Doug TenNapel
Doug TenNapel

If you read 'Lord of the Rings' and dismiss it as a lie because it has orcs and elves, you're missing the whole point of the story. If children don't have to be concerned about strangers because there's no such thing as a Big Bad Wolf dressed like Granny, you're missing the point.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Elrond: His strength returns.
Gandalf: That wound will never fully heal. He will carry it the rest of his life.
Elrond: And yet, to have come so far, still bearing the Ring, the Hobbit has shown extraordinary resilience to its evil.
Gandalf: It is a burden he should never have had to bear. We can ask no more

of Frodo.
Elrond: Gandalf, the enemy is moving. Sauron's forces are massing in the East; his eye is fixed on Rivendell. And Saruman, you tell me, has betrayed us. Our list of allies grows thin.
Gandalf: His treachery runs deeper than you know. By foul craft, Saruman has crossed Orcs with goblin men. He's breeding an army in the caverns of Isengard.

An army that can move in sunlight and cover great distance at speed. Saruman is coming for the Ring.
Elrond: This evil cannot be concealed by the power of the Elves. We do not have the strength to withstand both Mordor and Isengard. Gandalf, the Ring cannot stay here. This evil belongs to all of Middle-Earth. They must decide now how to end it. The time of the Elves is

over, my people are leaving these shores. Who will you look to when we've gone? The Dwarves? They toil away in caverns, seeking riches. They care nothing for the troubles of others.
Gandalf: It is in Men that we must place our hope.
Elrond: Men? Men are weak. The Blood of Numenor is all but spent, its pride and dignity forgotten. It is because of Men

the Ring survives. I was there, Gandalf. I was there three thousand years ago. I was there the day the strength of Men failed.
Elrond: [scene switches to a flashback of Elrond and Isildur] Isildur, hurry, follow me.
Elrond: [voiceover] I led Isildur deep into the fires of Mount Doom, where the Ring was forged, the one place it could be destroyed.

Elrond: Cast it into the fire! Destroy it!
Isildur: No.
[walks away]
Elrond: Isildur!
[cuts back to present]
Elrond: Isildur kept the Ring. It should have ended that day, but evil was allowed to endure. There's no strength left in the world of Men. They're scattered, divided, leaderless.

Gandalf: There is one who could unite them. One who could reclaim the throne of Gondor.
Elrond: He turned from that path a long time ago. He has chosen exile.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Saruman: Do you know how the Orcs first came into being? They were elves once, taken by the dark powers, tortured and mutilated. A ruined and terrible form of life. Now... perfected. My fighting Uruk-Hai. Whom do you serve?
Lurtz: Saruman!

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Gandalf: For sixty years, the Ring lay quiet in Bilbo's keeping, prolonging his life, delaying old age. But no longer, Frodo. Evil is stirring in Mordor. The Ring has awoken. It's heard its Master's call.
Frodo: But he was destroyed. Sauron was destroyed.
Gandalf: No, Frodo. The spirit of Sauron endured. His life force is bound to

the Ring and the Ring survived. Sauron has returned. His Orcs have multiplied. His fortress of Barad-Dur is rebuilt in the land of Mordor. Sauron needs only this Ring to cover all the lands with a second darkness. He is seeking it, seeking it, all his thought is bent on it. The Ring yearns to go home, to return to the hand of its Master. They are one, the Ring and the Dark Lord. Frodo, he must

never find it.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Gandalf: Be on your guard. There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Legolas: We should leave now.
Aragorn: No. Orcs patrol the eastern shore. We must wait for cover of darkness.
Legolas: It is not the eastern shore that worries me. A shadow and a threat have been growing in my mind. Something draws near, I can feel it.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

[as he kills the three Orcs guarding Frodo]
Sam: That's for Frodo! And for the Shire! *And that's for my old Gaffer!*

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Gandalf: He's suffered a defeat, yes, but... behind the walls of Mordor, our enemy is regrouping.
Gimli: Let him stay there. *Let him rot!* Why should we care?
Gandalf: Because ten-thousand Orcs now stand between Frodo and Mount Doom. I've sent him to his death.
Aragorn: No. There is still hope for Frodo. He

needs time... and safe passage across the plains of Gorgoroth. We can give him that.
Gimli: How?
Aragorn: Draw out Sauron's armies. Empty his lands. Then we gather our full strength and march on the Black Gate.
Eomer: We cannot achieve victory through strength of arms.
Aragorn: Not for ourselves. But we

can give Frodo his chance if we keep Sauron's Eye fixed upon us. Keep him blind to all else that moves.
Legolas: A diversion.
Gimli: Certainty of death, *small* chance of success... What are we waiting for?
Gandalf: Sauron will suspect a trap. He will not take the bait.
Aragorn: [knowingly] No, I think

he will.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Faramir: Mithrandir! They broke through our defenses! They've taken the bridge and the west bank. Battalions of Orcs are crossing the river.
Irolas: It is as the Lord Denethor predicted. Long has he forseen this doom.
Gandalf: Forseen and done nothing!

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Gorbag: [as he and Shagrat come upon Frodo's body] What's this? Looks like old Shelob has been having a bit of fun.
Shagrat: Killed another one, has she?
Gorbag: [he examines Frodo's body] No... this fellow ain't dead.
Sam: [to himself, in tears] Not dead!
Gorbag: She jabs them with her

stinger and they go as limp as a boned fish. Then she has her way with them. That's how she likes to feed-fresh blood. Take him to the tower!
[the Orcs begin to drag Frodo away]
Sam: Samwise, you fool!