[doug*platypus]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Hey, does anyone agree that Bilbo looked like Yoda, in ROTK?! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Was Yoda in ROTK? I managed to spot Darth Vader dying on the Pelennor Fields, although I have to admit that Luke looked even more girly than usual. Oh, wait, was it the bit where he said: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> There is... another... Bagginss... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Seriously, I was <B>very relieved</B> to see the job they did on Bilbo. The ageing of Bilbo in FOTR was an inconsistency of epic proportions! If Bilbo aged so much as soon as the Ring was not in his immediate possession, then why didn't Gollum suddenly disintegrate when he lost it?! ROTK provided us with the (still fairly flaky) answer: you age a bit when you first lose it, and then as soon as it's destroyed you <B>really</B> look your age. Remember that Bilbo was now the eldest hobbit to have ever lived, partly due to unnatural effects. I'm not surprised he looked so terrible! When 133 years old (?) <B>you</B> reach, look as good you will not! <P>Besides, I thought the shot of Frodo and Bilbo riding along together was one of the pleasant surprises of the movie. It managed to eloquently capture what the book tried to say: that Frodo (and Bilbo) were wounded very deeply by their possession of the Ring, and by its destruction. They were now unable to live with the other inhabitants of the Shire, or anywhere in Middle-Earth. They could find comfort only in the Undrying Lands, and with each other. Very touching. Kudos, Peter.