The Lord of the Rings: this little reference to the book that only Tolkien fans noticed

We are at the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring, the first opus of the trilogy directed by Peter Jackson and adapted from the works of JRR Tolkien. En route to the town of Bree and L’Auberge du Poney Fringant, where they are supposed to reunite with Gandalf, Frodo and Sam quietly cross the fields of the fearsome Père Magotte.

It is then that they are joined by their two friends Merry and Pippin. The latter, pursued by the peasant from whom they have stolen some vegetables, lead Frodo and Sam in their flight, then in their fall, when they suddenly fall from a small cliff.

“It was just a detour. A shortcut!”excuses Merry on landing.

“A shortcut to where?”Sam then asks him, visibly a little annoyed.

“Mushroom !”exclaims Pippin, seeing some pretty ceps planted on the path.

This little discussion, seemingly innocuous (and filmed during the very first day of filming of the trilogy), actually includes a clever little reference to Tolkien’s books, and in particular to the fourth chapter of the first volume, whose title is… “A Shortcut to Mushrooms”.

“To fart [Jackson] made sure to include things for fans of the book to make the connection”explains Sean Astin, interpreter of Sam, in the audio commentary of the film. “It’s rare to give the title of a chapter. He managed to put that in the dialogue.”

As fans know, in Tolkien’s book, the chapter in question doesn’t happen exactly like in the feature film. We indeed follow the journey of Frodo, Sam and Pippin, very worried at the idea of ​​meeting the famous Father Magotte, but who are finally warmly welcomed by the latter. After informing Frodo that a strange black horseman is looking for him, the peasant then guides the Hobbits down the right path, where they eventually find Merry.

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