Tom Bombadil

I dont know about anyone else (except Ushgarak) but, what did you guys think about tom Bombadil's absence in FoTR

For those who don't know...

Tom Bombadil is an incredibly obscure figure whose presence mostly baffled readers of the original book- but amused them in no small way as well.

He is a very powerful being whom the Hobbits meet during their journey to Bree (mostly cut from the film). He takes them in, plays with the Ring as if it were a mere toy, and starts to sing about his clothes and what a jolly fellow is. To quote:

"Old Tom Bombadil is a merry old fellow
Bright Blue his coat is, and his boots are yellow"

And then our heroes move on. No explanation for any of this is ever offered.

Now, I have always maintained that the sight of this garish nutter singing about hos boots and what a nice guy he is would have had most the audience of the film leaving...

But on a more practical note, no adaptation of LOTR has evern included Tom Bombadil, and with good reason. LOTR is absolutely HUGE, and you need to cut everything that isn't necessary- it's long enough as it is! And there can be nothing more irrelevant to the plot than Tom Bombadil.

I never saw it that way. That kinda makes sense because it would be boring. But you have to admit he did add enchantment to the book.

or do you think that he shouldnt even have been in the book?

I don'' think he thinks that, but you are a bit unclear on what you think about him in the book, ush.

rite, you only say he wouldnt be an asset to the movie. what about the book?

He IS amusing, I give him that, and things would not quite be the same without him. But the thing that most outs off people about the book is the slow start. He doesn't help matters.

the book did have an extremely slow start. when i told my freind to read it, she stopped and said it wasnt "adventurous enough". on the other hans i HAD to keep reading.

Of course, it is worth sticking with. And in many ways the start is very good, even if it is slow.

But the sad fact remains that the slow start is oputting too many people off! Thank God for the film; that has encouraged LOADS of people to read it all, now they see what happens later!

yeah. it kinda makes me happy when people want to read it. maybe cause i got so attached. what about you?

Oh yes, I'm delighted at the new uptake. Even the illustrious founder and owner of this site is now reading it all!

"just spreadin' the love". they really are great books!

They'll probably go back and film it for DVD, along with the Lothlorien part where the orcs pass by and when Gollum follows them (up the tree in Lorien, in the Great River as a log, etc.) and Farmer Maggot's farm, etc.

Do you think they'll make LOTR Legos?

🙂 can't really imagine them making legos out of it, no.

It'd be pretty cool if they did.

The Bridge of Khazad-dum:
Comes with Gandalf, Frodo, the Balrog, and 2 Orcs.
Make the Bridge and the stairs leading out.

The Death of Boromir:
Comes with Aragorn, Boromir, Uruk-Hai Leader, and 4 Uruk-Hai.
Make a couple of trees and a hill.

Buckleberry Ferry:
Comes with Frodo, Merry, Pippin, Sam, and 3 Ringwraiths w/horses.
Make the Ferry, the dock, and a few trees.

Saruman's Tower:
Comes with Gandalf, Saruman, the King of the Eagles, 2 Orcs, and the Uruk-Hai Leader.
Make a small scale version of Saruman's Tower, the biggest one of the set.

Those would be them in my opinion.

you have such a vivid imagination, captain.

Why thank you m'Lady. I have a very large imagination. I write stories and draw in my spare time. I just started a LOTR-like one, but it still has all my ideas.

like elves and stuff, i like to draw fantasy stuff too.

to add tom in the movie would've made no sense to those who didn't read the book...as it stands, those that have read the book still can't understand why the ring had no effect on him...

there are loads of theories and opinions about him...but as amusing as he was, the book would have been hard put to explain how they got out of the downs...

since it was he that rescued said hobbits...

hehe i was going to bump this up the other day 😛