[engwaalphiel]

I sort of agree with Rose Cotton on this one . A source of comic relief was needed for movie goers who had not read TTT or indeed any of the books before . As with most book adaptations things need to be added in to make it more filmworthy if you like. Of course if you've read the books your going to prefer the book but speaking in film terms Gimli's humour was needed! (and him taking the more "comical" role left what time was available in the film , for you to see merry and greatly pippin's characters to evolve on screen)