New Reviews Of Old Movies (With Kids In Mind)

This occasional series takes a look at older films viewed through the eyes of a modern six-year-old, a ten-year-old and their movie-loving Gen X mom who originally watched these films before she had kids. Things hit different when you watch them later, or watch them for the first time with fresh eyes.

Who hasn’t seen or heard of the Peter Jackson-directed supernova film trilogy based upon the books by fantasy master J.R.R. Tolkien? Everybody right? Eh. Maybe not. That’s not exactly a fair question when it comes to the ten and under set. My 10-year-old has seen the books on my shelf but never registered that they were films he could watch or that it was a book he might one day read. He saw the commercials on Amazon Prime for The Rings of Power, but was unaware it was part of a larger universe of stories. For him, the universe of Marvel films and books and shows is a “proper” universe. So to explain to him that I read The Hobbit and the subsequent trilogy and later the Silmarillion as a kid – before I was 13 – that blew him away.

“If you read that much how did you keep up with the latest Pokémon games or your favorite shows on NetflixNFLX
?”

Haha. Great question. Neither one was around when I was his age.

Introducing my brood to The Fellowship of the Ring was a time trip as well as an exercise in two days worth of answering questions about, well, everything. “Was Mordor hell? Was Gandalf an angel or a wizard? (Valid question if you know the history there…) Which guy is this guy? Why do they all look the same? What is Link doing in this movie? Is there a Nintendo tie in?!?!”

My children thought Legolas was Link. Boy did I have some explaining to do.

TLDR: This film was exciting for my 10-year-old but not a good fit for the 6-year-old. I had already decided the youngest would be excluded from the viewing of it due to scary scenes. It took us two days to watch it, taking on an hour at a time. He had so many questions about the map of the land and the people and the history of the world that we had to keep stopping to answer. (He even wanted to know about the flora and fauna and the physical de-evolution of Gollum— but that’s probably unique to my kid.) It is intense, scary at times, shows multiple characters smoking, shows murders, shows blood and gore and uses language that a younger kid might ask: what does that mean? But it’s also a fun adventure about a bunch of boys who take a trip to save the world. That said, since he inched closer and closer to me on the couch while the Ring Wraiths came for Frodo, we won’t be watching the next two films at least for another year.

Back to the longer review.

The film originally released December 19, 2001, and I regaled my kid with how the whole family saw it on Christmas Day and how everyone in the theatre yelled at the screen repeatedly. (In Chicago, we talk to the movies if it’s an adventure film. Trust me, it’s fun.) The film holds up over time. We took two days to watch it because it’s rather intense, and we needed to pause and move around! Also, my child wanted to understand who everyone was, where they were from and how they fit into the fellowship. (He needs to read the book, so I’ve now left it on his bedside table. That might fix all the questions he is asking.)

His overwhelming response to the film was that there was “so many characters” and that Tolkien’s story sounds like it was written by a priest. (This too was not a bad assessment if you know Tolkien’s religious leanings.) He enjoyed the story, and wondered if Rivendale was heaven and nobody told the Fellowship. He also asked if they filmed the movie in a “real place,” and if we could go there on vacation.

He also was fascinated by the Elvish and wanted me to stop and repeat those sequences over and over again. This film would not have been one he would have enjoyed at the actual movie theatre as he likes to stop and repeat scenes. This is also why the rating for this film is PG-13. An older child would not have had so many questions. Maybe…

The battles and braun hold up over time, as does the art and the costuming. We felt fully immersed. And the story is epic, so no issues there. My kid was more interested in Merry and Pippen, two characters that I always found annoying. He loved them and called them the twins, just like the twins in Harry Potter.

For a kid born more recently, it seems, watching a film adapted from a book by Tolkien is full of references to newer, more modern tales that he is finally understanding all took their cues from Tolkien!

It’s still a 10 out of 10 and a great film, though not great for the entire family if you have some tiny littles. PG-13 is there for a reason. My kid could handle it, but I was with him and again, it took two days to get through it. He has not asked to see The Two Towers, so that is an indicator that the first film, though worthy of its 13 Oscar nominations that season, was still quite enough intensity for one holiday break.

Where to watch it? If you don’t already own the boxed set, you can find it HBO Max and Amazon Prime video. Other streamers offer it for a fixed additional fee.

Box Office History: The Fellowship of the Ring took in a whopping $897-million at the global box office. Everyone liked it. Everyone watched it. It was a huge cultural moment for the world and a pivotal moment for book nerds who, up until then, were not widely embraced for reading Tolkien’s fantastical tomes. It also led to increased tourism in New Zealand, where much of the film was filmed.

Like this series? Read my Rewind Review of The NeverEnding Story and Jon Favreau’s kid-classic Zathura.