The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring questions and answers

Create polls, rate your favourite stuff, and vote on anything you can think of at polltheotherone.com

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) - 75 questions

Directed by Peter Jackson, starring Billy Boyd, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Dominic Monaghan, Elijah Wood, Hugo Weaving, Ian Holm, Ian McKellen, John Rhys-Davies, Liv Tyler, Orlando Bloom, Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Viggo Mortensen

The "questions" section is for any random questions that occurred to you while watching this film, or anything you didn't entirely understand, and which Google or the IMDb can't help with. Submit them as a question, and hopefully someone will answer (the bold comments in brackets) - check back regularly. If the answer is wrong, or missing information, please use the "clarify answer" option. Don't feel limited - want to know what music played in a certain scene? Whether this was the first film to use a certain effect? Here's the place to ask!

When I saw this movie in theaters, I seem to recall a scene where Gimli had to be blindfolded because they were entering a sacred Elf place in a forest. Gimli doesn't want to be, but Aragorn (I think) says that they will all go blindfolded. I can't find it in the DVD release but my friend, who has actually read the book, says that the scene is in book. Did they cut the shot out or did I just pluck this out of thin air? [That scene is only in the book, it was never in any cut of the film.]

When Aragorn throws an apple to Pippin which hits him in the head, Merry says Pippin's name in an annoyed tone. Why does he do that? [As in "Pippin! Wake up and watch what's going on around you!"]

What exactly is the relationship between Merry and Pippin? I know they are cousins, but other than that. They seem to be regarded as a unit but Merry seems to be annoyed by Pippin all the time and not too happy to be around him. What kind of relationship are they meant to have? [They're best friends, partners in mischief and so forth. Merry probably started out acting in an older brother-type capacity (being eight years Pippin's senior), and, as we see, still frequently gets exasperated by the younger hobbit's actions, but neither would ever choose to be without the other.] Answered by Tailkinker

Who is Legolas' mother? Is she still alive? They only ever mention his father - Thranduil, King of Mirkwood. Does he have siblings? [Tolkien never mentions Thranduil's wife, mother to Legolas - whether this is meant to imply that she has died, or gone into the West is an open question. He also never mentions any siblings.] Answered by Tailkinker

Why aren't Arwen's brothers - Elladan and Elrohir - ever mentioned? They were, at least, talked about in the LotR books. [They're very minor characters in the books - there'd be little point in having them in the film unless there was a good reason. The filmmakers have made something of an effort to remove minor characters - the decision to use Arwen to rescue Frodo after Weathertop, rather than Glorfindel from the books, would be an example of this. In storytelling terms, Elladan and Elrohir serve no purpose, hence their non-appearance.] Answered by Tailkinker

In the end when the credits are playing, after Enya's song "May It Be", another girl sings. Who is it and what is the song called? [It's a boy called Edward Ross singing 'In Dreams'. It's on the soundtrack CD at the end of track 17 'The Breaking of the Fellowship'. The 2 songs are reversed in the film and CD.]

Does Legolas have an age? I've read somewhere that it's 2931, but did Tolkien ever record one? Also, now that I'm on that subject, what is Aragorn's age? Did Tolkien record THAT as well? [There is no record of when Legolas was born. But it is commonly believed that Arwen is the last Elf born in Middle-Earth, and she is 2,777 years old at the time of the War of the Ring. So Legolas is older than that. Aragorn was born (according to the timeline in the appendix to "Lord of the Rings") in year 2931 of the Third Age, 87 years before the War.] Answered by Twotall

A question for all the extended DVDs. Why does Viggo Mortenson not do commentary with the rest of the cast? Is he opposed to it, or simply could not make it? I missed his presence on the disc and was also wondering if he'd be speaking on the Return Of The King DVD. [Since he does do the interviews about the film, I don't believe he's opposed to commentaries. And since he was really the only one working on films at the time the commentaries would have been recorded (Hidalgo especially), it's possible that he simply couldn't be there. Other cast members were working on films also, but Viggo was the only one starring in his, and probably couldn't take the time.]

How are Elves born? Are they born fully grown or are they babies? [Elves are born as babies otherwise it would kill the mothers. The reason you see no younger elves has to do with the fact that they are "in decline" in Middle Earth. Arwen (Liv Tyler) is the last elf to have been born in Middle Earth and she is 2,777 years old at the start of the War of the Rings.] Answered by Myridon

I've been looking everywhere on the internet for the full length version on 'Many Meetings' to listen to online. Does anyone know where i can find it? [Actually, the full length version has a copyright; therefore, it would be illegal to post the full version online without permission. The only way I know of getting the song would be to buy the soundtrack CD.]

Who are the actors that play Gil-galad and Isildur? They are never mentioned in the "making of" specials. Isildur has a very big part compared to other characters that were interviewed. Also, why is Hugo Weaving (Elrond) never interviewed for the DVD? He has an extremely important part. [Gil-galad and Isildur were played by Mark Ferguson and Harry Sinclair respectively. Why would they be mentioned - Gil-galad appears in about one shot and Isildur appears for a few minutes at the beginning and has only one line (and even that is actually voiced by Hugo Weaving). They're very minor characters - when there are so many larger characters to deal with, no reason to include them. As for Hugo Weaving, who knows - maybe he wasn't available, or preferred not to be interviewed for some reason. You have to remember that despite his part being important, he's not actually on-screen all that much during the trilogy, certainly compared to many of the other characters.] Answered by Tailkinker

What is the name of the theme in the teaser trailer and the full trailer of Fellowship of the Ring? [If it's the one I think you mean, it's called "Gothic Power" by Christopher Field. I found it quite easily online.] Answered by Tailkinker

Why is it at the start of the film when Gollum is being tortured, that the Orcs do not kill him when he has given them the info they want? Orcs are not the nicest of creatures, and we would expect them to kill for the sake of it. Any ideas? [Orcs aren't the nicest creatures, no, but they will follow orders - presumably Sauron, for reasons of his own, wanted Gollum alive. Remember that it's never really made clear whether Gollum was set loose or he escaped. If it's the former, then Sauron must have some use for Gollum - most probably he figured that it wouldn't hurt having another agent out there looking for the Ring. If it's the latter, then Gollum simply broke out before the Orcs had a chance to kill him.] Answered by Tailkinker

In this movie, Saruman says that orcs were elves once, and were mutilated by the dark forces, but when reading the book I saw no evidence of this. What exactly is the origin of the orcs? [Orcs are believed to be corrupted elves, but it happened so long ago that they wouldn't mention it in the Ring trilogy. It would most likely be discussed in The Silmarillion.] Answered by Myridon

When Frodo first finds the ring on the floor of Bilbo's house, Gandalf makes Frodo put the ring in an envelope and then seals it. Why does Gandalf do this? Was it to protect Frodo from having to physically touch the ring? If so, why didn't Frodo just carry the ring in an envelope in all three movies? [Gandalf tells Frodo to "Keep it secret. Keep is safe," when he puts the ring in the envelope. They want it packed away, out of sight and out of mind. When Frodo starts on his journey though, it's probably too risky to keep the ring anywhere but on his person. Otherwise it could get lost or stolen.]

I know this might seem kind of silly, but I'm just curious - if the Ring makes its wearer invisible, why didn't it make Sauron invisible? [Because Sauron has power over the ring, not vice versa. The ring has many more powers than invisibility. That is just the only one that most people can take advantage of. It is a way of showing how the ring is so powerful that it will obscure all those who can not control it. In the book, it didn't make Tom Bombadil invisible because his magic is older than the ring itself.] Answered by Garlonuss

Did Aragorn grow up with the elves? If so why? I seem to recall a deleted scene showing him talking about his mother and her being buried in Rivendale. [Aragorn was indeed brought up at Rivendell. His father, Arathorn, was slain by orcs when Aragorn was only two years old, so his mother, Gilraen, brought him to Rivendell and placed him under Elrond's protection in order to keep him safe until he came of age. Gilraen died in 3007, just over a decade before the War of the Ring, and was buried in Rivendell - her grave is seen in the Extended Edition of the film.] Answered by Tailkinker

On maps for middle earth, what is beyond the right edge of the paper? Is it land, and if so, why aren't the places mentioned? If it's water, then where does it go? [Middle-Earth extends into the east for a considerable distance. The Easterlings live there, often referred to as Men of Darkness, who fought for both Dark Lords in their times. As such, most people chose not to go there, so it's rarely discussed in the chronicles of the Western lands. Even the well-travelled Gandalf never entered those lands, although Saruman did, along with two of the other wizards (who ultimately remained there). Aragorn visited briefly, and Sauron used the lands as a refuge for some centuries. The elves originated in the East, and it's likely that some still live there, as do four of the seven dwarven tribes.] Answered by Tailkinker

When the fellowship enters the Mines of Moria, they see all of the dead Dwarfs on the ground, and Legolas says "Goblins", and draws an arrow. What are Goblins, and why are they never shown in the movie? [Actually they are shown in the movie. Goblins is simply a term used for the smaller breeds of Orc that tend to inhabit the subterranean places like Moria. They tend to be somewhat more intelligent and cunning than their larger siblings, to compensate for their lesser strength - a trait that Saruman and Sauron took advantage of when creating their warrior Orc breeds, the ones referred to as Uruk-Hai. Despite their physical and intellectual differences, all three, Orcs, Uruk-Hai and Goblins, are the same species.] Answered by Tailkinker

So just how far is it from Hobbiton to Mt. Doom? And even though they didn't exist then, if possible to tell, how long would it take say, a modern day aircraft to fly from Hobbiton to Mt. Doom? [As the crow flies, it's approximately one thousand miles. This would be roughly a five hour flight in a Cessna light aircraft - a Boeing 747 at standard cruising speed would cover it in about an hour and a half.] Answered by Tailkinker