This article contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim had some truly franchise-topping moments in its 134-minute runtime. This animated movie was released in December 2024 as the first anime picture of The Lord of the Rings, following the release of Ralph Bakshi’s animated The Return of the King in 1980. The War of the Rohirrim movie is directed by Ghost in the Shell master Kenji Kamiyama. It brought decades’ worth of anime expertise to fantasy’s best franchise, creating some of The Lord of the Ring’s best scenes.
The War of the Rohirrim picture is the first Lord of the Rings movie since 2003’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. This landmark moment met huge pressure, especially with The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum set for launch in 2026. The picture met with mixed reviews but a generally positive audience reception, with fans commenting on the movie’s intriguing interpretation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic story. Based on “The House of Eorl,” a story from Appendix A of LotR, the movie is full of scenes that reinvent the classic fantasy world.
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A Southron Is An Omen Of Distant Threats
War Of The Rohirrim Teases Tolkien’s Wider World
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One of the most intriguing moments of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim was the surprise appearance of a Southron. This mysterious race was one of Lord of the Rings’ types of Men most closely associated with war, and was also known as the Haradrim. The Haradrim, or Southrons, came from Harad, a southerly location even lower on the LotR map than Mordor.
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Located just under Mordor, Harad was often under Sauron’s sway. This background made the Southron’s appearance in The War of the Rohirrim a tasty piece of lore for longtime Lord of the Rings fans. The decaying corpse of a Southron was included near the start of the movie as a portent of bad things to come. Indeed, war was coming to Rohan, while the wider War of the Ring was only just starting to take shape. This exciting context made this one of the best parts of War of the Rohirrim.
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A Watcher In The Water Lies In Wait
The Mythical Beast Got A New Look In War Of The Rohirrim
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim brought J.R.R. Tolkien’s scary Watcher in the Water back to life. This high fantasy creature debuted on screen in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie. Lurching out of the Lake of Sirannon, this beast tried to pull Frodo back into the depths with it. Peter Jackson’s iconic portrayal of the beast precipitated Kenji Kamiyama’s.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim was released on December 13, 2024.
Kamiyama’s Watcher in the Water was a far cry from Peter Jackson’s, bringing all the anime legend’s expertise to bear on its design. Ralph Bakshi also included the Watcher in the Water in The Return of the King, leaving Kamiyama’s beast to appear entirely unique. With what appeared to be trees growing out of its head, this monster had nailed camouflage, recalling anime creatures from classics like Pokémon and creating one of The War of the Rohirrim’s best scenes.
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Shieldmaidens Make A Comeback
Éowyn’s Importance In Lord of the Rings Is Recognized
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The War of the Rohirrim honored Éowyn in many ways, which led to some of the best scenes of the movie. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim centered on Hèra, the unnamed daughter of Helm Hammerhand in “The House of Eorl.” The War of the Rohirrim told the story of the shieldmaidens in one of its opening scenes, mentioning how this old tradition had nearly died out.
Lief looked on in awe at the shieldmaidens’ banner as he was told their story.
This had a strong parallel to The Lord of the Rings, whereby the shieldmaiden tradition was even more unknown. Hèra and her handmaiden, Olwyn, took up the mantle of the shieldmaidens in War of the Rohirrim. This referred to Éowyn, of course, one of The Lord of the Rings’ strongest women and its most famous Rohirrim shieldmaiden. Lief looked on in awe at the shieldmaidens’ banner as he was told their story, resurrecting all the awe and majesty of previous tales in one of the movie’s best scenes.
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Saruman Makes Himself Known In War Of The Rohirrim
Christopher Lee Returns To The Lord Of The Rings
The iconic Christopher Lee returned from the dead for a perfectly-timed cameo in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. Lee played Saruman in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, but sadly passed away in 2015. The War of the Rohirrim was able to use archival footage to create the lines needed, mixing old recordings of Lee’s voice. Lee’s return to screens for Saruman was easily one of the movie’s best scenes.
Lee’s anime avatar even looked just like him in this standout War of the Rohirrim scene.
Saruman’s appearance in the movie was a canonical element of the adaptation, as he also appeared toward the end of “The House of Eorl” as a portent of his future rule. Saruman was only just moving into Isengard at the time of The War of the Rohirrim. Therefore, ending the movie with his appearance perfectly foreshadowed his rise to power. Lee’s anime avatar even looked just like him in this standout War of the Rohirrim scene.
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Hèra Rides To Meet Gandalf In War Of The Rohirrim
Gandalf’s Rune Signifies New Beginnings
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Hèra rode out to meet Gandalf in a shock Easter egg, alluding to one of The Lord of the Rings’ best characters. At the end of the movie, Hèra was on her way out on another adventure, as Hama had predicted with his song at the movie’s beginning. However, this time, she went to meet a mysterious figure that never appeared on screen. She carried a letter from him, excitingly inscribed with his rune.
|
Tolkienian Age |
Event Marking The Start |
Years |
Total Length In Solar Years |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Before time |
Indeterminate |
Indeterminate |
Indeterminate |
|
Days before Days |
Ainur entered Eä |
1 – 3,500 Valian Years |
33,537 |
|
Pre-First Age Years of the Trees (Y.T.) |
Yavanna created the Two Trees |
Y.T. 1 – 1050 |
10,061 |
|
First Age (F.A.) |
Elves awoke in Cuiviénen |
Y.T. 1050 – Y.T. 1500, F.A. 1 – 590 |
4,902 |
|
Second Age (S.A.) |
War of Wrath ended |
S.A. 1 – 3441 |
3,441 |
|
Third Age (T.A.) |
Last Alliance defeated Sauron |
T.A. 1 – 3021 |
3,021 |
|
Fourth Age (Fo.A) |
Elven-rings left Middle-earth |
Fo.A 1 – unknown |
Unknown |
Fans of The Hobbit will recognize this rune as the one that Gandalf carved on Bilbo Baggins’ door in the first Hobbit movie. Not long after revealing the rune, The War of the Rohirrim confirmed that it did indeed signify the presence of Mithrandir, who was around on Middle-earth even at this point in the Third Age. This Tolkien treat made this closing scene one of the high points of War of the Rohirrim.
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Orcs Prove That Sauron Is Already Worried About The Ring
Two Orcs Were Voiced By A Very Special Duo
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Orcs featured in one of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’s best scenes. As a surprise Easter egg and a reference to The Lord of the Rings, this pair of Orcs was voiced by none other than Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan. These actors, of course, played Pippin Took and Merry Brandybuck in the original trilogy. Their chemistry was still undeniable, even as a couple of Sauron’s servants.
However, what was most fascinating about the Orc scene in The War of the Rohirrim was the picture that it painted of the wider world. The War of the Ring was starting to brew already, even as the Rohirrim fought the Dunlendings. The movie proved this by showing how Sauron was looking for the One Ring while the Rohirrim were wrapped up in their territorial war – one of the Orcs wondered out loud what Sauron wanted with rings while putting one away in his pouch.
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Helm Goes Into Wraith Mode In The Lord Of The Rings Anime
Helm Hammerhand Loses His Humanity
Helm Hammerhand went into demon mode in The War of the Rohirrim, creating an anime power-up that was a movie highlight. Helm Hammerhand was the main character of “The House of Eorl,” so his role in The War of the Rohirrim always had to be huge. The War of the Rohirrim made Hèra the main character, which surprised a lot of fans, as she was only given one line in the source material.
The movie was wise to make Hèra its lead, which allowed it to leave Helm, her father, with an element of mystery. But the movie would certainly have been remiss to leave out all the Helm highlights of the short story. The War of the Rohirrim got this balance just right, including the essential scene – Helm going berserk and killing enemies with his bare hands. Anime was the perfect format for this madness, with Helm’s eyes whited out to express his descent into savagery.
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Hama Faces His Fate With No Fear
Hèra’s Brother Was The Unsung Hero Of The Movie
Hama showed more courage than most characters did over the course of the whole movie as he got off his horse and looked head-on into his impending doom. The gentle Hama was one of the best parts of War of the Rohirrim, making his tragic fate all the more affecting. Hama, like Hèra, was far from a main character in “The House of Eorl,” but was given much more storyline in the movie.
Hèra’s brother was more of a bard than a soldier, preferring to play his lute and sing songs than to secure the strongest horse in the army. The movie had made it known that Hama had a slow horse, foreshadowing his death. When he was trying to outrun Dunlendings, his companions made it away, but his horse slowed to a stop. Hama was calm and kind, patting his horse on the back as he got off and drew his bow, making this one of the most heroic scenes in War of the Rohirrim.
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Helm Dies A Warrior’s Death
Helm Hammerhand Freezes To Death Standing
Helm Hammerhand died a warrior’s death in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, making for a tear-jerking scene. Helm always had to die heroically, but it wasn’t certain whether the movie would show him in his full glory. Helm was a morally gray figure, exhibiting brutal and overly aggressive behavior. The movie could have easily made Helm more villainous, but it respected his legacy via his death scene.
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Helm was renowned in Rohirrim legend, as per “The House of Eorl,” for roaming the plains while he and his people were besieged in Helm’s Deep. The Dunlendings may have held the Rohirrim under siege, but Helm wasn’t about to let this stop him from attempting to beat them. While others slept, Helm crept out and killed his enemies one by one. Helm died during these final attempts to save his people in the movie, freezing to death standing up outside the fortress door.
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Middle-Earth Soars Into View For The First Time In 10 Years
The Rohan Theme Made A Strong Comeback
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The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim made the most of its time on-screen to bring pure nostalgia back to viewers right from the start. The movie’s opening scene may have been its finest, despite many incredible moments to come. Howard Shore’s Rohan theme burst triumphantly out from speakers as the shot panned gracefully over the hilly plains of Rohan, recalling some of fantasy’s best cinema.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers introduced Rohan fully, laying out legendary characters like Gríma Wormtongue, Théoden, and Éomer. This soundtrack, embedded into a new piece of music by Stephen Gallagher, went perfectly with the movie’s opening visuals. This opening scene of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim was crazily lifelike for anime, evoking the beautiful landscapes of New Zealand that the Jackson movies were known for.
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The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
PG-13
AnimationActionAdventureFantasy
Set before the events of the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is an animated action-adventure fantasy film that follows a King of Rohan named Helm Hammerhand. When his home comes under siege by Dunlendings, Hammerhand prepares himself and his allies to fight back against them, with the war leading to the eventual establishment of Helm’s Deep.
Release Date
December 13, 2024
Runtime
134 Minutes
Main Genre
Fantasy
Cast
Brian Cox
, Miranda Otto
, Gaia Wise
, Luke Pasqualino
, Laurence Ubong
, Shaun Dooley
Director
Kenji Kamiyama
Studio(s)
New Line Cinema
, Warner Bros. Animation
, Sola Entertainment
Distributor(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures
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