The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

"My dear Frodo, you asked me once if I had told you everything there was to know about my adventures. And while I can honestly say I have told you the truth, I may not have told you all of it. I am old now, Frodo. I'm not the same hobbit as I once was. I think it is time for you to know what really happened. It began long ago in a land far away to the east, the like of which you will not find in the world today. There was the city of Dale, its markets known far and wide, full of the bounties of vine and vale, peaceful and prosperous. For this city lay before the doors of the greatest kingdom in Middle-earth; Erebor, stronghold of Thrór, King under the Mountain and mightiest of the Dwarf-lords. Thrór ruled with utter surety, never doubting his house would endure, for his line lay secure in the lives of his son and grandson. Ah, Frodo, Erebor! Built deep within the mountain itself, the beauty of this fortress city was legend. Its wealth lay in the earth, in precious gems hewn from rock and in great seams of gold running like rivers through stone. The skill of the Dwarves was unequaled, fashioning objects of great beauty out of diamond, emerald, ruby, and sapphire. Ever they delved deep, down into the dark and that is where they found it, the Heart of the Mountain! The Arkenstone. Thrór named it the King's Jewel. He took it as a sign, a sign that his right to rule was divine. All would pay homage to him, even the great Elven King, Thranduil. But the years of peace and plenty were not to last. Slowly, the days turned sour and the watchful nights closed in. Thrór's love of gold had grown too fierce. A sickness had begun to grow within him. It was a sickness of the mind. And where sickness thrives, bad things will follow. The first they heard was a noise like a hurricane coming down from the North; the pines on the mountain creaked and cracked in the hot, dry wind. It was a fire-drake from the North. Smaug had come! Such wanton death was dealt that day, for this city of Men was nothing to Smaug. His eye was set on another prize. For dragons covet gold with a dark and fierce desire. Erebor was lost - for a dragon will guard his plunder as long as he lives. Thranduil would not risk the lives of his kin against the wrath of the dragon. No help came from the Elves that day...or any day since. Robbed of their homeland, the Dwarves of Erebor wandered the wilderness. A once mighty people brought low. The young Dwarf prince took work where he could find it, laboring in the villages of Men. But always he remembered the mountain smoke beneath the moon, the trees like torches blazing bright, for he had seen dragon-fire in the sky and a city turned to ash. And he never forgave...and he never forgot."

"That, my dear Frodo, is where I come in, for quite by chance and the will of a Wizard, fate decided I would become part of this tale. It began...well, it began as you might expect. In a hole in a ground, there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole full of worms and oozy smells. This was a hobbit-hole and that means good food, a warm hearth, and all the comforts of home."

"I'm going on an adventure!"

"[to the trolls, about cooking the dwarves] Well, have you smelled them? You're going to need something a lot stronger than sage before you plate this lot up."

"You will have to do without pocket handkerchiefs, and a great many other things, before we reach our journey's end, Bilbo Baggins. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you; the world is ahead."

"[to the three Trolls] THE DAWN WILL TAKE YOU ALL!"

"Erebor, the Lonely Mountain. The last of the great Dwarf kingdoms of Middle-earth."

"Enough! If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is!"

"What do you mean? Do you mean to wish me a good morning, or do you mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not? Or perhaps you mean to say that you feel good this particular morning? Or are you simply stating that it is a morning to be good on?"

"True courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one."

"Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I've found it is the small things; everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps it is because I am afraid... and he gives me courage."

"[to Bilbo] Don't mind him, laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate Orcs. After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria...but our enemy had got there first. Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs, led by the most vile of all their race, Azog the Defiler. The giant Gundabad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the King. Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing, taken prisoner or killed; we did not know. We were leaderless; defeat and death were upon us. That is when I saw him; the young dwarf prince facing down the Pale Orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe, his armour rent, wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield...Azog the Defiler learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied and drove the Orcs back; our enemy had been defeated...but there was no feast nor song that night, for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived and I thought to myself then 'There is one I could follow. There is one I could call King'."

"If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too? Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for 60 years...Eyes look east to the mountain assessing, wondering, weighing the risk...Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor?!"

"Loyalty, honor, a willing heart, I can ask no more than that."

"I would take each and every one of these dwarves over an army from the Iron Hills."

"[about the Key to the Hidden Door] From my grandfather to my father, this has come to me. They dreamt of the day the Dwarves of Erebor would reclaim their homeland. There is no choice, Balin. Not for me."

"[Radagast fails to cure a sick hedgehog, despite trying numerous cures] I don't understand why it's not working! It's not as if it's witchcraft! [pauses] Witchcraft. Oh, but it is. A dark and powerful magic..."

"[showing Gandalf a Morgul blade he recovered from Dol Guldur] That is not from the world of the living."

"What has it got in its nasty little pocketses?"

"Baggins! Thief! Curse it and crush it! We hates it FOREVER!!!"

"Gollum! Gollum!"

"Ian McKellen - Gandalf"

"Martin Freeman - Bilbo Baggins"

"Richard Armitage - Thorin Oakenshield"

"James Nesbitt - Bofur"

"Ken Stott - Balin"

"Sylvester McCoy - Radagast the Brown"

"Barry Humphries - The Great Goblin"

"Cate Blanchett - Galadriel"

"Ian Holm - Old Bilbo Baggins"

"Christopher Lee - Saruman"

"Hugo Weaving - Elrond"

"Jake Gyllenhaal - Frodo Baggins"

"Andy Serkis - Gollum/Sméagol"

"Aidan Turner - Kili"

"Dean O'Gorman - Fili"

"Graham McTavish - Dwalin"

"Adam Brown - Ori"

"Peter Hambleton - Gloin"

"John Callen - Oin"

"Mark Hadlow - Dori"

"Jed Brophy - Nori"

"William Kircher - Bifur"

"Stephen Hunter - Bombur"

"Lee Pace - Thranduil"

"Benedict Cumberbatch - Smaug/Necromancer"

"Manu Bennett - Azog"

"Conan Stevens - Bolg"

"Jeffrey Thomas - Thror"

"Thomas Robins - Thrain"