For a brief moment, Merry and Pippin also grow up in the “Lord of the Rings” films, but in Tolkien’s novels the hobbits grow up in two senses.
The Lord of the Rings: Merry and Pippin on Treebeard (Source: Warner Bros.)
- Merry and Pippin are the youngest members of the Ring’s entourage.
- They become part of the War of the Ring quite by chance and grow beyond themselves as the story progresses.
- In JRR Tolkien’s original, the two hobbits even grow physically – and permanently!
In the extended version of “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”, Pippin drinks water from the Fangorn Forest and is surprised to find that the liquid not only makes him speak Ent-ish, but has also made him grow. Merry then takes a sip of the strange water.
With this humorous scene, Peter Jackson alludes to an event from JRR Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” novels, because there too the two hobbits grew larger – but forever!
A touch of “Alice in Wonderland” The Lord of the Rings: Pippin Drinks the Growth Water (Source: Warner Bros. Pictures)
In the novel “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”, Treebeard doesn’t have any food in the classic sense for Merry and Pippin, but he does have the so-called ent potion, which can be refreshing and encouraging on the one hand, but also filling and nutritious. Basically sufficient nutrition for the two hobbits, although the enjoyment they so value falls by the wayside.
While Merry and Pippin become bolder in Jackson’s films but remain cheerful and humorous at heart, the War of the Ring changes the two hobbits more in the books. They become more mature, more adult, they grow beyond themselves – and they also grow in the literal sense.
Consuming the Ent potion turns Merry and Pippin into the greatest hobbits in the Shire. The hobbits at the end of the story are almost 5 feet (1.52 meters) tall – a considerable size considering that hardly any other hobbit is taller than 3 feet (0.91 meters).
It is certainly no coincidence that Tolkien allowed the two hobbits to grow inside and out, but Peter Jackson decided against permanently changing the size of the hobbits. Things certainly got pretty cramped for Merry and Pippin in their hobbit holes after this growth spurt.
Lord of the Rings Quiz: How well do you know Middle-earth?
(Source: TMDB.org)
What else are the people of dwarves called?
| The Lord of the Rings: Reviewing the Rings of Power | |
| genre | Drama, Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy |
| First broadcast | September 1, 2022 |
| First broadcast in Germany | September 2, 2022 |
| Homepage | amazon.com |
| Other sources | |
| network | Amazon |
production | Amazon Studios, New Line Cinema, Harper Collins Publishers, Tolkien Enterprises |
| Squadrons |
Don’t miss anything with this NETWORK WORLDNewsletter
Every Friday: The most informative and entertaining summary from the world of technology!
This page was created with data from Amazon, Netflix, MagentaTV, Sky Online, iTunes, The Movie Database, Fanart.tv, Warner Home Entertainment, Sony Home Entertainment or the respective production studios and/or publishers. If you have any errors or problems, please use the contact form.