Hey Little Train, Wait For Me

“Hey little train, wait for me…”

Anastasia (1997) - dir. Don Bluth, Gary Goldman

favorite bits of the cast interviews in the LOTR special features:

Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Elijah Wood and Viggo Mortensen all taking the piss out of Orlando Bloom for going on about a cracked rib too much, while Orlando Bloom desperately tries to wriggle out of talking about it (special mention to Elijah Wood’s “oh it hurts, babes, and I can’t ride the horse, babes” and Viggo Mortensen’s “they can be very fragile, elves, especially the…Mirkwood strain…”)

Ian McKellen commenting that “they never did find any suitable underwear for Gandalf…”

Dominic Monaghan going on and on about how Viggo Mortensen apparently had a crush on one of the Rohirrim extras (who like a lot of the Rohirrim extras was a woman in a fake beard) while Vigoo Mortensen just mutters “one could perhaps say something about Mr. Monaghan’s…proclivities…”

Dominic Monaghan’s imitation of John Rhys-Davies ordering food at a restaurant for the whole cast. “You have partridge? BRING THE PARTRIDGE!”

John Rhys-Davies talking about an incident with the Lothlorian boats and saying “if an elf and a dwarf are in a boat…and…the boat goes under…let us say that the blame was not placed on the elf” while Orlando Bloom splutters “he’s a big guy, man!” 

Elijah Wood talking about how the hobbit actors shared a trailer with Ian McKellen and sometimes they would hear inarticulate bellows of protest from his side when they played loud music in the mornings

Viggo Mortensen talking about how, while filming with those same boats, Kirin Shaw (Elijah Wood’s scale double) started telling him “if the boat tips over…save yourself…I can’t swim.” 

Elijah Wood describing how Sean Astin would try to direct the helicopters to land while they were on location, while the other three hobbits were screwing around and throwing pinecones at each other

Christopher Lee recounting how he had so much trouble going up some steps in Orthanc with his long robe that he stopped in the middle of the scene and said, “I cannot get up these goddamn steps, Peter.” 

Viggo Mortensen mentioning that he left a weekend rehearsal and went walking down the street still swinging his sword around, and promptly got the cops called on him

Happy low opacity elrond day to all who celebrate it

I think the reason The Lord of the Rings’s popularity endures is because it’s the perfect story for hard times in the world. It’s escapism to a more simplistic world with idealized characters, but it also portrays the struggles of enduring hardships with sincere honesty and empathetic care. This just makes its overall optimistic message about hope and the power of love prevailing even more profound. I notice a lot of other stories have a difficult time striking a balance: they either try to be overly realistic to the point of aimless nihilism OR just completely unrealistic fluff made from a place removed of earnestness - both can leave people feeling empty. The Lord of the Rings manages to perfectly hit the sweet spot between escapism and realism for a story so beautifully from the heart and truly cathartic as a result. It doesn’t simply leave you with quickly fleeting emotions of sadness or happiness, but rather an enduring feeling of wholeness.