In fact, there are whole characters who basically exist to break up the tension and the tragedy in the films, including Alfrid, the servant of the Master of Laketown, and the Master himself, who are both absurd and farcical at varying moments in the trilogy. Some fans feel that the comedy elements within The Hobbit cheapened the movies, and felt disrespectful to the original vision that Tolkien had intended whilst he was writing the book back in the 1930s, whilst others feel that these are the most redeeming factors of what could otherwise be very difficult to digest action movies. This humor as a way to defuse the tension is a technique that can be seen in arguably one of the funniest moments of the whole franchise, and it involves the 13 dwarves and their approach to Beorn’s cabin.
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When Bilbo first comes back with the news of the giant bear-like figure he has seen in the hills, all of the other members of the company are filled with dread. All apart from Gandalf, who clearly knows something that they don’t. He tells the about the house, the destination they are aiming for, and when Thorin asks “Whose house? Are they friend or foe?” And Gandalf’s response makes it very apparent that he is speaking of the very terrifying creature that Bilbo has just reported: “Neither. He will either help us, or he will kill us.”
The group are left with no other choice than to sprint as fast as they can towards the unknown. There is a brilliant sense of panic in this scene, in which the dwarves almost don’t even know what they are running from, whether it’s the army of orc riders on wargs chasing them through the trees, or the giant bear whose home they are pelting towards. There are so many funny things that make up this scene, from there being a ridiculously wide open space between them and the house, yet they seem to make it there in no time at all, to the way that they bash straight into the door and bounce back off again in their haste to escape.
But by far the funniest thing about this scene is Bombur. As the most frightened member of the group, who freezes at the oncoming foes, Bombur starts out at the back of the line, but as Gandalf urges the thirteen dwarves “Run, quickly, to the house!” Bombur soon picks up speed. He very quickly over-takes even the most strong and fit among them, including Thorin and Dwalin, who are the two best warriors. His legs carry him surprisingly speedily past all the others, but what makes this so comical is the shocked and disbelieving look on every member’s face as he flies past them.
If the audience were to pause the scene as he over-takes each member, they would see raised eyebrows, mouths hanging open, and even the odd look of respect as Bombur shimmies to the front of the queue and overtakes Gandalf and his encouraging words to reach Beorn’s door first. He couldn’t look more amusing at this moment, with his long, donut-shaped beard swinging around his waist and threatening to trip him up, as well as the massively oversized black spoon that he has clutched in his hand with no explanation.
Then, when they arrive at the door, they are all panicking and pushing against it as it refuses to budge, and the wild Beorn can be seen in the background charging at them with teeth and claws bared. This only adds to the folly of the scene when Thorin arrives at the door and lifts the latch. Such a simple problem to open the barred entrance, but none of the others saw it in their panic, so they all go tumbling inside. The scene brings the same sort of high energy and laugh-ability as the much earlier scene of the dwarves around Bilbo’s dining table in Bag End, throwing plates and chucking food into one another’s mouths amidst general joviality, but this time under very different circumstances, and with much higher stakes.
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