The Hobbit was a fantasy novel written for children in 1937 by JR Tolkien and beloved by many to this day. Recently Peter Jackson adapted the book for the big screen and successfully created an award winning, multi-million dollar trilogy. The final film, The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies successfully portrays the fantasy themes that Tolkien originally introduced in his novel. The criteria I analyzed to come to my evaluation include the characters and their costumes, the special effects the director utilized, the setting of the film and finally the overall message that the audience can reflect on. The fantasy genre typically contains elements that are not realistic and according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary is defined as "a book, movie, etc., that tells a story about things that happen in an imaginary world". In this case, Jackson brought Tolkien's Middle Earth to life on the big screen. .
One of the most evident reasons that The Hobbit is a good representation of the fantasy genre is the way Jackson adapted the characters from the novel including their costumes and dialogue. The costume design of the characters also shows the audience who is fighting for good or evil which is a prevalent theme in fantasy also. The elves wear gold armor and are recognizable by their pointed ears, slender faces and long hair. Orlando Bloom plays Legolas successfully because of his handsome face and high cheek bones because the elves are referred to as a beautiful race. He also speaks in the Elvish language and it is the dialogue that shows the audience that this movie is set in an imaginary world. Tolkien created the language himself and it is like no spoken language on earth. The physical appearance of the dwarves also highlights fantasy themes through the fantastical way their facial hair is braided and twisted. They may have human features but the dwarves are shorter than the town's people, or the humans, in the film and they are considerable larger which fits in with their occupation as miners and warriors.
