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.

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• The War of the Rohirrim
• Warner Bros.

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We now have our first released art for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. Not concept art, but final stills of animation that gives us a concrete idea of the visual style and tone that Kenji Kamiyama and his team have settled on.

And I like it.

It seems to me that it hits an aesthetic that straddles the eastern and western animation.

There’s a naturalistic feel to the character designs that feels very grounded and without exaggeration. Eyes aren’t distractingly wide, chins aren’t overly pointed, limbs and heads all feel well-proportioned. The colours are solid and rich, but not distractingly glossy or saturated.

Perhaps it helps that the expressions say “serious business” (we’ll return to that, too).

Perhaps that says more about my own tastes in anime than anything else.

I’ve also seen a couple of people who were at Annecy reference Castlevania as an animation touchstone. I don’t really see it, but perhaps I need to watch more Castlevania.

So I love the character designs, but now I really want to see how they move.

Before I delve into each of the images in more detail, if you have yet to read Staffer Greendragon’s interview with Philippa Boyen’s, don’t forget!

The War of the Rohirrim animation still: Héra

Okay, so first because I can see the name complainers arriving en-masse already: go read my interview with Philippa Boyens – the name is “not so much based on the Greek [goddess] Hera, but a nod to the Anglo-Saxon [word].”

Héra is ourpoint-of-view character. Makes sense given everyone frigging dies. But what’s going on here? Where is it? Let’s attack that second point first.

Location

It’s a dark scene. Perhaps sometime in the evening? It must be winter (or approaching it) because of the snow. Maybe the lighting is torchlight.

There’s a ramp and a wall which makes me wonder if it could be (what shall be known in the future as) Helm’s Deep. But the rope and the wooden structure on the ramp behind Héra don’t match. PJ’s Hornburg had a gate, but not a drawbridge. PJ’s ramp/causeway was also quite steep and curved.

Ultimately, I think we can dismiss it being before the gate to the Hornburg.

Maybe it’s further out – Helm’s Dike. I think Tolkien described Helm’s Dike as a ditch and a rampart, with a breach in it for the stream and the road to pass through. There’s a map on Tolkien Gateway that shows where it would be located.

If it were Helm’s Dike that might better explain the wooden structures. And the hutlike structure behind Hera might be a guard hut on the roadside. It would actually be quite a neat (read “nerdy”) detail if it were Helm’s Dike.

However, it might also be Edoras.

PJ doesn’t give Edoras a lot of quarried stone — notably the foundation of Meduseld itself, and the base of the outer defensive fence (topped with a wooden palisade).

That makes the stone wall we can see behind a puzzle to explain.

However, from a certain angle at the top of Edoras, but just below the Hall itself, you should be able to see the valley cliffs in the distance. That fits with the transition from the wall edge to the cliff that we in our animated still. Hopefully the images below help convey that. I wasn’t able to find the exact same angle though.

But Edoras has a dirt path with concluding stairs, not a stone ramp. And the hut isn’t there on that angle. Instead, it’s a wooden lookout tower.

Architectural details might change over time though. Especially after a siege/sacking — and, spoiler, Edoras is set to cop it in WOTR. So I don’t know if these are significant objections.

But if it is just below the Golden Hall, why is the horse in the background? The stables are not directly attached to the Hall and there’s no room for additional buildings on the Hall plinth. It’s a puzzle.

It could be lower down in the town somewhere, perhaps. The outermost fence seems difficult though because I think the wall would always obscure any wide panorama that would reveal the valley cliffs.

I can’t find any image that suggests that PJ chose to place an inner wall anywhere in Edoras.

I don’t think it could possibly be either Isengard, or Dunharrow. There are probably no other options within the context of WOTR.

Action

Héra is challenging someone, but it doesn’t seem to be a life-or-death situation: the blonde fellow behind her is watching, but not alarmed. There’s a dog at the top of the ramp, but it doesn’t seem frightened either. The figures to the left do seem wary about whatever is happening, but aren’t moving to attack. The bonemasks that obscure their faces bear some resemblance of the helms of Isengard’s orc berserkers — as though they’re some primitive antecedent.

Orcs would probably be a scene of great violence, though. This seems more like a standoff/negotiation.

So perhaps they are actually Dunlendings. Yes, PJ’s Dunlending are universally bareheaded. But they’re also pretty rough and ready looking, and carry very primitive spears. I see one of our bonemask fellows bearing a similarly primitive spear.

So maybe they are accompanying Wulf/Freca to Meduseld at the beginning of the film. Perhaps the individual whom we cannot see is either Freca or Wulf, pressing an unwelcome suit before the all-important council meeting that kicks everything off?

Weapon

Finally, there’s the sword that Héra wields.

I wonder if it might be Éowyn’s sword, mostly based on the way the blade narrows from hilt to tip. Also, it just seems kinda apt. My learned colleague ( 🙂 ), Staffer Greendragon, thinks it’s Theoden’s sword — Herugrim — because of the hilt shape and the double horse motif. And it’s an heirloom sword. Both options seem possible to me in the absence of a definitive comment from production, or alternate angles to examine.

The War of the Rohirrim animation still: The Gathering in Meduseld

Character design observations

I suspect this one is supposed to give us a feel for character art style, as well as Helm’s family. In some ways this is all a family affair.

• Helm is a little less grim-looking than I expected. He looks quite noble, and is powerfully built. His hands, formed into fists, could probably break Orthanc itself.
• Haleth looks about Eomer’s (Karl Urban) age. Looks very serious.
• Héra actually seems older than Éowyn and maybe the eldest, even. She sits at the right hand of Helm, traditionally a more important position than the left? Right-hand man and all that.
• Hama seems a late teen. Something about his manner suggests that He’s probably the reckless one/has something to prove which explains his death during a “sortie” while Helm’s Deep is besieged.
• Helm’s children are all older than I expected as well – except Hama, perhaps.

Action

It looks as though they are receiving an embassy. Initially I thought it might be that of Freca, but having read some reports on the content of the Annecy footage, I now wonder if it’s the emissary from Gondor that’s been mentioned in some places.

The War of the Rohirrim animation still: Wulf

Character design observation

Knowing it’s Wulf takes the fun out of guessing, but the dark hair is typical of Dunlending ancestry. I do wonder how he gained the scar over the right eye. There must be an explanation for that at some point, for sure. Who, or what, was he fighting?

Location

Stonework in the background could be Edoras, or it could be Helm’s Deep (besieging it). Really hard to say. The ropes around the wooden structure behind Wulf seem like some sort of temporary structure however. They could be siege-works. The concept art for the fall of Edoras (now well over two years old!) seems more indicative of a short, brutal siege led by the Mumakil not an extended one that requires siege-works.

Also it is winter though and it is snowing, and the siege of Helm’s Deep occurred during the Long Winter that was notably harsh.

Detail

I like the blurring on the snowflakes. It makes me wonder if they’ve filmed a snowfall and slipped that footage in – it doesn’t look like animation motions smears to me. But perhaps I’m wrong.

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• The War of the Rohirrim
• Warner Bros.

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