If you would like to know who the Helm of Helm’s Deep is, you are in the right place.
Also, if you are an anime fan who has never watched a single “Lord of the Rings” film, welcome.
A new Warner Bros. animated adventure, “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,” is in theaters, the latest installment in a franchise of seven — soon to be eight — movies based on the novels of J.R.R. Tolkien. Set roughly 200 years before the events of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, it tells the tale of a storied king’s quest to defend his land from an invading army.
Here’s what to know about where the story came from, how it fits in with the rest of the “Lord of the Rings” universe and which familiar characters you might find.
Did Tolkien write this story?
The characters in the film, directed by Kenji Kamiyama, are based on details in the appendices at the end of the “Lord of the Rings” novels. They cover the history of the rulers of Rohan, the fictional kingdom in Middle-earth known for its horse-tamers and riders.
Obviously, turning footnotes into an animated film required some rewriting and fleshing out — the filmmakers’ task was essentially to bring a family tree to the screen, which includes Helm Hammerhand, a legendary king of Rohan; his sons, Haleth and Háma; and an unnamed daughter. The producers chose to focus on Helm’s daughter, whom they called Héra for the film. (Tolkien left her fate unclear.)
How does this story connect to the events of the books and movies?
The new film offers the back story of Helm (voiced by Brian Cox), the eponym of Helm’s Deep, the fortified gorge in the White Mountains where the forces of the wizard Saruman and the army of Rohan — with some assistance from a forest of treelike Huorns — face off in the second “Lord of the Rings” volume, “The Two Towers.”
In the new story, Helm makes a courageous last stand to defend Rohan from a sudden attack by a young Dunlending lord named Wulf, who is seeking to avenge his father’s death. Ultimately, it is Helm’s daughter, Héra (voiced by Gaia Wise), who proves pivotal to leading the resistance.
Though the film, like Amazon’s recent “Rings of Power” series, is also a prequel to the ”Lord of the Rings” trilogy, there is no direct connection between the TV series and “The War of the Rohirrim.”
Are there any characters from the ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies in the new film?
While “The War of the Rohirrim” predates any familiar human characters, wizards have much longer life spans.
While Gandalf doesn’t show up onscreen — sorry, fans hoping for an Ian McKellen cameo — a new character does mention a plan to consult him at one point.
If you’re a Christopher Lee fan, better news: Saruman, the servant of the dark wizard Sauron and the secondary antagonist of the original trilogy, does make an appearance.
And yes, that is Lee’s actual voice: Though the actor died in 2015 at age 93, the film’s producers obtained permission from his wife before she died earlier this year to use a recording of his voice that was an alternate take from a scene in one of the “Hobbit” films.
There’s also another Easter egg for those who’ve seen the original trilogy: Miranda Otto, who played Éowyn, a shield maiden of Rohan, reprises her role and now serves as the narrator for “The War of the Rohirrim.”
Who are the Rohirrim?
They are the people who live in the fictional nation of Rohan, a northern region of Middle-earth in the “Lord of the Rings” series. Also known as the Riders of Rohan, they are known for their connection with horses and the skill of their cavalry in battle.
Can I watch ‘The War of the Rohirrim’ if I’ve never seen a ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie?
While you’ll miss a few winks and nods to the original trilogy — maybe Google who Gandalf is; we’d recommend his fight with the Balrog in “The Fellowship of the Ring” — on the whole, you’ll be just fine.
Is this the first animated ‘Lord of the Rings’ adaptation?
Actually, no. Tolkienheads will recall that the director Ralph Bakshi adapted the first two novels of Tolkien’s trilogy in his 1978 animated film “The Lord of the Rings.” It received mixed to negative reviews from both fans and critics, with Vincent Canby writing in The Times that it was “both numbing and impressive.”
In the decades since, however, some fans have reclaimed it, praising its innovative use of rotoscoping — an animation technique that traces over live-action footage frame by frame — and arguing that the film, which was made on a budget of roughly $4 million, has been unfairly compared to Peter Jackson’s trilogy, which had a combined budget of roughly $281 million.
If you’re curious, you can stream Bakshi’s version on Max.
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