Trailer 1 for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is here! It looks … well, it looks pretty fine I think. If you haven’t seen it yourself, check out our trailer post here!
I’ve been chatting with Staffer Kelvarhin about it the last little while, and here are some of our thoughts. This is not a frame-by-frame breakdown, just some talking points that interested us.
Staffer Kelvarhin
Interesting callbacks to the original LOTR films, shown at the start of the video. The white horse of Hera and Hera’s entrance into Meduseld, harking back to Gandalf on Shadowfax and Aragorn’s entrance to the hall at Helm’s Deep. Couldn’t make out if Hera says the name of her horse, maybe something we’ll see/hear in other trailers maybe? Are they setting up this horse as a possible forefather of Shadowfax, an early Mearas?
Staffer Demosthenes
Addressing the second thing first: it could be that Hera’s horse is one of the Mearas. I hadn’t considered that. Note, she does state later “I am the fastest rider” and that could well explain why. At the time of the War of the Ring, no other horse possessed Shadowfax’s speed or endurance.
Did you like the callback intro? It’s a very unusual way to open, but then this is an unusual project too.
Staffer Kelvarhin
Not really, I thought it was a weird way to promote a new film. Why waste screen time on a previous film that’s set hundreds of years after the new one?
Staffer Demosthenes
It’s an easy hook and that scene of Otto on Mt Sunday looking out over the valley is iconic Rohan – especially coupled with Shore’s leitmotif. Only the Pelennor charge beats it, I think, but the Pelennor charge is not a good link: we need a link to place, not to action. That being said, Helm and friends later seem to echo the Pelennor charge in a desperate defence outside Edoras’ walls. But I think we all know that charge will end in failure.
Staffer Kelvarhin
They’re really playing into Peter Jackson’s involvement with this film, reflecting on past glories, for both Producer and Middle-earth/Rohirrim.
Staffer Demosthenes
I don’t love this. I mean, I know what they’re doing from a marketing perspective: they have all of 10 secs or so to hook casuals, and a big neon PETER JACKSON is very likely the most-effective hook. However, Kenji Kamiyama is a storied director of anime in his own right; I don’t love that WB feels he needs to be propped up. That being said, if the decision was put on me I’d probably (grumpily) do the same out of commercial practicality. Philippa Boyens also probably deserves more recognition for carrying the project.
Staffer Kelvarhin
Yeah, I’m not a great fan of it either. This is supposed to be a stand-alone film, maybe let it stand on its own merits. I thought it was strange emphasising Peter Jackson over Kenji Kamiyama. It just felt like they’re trying to appeal to the LOTR film fans, which is why I mentioned “past glories”.
Staffer Demosthenes
At the same time, they’re echoing visuals and Otto is even reprising Eowyn. That all feels fine and logical and justified. I guess we both just think the recent elevation of Jackson in the pecking order is a bit … cold-blooded?
Staffer Kelvarhin
Yep.
I’m not really very knowledgeable about anime, so I don’t know if this is normal for that form of animation, but I’m really having a problem with the way the animals move, it just looks unusual to me, not quite natural. So, saying, when standing still the horses look pretty good.
Staffer Demosthenes
Animating horses is super-hard. Kamiyama and producer Joseph Chou have both talked about this and the amount of effort they’ve had to put into it. I thought it looked okay – I liked the charge from behind with the hooves throwing up clods of dirt. To me it compares well vs Attack on Titan S2.
AOT “cheats” and cuts the challenging lower half of the horse a fair bit. It will be interesting to see how much WOTR emulates this trick. I can’t think of other recent examples of horses in anime off the top of my head.
But maybe it’s not so good and I’m going crazy?
Staffer Kelvarhin
No, it just stood out for me as I’m not used to anime. My son loves anime and he thinks they look fine.
Staffer Demosthenes
It does have to appeal to people not used to anime, though. I think the greater than normal detail in the character designs is part of this effort. Much anime, especially TV anime, stylises character faces substantially (in part to reduce the volume of work). The colour palette is not too vivid, too. And the action and sound design is pretty realistic and grounded. That killer punch from Helm is heavy but, not you know, over the top? In fact all the human on human fights appeared realistic to me.
Staffer Kelvarhin
The inside of Meduseld looks pretty bloody good, the details are spot on. Love the fretwork details on the window when Hera is telling Wulf she doesn’t want to marry her. One little criticism though, women in those times, both real and fictional, did not get a say in who they would marry. It was decided by their fathers, especially in Royal families, where marriage alliances were very much the norm. She might not have wanted to marry the man chosen for her, but she wouldn’t have spoken out against it, she’d have abided by her father’s will, as that’s how she would’ve been raised. This scene came across as a bit too modern as to how she would have reacted. She might have railed to her maids, but not in public, and definitely not to her intended suitor.
Staffer Demosthenes
Did you notice that the portrayal here is that Wulf and Hera are childhood friends? It’s especially obvious with that pair of fight scenes. First they are sparring as youths, then (obviously years later) at Helm’s Deep they’re playing for keeps.
I initially wondered (because a lot of this is out of sequence) if Wulf approached Hera privately first. But now I see that can’t be the case given the dialogue. It looks like they have a chat while everyone else is filing outside for the fateful fist fight.
Staffer Kelvarhin
Yeah, I did. Bit of an intriguing dynamic.
Staffer Demosthenes
I think a lot will anchor on that dynamic. I did like the voices of Gaia Wise (Hera) and Luke Pasqualino (Wulf). Emotion, but not over the top. I feel like I need to hear more of Brian Cox (Helm) to judge him right now.
Staffer Kelvarhin
Visually it’s quite stunning, a lovely renditioning of the Middle-earth we’ve always known in the LOTR films.
Staffer Demosthenes
Did you notice the contrast of scenes that are green/sunny and those that are obviously deep within winter? That really stood out to me.
I also had some concerns about background blending after WB released their fourth still: it showed Hera riding through forest and the background seemed a bit “real”, as it were. But in motion it looks fine.
What stood out for you?
Staffer Kelvarhin
I was more taken by the scenery, especially the shot where she’s on her horse and there’s a plain and mountains behind her. I found it stunning, it would make a wonderful poster.
Staffer Demosthenes
There are some easter eggs.
Staffer Kelvarhin
A nod back to the LOTR films, with Helm saying, “You know nothing of war”. It’s almost identical to what Eomer says to Eowyn at the Dimholt. Hera’s response is almost the same as Arwen’s to Aragorn when she takes Frodo to Rivendell. These things probably won’t be noticed by casual fans/viewers, but for long time LOTR/Tolkien fans, who are notorious for picking up on these things, they’ll be pointing/yelling at the screen over these lol.
Staffer Demosthenes
Haha I missed that! I don’t watch the PJ films very much, tbh. If it was a book quote I probably would have picked it right away. Some nerdy book things I wonder: will they call it Helm’s Deep, or its original name, Suthburg? Will Freca and his folk have their own burg, or will they inhabit Isengard for narrative convenience?
Actually, it looks as though they are opting for Hornburg. Fair, i guess.
Staffer Kelvarhin
Is the head-dress/tiara Hera’s wearing the same as the one Eowyn wore?
Staffer Demosthenes
This one? From the TT EE (I think) funeral scene?
It looks different to me. I think they carry the same sword, though Greendragon disagrees with me and says it’s Thoeden’s .. Herugrim? We’ll see who’s right!
Speaking of headwear, did you notice that the band/crown that Helm wears is later being worn by Wulf as he and Hera fight. That scene is definitely at Helm’s Deep. Wulf might not actually take it from Helm, I think. I think it’ll just be part of the spoils from capturing Edoras.
Staffer Kelvarhin
Oh, I missed Wulf’s headgear! I think another rematch is coming up lol.
Staffer Demosthenes
I think Helm will still freeze to death outside the Hornburg. We get hints of that in the desperation of some of the later winter scenes I think.
Staffer Kelvarhin
I’m a bit confused about the rings bit at the end, none of the Rohirrim were ever given a ring of power, so why bring them into this? It’s a little bit distracting.
Staffer Demosthenes
It feels provocative. Certainly the Rohirrim have no involvement with, nor knowledge of, the rings of power. However, I can offer a possibility.
We know there is a character called Lord Frygt (voiced by Alex Jordan) in the film but we know nothing of his role. Scandinavian friends tell me that Frygt is a Danish word that means “fear”.
Now, we know that Wulf makes a terrible decision or bargain at some point that changes everything. In an interview with me (that now feels almost an age ago), Philippa said: “And there’s a moment in the film, which is incredibly gut-wrenching and powerful where Wulf commits himself to a course of action he cannot turn away from. And once he does that, the story darkens.”
I think it may be that this Lord Frygt is some servant of Sauron seeking rings for him. Some quick fact-checking reveals that The White Council became aware Sauron was seeking The One in TA2939, long after the events of the Helm-Wulf war, but when did Sauron *begin* searching? I can’t find a precise date and I think that’s an exploitable loophole.
What sort of servant? Well, a Nazgul wouldn’t ask questions like “what would Mordor want with rings?” But Sauron has many servants, some of them men. Wulf wants Rohan, and revenge. For that he needs an army. What if Wulf and this servant were to conveniently meet and strike a Faustian bargain. The price of the assistance that Wulf gains for his bid for the throne is … rings? (I had originally thought that the whole Wulf-hires-mercenaries-thing was completely independent of Mordor, but now I’m reconsidering: it may be more an arm’s length affair.)
Mordor (often via the Wiki) moved against the Free Peoples in this sort of fashion quite a lot during the later parts of the Third Age. If that’s the logic, then I can see it working.
But maybe I’m crazy. 😊
Staffer Kelvarhin
Interesting use of the original soundtrack at the start of the trailer, I think it’s what affected my appreciation of the original music that followed.
As, while the soundtrack is reminiscent of the LOTR soundtrack, with the choral arrangements, it didn’t feel quite as awe inspiring/gut-wrenching as the original. Admittedly it is a little hard to give a definitive opinion based on a 2-minute trailer, so I’ll reserve judgement for now. I did like what I heard and would like to hear more, but I wasn’t blown away.
Staffer Demosthenes
I noticed some Taiko-like drum sounds. I did like the vocal choir stuff. But maybe because it reminds me just a little of Kenji Kawai’s opening theme for Ghost in the Shell (the animated movie, not Kamiyama’s later TV series).
There was a lot of choir in that two minutes. I wonder if that’s going to be a trend for the entire film.
Did you like what you saw? Did it intrigue you, and would you go see this film?
Staffer Kelvarhin
I was intrigued by what I saw, it could be interesting to see how the story, as they’ve set it up, pans out. Not sure if I would pay to see it at the cinema or just wait for it to be streamed though. If my kids want to go and see it, I’ll probably take them. How about you? What was your overall impression of the trailer? Will you go and see it?
Staffer Demosthenes
I’ve been wanting to see finished animation for The War of the Rohirrim for yonks. Descriptions out of Annecy and SDCC, while cool in themselves, aren’t especially useful for forming a personal judgement. Stills will only get you so far. You need to see it moving.
Now, with a teaser in hand that combines action and dialogue and sound, it’s the moment of truth. (well, the first of them.)
As someone who does watch a fair bit of anime, it was reassuring: although I wish it was a little more fluid in character animation, it’s still very solid. The character designs look good (quite detailed, too, and that increases the level of work for staff) and move well. The horses feel like almost like a triumph – I loved the clods of earth the charge we saw was throwing up; very dynamic — given the difficulty of that task. And the backgrounds don’t jar by looking too real/photorealistic.
Fights feel realistic and don’t indulge in over the top physics — something that is fine for, say, Demon Slayer, but would be I think would run counter to the general tone of Middle-earth. It fits the world that it’s meant to be portraying.
This is crucial: It sounds and looks and feels like Middle-earth.
If there’s one thing I’m not sure about, it’s the Watcher-like creature. I don’t love monsters for the sake of them and it’s a long way from Moria to Rohan. Perhaps there’s a good contextual explanation, though.
I’ve always really liked the Helm story – it might be my favourite one out of the appendices. I can see the bones of that story here: the marriage proposal, the fight, and the consequences that follow for Rohan and its various people.
The trailer teases later events and the Hornburg climax without revealing it fully. If you don’t already know the Helm story, or what happens to Helm and his family, this trailer is a bit of a mystery actually!
I’m keen to see it all unfold on screen.
