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I'm sure the 'happy elf' thing is just cos the Hobbit is a childrens book and lotr isn't. Its been said before and i dont mind saying it again!
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I agree totally. The Hobbit was initially conceived as a children's story. At that time, it had little or no connection with JRRT's earlier writings on the Silmarillion. So, the characters are presented in a way that is appealing to the young reader.
In LotR, which establishes the connection between the events of the Silmarillion and those of The Hobbit, the Elves are of necessity required to be portrayed in a different, more serious, way - to bridge the gap between those in the Silmarillion and those of The Hobbit.
What intrigues me is that the portrayal of Hobbits and Dwarves changes little between The Hobbit and LotR. Hobbits, for example, start out as the perfect source for a "hero" of a children's tale, and become the perfect device for depicting the role of the "little man" in the struggle to defeat Sauron.