I know the movies are wildly popular still, and there are tons of fans fawning over Legolas and Aragorn to this day, but what about the images you had in your head of these deep and diverse characters? If you read the books before the movies like I did, I'm sure you had your own faces to these men and women, Elves, Hobbits and Dwarves. So let me ask a few questions:

What did you like about the movies that was in the books?

What did you like about the movies that wasn't in the books?

What did you like about the books that wasn't in the movies?

What did you see these characters as in your mind?

Who was your favorite character from either?

What was your favorite part in either?

I will answer these questions myself once a few people post theirs.

It may be hard, but try to think of the books without the influence of the movies, what fantastic images raced through your mind as you got lost in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien?

I thought the movie was actually a pretty good adaptation of the books, they managed to get a lot of the little details in and those tend to get lost in most movie transitions.

I'm not sure what I liked about the movies that wasn't in the books right off the top of my head, but I know that I didn't like Haldir dying in the second movie. He's always been my favorite character and although it was nice that he came to fight in the movies, I didn't like that they killed him off.

I really enjoyed Tom Bombadil and was quite sad he wasn't included in the movies either, though he wasn't terribly important to the plot so I can see why they would cut him out.

I think they did an overall good job with the characters, though I had always pictured Eowyn a bit differently.

I think one of my favorite parts in the book was the house of Tom Bombadil, or perhaps the stay in Lothlorien. In the movies I would have to say the Dead Men of Dunharrow in the third movie (which I thought was done very well) or again, the stay in Lothlorien.

:) Tolkien was a brilliant writer, I love the world he created.

I haven't actually finished Return of the King since sixth grade, I've tried a couple of times got through books 1-4 and then 5 ruins it for me, so this might be a little iffy.
I liked how Peter Jackson did the Bilbo's house and that it's nice to know that it was kept in storage after production. However I wish that Frodo had sold it to the Shakville Bagginses (probably butchered the spelling there sorry.) making it harder to come back to after the war is over.
I am not really sure what I liked in the movies that wasn't in the books. I guess Pippen and Merry's drinking song while they're still in Hobbiton, I'm not sure if it's in the theatrical version though since I own the extened editions.
I wished they had explained that there was more than just two wizards in all of Middle Earth. Tom Bombadil is an amazing character, and is reflected wholly in the Black Label game for Fellowship. And the scouring of the Shire should have been in Return of the King, even though it was in Fellowship it would have pointed out that even the Shire had been corrupted.
I don't remember how I saw them in my mind, but I think I saw Eowyn differently, and Legolas really seemed like a background character that I never paid attention to. But I did like Strider as he was in the book and Aragron's background story helped with that. I didn't see him as foreboding as he first appeared in the movie.
Bombadil has to be my favorite, but I was always wanting to read about the hobbits, because that's where the excitement was, I didn't want to read book five, but I could have missed something.
"Ai, Ai, a Bolrog." has to be my favorite part in the book, and Merry and Pippen's drinking song in fellowship has to be the best there.

Originally Posted by LadyAlys

I haven't actually finished Return of the King since sixth grade, I've tried a couple of times got through books 1-4 and then 5 ruins it for me, so this might be a little iffy.
I liked how Peter Jackson did the Bilbo's house and that it's nice to know that it was kept in storage after production. However I wish that Frodo had sold it to the Shakville Bagginses (probably butchered the spelling there sorry.) making it harder to come back to after the war is over.
I am not really sure what I liked in the movies that wasn't in the books. I guess Pippen and Merry's drinking song while they're still in Hobbiton, I'm not sure if it's in the theatrical version though since I own the extened editions.
I wished they had explained that there was more than just two wizards in all of Middle Earth. Tom Bombadil is an amazing character, and is reflected wholly in the Black Label game for Fellowship. And the scouring of the Shire should have been in Return of the King, even though it was in Fellowship it would have pointed out that even the Shire had been corrupted.
I don't remember how I saw them in my mind, but I think I saw Eowyn differently, and Legolas really seemed like a background character that I never paid attention to. But I did like Strider as he was in the book and Aragron's background story helped with that. I didn't see him as foreboding as he first appeared in the movie.
Bombadil has to be my favorite, but I was always wanting to read about the hobbits, because that's where the excitement was, I didn't want to read book five, but I could have missed something.
"Ai, Ai, a Bolrog." has to be my favorite part in the book, and Merry and Pippen's drinking song in fellowship has to be the best there.

I had never really thought about it before but I completely agree with you about Legolas! And Aragorn as well :D

Tolkien was an amazing man with a wonderful mind, I agree fully.

Legolas was one of the only fellowship members that didn't have some kind of past tied into the books much. As I remember he wasn't even in the Hobbit, even though the Dwarves and Bilbo went right through his home. So in that aspect, he is kind of a secondary character.

I said I would answer my questions so here it goes:

I have always loved the battle of Helms Deep and the Mines of Moria, and I think Peter Jackson did a wonderful job portraying these, even with the couple of character switches there was in Moria.

From the movies, I like how Legolas interacted more and had some focus, making him less of a background character and more of one of the fellowship.

Like most of the book lovers, I missed Tom Bombadil.

Most of the actors played the part of their character wonderfully, but I saw Eowyn differently, a little more stout, I saw most of the people of Rohan this way. Legolas was the main one that seemed different in my head. He was more willowy, more elegant, and had green eyes.

As I'm sure you could guess, Legolas is my favorite. Perhaps it's because he didn't have much of a background, a bit more mysterious, especially with the way the Mirkwood was talked about. I also am a fan of his fighting style, the circular, twin-blades.

In both the book and the movie, the Mines of Moria are my favorite.

What I really thought about the book/movie conversion is that they kind of missed out the end of the return of the king. I think that even though they probably cut it out because of tme constraints it was still a good part of the books because it meant, for the hobbits, that they were still regarded as important back in the shire.

Also I dont think Sam had enough depth in the movies. Was that just me or was Sam's character actually changed a little for the movies?

And I agree (of course) about Tom Bombadill.