I have a guest slot in this week’s ToonStack — a weekly newsletter from a bunch of fellow New Yorker cartoonists. Their latest post is about Fantasy Realms.
Here’s my chunk:
My favourite part of the Lord of the Rings movies is right at the end when Gandalf and the Elves board the boat to The Undying Lands. It's so sad and moving and we're all crying.
Then the camera cuts to a shot of Bilbo and Gandalf walking away. We're moved again, as we pretend not to notice that little Bilbo is being played by a five-year-old child, in a mad scientist wig.
Peter Jackson's commitment not to use CGI is commendable and we are all crying.
Below: Sméagol’s addiction.