I can’t remember the first book I read that was turned into a movie/disappointment, but for my kids it’s The Hobbit.

It’s the nature of the medium that books are better than movies as nothing can compete with the theatre of the mind. Not that movies are always bad, but when you mess with a treasured book you’re going to get some grumbles.

And boy did this adventure cause cursing when people found out that The Hobbit was to be split into three movies. The loudest was from those that didn’t know this fact until they were heard muttering various takes on “what the hell!?” as they left the theatre.

Otherwise, foaming ire was raised thinking those money grubbing son’s o buggers are stretching Tolkien’s smallest, most simple book into three movies while Lord of the Rings gets only three? You cut out Tom Bombadil and the return to the Shire, but we get to see a Star Wars inspired rabbit sled chase in The Hobbit? I call horseradish on that. Many minutes of extra time/filler in this movie are found with side and back stories. But mostly it’s in the addition of huge battle scenes every ten minutes whether they are needed or not.

Not that it’s a bad film. It’s a fine piece of fantasy that will do just fine trying to grab all the Harry Potter money it can. As for the kid friendliness of it, viewers under 10 describe it as “really violent, scary and (obviously) not as good as the book”.

*Bonus Review!* Life of Pi is also an incredible book. The movie is beautiful and it’s a great story but as a wise man once said, “movies are never better than books” to which an even wiser man replied “that’s why I don’t read books.”

Both available online and more than likely to our library in good time.