Forth Eorlingas! The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is riding back into theatres in the UK from January 23rd – but this time, it’s the Japanese language version which fans can experience.
The English language voice actors are of course brilliant; and it will be fascinating to see this movie with an equally talented cast, who perhaps connect with the style of anime in a different way. It’s always thrilling to discover how different performers tackle a role, and with all the Japanese creatives involved in The War of the Rohirrim – from director Kenji Kamiyama down – and therefore the Japanese influence in many elements of the film (beyond and in addition to the anime style), it will be very interesting to see the film with this different perspective.
Here’s the official press release:
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM TO BE RELEASED IN JAPANESE IN UK CINEMAS
FANS HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE TO WATCH THE ANIME ORIGINAL FEATURE ON THE BIG SCREEN AT PARTICIPATING CINEMAS NATIONWIDE FROM 23RD JANUARY
“The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” returns audiences to the epic world brought to life in “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, based on the revered books by J.R.R. Tolkien. For the first time, Warner Bros. Entertainment is releasing the Japanese language version of the film in UK cinemas, giving fans the opportunity to watch the film on the big screen in Japanese with English subtitles.
Set 183 years before the events chronicled in the original trilogy of films, “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” tells the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan. A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg—a mighty fortress that will later come to be known as Helm’s Deep. Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Héra, the daughter of Helm, must summon the will to lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their total destruction.
Under the direction of award-winning filmmaker Kenji Kamiyama (the “Blade Runner: Black Lotus” and “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex” TV series), the original feature is produced by Oscar winner Philippa Boyens, from the screenwriting team behind “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” Trilogies, alongside Jason DeMarco and Joseph Chou, who, in addition to their many separate animation projects, collaborated on the “Blade Runner: Black Lotus” series. The executive producers are Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson, Sam Register, Carolyn Blackwood and Toby Emmerich. The screenplay is by Jeffrey Addiss & Will Matthews and Phoebe Gittins & Arty Papageorgiou, story by Addiss & Matthews and Boyens, based on characters createdby J.R.R. Tolkien. The team of creative collaborators returning from “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy also includes Oscar winners Alan Lee and Richard Taylor, along with esteemed Tolkien illustrator John Howe.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (Japanese with English subtitles) is in participating UK cinemas from 23rd January
The article contains some fascinating quotes from key members of the recently announced Japanese voice cast. I’m using good ol’ Google translate so I cannot attest to complete accuracy of translation, but let’s break it down.
First, there’s some background on the Japanese trailer acknowleging it’s unsual difference fgrom the US domestic version:
…in order to convey the worldview of “Lord of the Rings” to fans around the world, including in Japan, a Japanese version trailer with different content was released simultaneously worldwide, which is an unusual move.
AV mentions a handful of stand-out details from the JP trailer:
In the video, we can see the horn, the great eagle, Mumakir, orcs, and even Saruman the White and the Horn Castle, all familiar to “Lord of the Rings” fans. At the end, “someone” appears who is collecting golden rings, reminiscent of the “One Ring.”
Opinion seems to be firming around the idea that the figure with the pouch of rings, collecting them from corpses on a winter battlefield, is an orc whose name is Rot (the unconfirmed Japanese romanisation is “Lot.”). We don’t know for certain, but it seems a logical conclusion that this is some sort of free-lance servant or agent of Mordor — since he asks “What would Mordor want with rings?” A Nazgul wouldn’t ask such questions, nor a close servant like Mouth of Sauron. However, it’s worth remembering that, in The Two Towers, Grishnákh seems aware that there are Rings of Power.
The thought came suddenly into Pippin’s mind, as if caught direct from the urgent thought of his enemy: ‘Grishnákh knows about the Ring! He’s looking for it, while Uglúk is busy: he probably wants it for himself.’ Cold fear was in Pippin’s heart, yet at the same time he was wondering what use he could make of Grishnákh’s desire.
This is never more fully explained, but Pippin’s conclusion seems correct: at least some orcs know about Rings. How and when did they discover this knowledge is an interesting question.
Anyway, we’ll return to this Rot/Lot individual shortly.
The article then focuses on the cast, revealing some interesting details:
Takako Honda, who voiced Éowyn in the Japanese dub of “Lord of the Rings,” will play Olwyn, who supports Princess Hela [sic]. In the subtitled version, Miranda Otto, who also gave a passionate performance as Éowyn, will play Olwyn, making this a timeless collaboration.
Olwyn may be this character on the left of Héra, who is also seen in a scene on the Deeping Wall during the siege of the Hornburg. It appears that Otto is doing double duty voicing both Éowyn and Olwyn. Honda may be doing the same. It’s a little unclear.
…the role of Lot, an orc who is an important character in the story, will be played by Manabu Muraji, who was the Japanese voice actor for Meriadoc Brandybuck, played by Dominic Monaghan in “Lord of the Rings.” And the role of Rohan’s servant Leaf will be played by Jun Tatani, who played Hiccup in “How to Train Your Dragon” and also appeared in Kenji Kamiyama’s “Eden of the East.”
Leaf is probably the young … page/squire on the left. This shot shows the Olwyn character on the right much better.
The article then has some interesting comments from some of the Japanese voice cast.
The character I play, King Helm, is so strong that he is called the “Hammer King” because he can knock down enemies with just one fist. Just recording the voiceover for this trailer required so much energy that I lost my voice. This film depicts the emotional drama of King Helm and Princess Hera. As a parent of two children myself, I think there are parts of the story I can empathize with.
Loss and grief is such a prominent part of this tale. First, Wulf, through the death of his father, Freca. Then later, Helm grapples with loss as well after the deaths of his sons Haleth and Hama. Appendix A describes how he grows “gaunt with famine and grief” and when I spoke to Philippa Boyens back in 2022 she mentioned “the madness born of grief from the loss of a child” while we were discussing the role of Helm. She says she “saw the tales of him slipping out during the siege [of the Hornburg] and attacking the camp for his people as literally someone trying to — even with their bare hands — protect the people as the king should.”
Fuka Koshiba as Héra
Princess Hera was raised with the love of her father, King Helm, and is a dignified woman who is adept at riding horses and swordsmanship. Although she is hesitant at first, she is a strong-willed character who faces the crisis of the kingdom as a princess to protect her people, with a sense of responsibility and determination. The main dubbing of the film is still a little ways off, but I think that fans of The Lord of the Rings, as well as those who are watching the series for the first time, will enjoy it.
I find it interesting that Koshiba decribes Héra as “hesistant at first” yet faces “crisis of the kingdom as a princess to protect her people”. There’s also a snatch of dialogue in the trailer with someone, possibly Olwyn, seeming to implore her: “People need hope, Héra.”
That seems to me unlike Éowyn, who yearns for battle. In fact, as a described, she puts me more in mind of Frodo’s uncertainty when Gandalf tells him the truth of the One Ring: “I suppose I must go alone, if I am to do that and save the Shire. But I feel very small, and very uprooted, and well – desperate. The Enemy is so strong and terrible.”
Also, taking both Ichimura’s and Koshiba’s comments together, it seems that the Japanese cast has only just begun their work, and perhaps even have only voiced the trailer so far.
The appeal of Director Kenji Kamiyama is that he has created an entertaining work that anyone can enjoy while incorporating complex and philosophical elements. Wulf, the character I play, is not just a villain, but a character with his own reasons and drama.
This supports Philippa Boyens’ telling TORn that they have viewed Wulf as a complex character in his own right, and that they’ve been interested in exploring why Wulf chose to act as he did: “Wulf, if he’d made the right choices, it would have been a different story. He doesn’t. He makes other choices, and they’re very interesting choices – and where those choices come from is really fascinating. He’s one of my favourite characters ever that we’ve ever created.”
It’s been almost a quarter century since the first trilogy, in which I voiced Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry) in Japanese, was released in 2001. I’m really happy to have been able to continue to be involved in the world of The Lord of the Rings in various ways during that time. This film depicts the battle in Rohan, a place that has a special connection to Merry, and I’m grateful to Dominic Monaghan for playing a role that’s completely different from his previous roles! I hope you’ll come to the theater to see his transformation!!
It seems that Muraji was chosen because he’d done a voice role dubbing Dominic Monaghan before. Further, saying he’s grateful to Monaghan for “playing a role that’s completely different” pretty much confirms that the English VA for Lot/Rot is none other than Mr Dominic Monaghan. TORn Staffer Justin was on the money during our trailer breakdown chat earlier today.
Taya Hayato as Leaf
I will be playing the role of Leaf, who is Héra’s servant. Although he is a little timid, he is a kind-hearted boy who tries his best to support Héra as she walks through her cruel destiny.
It’s very interesting to hear it called a cruel destiny, rather than a heroic one. Again, to me, this sounds like Héra is more called by necessity than driven by inner-purpose. Or, to quote Gandalf and Frodo yet again:
‘I wish it need not have happened in my time,’ said Frodo. ‘So do I,’ said Gandalf, ‘and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given, us.
The Annecy Film Festival “second look” at The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim has just concluded and reactions are starting to trickle out.
It sounds like a lot of people were quite impressed. Variety described the footage as “epic” and stated that the showing received “thunderous applause”.
Screendaily probably has the most comprehensive report so far and has the news from Philippa Boyens that Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson are on board as executive producers.
“They’ve been huge supporters of this film from the very beginning; they’ve stayed in the background a little, but I’m proud to reveal that they’ve been with us all along and are in fact our executive producers.
“They wanted to stay in the background because Peter in particular wanted to give Kenji the space to find his own way into the film,” added Boyens, who produces The War Of The Rohirrim with Joseph Chou.
Warner Bros/New Line screened 20 minutes of the film to the Annecy audience. It was followed by a panel hosted by Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in Jackson’s Rings trilogy, with Boyens, Kamiyama, Chou and executive producer Jason DeMarco present.
“We did not want to make an animated version of a Peter Jackson film,” said DeMarco. “We wanted to make a Kenji Kamiyama animated feature film that lives within that world. That’s a difficult task that requires a lot of delicate balancing between two types of filmmaking that haven’t collided like this before.”
Here’s a quick selection of instant reactions and good ol’ hot takes.
A super exciting event and incredible audience reaction. Six months to go! #waroftherohirrim @stephengallaghermusic
Had the pleasure of seeing a sneak peak of The Lords of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. Honestly it’s absolutely stunning and I can’t wait for it to be released in cinemas. #JosephatAnnecy #AnnecyFestival #LOTR #Anime
Footage of the highly anticipation LOTR anime film debuts at Annecy, for a second year in a row. Special guests include Andy Serkis, Philippa Boyens, Kenji Kamiyama, Joseph Chou and Jason DeMarco.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim preview will take place 12 June 2024 at 4pm local time. Link to the event page. But first: a new logo treatment for the movie!
Executive Producer from WB Feature Animation, Jason DeMarco, says it’s more than a trailer – a “nice big chunk of the movie.”
If you’re at Annecy this year, come see our War of the Rohirrim panel! Mr ANDY SERKIS will hold a convo between Kenji Kamiyama and Philippa Boyens (and myself), and we will be showing a nice big chunk of the film. CANNOT WAIT! See you there. https://t.co/UFbL6IZATj
— NUNEKIN KAMUI DEMARCO (@Clarknova1) May 13, 2024
Warner Bros. Feature Animation sends word of their plans for the big French animation industry event.
WARNER BROS. ANIMATION, CARTOON NETWORK STUDIOS, HANNA-BARBERA STUDIOS EUROPE ANNOUNCE PROGRAMMING SLATE FOR ANNECY INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FILM FESTIVAL
Andy Serkis to Host Filmmaker Conversation and Extended First Lookof the Highly Anticipated New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation’s
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
Inside Look at the Upcoming DC Studios/Max Original Animated SeriesCreature Commandos
World-Premiere Screening of The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, First Look at The Amazing World of Gumball, Sneak Peeks, and More!
Warner Bros. Animation (WBA), Cartoon Network Studios (CNS), and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe (HBSE) will return to the Annecy International Animation Film Festival with a showstopping slate of animated content showcasing the studio’s rich history, diverse styles, and world-class artistry.
Programming highlights include first looks at the highly anticipated New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation’s original anime feature The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, the upcoming DC Studios/Max Original Creature Commandos, The Amazing World of Gumball, and the World Premiere of The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.
Full Annecy programming slate
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim – Filmmaker Conversation and Exclusive Extended Look with Special Guest Andy Serkis
Oscar winner Philippa Boyens (The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies), award-winning filmmaker Kenji Kamiyama (the Blade Runner: Black Lotus and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex TV series) and producer Joseph Chou (Blade Runner: Black Lotus TV series) return to Annecy to unveil the first footage from the highly anticipated original anime feature, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. In a special appearance, Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings trilogies) will join filmmakers as they reflect on their creative journey in translating the cinematic wonder of Middle-earth through the visually sweeping lens and artistry of anime.
From New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim explores and expands the untold story behind the fortress of Helm’s Deep, delving into the life and bloodsoaked times of one of Middle-earth’s most legendary figures; the mighty King of Rohan – Helm Hammerhand.
Animation work is currently underway at Sola Entertainment. The film will be distributed theatrically worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures on December 13, 2024.
Creature Commandos – Making of Session
From Executive Producer and writer James Gunn, Creature Commandos is the upcoming Max Original animated event series, based on DC characters and produced by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation which follows Amanda Waller as she forms a black ops team out of monstrous prisoners. Prepare for an in-depth look from Rick Morales (supervising producer) and Balak Yves (supervising director) into the artistry and creative processes behind this highly anticipated series kicking off a new era of storytelling in the DC Universe.
The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie – World Premiere Screening
That’s not all folks! Porky Pig and Daffy Duck, one of the greatest comedic duos in history, are making their hilarious return to the big screen in the sci-fi comedy adventure, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.
From Warner Bros. Animation, director Pete Browngardt, and the creative team behind the award-winning Looney Tunes Cartoons, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Moviestars Porky Pig and Daffy Duck as unlikely heroes and Earth’s only hope when facing the threat of alien invasion. The movie unfolds a rich Porky & Daffy story that fans have never seen before: In this buddy-comedy of epic proportions, our heroes race to save the world, delivering all the laugh-out-loud gags and vibrant visuals that have made the Looney Tunes so iconic, but on a scope and scale yet to be experienced.
The Amazing World of Gumball – Making of Session
More Gumball! The comedic misadventures of Gumball, Darwin and the quirky residents of Elmore continue in The Amazing World of Gumball (wt). Join Ben Bocquelet (Executive Producer), Matthew Layzell (Executive Producer), Emma Fernando (Series Producer), Xav Clarke (Composer), Sarah Fell (SVP, Series, Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe) for an inside look at the long-awaited return of these beloved characters.
Spotlight on Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios, and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe – Studio Focus
Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios, and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe showcase their high-profile slate of current and upcoming film and series projects. Learn how these three storied studios aim to be the broadest purveyor of animation in the world, producing content that touches every audience group and every platform. Grab industry insights, exciting news, and exclusive first looks from the always original Cartoon Network Studios, the iconic characters of Warner Bros. Animation, and the whimsical world of Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe.
Adult Animation at Warner Bros. Discovery – Studio Focus
Adult Swim, Max, and Warner Bros. Animation spotlights their strategy and efforts in the booming adult animation space. Michael Ouweleen (President, Adult Swim), Suzanna Makkos (Head of Adult Animation, Adult Swim), and Peter Girardi (Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming, Warner Bros. Animation) preview current and upcoming projects and share their team’s strategies to ensure Warner Bros. Discovery remains the destination for adult animation.
100 Years of Shorts – Annecy Classics Screening
A curated program celebrating the proud legacy of short form at Warner Bros. Animation, Hanna-Barbera, and Cartoon Network Studios featuring animated shorts from Friz Freleng, Tex Avery, William Hanna & Joseph Barbera, Chuck Jones, Genndy Tartakovsky, and more!
# # #
About Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) is one of the leading producers of animation in the entertainment industry, producing and developing projects for multiple platforms, both domestically and internationally. WBA’s current series include Batman: Caped Crusader, Bat-Family, Batwheels, Bugs Bunny Builders, Creature Commandos, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Harley Quinn, Jellystone!, Kite-Man: Hell Yeah!, Looney Tunes Cartoons, Merry Little Batman, My Adventures with Superman, Teen Titans Go!, Tiny Toons Looniversity, and Velma. The studio is currently in production on two feature films – The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie and the upcoming original anime feature film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, with New Line Cinema. WBA’s full-length theatrical film Teen Titans GO! to the Movies was released in summer 2018. As home to the iconic animated characters from the DC, Hanna-Barbera, MGM and Looney Tunes libraries, WBA also produces highly successful animated films — including the DC Universe Movies — for DVD, Blu-ray® and digital media. One of the most-honored animation studios in history, WBA has won six Academy Awards®, 40 Emmy® Awards, the George Foster Peabody Award, a BAFTA Children’s Award, an Environmental Media Award, a Parents’ Choice Award, the HUMANITAS Prize, two Prism Awards and 21 Annie Awards (honoring excellence in animation).
About Cartoon Network Studios
Established in 2000, Cartoon Network Studios (CNS) is a global animation and interactive studio recognized for its innovative approaches to IP development and world-building. Fostering a creator-driven environment, CNS is home to hundreds of visual artists who have been a part of the studio’s many critically acclaimed and groundbreaking animated series, including Adventure Time, Craig of the Creek, Steven Universe, Regular Show, The Powerpuff Girls, and We Bare Bears. CNS has also produced notable Adult Swim hits such as Genndy Tartakovky’s Primal, Samurai Jack, and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. CNS has been honored with multiple awards and accolades, including Emmy®, Peabody, GLAAD and Annie Awards. Internationally, the studio also garnered the BAFTA Children’s Award, Italy’s prestigious Pulcinella Award and Annecy Festival’s Cristal Award.
About Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe
Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe is Warner Bros. Discovery’s flagship animation studio within EMEA. Based in London, the studio is home to quality local productions distributed worldwide, including The Amazing World of Gumball, The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe, and Elliott from Earth. Its content has been honored with BAFTA, Emmy, Emile, Annie, Prix Jeunesse, Rockie and Annecy awards
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After presenting their work-in-progress on The War of the Rohirrim at Annecy last week, Kenji Kamiyama, Philippa Boyens and Joseph Chou also stopped off to give a 15-minute sit-down interview with one of the festival’s staffers.
They talk about their approach, the challenge and the reception from the Annecy audience. Thanks to Lasswen on our Discord for the find.
Join the discussion: If you’d like to weigh in with your thoughts on The War of the Rohirrim, feel free to join our Discord server or the currently active thread on our forum message boards.
Annecy interview transcript
Note: I have lightly edited the transcript to remove some of the more redundant speech without, I hope, affecting the fundamental meaning.
[0:05] Interviewer There was once an age without Annecy Animation Film Festival. There was also an age before J.R.R. Tolkien. But lucky for us, we live today. And we have both. With us today we have Mr. Chou, producer of the film, Kenji Kamiyama, Director, and Philippa Boyens producer, also… known for screenwriting a lot with Peter Jackson. So you might be the most experienced of us on the Middle-earth and…
[0:44] Philippa Boyens For Middle-earth. Not for anime. But for Middle-earth. Yes.
[0:49] Interviewer Well, you’re just behind. You’re just after, sorry, a behind-the-scenes presentation with Annecy audience. How did it go? Can you give us your impression for each of you?
[1:04] Philippa Boyens
I mean, I could feel the energy in the room. And I think it was amazing. I think the crowds here are really knowledgeable, which is great. And I respect that. And actually, the biggest cheer was when Joseph asked some of the guys who are actual animators who we’re attempting to kill with the amount of work they’ve got to get done, to stand up. And the audience went wild. And that was amazing to see. It was such a good thing to do. Yeah.
[1:38] Interviewer How did you feel the moments you two?
[1:42] Kenji Kamiyama [Answers in Japanese]
[2:04] Joseph Chou Translating for KK: It’s the second time for him being in Annecy and… but just, just a warm welcome from the audience, and it’s just wonderful for him. And he really is very appreciative of, you know, them just being being so supportive in the moment. And just to see them, you know, in their direction. It’s very good for him. Yeah.
[2:26] Interviewer And for you?
[2:27] Joseph Chou Oh, yeah. I mean, I guess. I mean, they already said it. But I think just being in Annecy, you just, it just feels so nice, because of the warm welcome. I mean, I think the community of animation is a little different from, you know, other artistic communities. But, but, you know, we come here, we do feel like we’re at home and just just being — just seeing the reaction, though, from the, you know, the fans and then in life, actually, you know, just to see their live reaction. It’s something that we don’t get to see when we’re working. So it was wonderful. And it really did give us a huge, huge encouragement, just because we’re not done with the film yet, you know.
[2:34] Interviewer It’s quite amazing because we are in an in an animation film festival, and you are coming today to present a lot of work, but which is not animated yet. So it has this interesting equation in which you present a non-animated work. And this is Annecy’s audience with its reaction that tells you what’s going to be animated or not. Is it a part…
[3:38] Philippa Boyens Of being able to feel what they’re responding to? You mean? Yeah, you definitely got that. I think I could feel the murmur when Helm walked into the room. He’s played, voiced, by Brian Cox. And I think they just they were just swept into it, you could kind of feel it, which was, which was great. So I don’t know whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.
[4:04] Joseph Chou [Translates Philippa’s words into Japanese for KK, who nods and smiles.]
[4:09] Interviewer Philippa, you’ve been following the Lord of the Rings, since its rebirth with Peter Jackson. It’s been an unexpected journey if I may say…
[4:20] Philippa Boyens I like it. Nice. Very good.
[4:22] Interviewer What’s the following part of the journey? Because it seems there was the first part and now it’s the beginning of the second…
[4:29] Philippa Boyens Yeah, this has been such a good way back into the world. I’ve don’t think any of us could have faced jumping into a huge, massive epic trilogy, which was going to take seven years. But it wasn’t — it’s not just about this being, you know, maybe a little smaller in terms of the scale, but it’s still a big film. But it’s been a joy because it’s fresh, and it’s different. And everything that anime is bringing to the story is working really, really well with Professor Tolkien’s world.
Actually, I tell you something that not many people know. And that is that when — I’m not sure I’ve told you guys this — when…
Professor Tolkien, he loved to draw; he was an artist as well. And he was very poor. And he got a scholarship to Oxford University. And that was the first time he had a little bit of money to spend. So he went to his what they called digs in Oxford, his room in Oxford. Guess what one of the first things he bought was? Some Japanese prints, some Japanese woodcuts, to put on his wall.
So I think that it’s, you know, he obviously loved that visual style. And I think weirdly, that sort of must have influenced him in some way. And it’s definitely working. It’s working beautifully.
[6:01] Interviewer And, actually, I’m not sure, as you say, that a lot of [people] know that Tolkien might have been influenced by the Japan way of…
[6:13] Philippa Boyens No! I remembered it, and I went and checked it. It’s a reference that was made in his biography [ed: by Humphrey Carpenter]. And I thought, yeah, that makes sense. It makes, it makes sense, right? And I gave Kamiyama a book of his artwork, that Professor Tolkien actually drew, as a present…
[6:40] Interviewer And it’s, it’s really interesting, because as a very young reader of Tolkien, and I remember that there was those drawings, always. It’s, it was not a novel, but it was a novel with hints of imagination.
[6:56] Philippa Boyens For The Hobbit, yes. Yes. [It was] his work. Absolutely. Yes.
[7:00] Interviewer And now that The Lord of the Rings is coming back to, to the drawings, to animation, there is a lot to explore, actually. A new Middle-earth to draw…
[7:13] Philippa Boyens There is. And, also, we need to remember that Professor Tolkien would only have conceived of any kind of film being animated, that he would have had no conception really have it any other way. And, actually, the very first Lord of the Rings films that ever existed, were both animation, you know. So it feels, it feels right. And I know that Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh were, you know, hugely supportive of this project. Because they, they knew that this was, you know, a good direction to go. And instead of retreating old paths to do something exciting like this. So yeah, it’s really, it’s been great so far. So far.
[8:00] Interviewer You are mentioning the previous animated version of The Lord of the Rings. I can think of Ralph Bakshi in 1978…
[8:10] Philippa Boyens and the Rankin Bass [film].
[8:12] Interviewer And is this a huge influence on what you are doing today with The Lord of the Rings?
[8:20] Kenji Kamiyama [Answers in Japanese]
[8:36] Joseph Chou Translating for KK: So, not particularly in terms of style, but, but really just trying to render the world in animation. I mean, [that] you’ve got to render it into drawings and the challenge of it. And so maybe that … is something that influenced him. Well, it is a huge challenge, and that there are all these things that you’ve got to learn — there is a lot to do. And it’s a huge challenge. And that’s something he took away from those titles.
[9:04] Interviewer When you give birth to new parts of a legend, how do you manage to write the new chapters? We know that there are a few books in Tolkien’s work. And one, one title is tickling me. It’s Unfinished Tales. How do you get to finish the tale actually with authority says okay, that’s the good end. Is there a Christopher working with you?
[9:36] Philippa Boyens [Christopher] was very responsible, I think, for preserving — not just the integrity of his father’s work — but also I think he was responsible for pulling together the threads of his father’s unfinished work. And he put out some beautiful… So, after Professor Tolkien’s death, Christopher was able to take all those papers, take all those writings and give us more, which was to everybody’s benefit. The world’s benefit, I think.
But, for us, I think we… you have a responsibility, obviously, to the source material. But you also have a responsibility to the film. And we have a responsibility to the studio too — they put a lot of money into this. So, you know, that’s always been a bit of a conflict there. But, you know, we’ve got to somehow make that … story work on film. First and foremost, it needs to work on film. With this story and why it works so well, I think, is because we only have about three or four paragraphs that are really, really relevant to the story. We know a bit about the characters. We know about Helm, we know that he had two sons, we know that that he was challenged by one of his nobles called Freca who suggested Wulf marry his daughter.
And here’s the interesting thing. We know there’s a daughter, but we don’t know her name. We know nothing else about her, which was actually a gift for us. Because we could then take her, take what we knew from the way Professor Tolkien wrote other female characters like Éowyn, and draw upon some history that was very relevant to the Rohirrim and create her and tell her story. So, hopefully, it’s a mix of being as faithful as we possibly can to his original works.
But there was a quote that Professor Tolkien himself said, and he wrote it in one of his letters (to, I think it was a fan) that he hoped other lines would come to this mythology he had created, wielding music and drama, and art, which is perfect. So I think he was open to that idea. Because if you’re going to keep a story alive, if you’re going to keep a mythology — because he didn’t just write stories, he wrote a vast world of imagination — then you need to, you need to let other people in. And, nothing we do can take away from the magnificence of what he’s done. All we can do is share our interpretation. It’s just like Shakespeare can be reimagined a million times.
And, you know, it doesn’t take anything away from him. So hopefully, our little morsel that we’re dropping into — he called story “a pot of soup”. So we’re checking in our morsel into the pot of of soup of story.
And we’ll see if people want to drink it!
[12:57] Interviewer Thank you very much for Thank you. Mirror of the meeting. We are really glad to have you here in Annecy and we cannot wait for you coming back with the rest of the work.
The War of the Rohirrim Annecy panel. Source: Jason DeMarco.
Our anime-insider has brought us this exclusive report from the Warner Bros. panel at Annecy in France that presented an exciting “first look” at The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.
Be warned: depending on your knowledge of the Helm Hammerhand story and what you’ve been reading of our coverage so far, there may be spoilers below!
Source: WB SVP Jason DeMarco.
Panel members:
Kenji Kamiyama – Japanese director
Philippa Boyens – writer/producer (Philippa shared shoutouts from Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Andy Serkis.)
Joseph Chou – producer and owner of Sola Studios
Jason DeMarco – studio creative exec with WB. (Described as being “made in a lab to make this movie” because he’s an anime and Lord of the Rings nerd.)
Making of the film:
WB raised the idea of an animated film. Philippa felt the question was “Do we want to see familiar characters from the live action films animated?” Her kids love anime, which is her connection to the medium.
She talked about the need for a level of realism, to bridge the gap between live action and animation.
They wanted to tell a complete story that was separate from either of the trilogies, and a story without the direct influence of the Ring or the shadow of Sauron.
Wanted to find a story in Middle-earth that “fit with anime, culturally.”
Kenji Kamiyama is also a writer, so Philippa found it was an easy collaboration — he’s really good at keeping the story together, understanding place and scale, and keeping Philippa on track when she went down rabbit holes.
The writing process began with Will Matthews and Jeffrey Addiss [Editor’s note: they recently won an Emmy for their Netflix series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance] who have comedy chops but were not versed in the lore of Middle-earth. And Philippa didn’t want to write it: “I felt too old, honestly.” So she brought in her daughter Phoebe and her partner Arty Papageorgiou. Phoebe literally grew up on the sets and most importantly, she understands the rhythm of Tolkien’s language. Kenji was so excited to have a young female writer onboard.
They collaborated with many people from the live action film. We saw concept art from John Howe, Alan Lee, Richard Taylor, and Mark Wilshire were also involved. They also worked with WETA closely, and literally used their models of Edoras. It fully takes place in the world of the film trilogies and many of the images will look very familiar to fans!
When Kenji was approached with this idea, he thought it was “impossible”.
Adapting the world to animation was a struggle. They worked with Daniel Falkner (sp? Editor’s note: Dan Falconer, I think!) who was an art director on the live action films and “knew where the bodies were buried” — [he] could help them find old assets and consult about the history. They talked about the number of horses — so many! — and how hard horses are to animate. But that’s a huge part of the story. Kenji said they needed to use all their tricks to pull this off. They sent the animation crew to horse barns to film, ride, and “be scared”.
Animation process: they used detailed CG models of the characters and layouts, some from WETA, and assembled a layout in Unreal. They would choose shots and cuts from this and assemble a rough cut. This served as a base for the mocap director who would film actors. Then it all went to the animators, who used that to do the animation. Kenji stressed that this is NOT ROTOSCOPE — it’s an interpretation/translation.
Kenji said that usually, a character animator will take a lot of time to learn a character. They really need to understand them. But this movie had a tight timeline, hence the motion capture.
I don’t think Howard Shore is composing the music, but they are using his score — so cool to hear it!
Philippa said it’s been “a joy” to work on an animated project. She also talked about working with Jason DeMarco, and how he made sure to get some “monster vs. monster” moments in the film.
I talked with Philippa later and she wanted me to share a detail: in Carpenter’s Tolkien biography, when Tolkien first had a room in college he decorated it with Japanese prints. She found that really cool to now be doing this distinctly Japanese take on animation.
While they mostly seem done, Kenji and Joseph have a lot more to do, they’re still deep in the production process. Kenji seemed stressed! “Probably the biggest film he’s ever worked on”. Kenji kept talking about the challenge of it, and was clearly still thinking deeply about “how he’s gonna finish this film.”
Joseph described it as “a huge privilege” to work on this. They want to do Japanese animation proud, and they are very aware of all the fans who are watching and want this to be done right. Also this is the first time he and Kenji met Philippa in person! This was started during Covid.
Joseph jokes about how the crew is going to have to work nights and weekends to finish this movie, which really bummed me out. Can we not normalize the brutal working hours in animation? I expect better tbh.
They ended with saying that they are currently recruiting talent for the film. Presumably in Japan. (Editor’s note: I wonder if that means additional animators … or Japanese voice talent?)
Finally, the movie will be out 4/12/24 in theaters only!
Spoilers below – you have been warned!
Story details:
There may be “a character or two we recognize” from the live action films. (Editor’s note: Saruman, Saruman, Saruman and Saruman.)
It’s about the failure of Helm Hammerhand, the war that results from it, and the characters who stepped up in the wreckage. Edoras is destroyed at the end of act 1 — we saw some beautiful art of a burned Meduseld — and the rest of the movie as about “the wreckage of war”.
Discussion of the Rohirrim culture as being based by JRRT on the Mercians — a warrior culture with a code. Family-based power structures and struggles, with honor and loyalty being more important than wealth and riches.
Alluded to a “ghost story” and a “surreal story” within this movie — all suited to the medium of animation.
We saw concept art images of Oliphants and orcs (I think — maybe they were wildmen) surrounding Edoras. We saw a rider with long yellow hair and a horn riding in front of an Oliphant. The art style reminds me of some 90s anime. We saw art of Isengard on its own, and surrounded by tents and wildfires. We saw a lot of background art of Meduseld — really beautiful translation in my opinion, and so familiar.
Lots of consultation with experts to figure out what Middle-earth would look like 260 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings.
The movie begins with a voiceover from Éowyn — Mirando Otto herself! She talks about Héra, how she is a rebellious child and how she is not named in the old tales. We got to see a rough cut of this beginning, with a combination of CG models and hand drawn animation. Héra rides across the plains, rides to the top of a bluff, and tosses a huge hunk of meat into the air, where it’s snatched by a giant eagle. She almost touches the eagle — but it flies away before she can.
We saw another scene in Meduseld, where a herald talks to Fréalaf about heraldry, and then Héra comes in to explain the shieldmaiden herald and what it means. She and Fréalaf are cousins i think? Reminiscent of Éomer and Éowyn. Helm comes in, commanding the attention at the room, and sits at the throne.
We saw a still image of Helm frozen in front of the Edoras gates, knee deep in enemies. Again I’m not sure if they’re orcs or Wildmen or both. (Editor’s note: maybe the concept art below? Which is more likely to be the gates of the Hornburg (then called Súthburg), not Edoras)
The Characters:
Héra(VA: Gaia Wise) – female main character. Not named by Tolkien, but Helm’s daughter is mentioned and she was the character they wanted to explore. Wanted to explore a female POV in Middle-earth, but she’s not a warrior princess per-se — she doesn’t become king. For her character, they they drew on the historical figure of Æthelflæd — the Lady of the Mercians, who defended her people.
We saw expression sheets and designs for Hera. She reads very 90s anime girl — kind of reminds me of the Rankin Bass Éowyn. She has red hair in a messy braid, leather armor, and a sword. We also see designs of her in formal dress. They describe her as “vulnerable and wild”, a tomboy type character. She has a growth in the film — maybe tied to needing to lead her people in a time of chaos. Philippa loves that her hair is never perfect.
Wulf(VA: Luke Pasqualino) – the other main character, the main antagonist. I think he’s from the Wildmen? He’s a big muscly dude with long hair, scruffy, an axe and furs and a ragged cloak. A scar over one eye. They solicited “lots of ideas from the female staff” in the studio. The note they got was “he does bad things, so make him beautiful”. And he is.
Helm Hammerhand (VA: Brian Cox) – daddy vibes. he’s got a big beard and a crown, we saw an expression sheet and a polished design. Red and blue clothing with beautiful intricate gold details.
Freca(VA: Shaun Dooley) – He’s the leader of the Wildmen, and he offers his son’s hand in marriage to Héra. That’s the inciting incident of the movie and leads to “Helm’s big mistake”. He’s wide with leather armor, a cloak, and some kind of bearpaw maul on a chain. He has facial tattoos. “Helm doesn’t take him seriously.” He’s trying to take over Rohan with this marriage. He’s strong and tragic, but also a comedic figure. Philippa quoted a line from the movie: “fat and prosperous is when men are at their most dangerous”.
Fréalaf (VA: Laurence Ubong Williams) – I think he’s Héra’s cousin, he “wins everything in the end” and becomes king.
Thank-you WB and Philippa Boyens for all your kindness and generosity. We look forward to seeing The War of the Rohirrim next April.
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