History Fridge / TheHobbit

** On first viewing, the ramshackle mechanisms, suspension bridges, and platforms of the goblin settlement are just a cool place for a frantic running battle. Then, you think back to how the earlier views of Erebor at its height looked -- awesome stone bridges spanning deep chasms, great machines for smelting and forging, rope-suspended miners chipping at gold seams -- and you realize it's another case of Tolkien's worst villains being incapable of true creation, only of making shoddy copies of their betters' handiwork.

* The scene with the captured orc makes it quite clear that Thorin has more than just personal reasons for dealing with Thranduil, who has broken his word in the past and shows a nasty tendency towards ExactWords in his dealings with others.

* Bit of a cross with FridgeBrilliance: In ''Desolation of Smaug'', Bilbo charged at and viciously killed some kind of arthropod because it touched the One Ring with its leg. He fairly ''growled'', "Mine," in a deeper, strange voice (with a SlasherSmile, to boot). But hold on a second. Who corrupted the Rings into giving its owner infinite greed? Sauron. What creature is also characterized by Greed and has a permanent SlasherSmile? Smaug. Both are voiced by Creator/BenedictCumberbatch, with very dark, deep and monstrous tones (also on this side of psychotic). So it would be natural that a Bilbo under the thralls of the One Ring would sound like Sauron and/or Smaug (also coupled with EvilSoundsDeep) rather than his higher vocal inflections.
** Also a bit of a cross with FridgeBrilliance: what other hobbit to we know of who viciously attacked a critter and killed it despite formerly not being aggressive at all? Sam attacking Shelob might come to mind, the huge difference is is ''why'': Shelob almost killed Frodo at that point, which made Sam fly into a rage huge enough that the orcs vitnessing the aftermath were convinced that there was a mighty Elven warrior on the loose in Cirith Ungol.

** She's using her Phial, that will have been given to Sam in ''LOTR'', to combat the Necromancer. It holds a bit of light of the "North Star", which is a Simaril which was made from the Two Trees. Brilliant that it is the only thing effective against the Necromancer. Brilliant in that she doesn't have to use her Ring of Power, still keeping it hidden from Sauron. And [[LiteralMetaphor brilliant literally.]]

* The underground orcs are poorly armored and thus easily killed. Therefore orcs could never be a total threat on their own, without Sauron / Saruman. This is what Gimli later means under "Rabble of mindless orcs". By contrast, Uruk-hai (from ''Literature/TheTwoTowers'') are better armed and armored - "Their armor is thick and their shields broad" - and therefore are much more formidable opponents.

* At the end of the third film Thranduil advises Legolas to go north and look after [[spoiler: a certain Ranger called Strider. This can cause Tolkien purists to do double-takes, since in the book-verse Aragorn was only about ''ten'' when the events of TheHobbit were happening, and was still in hiding at Rivendell. However, Jackson's film timeline is different to Tolkien's, since the seventeen years between Bilbo's 111th birthday party and Frodo's flight from the Shire were omitted; thus, this version of Aragorn is probably in his twenties. Assuming the dates stated in the films are exact, Aragorn tells Eowyn that he's 87 in the Extended Edition of ''The Two Towers'', and assuming the statement "for sixty years, the ring lay quiet in Bilbo's keeping" is exact, that means film!Aragorn would be 27 circa ''The Hobbit''.]]

* The underground orcs are poorly armored and thus easily killed. Therefore orcs could never be a total threat on their own, without Sauron / Saruman. This is what Gimli later means under "Rabble of mindless orcs". By contrast, Uruk-hai (from ''TheTwoTowers'') are better armed and armored - "Their armor is thick and their shields broad" - and therefore are much more formidable opponents.

** Also a bit of a cross with FridgeBrilliance: what other hobbit to we know of who viciously attacked a critter and killed it? Sam attacking Shelob might come to mind, the huge difference is is ''why'': Shelob almost killed Frodo at that point, which made Sam fly into a rage huge enough that the orcs vitnessing the aftermath were convinced that there was a mighty Elven warrior on the loose in Cirith Ungol.

** Both the construction of Goblin-town (why the town is constructed the way it and how it holds together/falls apart just as needed by the plot) and the lengthy fight and chase scene between the dwarves and goblins seem rather...[[TallTale improbable]]. The author (Bilbo) who is purportedly retelling the adventure is also notably absent, since he's dealing with Gollum down below. So who gave Bilbo the blow-by-blow account of the battle for him to describe later? Considering the colorful descriptions of dragons and orc raids so enthusiastically provided by Bofur, Fíli, and Kíli, as well as Gandalf's comment about good stories needing "embellishment," is it any wonder that the account of Goblin-town is a bit larger than life?

** Interestingly, the novel mentions that goblins can tunnel as build as well as all but the most skilled dwarves, but only when they have a mind to, and most of the time they just use slave-labor or other means of saving time and effort. That puts a very clear light on the distinctions between the ramshackle "good-enough" quality of Goblin-Town and the loving artistry and architecture of Erebor, not as a question of skill but of attitude.

** She's using her Phial, that will have been given to Sam in ''LOTR'', to combat the Necromancer. It holds the a bit of light of the "North Star" which is a Simaril which was made from the Two Trees. Brilliant that it is the only thing effective against the Necromancer. Brilliant in that she doesn't have to use her Elvin Ring, still keeping it hidden from Sauron. And [[LiteralMetaphor Brilliant literally.]]

* Bifur's axe-in-the-head at first appears as nothing more than a quirky way of distinguishing the character. But in the novel, Bifur barely has any lines at all. So Bifur's main character trait is more than just that - it's a clever and probably unintentional bit of brilliance on Peter Jackson's part since Bifur is just as mute in the film as he was in the book.
** WordOfGod suggests it was ''entirely'' intentional.

* As much a TearJerker as it is, Kíli/Tauriel doesn't cheapen the relationship Legolas and Gimli has in the LotR trilogy - simply because it doesn't work out. If anything, it serves as a precedent for Legolas/Gimli - that yes, elves and dwarves can fall in love/have a lifelong bond.
** It also potentially adds some layers to the animosity between Gimli and Legolas in the beginning: Gimli presumably knows from his father about Thranduil's actions in the past. Meanwhile, Tauriel, who was Legolas's comrade and who he is implied to have had some feelings for, fell in love with a dwarf and may even have died of a broken heart after Kíli's death.
* Dwarves stereotypically favor the axe as a weapon, so it at first seems odd that the Iron Hill dwarves are primarily pikemen. But consider the native environment of dwarves: hills and mountains. Both of these are terrain with confined areas that are ideal for frontal assaults with phalanxes since the flanks would be covered by the terrain. It is not unlike ancient Greek military tactics.

* In ''Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney'' Thranduil's army appearance in the Prologue seems forced: did he just march his entire army to help, only to turn around on the mere sight of the Dragon? How did he learn of the impending Dragon attack to be able to assemble and march his host so swiftly? And if he did not intend to help at all, why bring the army in the first place? Then, ''Film/TheHobbitTheBattleOfTheFiveArmies'' puts it into perspective: he always intended to reclaim what he deemed rightfully his from the Dwarves by force, he just choose the timing poorly and had the misfortune to arrive just behind the rampaging Dragon. Helping the refugees was never in question, but since the treasures were lost, there was no point in attacking them either.

!!'''The Book'''

!!'''The Trilogy'''

!!FridgeHorror

!! FridgeLogic

* Wife's keepsake or not, Thranduil's obsession with the white gems to the point of abandoning the Dwarves completely and later jailing Thorin and company6 over them shows an obsessive streak that in his case at least highlights how Thranduil is NotSoDifferent from the Dwarves he so despises.

* The scene where one of Bard's daughters asked where her dad is makes sense both in and out of universe - both her on-screen dad (Bard) and her real-life dad (James Nesbitt who plays Bofur) are not in the house during that scene.

* Near the end of the Battle of the Five Armies, Bilbo is knocked unconscious while wearing his Ring and therefore is not found until he wakes up after the battle and takes off the Ring. Imagine if he'd been mortally wounded or slipped into a coma while unconscious.