The Hobbit

PLOT

Approaching his 111th birthday, the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins begins writing down the full story of his adventure 60 years earlier for the benefit of his cousin Frodo.

Long before Bilbo's involvement, the Dwarf king Thrór brought an era of prosperity for his kin under the Lonely Mountain until the arrival of the dragon Smaug. Destroying the nearby town of Dale, Smaug drove the Dwarves out of their mountain and took their hoard of gold. Thrór's grandson, Thorin, sees King Thranduil and his Wood-elves on a nearby hillside, and is dismayed when they leave rather than aid his people, resulting in Thorin's everlasting hatred of Elves.

In the Shire, 50-year-old Bilbo is tricked by the wizard Gandalf the Grey into hosting a party for Thorin and his company of Dwarves: Balin, Dwalin, Fíli, Kíli, Dori, Nori, Ori, Óin, Glóin, Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur. Gandalf's aim is to recruit Bilbo as the company's "burglar" to aid them in their quest to enter the Lonely Mountain. Bilbo is unwilling to accept at first, but has a change of heart after the company leaves without him the next day. Bilbo races to join the company. Travelling onward, the company is captured by three Trolls. Bilbo stalls the Trolls from eating them until dawn, and Gandalf exposes the trolls to sunlight, turning them to stone. The company locates the Trolls' cave and finds treasure and Elven blades. Thorin and Gandalf each take an Elf-made blade, Orcrist and Glamdring, respectively; Gandalf also finds an Elven dagger, which he gives to Bilbo.

The wizard Radagast the Brown finds Gandalf and the company, and recounts an encounter at Dol Guldur with the Necromancer, a sorcerer who has been corrupting Greenwood with dark magic. Chased by Orcs, Gandalf leads the company through a hidden passage to Rivendell. There, Lord Elrond discloses a hidden indication of a secret door on the company's map of the Lonely Mountain, which will be visible only on Durin's Day. Gandalf later approaches the White Council — consisting of Elrond, Galadriel and Saruman the White — and presents a Morgul blade, a weapon of the Witch-king of Angmar, which Radagast obtained from Dol Guldur as a sign that the Necromancer is linked to an eventual return of Sauron. While Saruman presses concern to the more present matter of the Dwarves' quest, requesting that Gandalf put an end to it, Gandalf secretly reveals to Galadriel he had anticipated this and had the Dwarves move forward without him.

The company journeys into the Misty Mountains, where they find themselves amid a colossal battle between Stone Giants. They take refuge in a cave and are captured by Goblins, who take them to their leader, the Great Goblin. Bilbo becomes separated from the Dwarves and falls into a crevice where he encounters Gollum, who unknowingly drops a golden ring. Pocketing the ring, Bilbo finds himself confronted by Gollum. They play a riddle game, wagering that Bilbo will be shown the way out if he wins or eaten by Gollum if he loses. Bilbo eventually wins by asking Gollum what he has in his pocket. Noticing his ring is lost, Gollum realizes that Bilbo possesses it and chases him. Bilbo discovers that the ring grants him invisibility, but when he has a chance to kill Gollum, Bilbo spares his life out of pity and escapes while Gollum shouts his hatred towards the hobbit Baggins.

Meanwhile, the Great Goblin reveals to the Dwarves that Azog, an Orc war-chief who killed Thrór and lost his forearm to Thorin in battle outside the Dwarven kingdom of Moria, has placed a bounty on Thorin's head. Gandalf arrives and leads the Dwarves in an escape, killing the Great Goblin. Bilbo exits the mountain and rejoins the company, keeping his newly obtained ring secret. The company is ambushed by Azog and his hunting party, and takes refuge in trees. Thorin charges at Azog, who overpowers and severely injures him with his Warg. Bilbo saves Thorin from the Orcs and challenges Azog, just as the company is rescued by eagles implied to be sent by Galadriel. They escape to the safety of the Carrock where Gandalf revives Thorin, who renounces his previous disdain for Bilbo after being saved by him.

They see the Lonely Mountain in the distance, where a sleeping dragon, Smaug is awoken by a thrush knocking a snail against a stone.

CAST

Martin Freeman as Young Bilbo Baggins

Ian Holm, who portrayed Old Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings trilogy appears also in scenes that take place directly before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring.

Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey

Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield II

Ken Stott as Balin: Dwalin's brother.

Graham McTavish as Dwalin: Balin's brother.

Aidan Turner as Kíli: Thorin's nephew and Fíli's younger brother.

Dean O'Gorman as Fíli: Thorin's nephew and Kíli's older brother.

Mark Hadlow as Dori: Nori and Ori's brother.

Jed Brophy as Nori: Dori and Ori's brother.

Adam Brown as Ori: Dori and Nori's brother.

John Callen as Óin: Gloin's brother.

Peter Hambleton as Glóin

William Kircher as Bifur

James Nesbitt as Bofur

Stephen Hunter as Bombur

Cate Blanchett as Galadriel

Hugo Weaving as Elrond: the Elven-Lord of Rivendell,

Christopher Lee as Saruman the White: the head of the Istari Order and its White Council.

Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins

Sylvester McCoy as Radagast the Brown

Andy Serkis as Gollum:

Barry Humphries as the Great Goblin: the king of the caverns of Goblin Town in the Misty Mountains.

Conan Stevens as Bolg: son of Azog.

John Rawls as Yazneg: Azog's second-in-command. Movement choreographer Terry Notary played Yazneg during pick-up shots.

Bret McKenzie as Lindir: an elf of Rivendell.

Kiran Shah as the Goblin scribe: a scribe and messenger for the Great Goblin.

Jeffrey Thomas as Thrór: the former king of Durin's Folk and Thorin's grandfather.

Stephen Ure as Fimbul, one of Azog's Orc hunters, and lieutenant to Yazneg.

Michael Mizrahi as Thráin II: the last Dwarf-King of Erebor and Thorin's father.

Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice of the dragon Smaug, as well as The Necromancer,

Cameos in the film include director Peter Jackson and editor Jabez Olssen as Erebor Dwarf refugees running from the dragon Smaug in the opening prologue; picture double Hayden J. Weal as a dwarf carrying gems during Thranduil's visit in Erebor; James Nesbitt's then-wife Sonia Forbes-Adam as Belladonna Took, Bilbo's mother; Nesbitt's daughters Peggy and Mary as children of Dale; Luke Evans as Girion; and production designer Dan Hennah as the Old Took, Belladonna's father. Peter Jackson's daughter, Philippa Boyens's second son, and Andy Serkis' children made cameos in the Old Took's party; and Jabez Olssen's wife and children, Weta Workshop founder Richard Taylor's children, and set decorator Ra Vincent's children all cameo in the market scene. Writer for Ain'tItCoolNews.com, Eric Vespe, portrays Fredegar Chubb, the fish seller at the market. The cameos in the Old Took's party and the market scene are shown only in the extended edition.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

the first installment in a three-part film adaptation based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s 1937 novel The Hobbit. It is followed by The Desolation of Smaug (2013) and The Battle of the Five Armies (2014), and together, they act as a prequel to Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.