Stone 🧌Giants in the Hobbit

Elthir · Oct 26, 2012

... Like Orcs and Goblins, Orc is the common word given to those creatures that the elves named Goblins.

Orc and goblin does refer to the same thing, but to be pedantic the Elves (Grey type) named these creatures Yrch and other Elvish things, like Glamhoth for example.

The translator named them 'goblins'... sometimes :*D

Firawyn · Jan 7, 2013

After an unreasonably long absense, I am back, and glad to see some activity here.

In regard to the Stone Giants...holy cow, I about fell out of my seat at the theater when Thorin and Co got attacked by huge stone giants on the mountain. It's been a few years since I read the Hobbit (really should do a reread, now that the movie is out) and I honestly didn't recal where the Stone Giants were mentioned at all. Does anyone have the book handy? Can the passage be posted?

Honsetly, like several other aspects of the new Hobbit movie, I found that the Stone Giants were a small passage that got turned into a huge deal, simply to make a better action sequence, and/or to extend the length of the movie. PJ seems to be making a pile of new mistakes this time around...rather than cut important characters and scenes, he is turning flat characters into idiotic round ones (Radagast comes to mind!!), and adding characters who were never in the book just to keep a "star" cast members (Galadriel wasn't in the Hobbit, was she?!), and adding scenes that while comical, are totally not needed to move the plot along, and were only added to feed a character's development, who wasn't supposed to be there in the first place (Super rabbits, OMG! :*eek

I reserve judgment until I've seen the rest of the Hobbit, though the Stone Giants are one thing on a list of things that have me a bit on edge.

Erestor Arcamen · Jan 7, 2013

Firawyn said:
After an unreasonably long absense, I am back, and glad to see some activity here.

In regard to the Stone Giants...holy cow, I about fell out of my seat at the theater when Thorin and Co got attacked by huge stone giants on the mountain. It's been a few years since I read the Hobbit (really should do a reread, now that the movie is out) and I honestly didn't recal where the Stone Giants were mentioned at all. Does anyone have the book handy? Can the passage be posted?

Honsetly, like several other aspects of the new Hobbit movie, I found that the Stone Giants were a small passage that got turned into a huge deal, simply to make a better action sequence, and/or to extend the length of the movie. PJ seems to be making a pile of new mistakes this time around...rather than cut important characters and scenes, he is turning flat characters into idiotic round ones (Radagast comes to mind!!), and adding characters who were never in the book just to keep a "star" cast members (Galadriel wasn't in the Hobbit, was she?!), and adding scenes that while comical, are totally not needed to move the plot along, and were only added to feed a character's development, who wasn't supposed to be there in the first place (Super rabbits, OMG! :*eek

I reserve judgment until I've seen the rest of the Hobbit, though the Stone Giants are one thing on a list of things that have me a bit on edge.

Here to serve :-D

When he peeped out in the lightning-flashes, he saw that across the valley the stone-giants were out and were hurling rocks at one another for a game, and catching them, and tossing them down into the darkness where they smashed among the trees far below, or splintered into little bits with a bang.

They could hear the giants guffawing and shouting all over the mountainsides.

"If we don't get blown off or drowned, or struck by lightning, we shall be picked up by some giant and kicked sky-high for a football."

"I must see if I can't find a more or less decent giant to block it up again," said Gandalf

Erestor's Disclaimer: taken from http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=5887

Prince of Cats · Jan 7, 2013

FWIW, I thought the stone giants scene was one of the most appealing in the movie. That the party had to be *on* them was unnecessary, but I really liked the animations. I saw the movie for a second time largely for when the one stone giant headbutts the other But the question remains still - where did the giants come from and are they possessed by Ainur? Are they creations of Morgoth or simply creatures of the wild like deer and squirrels?

Firawyn · Jan 7, 2013

Prince of Cats said:
FWIW, I thought the stone giants scene was one of the most appealing in the movie. That the party had to be *on* them was unnecessary, but I really liked the animations. I saw the movie for a second time largely for when the one stone giant headbutts the other But the question remains still - where did the giants come from and are they possessed by Ainur? Are they creations of Morgoth or simply creatures of the wild like deer and squirrels?

Erestor dearest, thank you.

@ Prince,

In responce to the grander question at hand, I have to say I'm inclined to beleive that are a part of nature. I find myself thinking of Tom and Goldberry, and how so many aspects of the Old Forest were alive. I think (totally opinion here) that if one considers that the odder living things (Ents and the like) are found in parts of Middle Earth that are less traveled by men, dwarves, elves, and whatnot, that an area like those mountains would be equally likely to be home of naturally existing creatures, such as the Stone Giants.

Does that make sense?

Bucky · Jan 9, 2013

Turin's Friend said:
Did Iluvatar create the mountains? I think that he did when he created Arda even though it was then changed and shaped by the Valar especially during their struggles with Melkor. I get the sense from the Silmarillion that Iluvatar did make the planet and also was the one who made it round after the destruction of Numenor. It is because of this that I think the one God created the planet as well as shaped it. I am not sure if Stone Giants are Maiar or some other spirit along the lines of Ents and Tom Bombadil both of which are also supposedly as old as the beginings of Arda. Hmmm? very good questions.

Melkor 'reared' the Misty Mountains to 'hinder' Orome.

Says so in the Silm.

I don't have the books with me as I'm at Disney, but check out the Silm & you'll see the Valar did the creating.

RangerStryder · Feb 18, 2013

I just want to push this topic for further discussion.

Let's forget the so-called Tolkien canon and just ride with PJ's interpretation of Tolkien's novel. We saw in the Hobbit movie that Gandalf is helping a company of Dwarves in getting back Erebor from Smaug. We also saw him while having a secret discussion with Galadriel that he is most concerned that Sauron might use Smaug vs the White Council and the people of Middle-earth.

My question is this, why not be concerned of Sauron using the Stone Giants (I counted 3) vs the people of Middle-earth? The (3 or more?) Stone Giants are taller and stronger than an army of Mumakils and I think more ferocious than a single dragon.

.

Eledhwen · Feb 19, 2013

RangerStryder said:
My question is this, why not be concerned of Sauron using the Stone Giants (I counted 3) vs the people of Middle-earth? The (3 or more?) Stone Giants are taller and stronger than an army of Mumakils and I think more ferocious than a single dragon.

As this is purely speculation - Tolkien does not mention the stone giants again, so far as I remember - I'm happy to play along.

Gandalf does not seem troubled with the possibility that Sauron might enroll the stone giants. Plausible reasons for this could be: (1) The giants are close to being mindless and therefore untameable; (2) The giants have minds that Sauron can't control; (3) They are just as likely to turn on their (Sauron's) allies as on their enemies.

Though I think the main reason is that they are characters from a children's book that became the prequel to an epic fantasy that had no further room for them in the story.

Valandil · Feb 20, 2013

Stone Giants would be of little use to Sauron. Famously 'stay-at-homes' - worse than Hobbits! And they can turn on their allies, or even one another at a moment's notice. No... not much use for that kind of thing.

Stone 🧌Giants in the Hobbit

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Among the Trees

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Stone 🧌Giants in the Hobbit

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