Refugees and Victims of War-- something that's not been mentioned.

[doug*platypus]

The refugee thing was a great addition. Genuinely moving scene, as was Theoden's lament for his son. Not every addition to the books has been a good one, but it's definitely important to realise that many of them add to themes already present in Tolkien's work, and other additions are excellent in their own right. I was also <B>very</B> glad to see the kids reunited with their mum, and tidily taken out of the rest of the story. Imagine if Gandalf had that small rag-tag dangling at his tail for the rest of the film!<P>Also Bethberry, I agree with what you were saying, and I think that the movies (not just PJ, he wasn't the only one who wrote the script) have greatly simplified on the books. I'm surprised more people aren't really livid about this. "Simplified" is a word that critics of Tolkien have often used, and the movie versions do nothing to advance the cause of the books - quite the opposite.