Drinking Contest: Any Support From the Books?

[Turin]

Originally Posted by Lalaith

Not only is Gimli made into a buffoon but his strength and skills as an adventurer and warrior are undermined. He can't hold his own in the drinking contest, he's constantly lagging behind during the chase of the Three Hunters, he falls off horses and so on. What is most dangerous on a mission of this kind, he thinks he can do things when he can't.
The "short" characters (hobbits, dwarves) are in the film generally far more foolish and useless than they are in the book which begs the question of why they were sent on the quest in the first place.

True!

Which is why I have always said that the portrayal of hobbits, especially of Merry and Pippin wasn't all that good. For some reason, from the outset they are made to appear childish and immature. Certainly in the book, Merry comes off as a strong character, especially in the first book ("It all depends on who you can trust... we'll stick together through thick and thin" etc).

PJ exploited people's perceptions of short people throught the use of slapstick humour for Gimli et al.