Yet another new TV spot has been released for Peter Jackson‘s heavily anticipated The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, this time showcasing the trolls encountered by Bilbo and the dwarves.
One would be fair in saying that enough material has already been released for The Hobbit, but it takes a keen eye to appreciate all the variations thrown into each promotional item. Sure, they all contain your long shots of landscapes, quick shots of characters interacting with one another, and quick bits of dialogue, but they actually tend to change from one trailer or TV spot to the next. As a result, audiences are granted a greater understanding of the characters and their varying personalities.
For example, in this particular TV spot, a troll asks “Can we cook him?” in a rather brutish and lumbering dialect. With a nervous and sputtering demeanor, Bilbo answers “I really wouldn’t risk it.” This nervous and seemingly harmless way of behaving actually comes to define Biblo’s scheming ‘thief’ persona that he inherits throughout The Hobbit. Similar examples can be found in the dwarves’ dismissive tone towards Bilbo as well as Ian McKellen‘s prophetic advice as Gandalf. While no shots of Smaug have been released (he’s not due to appear until late in the second film or early in the third, mind you) we’re sure it’s only a matter of time before audiences are gifted a look at the greedy dragon.
Love it or hate it, The Hobbit has released its promotional material with great skill. With every use of publicity, it ushers the public one step closer to its local box office. The same sort of promotion-released-in-bursts approach has been used with Skyfall, resulting in a fantastic debut in terms of numbers. When the film hits theaters on Dec. 14, it may be hard to differentiate between Tolkien geeks and your average moviegoer. Perhaps not too hard, but you may just pause. Enjoy the TV spot below!
