Generations of fans hail 'King'

By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Legolas (Orlando Bloom), left, and Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), right, escort Gandalf (Ian McKellen) to the stables of Edoras in "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," which opened at midnight Photos courtesy of New Line Productions

Sam (Sean Astin) and Frodo (Elijah Wood) climb toward Mount Doom in "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." The appeal of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, fans say, lies largely in such universal themes as friendship, courage and hope.

He likes Blind Faith; she's into Blink 182. He bought his last low-rider back in the '70s for $600; the only low-riders Maya's interested in come from the Gap.

But there was no quibble when it came to selecting the right film for family movie night this week.

" 'Return of the King' all the way," Travis Tam said. "We've had our tickets for weeks."

Actually, all is not perfectly harmonious in Tam-ville. Maya, 13, wanted to go to Trilogy Tuesday, a marathon screening of all three Lord of the Rings movies that began last night at the Ward 18 Theatres. Travis, 45, who buys the tickets, opted for a less-grueling midnight premiere at Signature's Dole Cannery 18.

"We've already seen the first two how many times at the theater," he said. "And how many times on DVD too."

"It's not the same," Maya said with a dramatic roll of the eyes.

"You're lucky I'm letting you even go to the midnight (show)," he said.

Maya rolled her eyes again.

So there's Rings Lesson No. 1: Even in victory, there is defeat.

The larger lesson — one that New Line Cinema and an orc-like horde of merchandisers have happily gleaned from the enormous success of "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers" — is that J.R.R. Tolkien's epic trilogy has survived to entrance an entirely new generation.

Travis Tam says he first read "The Hobbit" in high school.

"It was part of a set I got for Christmas one year," he says. "I actually thought it was pretty boring the first time. But then I picked it up again a few years later, and I got sucked in. I think a lot of people my age have that same experience with (the books)."

Maya remembers flipping through her dad's copies of the books ("I must have replaced them like two or three times each over the years," Travis Tam says) but she didn't actually sit down for a serious read until after she saw "Fellowship of the Ring" two years ago.

"It was easier because I knew the story already," she says. "They shouldn't have cut so much out, but."

The first two installments of director Peter Jackson's film trilogy grossed $1.8 billion, turning Jackson into a sort of New Zealander George Lucas and demonstrating just how broad Tolkien's appeal remains 30 years after his death.

Tolkien, a professor of English and philosophy, wrote "The Hobbit" in 1937. He spent the next 14 years completing the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, which was published from 1953 to 1955. The series was well received in Tolkien's native England, but it was U.S. publication that paved the way for Tolkien's greater success.

For more than 40 years, Tolkien's intricately imagined world of Hobbits, elves, magic rings and apocalyptic battles have captivated millions of devoted fans worldwide. In Hawai'i, as in other places, fascination with Tolkien's work has been passed from generation to generation, from baby boomers to Generation-Xers to little ones like Joe Gouveia Jr.

Gouveia, 7, has seen the first two films at home on DVD (Mom Lori shields his eyes from the most violent parts) and he can't wait to see "Return of the King" on the big screen.

Nate Gouveia, 23, Joe's father, is also a fan. He got his first exposure to the books through his older sister, Natasha Reyes, "the real, full-on Tolkien fan."

"She had them around the house and I used to think the covers were cool," Gouveia says. "I don't really care to read, but I thought the cartoons were cool. When I heard they were making new movies, I was really excited."

(Animated film versions of "The Hobbit," "The Lord of the Rings" and "Return of the King" were released from 1978 to 1980.)

The Gouveias — including Auntie Natasha — plan on catching "Return of the King" this weekend.

"It's kind of cool that my boy likes the same kind of stuff I liked when I was little," Nate Gouveia says.

Tony Traughber's father, Hugh, used to assign "The Hobbit" to his English classes in Tennessee, but Tony didn't touch the book until he was in college at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., where he earned a bachelor's degree in English and religion, and a master's in divinity.

Now a Bible teacher at Hawai'i Baptist Academy, Traughber 27, finds Tolkien's works helpful in communicating with his middle-school students.

"They've all seen the movies, and they're all really excited to see the new one," Traughber says. "It's good to see. On the one hand, it's an intensely personal thing, but at the same time, when other people can appreciate something you love so much, it feels like a validation."

Traughber identifies three important themes that draw people to the books and films, regardless of their age.

"The first is friendship, because we all long for it the way that these characters present it," he says. "The second is courage, because the fellowship is faced with an almost insurmountable challenge.

"The last thing is hope," he says. "They live in a world where hope is the only thing they have. They are faced with the ultimate evil, yet they still have hope that everything will work out. I think these are all things people can relate to."