The Guardian magazine's Peter Bradshaw commented on use of high frame rate technology and length of the film, writing "After 170 minutes, I felt that I had had enough of a pretty good thing. The trilogy will test the stamina of the non-believers, and many might feel ... that the traditional filmic look of Lord of the Rings was better." [83] Child, Ben (25 April 2012). "The Hobbit: first glimpse gets mixed response". The Guardian. London . Retrieved 26 April 2012. The first wave of toy products hit store shelves in October 2012, ahead of the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. U.S. retailers that carry the toy line include Toys "R" Us, Kmart, and Walmart. Games Workshop released miniatures from The Hobbit as part of The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game. The company has had rights to produce miniatures from the original book for some years but has not released any lines, save for a stand-alone game based on the Battle of Five Armies, with original designs not related to The Lord of the Rings films. [264] Sammut, Mark (23 July 2018). "Every Single The Lord Of The Rings Video Game, Officially Ranked". The Gamer . Retrieved 27 May 2020. More than just answering the question of what happened to Thrór, the extended versions of both An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug also feature an thread that links the entire trilogy to the events in The Lord of the Rings movies. In the longer cut of the first film, a discussion about the last of the seven rings that were given to the Dwarf-lords is started by Gandalf when meeting with Galadriel and Elrond, and Saruman shoots him down by saying that the One Ring is the only one that actually matters. This turns out to be a set up for Thrain’s reintroduction in the second movie, as it’s revealed that Azog cut his ring right off his finger, and has been using its power for himself.

The Hobbit: Brian Blessed reveals casting discussions". My customer. 19 October 2010 . Retrieved 13 November 2015. The Hobbit and Les Miserables up for audio awards". 3 News NZ. 9 January 2013. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013 . Retrieved 8 January 2013. a b "Secrecy surrounds Hobbit filming | Otago Daily Times Online News: Otago, South Island, New Zealand & International News". Odt.co.nz. 1 December 2011. Archived from the original on 2 January 2012 . Retrieved 25 December 2012. On The Hobbit Recording Sessions & Doug Adams' Book "The Music Of The Hobbit Films" ". TheOneRing.net. 20 August 2012 . Retrieved 29 November 2013. Walker, Timothy ‘Tim’ (3 March 2011). "Sir Ian Holm left out in the cold as The Hobbit starts filming". London: The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022 . Retrieved 30 April 2011.Sylvester McCoy Talks Radagast Casting (Besides Other Hobbit Stuff)". The One Ring net. 6 May 2011 . Retrieved 8 March 2012.

Memmott, Mark (19 November 2012). "27 Animals In 'Hobbit' Movie Died At Farm Where They Were Housed". NPR . Retrieved 22 June 2016. Kinder, Kyle. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition DVD/Blu-ray review – Geek Magazine". Geekexchange.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013 . Retrieved 16 May 2014. Cate Blanchett as Galadriel: the elven co-ruler of Lothlórien along with her husband, Lord Celeborn. She was also portrayed by Blanchett in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – review". The Guardian. 9 December 2012 . Retrieved 16 December 2012.

THE HOBBIT– AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 29 November 2012 . Retrieved 29 November 2012. Vary, Adam (24 April 2011). " 'The Hobbit': Actor Rob Kazinsky, cast as dwarf Fili, drops out of movie". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 24 April 2011. Additionally, the films were filmed at a 5K resolution, native to the Red Epic cameras, which provides a more detailed picture than the conventional 4K resolution. The films were recorded digitally onto 128GB solid-state drives that fit into the Red Epic camera. [183] Pressure to stop using live animals [ edit ]

Weekend Report: 'Hobbit' Plummets, Holds Off Slew of Newcomers". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 23 December 2012. Guardians of Middle-earth, which was released with the special disclaimer on the front art, marking the connection to the feature film and contains models and characters from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, including Nori, Gollum, Dwalin and others. The Hobbit Worldwide Release Dates". TheHobbit.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2012 . Retrieved 21 December 2013.

Fleming, Mike (16 June 2011). "Benedict Cumberbatch To Voice Smaug in 'The Hobbit' ". Deadline.com . Retrieved 8 January 2013. a b Caffier, Justin (1 August 2018). "I Rewatched 'The Hobbit' to Figure Out Why Movies Have Gotten So Ugly". Vice. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021 . Retrieved 18 November 2021. The world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey took place on 28 November 2012 at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand, [46] with a full theatrical release in New Zealand on 12 December. The film was released 13 December 2012 in Europe, 14 December 2012 in India, Canada and United States, [47] [48] and 26 December 2012 ( Boxing Day) in Australia. It was also screened at the 65th Royal Film Performance in London on 12 December 2012, an event held in aid of the Film & TV Charity. [49] THR Staff (13 December 2012). "THR's Producer Roundtable: What Would Guillermo del Toro's 'Hobbit' Have Looked Like? (Video)". hollywoodreporter.com . Retrieved 16 December 2012.

a b Bradley, Bill (22 August 2015). "This Theory Perfectly Explains Why 'The Hobbit' Movies Were So Bad". HuffPost . Retrieved 18 November 2021. Guillermo del Toro opens up on 'The Hobbit': 'It wasn't just MGM' ". Los Angeles Times. 27 July 2010 . Retrieved 18 February 2011.