Let the Ring Go

Since I don't think I'll be able to watch the final installment of The Hobbit until after Christmas, I am much consoled because The Hillywood Show's newest parody also came out yesterday. That's right, they've finally realized their dream to do The Lord of the Rings. Like their Pirates of the Caribbean Parody last year came full circle because they used to work a lot with Jack Sparrow's character, the LOTR parody also finishes things off: before they ever started the show, Hilly and Hannah put together a big production of LOTR over months. Now they get to come back to the trilogy with more resources and their current parody approach.

The Lord of the Rings is hard because it has so many characters, costumes, sets, and scenes. I had no idea how they would approach it, so I didn't even guess at much beforehand. Now that the video is out, it's very smart. Taking the tune from "Let It Go" from Frozen and rewriting the lyrics to come from Sam's perspective (mostly in Mordor) narrows the field while also getting right at the heart of the story. Sam is the main focus of LOTR the way that Darth Vader is the main focus of the original Star Wars trilogy: he's the one who helps make happen the events that really need to happen. So it makes absolute sense to focus on Sam. 

On the first watch, this video reminded me somewhat of Hillywood's Breaking Dawn (Part 1) Parody (which remains their most-viewed parody). There is humor, some parodying, but also a love of the material. That's a winning combination that is also very Hillywood. It's silly to combine Frozen with Middle-earth, yet the combination also works so perfectly to express the theme of letting go of what drags you down, of what you do not need. Bartok's appearance as Gollum is hilariously lovely, and everywhere there is such detail in costumes and other visuals. Hilly as Sam and Hannah as Frodo both gave great performances; there is such momentum in this parody. It's reliving what's important about this story--in a light and wonderful way. 

There is one 45 minute behind the scenes video, with another (I'm guessing shorter) one on the way. After watching the behind the scenes, go back and watch the parody again. And again. And then again, for good measure. Then make your friends watch it. Ah, I love The Hillywood Show.