Having read the book after seeing the movie series, I'm surprised by how much the producers managed to squeeze out of the original story to fill a suitable run time for each of the three movies. I'm surprised by how they managed to turn parts of New Zealand into Middle-earth (the Narnia films did the same thing), so it feels really expansive and varied as far as locations. Merry and Pippin are definitely portrayed as dolts in the first two movies, although they do grow out of it by the third movie.
Great adaptation of a classic story
Having read the book after seeing the movie series, I'm surprised by how much the producers managed to squeeze out of the original story to fill a suitable run time for each of the three movies. I'm surprised by how they managed to turn parts of New Zealand into Middle-earth (the Narnia films did the same thing), so it feels really expansive and varied as far as locations. Merry and Pippin are definitely portrayed as dolts in the first two movies, although they do grow out of it by the third movie.