A. B. Schwartzkopf

We all know that when books are transformed into movies or tv shows not every string of dialogue will be perfectly copy-pasted from page to screen. However,for readers, it can be one of the most annoying things ever. Then again, getting to point out these differences when watching the movies with someone who hasn’t read the books is quite fun. And as a devout Tolkien fan, I like to point these instances out every time I watch the Lord of the Rings movies.  

So because free will is a thing that exists, here’s a compiled list of the changes from the books to the movies for J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Oh, and of course here I’m talking about the extended versions of the movies (as they are the only valid versions). And yes, if you’ve not read the books but they’re on your bucket list, this WILL contain spoilers. 

1. Bilbo’s departure. Starting strong in chapter 1, when Bilbo left his birthday party by slipping on the Ring as a last practical joke, Gandalf hides the Ring’s power by camouflaging Bilbo in smoke. This is much to Bilbo’s dismay, as he really just wanted to prank everyone. Further on, after Bilbo is convinced to leave the Ring behind, he departs with three dwarves. He wasn’t alone as the movie depicts. 

2. Frodo’s Departure. When Frodo left the Shire, it was a process that took months! He sold everything to the Sackville-Bagginses and left with Sam and Pippin to move his things to a new house at Crickhollow, a place across the Brandywine river. Oh, and here’s another change: there was no chase scene to the Ferry. 

3. Gildor. On their way to Crickhollow, Frodo, Pippin, and Sam ran into a group of High Elves traveling West. Sam was more than excited, and Pippin happy to eat of their food (not that he quite remembered what it was later). Frodo, on the other hand, conversed with Gildor– the leader of this group of Elves and a name to look for in The Silmarillion if you read it. 

4. Farmer Maggot. The group runs into Farmer Maggot– a hobbit farmer who famously has three dogs and mushrooms Frodo used to steal. Yes FRODO and not Pippin and Merry like the movie shows. But don’t worry, Frodo apologized to the Farmer for his past actions, but we also learn that the Black Riders are looking for Bagginses. Still, there’s no chase scene here between any Riders or the hobbits. Instead, they meet Merry, who helps them cross the Brandywine.

5. Frodo is confronted. Finally reaching his new place at Crickhollow, Frodo’s plan to escape seems to have worked… but Sam told Pippin, Merry, and Fredegar Bolger(the forgotten fifth friend) about Frodo’s escape plan. So of course, Pippin and Merry planned to come along too. Fredegar volunteered to stay behind and watch over everything. It’s a wholesome moment between the hobbits, and really shows the depth of their friendship. 

6. Old Man Willow. Yes, this is a tree. And yes, Merry and Pippin are taken hostage by said tree. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see this in film.  

7. Tom Bombadil, Goldberry, and the Barrow-wight. Tom Bombadil is a favorite of many who have read the books. He saves the Hobbits from Old Man Willow, and later drops some pretty important lore to the history of Middle Earth. The Hobbits spend some time in Tom’s home, meeting his wife Goldberry the River-daughter. After the Hobbits move forward in their journey, they are stopped by a Barrow-wight– a wraith-like creature. Frodo displays some heroics before Tom shows up again to save them. Other than missing clothes and a horrible memory, the hobbits are fine and are sent away again. Tom and Goldberry never appear again. There is only one mention of Tom later during the Council of Elrond as someone thought to give him the Ring to hide… yeah, the thought was quickly dashed (fun fact: the Ring has 0 effect on Tom. Like, none whatsoever).

8. Frodo’s real slip up at the Prancing Pony. Essentially, Frodo was drunk dancing on a table, fell off and slipped the Ring on as he did so. He was quite embarrassed, but this is much more entertaining than his panicked frenzy in the movies. 

9. Glorfindel. You know that scene in the movies where Arwen comes to save the day and gets Frodo across the Ford of Rivendell? Yeah… that doesn’t exist in the books. It’s Glorfindel, a High Elf of Rivendell, that meets the group on the road and sends Frodo flying forward on his horse when the Black Riders show up. The river does its own thing, no incantation from Arwen needed. 

10. Arwen. Sorry movie-fans, Arwen is barely mentioned in the books at all! I don’t think it’s out of any disrespect to her, but just that he character wasn’t meant to become complicated for the plot. BUT you can find Aragorn and Arwen’s relationship story in Appendix A. And if you want more on her lineage, then read the Silmarillion.

11. Reconnecting with Old Characters, Glóin and Bilbo, and the many songs. Remember that name from The Hobbit? Frodo gets to meet Glóin in Rivendell. Glóin is also the father of Gimli. And yes, Bilbo and Frodo still reconnect in the movies, but they don’t include the many pages of songs and poetry that the books have. I get it’s not for everyone, but those songs include a lot of lore…

12. The Council of Elrond. Now don’t get me wrong, I love how the movie portrays the essential parts of the meeting. There’s a lot, and I mean A LOT, discussed during this chapter by many different people, so it’s understandable why it was condensed. However, it’s a shame to not recognize Legolas’ idiot moment in the Council when he doesn’t understand the impact of the news he brings. Gollum escaped. Imagine the reactions of all who knew what it would cost. 

13. The Company. That is to say, the Nine Walkers, or the Fellowship. Choosing the members took a little longer in the books than in the movies. Only Frodo and Sam were chosen during the Council, and Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir, Gimli, and Legolas were chosen to go later on. Pippin and Merry were reluctantly allowed to join because they begged enough that Gandalf told Elrond that they might as well go too. Thus the Company of Nine was born. 

14. The Gates of Moria. Pippin gets a bad rep in the movies, but he wasn’t always the troublemaker. While waiting for Gandalf to figure out the Gates’ password, it wasn’t Pippin that threw rocks into the pool, it was Boromir. BOROMIR.

15. Down the Well. But Pippin’s not a saint. Once inside Moria, Pippin lets his intrusive thoughts win and drops something down the well in the guardroom. That much is still true in the movies, yes, but at least in the books the Fellowship had a few nice days of travel before the Orcs came after them.

16. YOU CANNOT PASS. Though iconic, it is NOT “you shall not pass”. YOU CANNOT PASS. He says this three times in the same passage. And call me a word freak, but shall and cannot give different meanings to the phrase.

17. The Mirrormere and Durin’s Stone. A beautiful watery landmark that didn’t make it into the movies. It honestly is one of my favorite descriptions, but it is a sidequest that has no relevence to the plot. You can find its description in chapter six of book two in The Fellowship. (Confused? Each of the books, or volumes, are split into two books.)

18. After crossing the Nimrodel. Legolas and Frodo were requested to speak to the group of Lórien Elves tracking the Company. It makes sense why the movie cut this part out, but it does add more to the worldbuilding of Middle Earth, and to the tension of Legolas and Gimli’s friendship.

19. Cerin Amroth. A hill adorned with circles of white trees with golden buds, an unspoiled piece of golden land in Lorien. I suppose it wasn’t essential to the plot, but it hurts to think of how many movie-only lovers don’t know about this beauty!  Why didn’t we see it? Even Gimli was allowed!

20. The Mirror of Galadriel. This one bothers me a lot, actually. In the movies it was only Frodo and Galadriel, but in the books SAM WAS THERE TOO. It was Sam that received sight of the Shire’s Scouring (an event that was conveniently left out of the movies, another huge annoyance), but this scene reveals more of Sam’s dedication to Frodo and his resolve to fulfill his promises. Frodo saw Gandalf the White (or Saruman, we can’t be sure), Bilbo pacing in his room, the Sea, a ship riding out of the West, Gondor, and then the Eye. 

21. The Gifts of Galadriel. The only gifts that are the same between book and movie are Legolas’, Gimli’s, and Frodo’s. In the movie, Aragorn receives nothing, but in the books he is given the Elfstone of the house of Elendil as a token of hope (fun fact: Galadriel is Arwen’s grandmother, which makes this scene extra special). Boromir was given a belt of gold, and Merry and Pippin belts of silver with clasps of golden flowers, not necessarily just weapons. Sam was given soil from Galadriel’s own garden, an important tool for much much later in book events, and the rope came from an unnamed elf.

22. Chapter Nine of Book Two. This chapter reverts back to more of Tolkien’s “travelog” writing style, however it does mention a lot of worldbuilding details. Between Gollum stalking the boats, mention of the Eagles, Black Swans, and other details, there’s a lot to enjoy here! But it’s just not fit for a film adaptation. 
23. The End. A lot changed from book to movie. Firstly, Aragorn never saw Frodo off before the Orcs arrived. Nope! When the Company noticed Frodo was gone for a long time, and Boromir would not reveal all that transpired between them, Sam went with Aragorn to search. But Sam, knowing Frodo, raced back to the boats to find Frodo pushing off. The movie does pretty good at giving the next scenes, but here’s an important distinction: the orcs weren’t attacking or chasing them yet! The Orcs show up in the next book. Which also means that Boromir’s death isn’t in The Fellowship! Imagine my shock when I watched The Fellowship for the first time without reading The Two Towers yet.

So that’s everything left out of the Fellowship movie! Let me know if I missed anything. I’ll probably do one for each book, so stick around if you liked reading this one. Until then, safe soaring!

(Used for reference: Tolkien, J. R. R. The Fellowship of the Ring. Boston, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1954.)