In the early 1990s, Russian director Roman Mitrofanov began working on an animated version of The Hobbit. The effort ultimately fizzled in the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but six minutes of footage survives and can be watched on Youtube to this day.

The footage functions more or less as a prologue that shows not much more than the destruction of Erebor and Dale by Smaug, and was clearly intended to be just the beginning of a complete adaptation.

It’s also full of delightful details such as the bells and the toy-market that Thorin Oakenshield describes to Bilbo during the Unexpected Party.

They built the merry town of Dale there in those days. Kings used to send for our smiths, and reward even the least skilful most richly. Fathers would beg us to take their sons as apprentices, and pay us handsomely, especially in food-supplies, which we never bothered to grow or find for ourselves. […] and the toy-market of Dale was the wonder of the North.

The Hobbit
Treasures under the Mountain, an incomplete Russian adaption of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit from 1991.

The bucolic imagery of Dale also includes a brief view (at approximately 2 mins 12 secs) of several people flying kites over the town square. If one squints just right (the quality is only 360p), one might construe one as having the shape of a dragon even.

Peter Jackson’s rendition of Dale shares many of the same details. Of course, this should not be surprising — they pull from the same source. But an inspection of the text of The Hobbit reveals no mention the people of Dale having kites or gliders. There’s nothing similar in The Lord of the Rings, either, not even when Frodo reminisces with Glóin in Rivendell.

This prompts the question: might Jackson — or one of his crew — have seen the Russian animation, liked the concept, and been inspired to use the kites in a similar fashion as a beautiful and poignant foreshadowing device?

Props to Ringer Raurenkili for the find.

The PJ Dragon kite at Dale from The Hobbit

smaug tv spotAnother night, another Desolation of Smaug TV Spot! This latest sneak peek offers a closer glimpse at Bilbo and the dragon Smaug – as well as a new shot of Gandalf and previously unseen battle footage. The video is up on Warner Brother’s YouTube page in HD, and we’ve got it available for your viewing right Continue reading “The Desolation of Smaug TV Spot #7 is up!”

Coinciding with the release of the teaser for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Warner Bros. has released eight high-resolution stills taken from the trailer.

The choices seem to provide a bit of direction as to the key protagonists and antagonists for the forthcoming film, although one notes in passing that some of the trailer’s key characters (Thranduil and Smaug) don’t get a look in. Food for thought. Check the photos below and click for full-resolution versions. Continue reading “Eight new high-resolution stills from the new Hobbit trailer”