The Lord of the Rings movie series facts for kids
The Lord of the Rings is a famous set of three fantasy movies. They are: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003). These movies are based on the popular books by J. R. R. Tolkien, also called The Lord of the Rings.
The movie series was directed by Peter Jackson. The story for the movies was written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson. New Line Cinema helped share the movies with the world.
These were the first live-action Lord of the Rings movies ever made. They were filmed in beautiful New Zealand from October 1999 to December 2000. Each movie was released in December, one year after another, from 2001 to 2003.
Contents
The Movies in the Series
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Main Actors and Characters
Many talented actors brought the characters to life. Here are some of them:
- Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins
- Ian McKellen as Gandalf
- Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn
- Sean Astin as Samwise "Sam" Gamgee
- Dominic Monaghan as Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck
- Billy Boyd as Peregrin "Pippin" Took
- Orlando Bloom as Legolas
- John Rhys-Davies as Gimli and the voice of Treebeard
- Sean Bean as Boromir
- David Wenham as Faramir
- Liv Tyler as Arwen
- Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins
- Andy Serkis as Sméagol and the voice/motion-capture of Gollum
- Christopher Lee as Saruman
- Bernard Hill as Théoden
- Miranda Otto as Éowyn
- Karl Urban as Éomer
- Cate Blanchett as Galadriel
- Hugo Weaving as Elrond
How the Movies Changed the Books
The Lord of the Rings movies are very similar to the books, but some things were changed. This was done to make the story fit well into three movies. Some parts of the book were left out, and other parts were changed. This helped the movie flow better and fit the time limits. Even with these changes, the movies still tell most of the important parts of the original story.
Fun Facts About the Movies
- The three movies together were nominated for 30 Oscars. They won 17 Oscars! The Return of the King alone won 11 Oscars.
- Making all three movies cost about 281 million dollars.
- Most of the filming happened in New Zealand. But some scenes were created using computers.
- Each movie has a special Extended Edition DVD. These versions are longer and have more scenes.
- All three movies together are more than 11 hours long!
- The movies used over 3,500 special effects.
- Each movie was released a few weeks before Christmas in 2001, 2002, and 2003.
- The movies earned almost 3 billion dollars around the world.
Where to Learn More
- Highlights of the Movie Trilogy
- The Fellowship of the Ring at RottenTomatoes, IMDb, & Apple Trailers
- The Two Towers at RottenTomatoes & IMDb & Apple Trailers
- The Return of the King at RottenTomatoes, IMDb, & Apple Trailers
Images for kids
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Peter Jackson, the director of the movies.
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Alan Lee, an artist who helped design the look of the films.
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The house of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins in the Shire.
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Howard Shore, who composed the amazing music for the films.
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Ian McKellen played Gandalf and was nominated for an Oscar.
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Blu-ray editions of the movie series.
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An Air New Zealand plane painted to promote The Return of the King in 2004.
See also
In Spanish: Trilogía cinematográfica de El Señor de los Anillos para niños
