The action in „The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey ” is prior to the events taking place in „The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and Bilbo Baggins is the main character. He is a respectable hobbit who has no ambitions, loves to eat and live a peaceful and abundant life in his burrow in the County. One morning he finds himself in an adventure he did not expected or wished for, but to which he could not resist, and that’s for sure (at least as a descendant of Belladonna Took). The puckish wizard Gandalf gives him a helping hand convincing him (with great effort, self – confidence and ability) to leave his home and join the 12 dwarfs led by Thorin Oakendshield in a mission out of which he did not know whether he would ever come back, and anyway even if he comes back it is hard to believe he would remain the same. The mission is to take back the land of gnomes, Erebor, situated under the Lonely Mountain and the treasure hidden there that was stolen a long time ago by the dragon Smaug. The journey takes the adventurous fellows to the Bleakness Land on tricky lands full of goblins, orcs, trolls and wizards, a fictive universe created in1930 by J.R.R.Tolkien. In this journey Bilbo will find the magic ring that Gollum had lost.

Undoubtedly „The Hobbit” was one of the most expected movies in 2012 and there are serious reasons to consider it the event of the year in the cinema world. There may be more than ten reasons you should accept a journey in the Middle Earth 60 years before the events of „The Lord of the Rings”. Here are the reasons today it was for me The Hobbit Day:

1. In my opinion „The Hobbit” is a film that deserves many Oscars. In spite of Peter Jackson’s opinion that they could get Oscars at less important categories (makeup, special effects, sound, suits) I think that „The Hobbit” deserves an Oscar also for Sir Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Andy Serkis, and not on the last place, Richard Armitage acting (Armitage continues to be for me a nice surprise). I’m not saying that the above actors will receive the Oscars, as well as I don’t think that Peter Jackson (the director) will be awarded, although he fully deserves it. In spite of all these The American Film Academy doesn’t seem to be aware that above the CGI (Computer-generated imagery) technique, the mimicry, the moves and performance belong for example to Andy Serkis, the one who created one of the most popular characters (Gollum).

2. The film keeps the mood we find in „Lord of The Rings”, but the story is new and many of the characters are also new. „Lord of the Rings” could not exist without „The Hobbit”, this book being the root of the well known trilogy written 20 years ago.

3. „The Hobbit” is as a story for children, the dwarfs are funny, the relationship between them and Bilbo Baggins or Gandalf are full of humor. The apocalyptic tone in „Lord of the Rings” is missing, as well as the tragedy in the previous trilogy (even if I take into consideration the disappearance of some heroes in „The Hobbit”).

4. „The Hobbit” is the first big movie made at 48 frames per second (instead of 24 fps normal) noting the clarity of the images and immediacy of the action scenes. This technique could be the future in cinema, and Peter Jackson was fascinated by the possibilities it offers especially in 3D.

5. The director is Peter Jackson (51 years old), the one who directed „Lord of the Rings” the other trilogy after Tolkien writings. I am fascinated by Jackson’s commitment for the projects he is implied in. This passion may be the main reason Warner Bros. Accepted to spend almost a billion dollars for „The Hobbit” trilogy. One of the reasons Peter Jackson wanted a trilogy is because many images could not be included in the first two movies, these being too long already.

6. The special effects are sensational indeed in „The Hobbit”, we see mountains, green landscapes in the County, huge caves and many other images created by a rich imagination. It is as if you saw familiar things, but in a fantastic dimension beyond any imagination (as the fight between two living mountains in the storm). On their turn, Thorin group should have been created so that the dwarfs were different among the other characters. The solution was to use many beards and wigs made of human hair brought from Russia. A technique to create big and haired legs for the hobbits was also developed using some silicone shoes with a very natural effect.

7. We enjoy the presence of Sir Ian McKellan, probably the most famous sorcerer on the wide screen. Given the recent information about the actor’s state of health there probably won’t be many such opportunities. Together with McKellan, Cate Blanchett (Galadriel), Ian Holm (old Bilbo), Christopher Lee (Saruman), Hugo Weaving (Elrond), Elijah Wood (Frodo), and Andy Serkis (Gollum) are back in „The Hobbit”.

8. The cinema story created by Peter Jackson and his team does J.R.R. Tolkien’s book proud. The success of „Lord of the Rings” trilogy affected in any way this project. We also meet the characters created by Tolkien like dwarfs, hobbits, orcs, elfs, goblins and other creatures.

9. The romantic story as part of the main action is missing. The only reason you may feel thrilled (to tears in my case!) is the very special relation between Thorin and Bilbo based on respect and courage.

10. We sometimes need, whatever the age may be, fairy tales, to see the Good and the Bad acting differently, to see heroes and to enjoy the deeds of a courageous group of dwarfs facing a huge dragon.