What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this movie might be overwhelming
for younger children who are not familiar with the characters
and story. You may want to prepare anyone younger than 12 with
some background or encourage them to read the simpler first
story in the series,
The Hobbit (about Frodo's uncle, Bilbo). Characters are
in severe peril and there are intense battle scenes.
Families can talk about why it is that only Frodo seems immune to the ring's power to corrupt even honorable, wise, and powerful people and the notion that "even the smallest person can change the course of the earth." If you were going to form a fellowship for a grand quest, who would you want to be in it?
Common Sense Media Review
Somewhere, there are future Hollywood directors who will
tell magazine feature writers that they first decided to make
movies as they watched LORD OF THE RINGS.
It's that good. It's that once-to-a-generation, not since Star Wars , transcendent reminder of why we tell stories, why we have imagination, and why we must go on quests to test our spirits and heal the world. And it's a story that invites us into a fully realized world with many different civilizations, all so thoroughly imagined that we don't only believe that they each have complete languages, but that they have dictionaries, histories, mythologies, schools, music, and poetry.
Our hero, Frodo Baggins ( Elijah Wood), comes from one such culture. He is a Hobbit. And he is on a quest to return a powerful ring to the place where it was created, so it can be destroyed. A great wizard called Gandalf ( Ian McKellen) has told him that the ring can be the source of great evil. But of course this makes it very sought after by all kinds of scary folks, so Frodo has a lot of adventures ahead of him.
Peter Jackson, who directed and co-wrote the script, has created a movie that seems astonishingly inventive and new and at the same time somehow seems as though it always existed inside us. Every detail, from the tiniest plant to the hugest battle, is exactly, satisfyingly right. The bad guys, all thundering hooves and billowing capes, seem to have come from the core of every nightmare since the world began. All three movies in the series were shot at once, so his singular vision can carry us through to the end.
A couple of caveats -- like Harry Potter, Frodo is a character who is more interesting on the page, where we can share his thoughts, than in a movie, where he is primarily called upon to look amazed, scared, or sad. And like Harry Potter, there were benefits to producing a series of films at the same time (continuity, commitment to getting all of the details right), but some drawbacks, too. So, we get glimpses of people who will be important later but now are somewhere between placeholders and distractions.
Families who enjoy this movie should read the books, starting with the prequel, The Hobbit, with beautiful illustrations by Michael Hague. They may want to read more about New Zealand because its extraordinary topography provides the settings for Middle Earth, or look at the gorgeously imaginative illustrations by Maxfield Parrish that inspired some of the art direction. They will also enjoy the Star Wars movies, Labyrinth , and The Dark Crystal . Of course, the many-Oscared series continues with the more violent Two Towers and Return of the King . Fans will also enjoy the video games including The Battle for Middle Earth .
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
