about 90 minutes to get there and kill the dragon and then the next 90 minutes for the battle.

They look like dropouts of a Prog-rock band…
Not thrilled.

Parzival pretty much summed up my views.

And, the Battle of Five Armies will probably account for only Five to Fifteen minutes of time (The actual battle).

Remember, they also have the assault on Dol Guldur, and plenty to fill up the time between the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (that is what the second movie is supposed to do).

I'm wondering, since Viggo Mortensen has signed on to do Aragorn, if they are going to show his time in Rohan and Gondor under the father's of Theoden and Denethor, when Aragorn trashed the Corsairs at Umbar.