Lord of the Rings is one of the best motion pictures of our time winning 17 Academy Awards, and the hearts of people all over the world. I hear many people who say that since they’ve seen the movies they don’t need to read the books. I read the books annually and fall more in love with them every time. My favorite character – and the most poorly portrayed – is Frodo.
Frodo Baggins was a hobbit of fifty years when he started on his adventure, the oldest of the four hobbits. In the movies he appears to be about twenty, definitely looking as young – if not younger – than Pippin, Merry, and Sam.
He had strength that helped him push through pain, wounds, and long dangerous climbs. Even though he never really fought a battle, he had stamina. More importantly he had mental and psychological strength that helped him fight against the allure and temptation of the Ring. In the movies, it shows him as very weak from the beginning. When he is stabbed on Weathertop he fights for over six days before being taken over by the pain. In the movie he is instantly taken over by the pain. In the second movie you see him with severe mood-swings. Although he does get moody in the last book, only one came close to the anger he shows in the second movie. Most importantly he never sends Sam away like he does in the last movie. He never attacks Gollum, never pushes or fights with him on the edge of a cliff over a river of molten lava. And he forgives. He forgives. That is probably the most powerful character trait of his and they take out all the scenes where he forgives.
Even though I’ve only pointed out a few things the movies got wrong, I hope this is a start. I hope you as the reader see that Frodo was really a loving and strong character as opposed to being weak in every way as he is portrayed in the movies.