Tauriel facts for kids

Tauriel is a fictional character who appears in Peter Jackson's three movies based on J. R. R. Tolkien's book The Hobbit. She was created by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh just for the movies, so she is not in the original book.

Tauriel is a Woodland Elf and leads the Elven guard. Her name means "forest daughter" in the Elvish language. The actress Evangeline Lilly plays Tauriel. You might know Evangeline Lilly from the TV show Lost.

Tauriel's Adventures in the Movies

Tauriel first appears in the second movie, The Desolation of Smaug, which came out in 2013. She was planned to have a big role in the final movie, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, released in 2014.

Meeting Bilbo and the Dwarves

In The Desolation of Smaug, the hobbit Bilbo Baggins and thirteen dwarves are on a journey. They travel through the dark forest of Mirkwood. There, giant spiders capture them.

The Wood Elves, led by Legolas and Tauriel, then attack the spiders. Tauriel saves Kíli, a dwarf, from a spider. However, the Elves take the dwarves as prisoners because they entered their land without permission.

Tauriel's Role and Relationships

While the dwarves are prisoners, Tauriel and Kíli become friends. Tauriel is a very skilled warrior. This is why she was made the leader of the Mirkwood border guards.

Legolas, the son of the Elven king Thranduil, likes Tauriel. She used to like him too. But Tauriel is a lower-ranking Silvan Elf. She feels she is not good enough for Legolas. King Thranduil also does not think she is a suitable match for his son.

Fighting Orcs and Healing Kíli

The dwarves escape with Bilbo's help. Then, orcs attack the Elves' home. Tauriel again uses her fighting skills to save Kíli. But Kíli gets hit in the leg by a poisoned orc arrow. This wound will slowly kill him.

King Thranduil learns that a powerful evil has returned. He decides to seal off his kingdom to protect his people. But Tauriel leaves to follow the dwarves on her own. Legolas follows her. He tries to get her to come back. But Tauriel believes the Elves must fight in the coming war. So, Legolas joins her.

They find the dwarves in Laketown, where orcs are attacking them. Tauriel and Legolas defeat the orcs. Tauriel then uses her knowledge of herbs to heal Kíli's poisoned leg. She saves his life again. After this, Tauriel and Kíli admit they care deeply for each other.

How Tauriel Was Created

In 1937, J. R. R. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit. This book is about Bilbo Baggins, a wizard named Gandalf, and thirteen dwarves. They search for a treasure guarded by the dragon, Smaug. In the book, the group is captured by the Silvan Elves. At the end of the story, they join the Elves to fight an army of goblins and wargs.

Why Tauriel Was Added

Tauriel was not in Tolkien's book. Peter Jackson and his wife, Fran Walsh, created her for the movies. They wanted to show more of the Elves' world in Mirkwood Forest. They also wanted to add another female character to the cast, which was mostly male.

Tauriel is a Silvan Elf. This means she is from a lower social class of Elves. Other famous Elves in the movies, like Arwen, Galadriel, Elrond, and Legolas, are from higher Elf families. Tauriel's name means "Daughter of Mirkwood."

Casting Evangeline Lilly

In 2011, Peter Jackson announced that Evangeline Lilly would play Tauriel. Lilly had loved Tolkien's books since she was 13. She was worried about how fans would feel about a new character not in the books.

Lilly felt that creating Tauriel was the right choice. She said, "I believe she is authentic, because Tolkien refers to The Woodland Elves, he just doesn't talk about who they are specifically… [Peter and Fran] know that world so well. They’re not going to create a character that is not true to Tolkien's world." Still, some fans were not happy when the first movie trailer came out in 2013.

Tauriel's Personality and Skills

As the head of the Elven guard, Tauriel is "slightly reckless and totally ruthless," according to Lilly. She does not hesitate to fight. Lilly also says Tauriel is a nonconformist. This means she does not always follow the usual rules. Because she is young for an Elf (only 600 years old), she can be impulsive. She sometimes rebels against the Elves' social rules.

Tauriel also has a "softer side." Her story includes her falling in love with another character. Even though she and Legolas are close friends from childhood, her romance is not with him. Legolas' father, King Thranduil, likes Tauriel and "sees something very special in her."

Lilly told the filmmakers she would only play Tauriel if there was no love triangle in the story. But when they decided to make three movies instead of two, she was told a love triangle would be added.

Bringing Tauriel to Life

To look like Tauriel, Evangeline Lilly wore a long red wig and fake Elf ears. Instead of fancy gowns, Tauriel wears Elven military clothes. These clothes are better for her job as a guard and soldier.

Tauriel is an expert with many weapons. She usually uses a bow and two daggers, just like Legolas. Lilly had a stunt coach to help her with the action scenes. Even though Lilly had done her own stunts on Lost, a stunt double performed the wirework for Tauriel. Lilly also had a language coach to teach her the Elvish language.

Filming Tauriel's scenes began in 2011 in New Zealand. Lilly enjoyed the calm set and working with mostly men, which reminded her of Lost. However, she had recently had her first baby. This made some fighting scenes harder than she expected. She said, "Recovering from labor is like recovering from a full-body injury... My hips don't move like they used to move, my back doesn't move like it used to move, my shoulders are sore every day. But it's fun."

Tauriel Merchandise

Tauriel is part of the toy Lego set No. 79001, called Escape from Mirkwood Spiders. Her minifigure comes with Legolas and the Dwarves Fíli and Kíli.

Tauriel's Impact

For her role as Tauriel, Evangeline Lilly was nominated for several awards. These included the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress in an Action Movie.

The band The Esgaroth Three made a funny song and video called "Who the 'ell is Tauriel?" This song made fun of how some fans reacted to Tauriel being in the movies and other changes Peter Jackson made.

Images for kids

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  Actress Evangeline Lilly, who plays Tauriel, had been a fan of Tolkien since she was 13.

See also

In Spanish: Tauriel para niños