It is the only time the digital effects and smoother visuals underline, rather than undermine, the mythical drama of Bilbo's adventure.

In addition to being a funny little moment that just makes fun of the feminine looks of male elves, this winds up being a nice bit of foreshadowing that ultimately enhances the nine-hour experience of watching the entire trilogy. An Unexpected Journey led the nominations at the 39th Saturn Awards with nine, more than The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring which earned eight nominations at the time of its release. The dwarves, along with Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey, continue their quest to reclaim Erebor, their homeland, from Smaug. The ensemble cast also includes Ken Stott, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, James Nesbitt, Elijah Wood, and Andy Serkis, and features Sylvester McCoy, Barry Humphries, and Manu Bennett. When we were first discussing who would be right for Thranduil, Lee came into mind almost immediately.

There's a lot of sections in which a character like Gandalf disappears for a while– he references going off to meet with the White Council, who are actually characters like Galadriel and Saruman and people that we see in Lord of the Rings. The company has had rights to produce miniatures from the original book for some years but has not released any lines, save for a stand-alone game based on the Battle of Five Armies, with original designs not related to The Lord of the Rings films. Del Toro said that he interpreted The Hobbit as being set in a "world that is slightly more golden at the beginning, a very innocent environment", and that the film would need to "[take] you from a time of more purity to a darker reality throughout the film, but [in a manner] in the spirit of the book". The second film was retitled The Desolation of Smaug and the third film was titled There and Back Again in August 2012. After all, the lyrics that the characters sing come directly from the book, and a director who cares much less about the source material would have axed them completely.

Thorin and Gandalf each take an Elf-made blade, Orcrist and Glamdring, respectively; Gandalf gives an Elven dagger to Bilbo. 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. They take refuge in a cave and are captured by Goblins, who take them to their leader, the Great Goblin.During May 2013, additional filming for the second and third films began in New Zealand and lasted for 10 weeks. In a 2006 interview, delToro was quoted saying "I don't like little guys and dragons, hairy feet, hobbits .