Story
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first part of a trilogy. It opens with a story by 111-year-old Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm). Bilbo tells how the wealthy kingdom of Erebor was ruled by the dwarf king Thror (Jeffrey Thomas), his son Thrain and grandson Thorin (Richard Armitage). Erebor was destroyed by the dragon Smaug, leaving the population homeless. Bilbo then tells Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) the story of his great adventure as a young hobbit, and the rest of the movie is a flashback to 60 years earlier.
A young Bilbo (Martin Freeman) is about to sit down for his evening meal when he is disturbed by a knock at the door. The unexpected visitor is a dwarf called Dwalin (Graham McTavish), who enters and starts eating Bilbo’s meal. Dwalin is soon followed by Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) and 12 more dwarves, who are on a quest to reclaim Erebor from Smaug. They ask Bilbo to join their band as a burglar. Initially Bilbo says no, but the following day he reconsiders and chases after the dwarves. This is how he begins the greatest adventure of his life, one that will change him forever.
During his epic adventure, Bilbo, Gandalf and the dwarves find themselves in one dangerous situation after another. They are almost eaten by mountain trolls, must fight off fierce orcs led by a gigantic white orc called Azog (Manu Bennett), escape cave goblins led by the Great Goblin (Barry Humphries) and are chased by a pack of savage wargs, or giant wolves.
Themes
The supernatural; reclaiming heritage; revenge; pride
Violence
This movie contains some slapstick violence but also brutal violence, intense battle scenes – which include bodies being cut up and heads being cut off – and some blood and gore. For example:
Sexual references
None of concern
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
This movie shows some use of substances. For example:
- Bilbo, Gandalf and numerous dwarves smoke pipes. In one scene, Gandalf offers a second wizard a pipe to smoke, telling him that the smoke will calm his nerves. After breathing in the smoke, the wizard’s eyes roll.
- A character says something about how a wizard has eaten too many mushrooms, which has affected his brain.
- Dwarves greedily drink large amounts of ale and become loud and jolly. In one scene Gandalf asks for a small glass of red wine, which he sips.
Nudity and sexual activity
None of concern
Product placement
There is no product placement of concern, but it’s likely that merchandise associated with the movie will be marketed to children.
Coarse language
This movie has some mild name-calling and exclamations.
Ideas to discuss with your children
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a fantasy action adventure targeting teenagers and adults, particularly Tolkien fans. It is the first in a trilogy of movies and has extra material not included in the book.
This movie isn’t as dark as the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It also has more funny characters and situations, which give it a lighter feel. But the movie’s M rating should be taken seriously. The movie features intense violence and numerous scary characters, made more disturbing by 3D effects. This makes it unsuitable for children under 12 years and some children up to 14 years, even those who have enjoyed the book. At 169 minutes, it’s also a very long movie for children.
These are the main messages from this movie:
- True courage is not about knowing when to take a life, but when to spare one.
- The everyday deeds of ordinary beings, not heroes, keep evil away.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include courage, self-sacrifice and friendship. For example, at the start of the story, Bilbo is self-centred and more interested in sticking with his easy life. But as his friendship with the band of dwarves grows during their journey, Bilbo starts to change, discovering the courage he needs to make sacrifices, including putting his own life on the line for his new friends.
You could also talk with your children about how the dwarves’ pride affects their ability to get what they want and how pride nearly becomes their downfall.