The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, what's up with that?

[dreamingfifi]

This is something I’ve noticed throughout forums and websites. The majority of the people who like Harry Potter like The Lord of the Rings too, and vice versa.

I wondering, why those two? Is it because their moves were released at the same time? Or that they are such similar stories, with many parallels? Do you like both of them, and if you do, Why?

I like them both because I first read the Harry Potter books at the same age Harry was in the stories. I like The lord of the Rings because I read the Hobbit and found it boring, and so Mom and Dad recommened reading the Lord of the Rings since I was bored. I read it, and loved it!

Peace,
dreamingfifi

[Kneazle]

I can't say I'm a fan of LotR, but I have read the book(s). I think it's always "HP & LotR" simply because they're two of the most popular book series in the history of literature and so there are multitudes of joint fans between these two massive fan bases. They're in the same genre, they draw fans from similar audiences-- both are elaborate fantasies and they deal with several parallel themes. If you like one, it's likely you'll like the other. You see the series paired a lot because people in HP or LotR communities will understand what you're saying if you start a discussion about, well, HP & LotR. ;)

Well, that's what I've observed. Welcome to CoS, fifi. :)

[go_anna40]

because they're both in what you call "competition." in the books and movies.

i love them both, but i also like star wars, so it's quite difficult to choose my favourite.

[cbjedi]

Star Wars, LOTR, Harry Potter, they're all very similar. They all belong to the same genre, that being fantasy. So it stands to reason that many people (like myself) are obsessed with all three. :)

[go_anna40]

i read HP 2 years ago, and i loved it. i saw LOTR last year, looked good, and i've read The 2 Towers and Return of the King, so i'm reading Fellowship now.

[Sirius Black]

I read harry potter when harry was my age, well, or I'm think so, about an year or two's difference. I read Lotr 2 years ago, before the movie. But I read the hobbit after the movie. The Lotr is too long, but quite intresting but also with lots of dull parts. But harry potter is shorter and almost all the parts are interesting in it. When I first read harry potter, I didn't know there were so many obsessed fans out there like me. :whistle:

[go_anna40]

i agree Sirius Black, i took like four months to finish The 2 Towers coz it was really dragging and it had its boring parts, but it was really good. Return of the King, i took quicker to finish.

HP was interesting throughout the books.

[Sirius Black]

Ahhhhhh..... I finally get agreed with, after posting this theory on so many other threads, thanks Go-Anna40. :D So anyways, Lotr and HP have a lot of simalrities.
Here are some of them.
Gandalf and Dumbledore.
Sauron and Voldemort.
Saruman and Peter.
Harry and Frodo
Ron and Sam.
Deatheaters/dementors and ringwraiths.

[Filius Flitwick]

LOTR essentially created the fantasy genre as we know it today and has influenced more books and movies then we may realize. If Tolkien hadn't wrote the Hobbit and the LOTR trilogy then I doubt we would have Harry Potter today. I just hate the fact that the last board I was at was like 80% against Harry Potter when none of them had read the books or seen the movie. They all claimed that Two Towers would make more money than Chamber even though Fellowship lost to Stone.

[dreamingfifi]

80% didn't like Harry Potter? I believe it. You have no Idea how obsessed LotR fan can get unless you live near them or are one. We're all die hard, just like Harry Potter Fans. The numbers of fans are the same though. Just, with the LotR books, the fans are much more spread among the age groups. It's mostly us people under 20 that are the most obsessed with Harry Potter. (from what I've observed) I wouldn't be surprised if both books become Classics in a few years.

I didn’t find The Two Towers boring at all, but that might be because I’m a very fast reader. I finished it in a day. That may be because I don’t have much of a life outside of books.

I also Finished the Forth HP book in one day. I didn't get much sleep, but I finished it.

Peace,
dreamingfifi

[Filius Flitwick]

Oh yeah, I'm a fan of LOTR. I read that trilogy in a week and didn't find it boring. I actually thought that the movie was a better transfer from the book then Stone. It just seemed to capture the story better. However, I do like the Harry Potter universe more and I'm hoping they get Chamber's story better.

[Qeomash]

Many of my firends have been pestering me to read LotR for years, and I finally did so just in time for the movie. Loved them. I've always wanted to read HP since I heard about it, but haven't been able to get a hold of a copy untill I found SS & CoS at a Yard Sale. Had 'em both read in three days, including working 9-6 every day.

A week later, I borrowed PoA from a friend and had it read THAT DAY! GoF and my own copy of PoA came about two weeks later. I just finished reading the books through again afew weeks ago, and have now continued to read the LotR for the Two Towers movie.

Really, I love both of them! I've tried other books of the Fantasy Genre and haven't really gotten into them.

..But as for Potter becoming a classic, I strongly expect that to happen. Twenty years from now, HP will hold the same position in literature that LotR does now.

[Inkwolf]

I read and loved LOTR about 20 years ago. LOTR created fantasy! Hooray for LOTR!

Then the world went through a long, dry period when fantasy wasn't in fashion any more. Sniffle....:'(

Harry Potter brought fantasy back! Hooray for Harry Potter!

Actually, I think that the HP/LOTR thing is the only facet that's being noticed and mentioned, maybe because of the movies. I'm sure that if you asked all of us HP/LOTR fans, you would find we are fans of lots of OTHER great fantasy, too--like Terry Pratchett's Discworld, The Chronicles of Narnia, Anne McCaffrey's Pern books, The Dark is Rising sequence, the Prydain Chronicles, The Last Unicorn, the Golden Compass trilogy, and movies like Willow, The Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, Dragonheart, etc., etc., etc.....

[Cat]

Originally posted by Inkwolf
Terry Pratchett's Discworld

No, no, no. Oh, I like Terry Pratchett but it's a rare thing for a fantasy fan to like. I hate to speak badly but a lot of fantasy fans take the genre too seriously.

Personally, I think the constant HP/LOTR comparisons are the fault of the movies. A lot of people would naturally like both books but some people - and I hate to speak ill again - compare them because they don't know of many more books. In truth the comparisons are shared between plenty of fantasy novels. Speaking personally once more, I don't like the high fantasy books. I like Lord of the Rings because I read it with a light heart. The book has a childish gleam that I love, a thing that many fans refuse to acknowledge. It can really be a bit airy, a bit fairy tale. Harry Potter is very fairy tale too, but more noticeably.

[Inkwolf]

Originally posted by Cat
No, no, no. Oh, I like Terry Pratchett but it's a rare thing for a fantasy fan to like. I hate to speak badly but a lot of fantasy fans take the genre too seriously.

You can say that about almost anything, though. :D

Personally, I always preferred the lighter stuff myself, like Pratchett, Asprin's Myth Adventures series, and Crain Shaw Gardner's goofier books...

[go_anna40]

i think LOTR opened a door of Fantasy Writing for authors today.

I own all Hp books and LOTR, even The Hobbit.

i have one HP obessed friend and another LOTR obessed friend. it does get a bit scary.

My HP friend knows every fine detail of HP, even the clothes Harry wears at times. And my LOTR friend is learning Elvish off the Internet, i'm a bit in between with Star Wars mixed in.

[Qeomash]

Elvish off the Internet? And I thought I was obessed...

Although I do know a dang lot about LotR, a dang lot about HP, and even have studied the Star Wars "extended universe" extensivly. Ask me anything.

[Fuchsia]

The Golden Compass is in the Dark Materials trilogy. Sorry, I hate to be nitpicky. :)
I love those books. I have tried to get the people I know who love HP to read them but no such luck.

The Labyrinth!!! I've been a fan of that movie since it first came out on video. I'm glad that so many people love it. I didn't know that then.

The weird thing is how the sci-fi genre and the fantasy genre
get mixed in together. It is proof that genres are stupid
and we should do away with titles and labels.

[Qeomash]

In most book stores I've been in, there is no "Science Fiction" or "Fantasy" genres. There is, instead, a section labeld "Science Fiction-Fantasy". It sometimes drives me crazy, but the two are very close. Heck, Star Wars had both future technology and magic, trademarks of both genres respectivly.

[flibbertigibbet]

Maybe it's the British thing :) But seriously, I agree with the person who said it's partly the movies' fault. LotR would probably be less talked about (though still much-loved) if the movies weren't out.

Oh, and whoever mentioned the Dark Materials trilogy - that one's awesome too! Granted, I've only read book 1 - I'm looking for a matching copy of book 2 now, but it'll get read as soon as I've got my hands on it.

Personally, I like the atmosphere in all those books. Because the harsh things aren't all glossed over in the books, they make them seem closer to reality, but it's a new, interesting reality that makes for a wicked read :clappy:

[go_anna40]

lol Qeomash, my friend is obessive!! she's watches LOTR like 5 times a week!!! And of course the Elvish off the Internet.

And Fuchsia...i loved His Dark Materials!!! it's soo clever, i've read them all three, and i own The Amber Spyglass. really good books!!

I think movies actually kinda ruin the books, Fellowship the book is really different compared to the movie.

And because of the time the movie has to be contained within, they had to cut a lot out, same with HP.

[Fuchsia]

I was bored the first time I saw the LOTR movie but I love it on dvd.
Maybe because Hugo Weaving as Elrond is so freaking hot.
I love to do impressions of all the actors.

There is a cool article about Phillip Pullman in Vanity Fair. Madonna is on the cover I think.

My Star Wars obsession had died down as of late. I still have my toys collection at my moms place.

[Sirius Black]

The movie was suberb, the Lotr. Although I'm a harry potter fanatic, I didn't really like the movie, it was not faithful enough, and also all the actors were unexperienced actors, new comers, but in Lotr , everyone was experienced and also the action was cool. But if I were to choose a favourite book, I;d pick Harry Potter though Lotr would be just behind.

[Fuchsia]

Not all of the actors were unexperienced. There was Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman and Robbie Coltrane to name some of them.
But for the leads yeah they were a little green but they did pretty well for kid actors. Most child actors are not going to be as great as Elijah Wood, Fairuza Balk or Kirsten Dunst but at least they were not Macauley Culkinish.

LOTR had some of the best actors. Hugo Weaving oh yeah.
And a *great great great* director. (Heavenly Creatures is such a fantastic film too)
Columbus was adequate enough. I respect the job he did.
I won't see his other films though like I have with Peter Jackson.

[Sirius Black]

But the movie harry potter isn't good enough. I was expecting tooooo much of it I guess. But it didn't turn out the way I had expected,:sigh:

[dreamingfifi]

Yes, I'll admit I was disappointed about the Harry Potter movie. It seemed to be directed towards little kids, not us book fanatics. The LotR Movie, however, was wonderful. I'm disappointed that they cut out Tom Bombadil,and the poetry, but you can't have evrything.

Some one said that they liked Elrond, or the actor. every time I see him a Elrond, all I can think of is "Agent Smith saying, 'Mr. Anderson!' and his speach about humans being the desiese of the planet.(from The Matrix, Any one else love that movie?)" That just crackes me up so much, but he does do a good job as Elrond.

Peace,:)
dreamingfifi

[go_anna40]

Originally posted by dreamingfifi
every time I see him a Elrond, all I can think of is "Agent Smith saying, 'Mr. Anderson!' and his speach about humans being the desiese of the planet.(from The Matrix, Any one else love that movie?)" That just crackes me up so much, but he does do a good job as Elrond.

so do i!! i can just see him in a black suit, and taking his glasses off and saying "i'll enjoy watching you die, Mister Anderson" in the middle of LOTR!! but Elrond is cool, but Legolas is better, deadly with an Elvish Crossbow!!! :crush:

okay, back to topic, well, i did except higher of HP, but i was satisfied. and i kinda hated it how they changed the way Harry and co. discovered Fluffy. just too weird.

[Fuchsia]

No way! Elrond is the coolest and best elf there is.
:)

[go_anna40]

yeah, after Legolas!! LOL!!

But Elrond is too old, like three millennium old!!

[Sirius Black]

Legolas and Aragorn are my favourite. They both look so cool and also they're professional fighters.:D

[go_anna40]

Legolas is so cool, like an archer...but updated!!
And i love how Aragon "flicks" away the dagger, when Lurtz throws at him at Amon Hen.

This is getting a bit off topic, isn't it??

[Sirius Black]

Yeah , Legolas and Aragorn are dam* cool. But to get back on topic. I think there are many simalarities. But I think we've discussed most of them. But I have to admit, I don't think that there would be a Harry Potter series if there wasn't any Lotr.

[go_anna40]

Originally posted by Sirius Black
But I have to admit, I don't think that there would be a Harry Potter series if there wasn't any Lotr.

i agree. LOTR did open many doors for writing. Let's think up some more similarities!!! :clappy: ;)

[Sirius Black]

Umz. Not sure if this is right but what about The Narnian Chronicles? Would that do?

[Cat]

Originally posted by Sirius Black
But I have to admit, I don't think that there would be a Harry Potter series if there wasn't any Lotr.

How can you be so sure? Alright, it opened the huge heavy doors of fantasy. But there were fairy tales and folk stories before Lord of the Rings. There are many types of fantasy and Harry Potter isn't of the same branch as Lord of the Rings. Perhaps the books would have been written but nothing like as popular. Tolkien gave fancy a following and a place.

On the other hand I think that all wizards are subconsciously based on Gandalf these days.

[Sirius Black]

Wizards are based on gandalf. Anyways, I've heard if you go back in time and just say one word to a stranger, history would change. And harry potter has a lot of similarties to Lotr, so if Lotr never exsited, I guess Harry Potter wouldn't either but I can never know of course. My thinking could be different from others.

[Cat]

Originally posted by Sirius Black
Wizards are based on gandalf. Anyways, I've heard if you go back in time and just say one word to a stranger, history would change. And harry potter has a lot of similarties to Lotr, so if Lotr never exsited, I guess Harry Potter wouldn't either but I can never know of course. My thinking could be different from others.

Yes, but having similarities doesn't mean that one is based on the other. I'm pretty sure I'd exist if my twin sister hadn't been born. And Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings are nothing like twins.

Psst... not all wizards are based on Gandalf. Gandalf may be based on Merlin! I'm not sure where the pointed hat came from... is that a Gandalf thing or did it arise before that?

[Inkwolf]

I'm pretty sure witches and wizards have been pictured with pointy hats for a long time....maybe that was a fashion in the medieval era when they were obsessed with witch-hunting, and the idea of the pointy hat stayed with the witch image after the fashion had passed.

There were plenty of wizards before Gandalf! Gandalf was based on a mythological stereotype, not the other way round. In fact, LOTR was based on English and Nordic mythology to a very great degree. It wasn't a completely and totally original work, more a modernization and reworking of mythic ideas, plots and themes that had been around for centuries, though Tolkien did add his own touches and ideas.

[Qeomash]

Yes, Gandalf was created with every clice that was around at the time. Of course, those clices were cemented in stone when LotR was published.

When they were showing the guy who played Gandalf his costume, he liked it all up untill the hat. It kinda threw him for a loop, seeing a hat like that, and that HE was suposed to wear it.

[Inkwolf]

Actually, Gandalf's hat was probably the main non-cliche thing about him. The general stereotype for a wizard's hat, pre-LOTR, was a pointy cone, not one with a hatbrim.

[Fuchsia]

Originally posted by Qeomash
Yes, Gandalf was created with every clice that was around at the time. Of course, those clices were cemented in stone when LotR was published.

When they were showing the guy who played Gandalf his costume, he liked it all up untill the hat. It kinda threw him for a loop, seeing a hat like that, and that HE was suposed to wear it.

Sir Ian Mckellan always dresses so fine he probably just rejected to it on a fashion level. :)

[Inkwolf]

Originally posted by Fuchsia
Sir Ian Mckellan always dresses so fine he probably just rejected to it on a fashion level. :)


Not always. :D In fact, half the humor in The Scarlet Pimpernel was Sir Percy making fun of Chauvelin's bad clothes.

Sigh....why do I always go for the dark, scowling, slimy, villainous types?

Wouldn't he have made a hot Snape, if he was still that age? :)

[Fuchsia]

He had bad clothes and teeth in David Copperfield too. His latest Copperfield version with Radcliffe. He has done a lot of those.

Man he IS hot in that photo!!!
Too bad he is gay (like I'd have a chance with him if he wasn't).

[Inkwolf]

Actually, another similarity between LOTR and HP is exactly the fact that each of them is based on traditional mythology, giving a new twist to popular older material.

JKR didn't only revive fantasy, using many traditional mythological creatures (as did Tolkien) but she revived the old kids-at-boarding-school genre, which has also had great success in the past--from Tom Brown's School Days to PG Wodehouse's Wrykin stories, to Gordan Korman's 'The Fish' MacDonald Hall books.

[Fuchsia]

I haven't read any of those books.
I just thought the genre was popular because parents wanted to get rid of their kids.

[Inkwolf]

Originally posted by Fuchsia
I haven't read any of those books.
I just thought the genre was popular because parents wanted to get rid of their kids.

Ha, ha! Actually, they're read by kids who want to be rid of their parents! :D

I recommend the Gordon Korman series to anyone who wants to read a good series of kids books. It features Bruno and Boots, two boys who play lots of outrageous pranks at MacDonald Hall in Canada. The Fish is their Headmaster (Mr. Sturgeon) who is actually kindhearted but tries to be very strict and tough with them. There's a girls' school across the road with a shotgun-totin Headmistress, and the boys' favorite accomplices. Fun stuff.

Hmmm, this thread keeps trying to veer off-topic...

[Fuchsia]

I'll have to get that from the library. I love Canadians.

The Worst Witch is a boarding school for witches. The books were *really* not fleshed out but the HBO series did a pretty decent job adding more plot.
Ms. Harbroom was kinda Snape-ish. But sallow skin didn't look good on her like it does Alan Rickman.

Trying to veer off topic? With my help it has left that path a long time ago. I'll probably get the boot soon. :)
I can't help it. Alan Rickman!!!!

[Sirius Black]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Inkwolf
[B]Actually, another similarity between LOTR and HP is exactly the fact that each of them is based on traditional mythology, giving a new twist to popular older material.

That's correct. What I think is that Tolkien got ideas from myth and added a lot of his own ideas. And jkr got ideas from myth and possibly a few from tolkien and added a lot by herself to make a new book. I think thee will soon be a new writer who will get ideas from tolkien, myth and jkr. It's like a cycle and it keeps on going.

[go_anna40]

i love your signature Fuchsia!! LOL!! :p

you know, the language Elvish in LOTR is actually based on an ancient spoken language, but the last speaker of it dies ages ago. and i liked it how Tolkien steered away from the image of Elves like Fairies, that's what i liked, they're actually can be quite dangerous.

And and, that Hogwarts saying, the Draco... well it's actually from LOTR. and Wormtongue and Wormtail...um...

[Fuchsia]

Originally posted by go_anna40
i love your signature Fuchsia!! LOL!! :p

Thanks!!!



And and, that Hogwarts saying, the Draco... well it's actually from LOTR. and Wormtongue and Wormtail...um...
That is one I always thought was kinda similar.
I don't know of any other Worms except Ed Norton's character in Rounders.

[Qeomash]

Whenever I'm talking to friends about the Two Towers, I keep saying "Wormtail" instead of "Wormtounge". And vice versa.

I just hope Dobby doesn't start calling Harry "my precious". That would creep me out.

[Fuchsia]

Dobby could call his socks my precious! He owns nothing else. Why not?

[dreamingfifi]

Originally posted by Fuchsia
Dobby could call his socks my precious! He owns nothing else. Why not?

lol. I would be freaked out if the dementors started to ride about on horses, looking for something unknow to all else.

Peace,
dreamingfifi

[Fuchsia]

Ron will grow lots of hair on his feet.
Hermione will give up her immortal life to be with Harry.
It could happen!

[dreamingfifi]

Originally posted by Fuchsia
Hermione will give up her immortal life to be with Harry.


Hmmm... I never thought of having Hermione as Arwen, I always thought it was Cho and Arwen. Hermione is a though one!

Hermione becomes part of a "Conspiracy" on spying on Harry's quest, and starts drinking heavily.

He He He!!!

Peace,
dreamingfifi

[go_anna40]

omg, you guys are funny!!!

i just can imagine Dobby going "My preciousssssssssssss"

And i do get Wormtail and Wormtongue mixed up, forgetting which one comes from which book!!

And Dumbledore will be called Dumbledore the White.

And Fred and George will be taken by Draco and mutilated and be his slaves!!!! :clappy:

[dreamingfifi]

Originally posted by Sirius Black
Legolas and Aragorn are my favourite. They both look so cool and also they're professional fighters.:D

My favorites are Dumbeldore and Eowen, dumbeldore because he's so wise, and has a great sense of humor; Eowen because she's such a strong sirited lady,like she would be at the head of the "Votes for women!" movement in America at the beginning of the last century. The kind of person which demands your respect. I like people like that.

Peace, @-$--
dreamingfifi

[JephReeta]

Hmm...I think this thread got off topic but I didn't read the whole thing so I'm not sure what's up.

Anyway, I like both LoTR and HP. They are 'family' books and by that I mean that we have read both series as a family. I grew up on LOTR because my dad was a fan and started reading them to my brother and me when we were little. Then I discovered Harry Potter, forced my reluctant dad to read them who in turn read them out loud to the family and now we continue to alternately read them, you know, the 1st HP then the 1st LoTR then the 2nd HP...and so on. I love them both but probably LOTR more than HP because I was introduced to them first and I'm in love with Frodo.

[dreamingfifi]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by JephReeta
Then I discovered Harry Potter, forced my reluctant dad to read them who in turn read them out loud to the family and now we continue to alternately read them, you know, the 1st HP then the 1st LoTR then the 2nd HP...and so on. I love them both but probably LOTR more than HP because I was introduced to them first and I'm in love with Frodo. [/QUOTE

When I was on our Family vacation, I brought all of the Harry Potter books with me, and ended up reading the first and most of the second out loud for a large group of cousins, from 5-9 years old. They just loved it!I ended up carving little wooden wands for all of them.

They didn't like Lord of the Rings much, :sigh: because the movie was too scary for them. I had brought that book too, it's a pity they didn't want that read to them.

I love both of the books series about the same amount. it keeps moving from one to the other.

Peace, @-$--
dreamingfifi

[go_anna40]

i read HPSS, like 3 years ago, and i've read all of them so far. i'm reading Fellowship, but i've read The 2 Towers and Return of the King.

I kinda hate Eoywen (however you spell it), coz she wants to marry Aragorn, just because he's the King of Gondor, and she wants to be Queen, it bugs me. But it's good how she fell in love with Faramir instead.

[Sirius Black]

Eowny's cool, I always thought she'd go with Aragorn but Arwen went with him. The other thing I like about Lotr is that tolkien also made it a love story at the same time as making it a fighting and adventrous tale. he love story I am talking about is about Aragorn. Two women want him and it's a bit difficult to decide.

And also about sam's love story coming up.

What I hate most is when they are singing, it wastes so much time.

And what I like the most is when they are in action in a battle fighting, Tolkien describes it so realistically.

[dreamingfifi]

Originally posted by Sirius Black

What I hate most is when they are singing, it wastes so much time.


How can you? I love the peotry! I like the profacy (sp?) poem and Aragorn's farewell to Boromir poem. And Tom Bombadill too.

"All that glitters is not gold..."

Peace, @-$--
dreamingfifi

[go_anna40]

yes, and Sam and Rosie, we didn't get much of an insight of that romance. Arwen will always go with Aragorn.

i skip the singing, it takes too much time.

[Ali]

Originally posted by go_anna40

i skip the singing, it takes too much time.

I love the songs... there are some nice stories told in them... like the Beren and Luthien song told by Aragorn(its really nice specially if you've read the Silmarillion).

[Fuchsia]

By all means go back and read the singing!
There is so much information in there. Tolkien wouldn't have put it in there if it was useless.
I skipped it too when I was a young un.
Elrond would never skip it.

[Ali]

Originally posted by Fuchsia
By all means go back and read the singing!
There is so much information in there. Tolkien wouldn't have put it in there if it was useless.
I skipped it too when I was a young un.
Elrond would never skip it.

:yup: :tu:

[Sirius Black]

But they're sooo boring. I read the songs in the whole first book and a bit in the second book. They wasted sooo much, so I just started skipping them. Why would anything bother to sing anyway on a journey. But the song I liked the most out of Lotr was the one sang by Enya in the Movie. "May It Be". Because it had music. And it kept reminding me of the scenes in the movie. It's so touching. It raises my heart. I don't know why.:)

[go_anna40]

well, if it's that good...i'll go back when i've finished reading Fellowship.

[dreamingfifi]

Originally posted by Sirius Black
Why would anything bother to sing anyway on a journey.

Have you ever sang during a long car trip? I know I do, and I pretty sure that every family does, unless they bought a CD player instead. But still, people do sing while traveling. It helps take away boredom, and with the fellowship, they've been walking an awfully long way, and it would take your mind off of being tired of walking.

Peace,
dreamingfifi

[Sirius Black]

Well, we never do. We've got a cd player. But the fellowship were so much danger and so tired and they were singing. Ok, I don't mind, but to me, reading a song is boring, much more boring than listning to a song or singing a song. What's a song if you can't here the rythm?

[go_anna40]

we don't sing, we just listen to the radio...

[dreamingfifi]

Maybe it's because my intire family loves to sing and has this 4 inch book of folk songs, but when poetry is written for a song, there is a rythem to the poetry. Have you ever read, "Annabel Lee" by Edger Allan Poe? That could be made easily into a song, it's so rythemic. All song lyrics have a sense of rythem when you read them. What I dislike about written songs, with no music with them, because I don't know the melodies.

Peace, @-$--
dreamingfifi

[go_anna40]

well, i never really liked singing.

[dreamingfifi]

Originally posted by go_anna40
well, i never really liked singing.

:sad: I pity you. :sad:

Peace, @-$--
dreamingfifi

[go_anna40]

well, i admit i can't sing, but singing in general is okay, but just never enjoyed it in Music. i'm more likely to read...

What does singin got to do with LOTR or HP?? lol, this is getting off-topic. ;)

[Sirius Black]

Singing is ok but reading a song is boring. No rythm and no melodie. But why didn't they show the songs in the movie??

[Qeomash]

I'm currently in my third reading of the seiries (Silmarillion is next). My first time, I skipped the songs. Second, I skipped the songs AND the Old Forst/Tom Bombadil. Third time, I've read them all.

The songs aren't a high point, but I'm interested in the folklore of Middle Earth. I'm just glad they're putting the Oliphaunt (sp?) in the Two Towers movie. If they do that, there's no way they will be able to avoid the song about it.

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Puruing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

...That has so far been my favorite song (besides the whole Three rings for the Elven-Kings under the sky...) I have to admit I have sung it to myself on many ocasionas after starting on a long road trip.

[go_anna40]

i love the "Three Rings to the Elven Kings, under the sky..." that one's cool...

[dreamingfifi]

You're right go_anna40, we are getting off-topic.

The majority of us like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. I wondering, why those two? Is it because their movies were released at the same time? Or that they are such similar stories, with many parallels? Do you like both of them, and if you do, Why?

Peace, @-$--
dreamingfifi

[go_anna40]

maybe coz, they're both really good fantasy novels, and, like Tolkien kick started the trend and Rowling just came up with a great story that fits into the genre.

i like them both, probably coz they're both my style of movies and books.

[dreamingfifi]

Originally posted by go_anna40
maybe coz, they're both really good fantasy novels, and, like Tolkien kick started the trend and Rowling just came up with a great story that fits into the genre.


You're right. Many Stories will now be written copying J K Rowling's plot. In fact, it's all ready began. Did you here about the fake published in China? Or is that just a rumer?

[go_anna40]

i heard that, and there's another book which rips-off HP.

[Qeomash]

Yes, it is already happening. There's some new book (to be one of four) about a girl who goes to this cluster of islands where time is a place. It sounds weird, but it's arleady getting rave reviews.

It starts with an A, I just can't remember the whole title.

[Inkwolf]

Come on, there have been books for decades about kids getting whisked off to alternate worlds and even going to witch schools....every new kids' fantasy book can hardly be accused of ripping off Harry Potter.

The fact is, publishers will only publish what they know will sell: some of the 'new' kids' fantasy writers may have been writing their books for ages, but never were able to get them published until Harry Potter proved that there was a market for them.

[go_anna40]

true, true. but publishers only publish books if they think they have potential...and if it can get them money...the coporte world today :sigh:

[dreamingfifi]

Too true, but usually the ones that have potential are good books.

[go_anna40]

yeah, that's why the books get published in the first place, if the company thinks its got potential, it's more liely they'll publish it.

[Lioness87]

I HATED the movie the Lord of the Rings....my boyfriend and I almost walked out of it. Sorry to all those who liked it. I think its just that I'm so caught up with Harry Potter that I can't really accept another story of that nature. Nobody can match what she has created. I mean look at the way she has captivated all of us. There is nothing like it!

I CAN'T WAIT FOR BOOK 5!!!!!!
(sorry just had to vent a little of my frustration)

[dreamingfifi]

Niether can I, but don't vent on Lord of the Rings. It's a good book too.

[go_anna40]

i think LOTR and HP are equally good.

And anyway, LOTR is a mythology, and HP is a fantasy, they're both quite different when you think about it.

[dreamingfifi]

I love that signature go_anna40!

[Qeomash]

Originally posted by dreamingfifi
I love that signature go_anna40!

:yup:So do I. I just want to know if that's a font somewhere or if you scanned the runes in and put them? If it's a font, let me know where you got it!

What does it mean? When I translated it, the first word came out to "kwghdh". ...Unless I translated it wrong.

[go_anna40]

thanx!
well, i downloaded it from warofthering.net (http://www.warofthering.net) and it's a font and there's also dwarvish runes and tengwar etc.!! and it saids "noro lim legolas" and when translated it's "ride on legolas"

just to make it easier for you guys, Click here to go straight to the font downloading page thingy (http://www.warofthering.net/downloads/fonts.shtml)

[dreamingfifi]

:rotfl: :rotfl: Funny! :rotfl: :rotfl: "ride on legolas" :rotfl:

[Qeomash]

I suspect, in English, that there's suposed to be a comma in there somewhere. "Ride on, Legolas" seems a little less...umm...you get the picture. Elves don't bother themselves with such foolish puncuation.

And thanks for the link!

[go_anna40]

opps, i guess there should of been a comma, it's "Ride on, Leoglas" not literally you know, squash him or anything...;)

no worries Qeomash, have fun with all that Tengwar!

[The Godfather]

Fantastic books. Both have made significant impact on our lives and both are being made into films simultaneously for our enjoyment. We should be thankful to live in an age where we can read and view such great pieces of literature and film.

[go_anna40]

Originally posted by The Godfather
Fantastic books. Both have made significant impact on our lives and both are being made into films simultaneously for our enjoyment. We should be thankful to live in an age where we can read and view such great pieces of literature and film.

i agree!!!!

[dreamingfifi]

What I find interesting about these two is that they are so alike but yet so different... Do you know what I mean?

[go_anna40]

yeah, i do.

but i think Tolkien made a larger world with LOTR, but since they're a mythology, i guess he can.

but with Rowling, she set it as a comtemporary kinda book, so she really can't say that...like, dinosaurs still roamed the earth.

if all that stuff above makes sense...

[Cat]

Originally posted by go_anna40

but i think Tolkien made a larger world with LOTR, but since they're a mythology, i guess he can.


I don't understand what you mean. Mythology? Myths generally don't have authors.

His is a story set ages past in a place that doesn't exist... what's that kind called?

[go_anna40]

yeah, stories that are set ages past is a place that doesn't exist are exactly mythologies.

Tolkien made up hobbits, ents etc. and he made places to go with them, Isenguard, Hollin...so i think he created a more vast story.

but with Rowling, she has restrictions, like she can't put England in Asia and stuff like that.

[Cat]

Are you sure you have the right word?
Mythology is a collection of ancient tales and religious beliefs, alternating with every different origin.

Oh, wait, do you mean it has the study of mythology? But then, so does the Harry potter series...

EDIT: we need a literature swot here. What's the correct term for a book that is not based in any real location? I don't believe that it's really called a mythology :p

[DanaKM]

Well, I don't like Lord of The Rings very much....
I tryed to read the Hobbit, but I found it boring and I almost fall asleep when watching Fellowship of the Ring last year.... anyway, I think I'll see Two Towers when out... maybe I should give another chance to Tolkien's books next year.... :sorry:

I the other side, I love Harry Potter!!! :crush:
I read the 4 books in 3 days!!!!! :clappy:
...and now I've read each more than once..... (in English and Spanish) :wacky:
About the PS movie... I liked it a lot!! :rolleyes: ....I know it could be better, but I like it anyway....... :rasp:
I think the kids did a great job :yup: ...they're going to improve their acting skills with time :bigtu:

[go_anna40]

yeah, Fellowship and TTT does drag on a bit...but it's rewarding when you finish em.

well, i found "mythology" in a newspaper and it saids:

"Mythology is a broad term for a collection of traditional, but fictional stories, passed on by word of mouth, that try to explain a people's history, gods, ancestors or heroes...J.R.R Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, borrowed heavily from Norse (Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic and Danish) mythology when wrting of his tales of Middle-earth."

yeah, and it goes on bout Gandalf.

And anyway, The Hobbit was based on the English story Beowulf (sp?)

[Cat]

He borrowed from mythology. Harry Potter borrows from mythology, too.

Maybe there's no word at all for a book that's presented in an unreal place? There should be! It can't be just 'fantasy' because Ghormenghast was never a real place but those books aren't often labelled fantasy. Hmm...

[Cat]

Originally posted by go_anna40

And anyway, The Hobbit was based on the English story Beowulf (sp?)

And 'The Nibelungen' (sp?) epic.

[go_anna40]

cool, never knew that.

yeah Cat, i agree. there's Sci-fi, and fantasy, but LOTR and HP doesn't exactly fit in, but you can say it fits in fantasy.

i don't see how HP can be a mythology...but i can see LOTR as one.

[dreamingfifi]

True, HP isn't a mythology, but a fantacy. There is many Stories like that, magic kids getting sent off to their specail school, and HP is the best I've read so far.

[Eilonwy Granger]

Thank you, Inkwolf, for mentioning the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander. Though it's probably sacreligious to say it here, I'd probably rank them above the Harry Potter books on my list of favorites (but only just above). Of course that may just be because of when I first read them. I was a depressed little eleven year old with no Hogwarts to dream of yet, so Prydain has a special place in my heart.
The series is basically "farm-boy fantasy" (the main character starts as Assistant Pig-Keeper). Fortunately, these books were written in the mid-sixties, before fantasy really took off, so they're a bit more original than most "farm-boy fantasy." I would strongly recommend them to any Harry Potter or LotR fans.
The recent interest in fantasy movies gives me hope that maybe, someday, these will be made into live- action movies as well. In 1985, Disney made "The Black Cauldron," which is really the first and second book smashed together with several important characters missing. Oh, well.
The books are The Book Of Three, The Black Cauldron, The Castle of Llyr, Taran Wanderer, The High King, all by Lloyd Alexander. You can find them where you find Harry Potter: the Intermediate or Young Adult section, though like Harry Potter I think they can be appreciacted by all ages.

[Inkwolf]

I guessed from your name that you liked them. :D

I understand that Disney once bought movie rights to the Lord of the Rings. Judging from the moronic hash they made of Black Cauldron, I'm very happy they never exercised that option...

[Inkwolf]

Originally posted by go_anna40
And anyway, The Hobbit was based on the English story Beowulf (sp?)

I dunno...I read Beowulf in English Lit, and never noticed any real similarites....

[go_anna40]

well, it did say somewhere. and i read a shorter version of Beowulf, it did seem famliar.

bout the dragon part and the jewels and other stuff.

[Cat]

Originally posted by go_anna40
cool, never knew that.

yeah Cat, i agree. there's Sci-fi, and fantasy, but LOTR and HP doesn't exactly fit in, but you can say it fits in fantasy.

i don't see how HP can be a mythology...but i can see LOTR as one.

I still don't understand. Mythology is not a work of creative genius, it is a series of tales that have been told throughout a culture. Lord of the Rings isn't a work of mythology. It is a work of creativity, of phantasm, of fantasy.

[go_anna40]

well, Tolkien did heavily borrow from mythologies, so i guess people started calling it a mythology.

[dreamingfifi]

Everyone keeps saying that Tolkien copied the mythology of Beowulf, but I've never read it. What's it about? What are the similarities?

[hermioneplaysquidditch]

DOES beowulf have to do with jrr books? i dont think so...

[go_anna40]

well, it's actually the Hobbit he borrowed from Beowulf.

*holds a book of the Hobbit and a short verison of Beowulf*

well, how there was this man who wanted all this gold, and he only cared bout his gold. being afraid someone might steal them, he digs a tunnel in a mountain and puts it in there, he planned to seal it, when a dragon found it (and dragons loved gold, glittery stuff) and made it his home. a theif (Bilbo) lit a torch and found all these jewels, he grabbed a goblet and ran away. then the dragon became suspicious, and he knew that they was a town near-by, and thought that he would punish them for stealing. so he went down there and breathed fire. and that's where i think the similarites stop.

you can read Beowulf here(it's really long)- http://www.lone-star.net/literature/beowulf/

[Inkwolf]

In summary, as much as I remember:

Beowulf was a Danish son of a cheif. He went travelling, for what reason I don;t know. The first hall he came to, they were having a problem with a monster named Grendel who sneaked in every night and killed someone. Beowulf waited up, and when Grendel came in, he fought him and cut his arm off. Grendel ran away to the bottom of a lake where he lived with his mother, and died. Beowulf followed him, took a giant axe (or sword?) off the wall which was too heavy for anyone else to use, and killed Grendel's mother.

After that, he fought an evil dragon (the only resemblance to The Hobbit at all is the presence of the dragon!)

I never heard that Tolkien copied from Beowulf, I always heard he copied from the Ring saga, the legends Wagner made his operas about. I don't know enough about that to make a judgement, though.

Incidentally, I had a really great Medieval History teacher (named Joyce Salisbury) who went into detail about what the culture was like in Beowulf's time, and what Grendel and the Dragon actually represented. She has some books published--I've never read them, but if they are as good as her class was, anyone interested in ancient times should read them.

[Puffskein]

I think you could call LOTR a mythology, since Tolkien didn't just invent a place, but a history and customs and traditions for it. It's not the same as a real mythology though, so I'd call it a fictional or imaginary mythology.

I have read LOTR once, over a year ago so I won't claim to be very familiar with it. I'd guess people like both because they are set in detailed imaginary worlds that the reader can lose themself (?) in, as well as having parallel characters.

I thought FOTR the film was better than PS because the characters were deeper, the effects were better, it was less rushed and it was just so epic.

[Cat]

Originally posted by Puffskein
I think you could call LOTR a mythology, since Tolkien didn't just invent a place, but a history and customs and traditions for it. It's not the same as a real mythology though, so I'd call it a fictional or imaginary mythology.


It isn't all fictional mythology. A lot of it it based on actual stories of mythology, especially Norse. It is a fictional story with roots in mythology but it is creative fiction and not mythology - geddit? :D

[dreamingfifi]

Hmmm... then I haven't read this Mythology. The Lord of the Rings seams to be like the ultimate Fantacy story to me.

[Virtuousdream]

now where do I start?!

I'm obsessed with Harry potter and LOTR.
I read Harry Potter when i was 10, when the first book came out.
I read LOTR last year because the films were due to be released and as everyone was comparing harry to LOTR I thought in order for me to make an accurate judgement, I would have to read it.

So I read it. It took me 3 days, I was up to 2am every day reading. I love it. I cannot choose which book I like more. LOTR has more adult a language, yet Harry Potter has something in it that I still cant put my finger on it. I then went on to read the Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. I just want to live in both the world of Harry Potter and LOTR.

I also fancy 6 actors in LOTR (frodo, legolas, aragorn, faramir, boromir and eomer) so that makes the films especially amazing on top of everything else! The Harry films did disappoint me a bit, but i know not to compare them to the books because they are missing the special element that the books have. LOTR is the type of length i like to see a book. I am such a quick reader that at first the harry books were not as long as i would have liked them to be. However, now they are longer, they are more fun, and I was delighted to hear that book 5 is 1/3 longer than book 4. This makes me want a book even more!

I also cannot wait to see the Dark Materials Trilogy released as a film, because I also thought that book reached that new level fantasy has reached because of Harry and LOTR.

I have sitting on my bookshelf the Dark is Rising Sequence. I think soon I will sit myself down and read that.

In conclusion, I think the films have helped publicise Harry and LOTR, especially make harry look less babyish in the eyes of people who havn't read the books and used to tease me. Without the films though, they would still be just as popular I think, as no film can take over the popularity of a literacy work.

I really hope to see JKR do what Tolkien did after LOTR, write more books on Harry's world, yet not focus on him anymore. For instance, the life of Dumbledore referring to Harry, or even James and LIlly and Sirius. Personally, I would Love to read Hogwarts, A history.

[Moonlight]

Both fans have good taste :D
I like both of them...they both a have a certain magic of their own.
I'm surprised no one's mentioned Narnia....I love those books....

[Virtuousdream]

oh yeah, i forgot Narnia hehe, they rock.

I mentioned narnia in physics the other day because we were doing dying suns and i rmeembered the dying suin over charn.

Everyone looked at me like i was nuts (they already think i am for being obsessed with both LOTR and Harry!)

[Bixie]

I've never read any LOTR books. I tried to read the Hobbit once and just couldn't get into it - and have never felt any all consuming desire to try and read LOTR, I haven't even bothered with the Films, even when they were available torent.

Nor did I have any interest in the Dungeons and Dragons thing when that craze sared up.

But I have read the Dark Materials Trilogy, and liked it, The Chronicles of Narnia, and I've also read the Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper which are another good series.

[Hedwig0183]

I started reading Harry Potter right after Sorcerer's Stone came out in theaters and loved the books because they gave me the "inside story" of what will happen in the movies. I started reading Lord of the Rings about a month after Fellowship of the Ring came out in theaters and loved because they gave me a more challenging and advanced "read" and also answered some of my questions about the movie that I wasn't really clear on. Harry Potter is still my "first choice" of reading material because they are so easy to read, but I will always like LOTR because although the books are difficult to read, I really like the story...

Hedwig0183

[furryfreakferret]

Sorry if there's a better place for this.

There's something that's been bugging me very much. Did anyone else notice how very similar it was when Harry was speaking Parseltounge and when Sauron was speaking through the Ring (the weird anoyomous whispers you'll hear occasionally throughout LotR particularlly when Frodo's being drawn to the Ring's power and the urge to put it on)? Just a thought. Think they did that on purpose or just conisidence?

[Cat]

Coincidence. Because:

a) Movie makers are artists. They get inspiration, right, but most artists are also incredibly proud and wouldn't display a rip-off

b) You're the first one to point out a similarity and I still don't see it.

c) Are you talking about a scene from The Two Towers? The Chamber of Secrets movie would have been completed before the sound effect guys got the chance to see TTT in the cinema.

[MadMagic]

I had not ever noticed the similarities between the sounds they make. While I can't remember the sounds in TTT for sure, I do kind of see where you are coming from.

I doubt there is any thing to it. It is probably just a coincidence.

[aragog]

Sauron was speaking the Black Speech of Mordor through the ring, which is spelled out somewhere in the books. So you can pretty much figure out how it's going to sound. Parseltongue was described as sounding a certain way in the books, which just happens to sound similar to the way that Black Speech sounds. It's probably all just a coincidence.

[Rowena Ravenclaw]

There are only so many variations you can make on an ominous whisper. I doubt it was intentional.

[rotsiepots]

I'm going to merge this with an existing thread discussing alleged similarities between Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings entitled The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, what's up with that? (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1421)

If you're unsure whether a topic has been discussed previously, please use the search (http://www.cosforums.com/a/search.php) function located at the top left-hand corner of your screen.

Thanks -- I'll merge this now. :)

[Yavanna]

A lot of people say that Rowling copied off of LOTR, like the whispering, but in truth they both just took ideas out of old legends and myths. Both works are amazing, although I must credit Tolkien with doing much more work in creating an entire world in detail. (Has anyone ever seen the timelines, family trees, and everything else he made?? It's amazing!) I love both series though.

However, everyone saying that LOTR, either the books or the movies, is copying off HP is insane, since the books came out around 50 years ago and the movie took years to make. They didn't see that there was going to be an HP movie and copy. They started creating in the early 90s for LOTR and filmed in '99, before "Stone" was even CAST, filming all three movies at once so no one changed drastically; therefore it took a lot longer to make then HP did.

[dreamingfifi]

I totally agree nes mellonin. :cool:

[Christine Black]

I like both but I don't think that the stories are anywhere near similar. I think that most people who like one like both because we are all suckers for fantasy. We like imaginary world that don't exist and we enjoy wishing that we were there.

[PrtVeela]

I agree w/ you Yavanna
The detail that Tolkien put into his stories is truly awe inspiring. I mean it did take him some 14 years to write. The maps, and the time lines, the dates, and the sense of history are all amazing.

I'm reading The History of the Lord of the Rings, and it is amazing to see where he came from.

Even if JK Rowling did take some IDEAS! from Tolkien that is only an attribute to what an amazing writer Tolkien was, even though I believe it has more to do with myth like Yvanna said. :)


Bixie, I watched FOTR before i read the first lord of the rings book, and I honestly never thought before hand that I would like it, but once you do get into it, its amazing, LOTR is seriously one of the most books I have ever read, if not the best book. The movie hooked me on the first book, and then I read all of the books, and now I'm obsessed...hehehe :)

[julyruby]

I like both the books and movies of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, but I don't know why many people who are fans of one hates the other. I mean, if they hate Harry Potter then why do they have to make a fuss about it? There are other fans out there too and Lord of the Rings is about on the same place Harry Potter is standing on. Unless you've got any objections, that's fine with me.

[Dark Fallen Pride]

I really didn't like the LOTR books too much, but I thought they were good just not my favorite, and I am not sure why because that is right up my ally, I did love The Hobbit...I suppose it was because I didn't like the sudden change of characters, I wanted to see more of those characters...I love the movies however.

I love the Harry Potter books.

[Max]

Originally posted by Yavanna (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?postid=375030#post375030))
A lot of people say that Rowling copied off of LOTR, like the whispering, but in truth they both just took ideas out of old legends and myths. Both works are amazing, although I must credit Tolkien with doing much more work in creating an entire world in detail. (Has anyone ever seen the timelines, family trees, and everything else he made?? It's amazing!) I love both series though.

That's just the way literature goes, isn't it? -- an author reads a book, and likes and idea, and so adopts it and changes it as s/he sees fit. Like you said, Yavanna (all hail the Silmarillion), both of them took ideas out of old legends, myths and folk tales. I have to say that Tolkien was brilliant. The amount of detail is staggering. Wonderful, wonderful detail.

However, everyone saying that LOTR, either the books or the movies, is copying off HP is insane, since the books came out around 50 years ago and the movie took years to make. They didn't see that there was going to be an HP movie and copy. They started creating in the early 90s for LOTR and filmed in '99, before "Stone" was even CAST, filming all three movies at once so no one changed drastically; therefore it took a lot longer to make then HP did.

I suppose many are drawing comparisons between LotR and HP just because the first two films were released so close together, even though they know perfectly well that it's just coincidence. People who make and market movies don't like big competition when they release a film, and I guess that they did not want LotR and HP to be released so close together, but some things just can't be changed.

[hprwhg4ever]

I think that they are both alot alike....and I do not believe that JK copied Tolkien at all....they are very much alike but also different in their own ways.

[silvercJD4]

This is exactly what it sounds like. Which do you enjoy more, the Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter? This might be a rather biased question as it's being asked on a Harry Potter web forum, but we'll see how things turn out...

As for me... I really do enjoy a good book and love a nice flick here and there. They're both excellent works of literature and have amazing cinematic adaptations, but I'm going to have to say that Lord of the Rings has a slight edge over the boy wizard. Now don't get me wrong, I waited at the bookstore until midnight to get my copy of HP5, but there's just something about Lord of the Rings that draws me in. I love it. So, I'm going to say Lord of the Rings with Harry Potter coming in a close second.

[Angora]

I'm not the biggest fan of the Lord of the Rings movies (I think they're too long, and repetetive), but they're a whole lot better than the Harry Potter movies.

I couldn't even read Lord of the Rings because I found it too boring (and that's nothing against it specifically, but I'm not really into sci-fi and fantasy literature), so Harry Potter has the edge in books, because it's written in a way that I find much easier to get into: ie, information is revealed as it becomes necessary, not all in a big six page explanation when the character/object/thing first shows up.

[lanifiel]

Hmmm I'm thinking that we could send this to the Common Room so long as it stays on topic...

[LumosSoleil]

I'm still debating....
I honestly fell in love with Lord of the Rings before Harry Potter.
I remember trying my best to avoid BOTH books and movies of LOTR and HP.
Hehe, at the time i just hated medieval stuff and thought HP was such a kid series. Well, of course, my curiosity overtook me because of sheer boredom of the same yatta yatta. So I rented FOTR and fell in love with it. It did take me a while for it to draw me in cuz it WAS a REALLY long movie. Then I bought the 1st movie and the Extended Edition and rushed to see TTT.
Then, while CoS was still in theaters, I just thought, i'm bored and would love to read something. So, My cousin lent me his books and Wow!...I was obsessed ever since. Shortly after I rented PS and bought it. Ok...I'll stop, but I can't say which I like better. I'll leave it at this til I see PoA in theaters b/c that is my fav book, with OotP right behind, and the movie may swerve my favor towards HP. So for now, it's LOTR.

[saphira]

I know Im not really entitiled to say that Harry Potter is better than LOTR, but I think it is. I may be just a naive kid, but I went to see the first LOTR are movie and all I got out of it was something about a ring, LEGOLAS, and errmm...killing. Lots of killing. I fell in love with Harry Potter in the third grade, so Im much more accustomed to it. Harry Potter rocks my world. Now LOTR is over with the movies and the books so HP shall conquer all. XD

[Cindy]

I've read the Harry Potter books but not the Lord of the Rings books. The reason I like LotR is because I love the movie. :lol: My favourite character in the Lord of the Rings series is Pippin because he's so adorable and innocent. :love:

[Spirit]

I like them both. I think that the Lord of the Rings movies are much better than the Harry Potter movies but the Harry Potter books are much better than the Lord of the Rings books. I think that the stories are a lot alike and they draw the same crowd but a lot of people wouldn't think so because Harry Potter is supposed to be for "children" and the Lord of the Rings are supposed to be for late teens and people in their 20's or something.

[Cat]

I'm not sure J. K. Rowling is even a huge fan of Tolkien. Somehow, people just presume she is.

'I read it [LOTR] when I was about twenty, I think, and I liked it a lot though I've never re-read it, which is revealing (usually with my favourite books I re-read them endlessly) but he created a whole mythology, an incredible achievement.

In fact, I don't really like fantasy. It's not so much that I don't like it, I really haven't read a lot of it.

I suppose people will accuse anything that has a dragon in it of ripping off Tolkien. It seems unreasonable to me. It's not fair to Tolkien's work, either. I don't think it was ever meant to be followed this religiously.

I don't agree that Tolkien created fantasy. He just made it a popular genre.

[Violet Tonks]

I've been obsessed with Tolkien's books for over half my life. The Silmarillion is a better book than LotR, imo. I've read it over fifteen times, more than any other book. Í have only been reading HP for not quite a year. There are similarities, but all fantasies are basically alike. Although I love LotR and HP, I can't say that I am a fan of all fantasy. I just can't stand any other fantasy book/movie (except Wizard of Oz). On the rare occasion that I'm not reading Tolkien or HP, I prefer mysteries and suspense.

[Amadeus]

It really is hard to separate the two because the two share so many similarities:


Both belong to the fantasy genre category
Both emerged during last century
Both were written by British authors
I really love both of them. I don't find it strange that people keep comparing/associating one with each other since they do share some characteristics.

[hawk1245]

I like both of them becasue I am a rel sucker for fantasy stories that have rel human heart and emotion. I love stories set in another world, that sometimes movie you more then a film or book set in the real world. I relate to fanasy more SOMETIMES. I just like the concept that you can leave this world and go somwhere FANTASTIC and AMAZING, but the people there still have the same problems you have. They go throught the same things you do. Both Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter posses this, and thats what I love about them. I NEVER, repeat, NEVER compare the two, cause they are two totaly different stories. I love them for what they are: well written, character drivev, and realtable stories that every one should enjoy.

[WeasleyIsOurKing]

I'm honestly not that big of a fan of Lord of the Rings. I tried watching the first movie about a year ago and I was bored to death. :blush: My friends (being the LOTR fans that they are) told me the last two were way better, and I'm sure they are, but I can't watch the last two without seeing the first.

Please don't kill me. :angel: I'll come to myself eventually.

[Mirtilla]

I wondering, why those two? Is it because their moves were released at the same time? Or that they are such similar stories, with many parallels? Do you like both of them, and if you do, Why?

Actually I loved The Lords of the Rings,(The Hobbit) and Harry Potter. Why I like both of them?
Well both of them are really great books, different and similar at the same time.
They're different because there isn't only one protagonist.
They're also similar, In both of the books we have the Dark Lord and the good people(Harry Potter-Order of the phoenix---Lords of the Rings-The Fellowship of the ring). Frodo is similar to Harry, he's the only one that could defeat the power of the ring and Harry is the only ont that could defeat Voldemort, plus they're both orphans.
Sam is the most loyal friend of Frodo, without Sam Frodo can't do anthing, in Harry Potter we have Hermione that Harry needs badly and also Ron. Merry and Pipin are very similar to Fred and George, Gandalf is like Dumbledore: extremly wise and funny both of them are essential, both of them seems to know a lot of things. See there are a lot of parallels.
These series are very emotionally because the characters are very well developed.
I usually don't compare the two stories because are very different but sometimes I like to draw some literaly parallelisms

Mirtilla

[SoftballChik]

I personally love (and am obsessed with) both... but not because of the movies, just because they're both wonderful books, with wonderful authors who can take you into a conpletely different world. I almost never cry over a book or movie, yet both Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter did it for me! They're so well written and tolkien and rowling put all their emotion into the story. I mean, j.r.r. tolkien even invented his own language!! And the trilogy is so well put-together, (or at least the first book, it's the only one i got around to reading...) you can just imagine thousands of years ago, that everything really existed, and that somehow tolkien found an old scroll with the story of frodo and sam and the ring and sauron, and put it into a book! And with j.k. rowling, everything is unexpected! There are so many mysteries, and once you think you've discovered something, there is another clue that pops up, and makes you delve even deeper into the heart of the books! Talk about two great writers!!
Also, both of the stories are fantasy, so if a person was to like fantasy in general, it would make sense that they would enjoy both books.... not to mention the fact that they made extraordinary movies about both, which i think led many people to read the books (except for those stupid people that think that just because they saw a movie, they know everything about the story line, when in reality, they know almost nothing)
However, there are some people that, for some ODD reason, feel that harry potter is "just a little kid's book/movie" which is completely ridiculus, considering the fact that there are middle-aged parents that are obssesed with the stories, and are so upset that anyone could possibly like harry potter (and not lord of the rings) and don't seem to grasp the concept that just because you like harry potter, doesn't mean you cannot like the lord of the rings too (and vice-versa) *sigh* Some people never learn.......
~Victoria~
p.s. i never intended this thing to be so long, i mean gosh! it's 3 paragraphs! oh well, i guess there was just a lot to say on the subject

[Tirwen Lupin]

I'm a huge fan of both HP and LOTR, and I know quite a few other people who are too. However, I don't think that there's a correlation between them--that because you like HP, you'll almost definitely like LOTR, and vice versa. They are different, in terms of style, plot, characters, tone, etc. HP is easier to absorb, while LOTR takes more effort because of how it's written. I think a lot of people are both HP fans and LOTR fans is that they are both very popular stories involving magic and adventure. There are plenty of people who like one and not the other, for perfectly understandable reasons.

[jasper]

Wizards, Dragons, Elves, Trolls. If you stomach reading about them in one series, you'll do okay with the other. What else do you need to know?

[Pumpkin Juice]

I see several similarities between Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.

1. Harry Potter v. Frodo Baggins

- Both orphans after parents die
- Both taken in relatives (Harry's aunt and uncle, Frodo's cousin)
- Both have to save the world
- The power of Voldemort begins to have an influence on Harry's mind, the power of the Sauon begins to have an influence on Frodo's mind through the ring
- Both come from somewhat wealthy parents
- Both are tragic heroes
- Both have a best friend who is undyingly loyal and ready to die for them (Ron and Samwise)

2. Ron Weasley v. Samwise Gamgee

- Both are undying loyal to Harry and Frodo
- Both come from poorer families

3. Voldemort v. Sauron

- Both are dark lords trying to take over the world

4. Dementors v. Nazgul (Ring Wraiths)

- Similar in physical description
- Both strike fear in the hearts of people just by being nearby

5. Dumbledore v. Gandalf

- Both are wise, old wizards (yet even their wisdom is questioned at times)
- Both have long hair and pointed hats
- Dumbledore takes it upon himself to guide Harry, Gandalf takes it upon himself to guide Frodo

6. Aragog v. Shelob

- Both are terrifyingly huge and dangerous spiders
- Harry and Ron must fight to escape Aragog, Frodo and Sam must fight to escape Shelob
- The event where they must each fight to escape happened in book 2 of their respective series

7. Prophecies

-Prophecies had been made about both

For Harry: We all know the prophecy made before his birth.
For Frodo: Boromir had a dream which is what led him to Rivendell to seek counsel. When he recited what was said in his dream, he said:

"Seek for the Sword that was broken:
In Imladris it dwells;
There shall be counsels taken
Stronger than Morgul-spells.
There shall be shown a token
That Doom is near at hand,
For Isildur's Bane shall waken,
And the Halfling forth shall stand."

8. Nigel Longbottom v. Peregrin (Pippin) Took

- Both are considered cowardly who later find their courage

I'm sure there's more that I'm not thinking of at the moment. :cool:

[Cat]

I'm not accusing you, but since many people automatically consider parallels as 'rip-offs':


1. Harry Potter v. Frodo Baggins

They're both heroes. How many heroes follow the same sort of pattern? It's not lack of originality, it's using a working formula. For being of the same stock, these characters have quite different personalities. Frodo started out far more easy-going and merry.

2. Ron Weasley v. Samwise Gamgee

Again, very different personalities. Ron is a bit of an unwilling sidekick. He gets very jealous of Harry. Sam is a bit more... shall we say... humble. He bows and scrapes after Frodo and for much of TLOTR, he and Frodo have a boss/employee relationship, though they do loosen up a bit.

3. Voldemort v. Sauron

I think Voldemort is a different kind of evil dark lord (I belive that 'Dark Lord', by the way, is a term for the devil and other hellish characters). He is more human and quite political, whereas Sauron is more of a looming Dark presence.

4. Dementors v. Nazgul (Ring Wraiths)

Do you know how many black-robed horrors there are in fiction and mythology/folk tale? No, me neither, but there are quite a few of them. The Dementors are more symbolic monsters and, for that reason, I think they slightly more scary. But the Nazgul give off more of an impression of power.

5. Dumbledore v. Gandalf

Gandalf is a grumpy old git and Dumbledore is as daft as a broom. Again, the wise old sage is a stock character and is used in an uncountable amount of tales.

6. Aragog v. Shelob

Both giant spiders, yes. But it's obvious where the giant spiders in Harry Potter came from, if you try to follow the possible thought processes of J. K. Rowling as she was considering the story. In other words, they weren't 'borrowed' from anything. She used a Basilisk as the monster in the Chamber for obvious reasons and the idea that spiders flee from the presence of a Basilisk is an actual myth (people used to hang what they thought were bits of Basilisk outside their house to keep spiders away). So the obvious conclusion is to have a spider that can talk. But being helpful isn't good enough, so she made Aragog both helpful and monstrous. For a spider to be monstrous it has to be enlarged somewhat.

7. Prophecies

Again, a recurring concept in a giant vat-ful of stories and mythological tales (and since fantasy is based around mythology and legend, it's no wonder that certain themes keep cropping up). In the Harry Potter series, the prophecy is pivotal and affects the story in a much larger way.

8. Nigel Longbottom v. Peregrin (Pippin) Took


Sorry, I can't see the connection. I think Hobbits in general were considered a bit weedy. Nobody took them seriously. Psst - it's 'Neville'.

[Morgan LeFay]

I'd rather say that Voldemort is more similar to Saruman, not Sauron.

[Cat]

I'd rather say that Voldemort is more similar to Saruman, not Sauron.

Except that Saruman was supposed to be serving in the name of Sauron (the fact that he wasn't doesn't count :p). Voldemort is the big bad cheese in Harry Potter.

A lot of people connect Wormtongue and Wormtail. But if Wormtongue had to be connected with anybody in Harry Potter, I'd say he was more like Lucius Malfoy. Wormtongue is manipulative and clever, which is very unlike Peter. The choice of names is the sort of coincidence that would really entertain over-protective TLOTR fans, but there's nothing to it. Wormtail's name clearly comes from his Animagus animal, as with Padfoot and Prongs and Moony for a werewolf, and a rat was decided for obvious reasons. Can you think of a better name? 'Whiskers' might not have been fitting. 'Worm' is also an old word for a serpent, so the name Wormtongue basically means 'serpent tongued', an idiom meaning 'sly'.

[tarnole]

I'm honestly not that big of a fan of Lord of the Rings. I tried watching the first movie about a year ago and I was bored to death. :blush: My friends (being the LOTR fans that they are) told me the last two were way better, and I'm sure they are, but I can't watch the last two without seeing the first.

Well, the first time I watched Fellowship of the Ring, I hated it. But DH (dear husband) loved it, so I gave him the DVD for his birthday. I didn't bother to see The Two Towers in the theaters, so DH didn't see that one until he rented it on DVD, and I eventually gave him his own copy. By the time Return of the King was released, I was totally hooked! I'd been seeing bits and pieces of the first two when DH was watching them. I was the one who arranged for a sitter, and bought tickets in advance so that we could see RoTK the weekend it first opened. I then read the books.

I think the similarity in fan base does come from them being in the fantasy genre, and perhaps in appreciation of the ways in which they were filmed. The stories really aren't that similar unless you start diving deep into the hidden themes, which most 11-13 year olds aren't going to do. I first read Harry Potter, just appreciating the story. It wasn't until I was eagerly awaiting OotP to be released that I learned about the hidden clues, etc. so am now reading the series again from a different angle.

Cheers, K

[Pumpkin Juice]

I went to see the first movie in the theater. Unfortunately we got there late and had horrible seats up front where you couldn't see all the action on screen without constantly moving your head back and forth. I kept getting confused as to who Aragorn and Boromir were, I kept thinking they were the same person.

I got the movie months later when it came out and watched it, but really didn't get much into it. However, I have a brother who knows everything about Lord of the Rings inside and out. He had read all the books and other works of Tolkien and understood the depth of everything. Not everything he told me I understood, but the more he told me, the better I understood and the more I liked it.

Then I went and saw The Two Towers in the theater and ended up seeing it in the theater three times. I think I saw Return of the King five times, maybe six.

One of the biggest things I like about Lord of the Rings is there is not just one hero. In Harry Potter for example, the books are all about Harry. But in Lord of the Rings, you have more than one hero and you get more depth into all the characters since it's not focused on just one person. My biggest criticism of the Harry Potter series is it's narrow view - we only get to see the world through Harry's eyes, so the world seems to revolve around him.

[Venus_77]

I think that some Lord of the Rings fams hate Harry Potter when we compare them. But I think that they are just as good as harry potter. Books or movies. I can't imagine them fighting. bUT if you ask me I think that Harry Potter is better. c",)

Sometimes people who haven't read the book love the movie. While people who loved the book hate the movie. Why? Because people cut scenes from movies. Like Nearly Headless Nick' b-day in CoS. whie peole who hate the book because its too long absolutely loved the movie because you understand the movie, by not reading the long book.

[mirandam]

I have read all the books and seen the movies from both Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings. I like this type of book/movie. Although I do have to say that I am more into the Harry Potter series. Maybe if I had been around when LotR was first written I would have anticipated each book too. They are both very good stories with a lot of culture. It is just always the kind of thing I like. Can't really explain it-it just is.

[ithilien]

:tu: i love both harry potter and LOTR. mainly because they are such well written stories that they just suck you in and you cant put the books down.. i have reead LOTR like 4 or 5 times... and harry potter series probably about 4. :tu:


"All that is gold does not glitter, all who wonder are not lost"

[Annie Black]

Thanks RotsiePots for pointing me in the right direction toward this thread!

All my two cents is - LoTR and HP are entirely different books, written by different people, from different generations. Of course, they are both the epic battle between good and evil, and there might be a truckload more similarities, but the important thing (to me) is that I appreciate both for what they are, which is original pieces of literature that has reached a worldwide audience.

People getting angry about who came up with what or what was "ripped off" here, there and everywhere seems a little pointless. It's great to bring to other people's attention the similiarites (I wouldn't have a clue what they are) between the books and try to enlighten them that way. But to discredit JKR's work by saying she's borrowed or ripped off other people's idea's is kind of silly.

Just my opinion.

[Dru Malfoy]

I haven't read all of this thread but I don't agree that all Lord of the Rings fans like Harry Potter and vice versa.

I for one - even though I enjoyed the films - did not enjoy reading the book(s) because I thought they were immensely boring.

And I know some people who like Harry Potter but don't care for Lord of the Rings.

And I know a lot of people who love Lord of the Rings and hate - passionately hate - Harry Potter.

I was at a Sci-Fi convention this weekend and a few Harry Potter fans were running around in robes and everything and I talked with a merchandise dealer whom I bought some Harry Potter badges from about different fans. She said that she really enjoyed this con because there was so much space for other fandoms as well and StarTrek fans accept other fandoms quite nicely. She had been to a Lord of the Rings convention before were Lord of the Rings fans had been very nasty to a few people who had turned up in Harry Potter costumes - even attacking them.

So, I definitely don't think that MOST of the people who like LotR like HP as well. And I also had some nasty experiences with LotR fans who attacked me because I outed myself as a Harry Potter fan.

[Jade Evans]

I love both series dearly and have read both multiple times. I think any piece of writing is inpired by both the author's own imaginations and other existing ideas. Tolkien's work was the first majorly successful fantasy piece. He paved the way for the fantasy genre. Most people would agree that all fantasy writers afterwards are in some way inspired by Tolkien. Rowling is obviously extremely talented and she takes this inpiration along with her own ideas and style into great success.

I do think that LOTR is much weightier. You can sense this when reading the books. Emotions are complex but more subtle, yet they run deep. Also the rich history surrounding the cultures of Middle Earth is impressive and adds a lot to the story. Apparently Tolkien spent decades writing it. Not just the trilogy, but volumes and volumes of supplementary material filled with Middle Earth myths, stories, backgrounds and history. I still have to go through those. I heard that Tolkien wrote for his own enjoyment and did not care too much for readers :)

Harry Potter is obviously easier to read and absorb. But it is well written with a great story and lots of clever details. It's very engaging and hard to put down. Of course certain things are clearly inpired by LOTR but when I read it, it doesn't remind me of LOTR. Rowling is a clever and brilliant writer.

I'm glad that I enjoy both of these books (and movies), it's time well-spent.

[Codemastar]

I read the Hobbit when I was eight. Loved it. Moving on, I though Harry Potter was a girl book when I was ten. Don't ask, it was just something about the name Potter that stuck me as 'name of girl'. Like I said, don't ask. Finally got around to reading it. I bought book one and loved it. I though book two was a great sequel/follow-up. I read book three and started to get a self-sense/wish for a H/H relationship to occur. You must know that I was nine/ten at this time, odd yes, I know. I got around to book four and read it while on a road trip to Disney World (I live in Florida,USA).

Now, here came the three year break between book 4 and 5. I discovered fanfiction.net during this time, too say the least. Skipping over my fanfiction history. I saw Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings and loved it, and The Two Towers I thought was brilliant. I finally read the Fellowship of the Ring after putting it off for four years because I had no extreeme interest in reading it. The movies changed that. Although, it took a course of eight months of stopping and going through the agonizingly 'I-already-know-what's-going-to-happen' books of the Fellowship of the Ring and the Two Towers (I have the entire series in a single large [1,134 paged] leatherbound book in a book case five feet away from where I sit right now).

After that almost-a-year time, I finished the Return of the King in a day. Yes, I know. I read now Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings fanfiction. Book five of the Harry Potter came out when I was on vacation in Dells, Wisconsin, USA. And my parents had reserved it at a book store back in Florida too. So, on June 22, at 8:00 p.m (20:00) I called a local Dells bookstore, reserved a copy, went their the next day, went back to the cabin vacation home, sat in my bed, and finished it that day.

That's my extreemly long and boring history. After reading Lord of the Rings, I could see that no fantasy book was truly original and most drew from rescources from Lord of the Rings. I won't hesitate to admit, no matter how Harry Potter turns out, I'll always favor Lord of the Rings. While like most fantasy books, Harry Potter draws from Lord of the Rings ideas, but I still feel it is mostly original and has a nice, seperate, original story line that most people enjoy. Though it is obvious that much more though and theory and plot controll and creation was put into The Lord of the Rings, I still very much enjoy reading Harry Potter because of the easy reading. All in all, both books are on the top of my favorites list.

[jen15poms]

I do like both of them very much. There are many parallels between the two stories. Also, they are both fantastic battles of good vs. evil, which I think are always fun to watch/read. There is the element of fantasy in both series, which also makes them a lot more interesting and unique.

[Spike]

I hate Lord of the Rings. The very reason that i love HP is the same reason i hate LOTR. The character development in HP is fantastic. The characters are multi layered and the battle is b/w good, evil, and a huge shade of gray. LOTR is full of cardboard cutouts who are either good or bad with no in b/w.

[LunaLovegood07]

Because I'm just a big fantasy buff.
I got into LOTR when my friends told me it wasn't overkill and it was awesome. I saw the movies and then read the hibbit and all three books in two months (the Hobbit too me two days).
The same with Harry Potter. I had no original interest in it, wondering what all the hype was about and then my friends got me interested, I read the books, and now I'm a LOTR/Potter freak.
I also like the Sword of Truth series (note, very graphic if you're squeamish, but still very creative) The Redwall series (they're a bit for the younger reader but they're cute) Daughters of the Moon ( guys you won't like them!lol it's a girl thing), and the Chronicles of Narnia (no objections you'd need to worry about)

[Harry_Hotter]

I like them both my sister made me watch LOTR and now I bug her to watch them with me.But a friend made me read HP and now I am on a fan site.I guess people around you like diffrent things and get you in to them.Also I agree to who ever said there just good books that people learn about.Theres one other series I love its called The Series of Unfortunate Events with a fan site called www.unfortunateevents.com and I have the same name there.

[harripottrfreek]

I love both stories...I think more because I get a personal attachment when I am reading/watching them. I would write more on this but I have to sleep for school tomorrow....I will come back...

[luna the pixie]

Well I personally believe that JKR got ideas from LOTR (considering they are quite similar) i find LOTR to be better though. its a tad more believable and is a classic.

[tmlane86]

LOTR and Harry Potter are both really cool but out of the two I like Harry Potter more because it's more modern and kids can relate to it more than LOTR.Not only that but how cool would it be to play quidditch?

[Nrv4evr]

While I wouldn't argue against LOTR's epic ability, it just took too d*** long for the boring parts to end. I could read the battles in under 4 minutes, but I was struggling to stay awake during the beginning, and some parts where all they did was complain.

On a modern scale, HP is better, but for it's time, LOTR was unrivalled.

[JimmyPotter]

I think the first similarity between the two series that is apparent is the fact that the authors are referred to on their books by their initials. We wouldn't be as quick to compare them if they were written by John Tolkien and Joanne Rowling.

[Spikey]

I don't really see how you can compare them. Apart from thier both fantasy books and I suppose a good vs evil plot. But thier just too different apart form that if you ask me. With the books I think would prefer HP cause LOTR is just too much really. But with the Films LOTR wins every time.

[harry13]

Harry Potter is way better. Kids can relate to hp better than lord of the rings. even though this doesn't really mean more people like hp than lotr, hp has made way more money, which means more people buy hp stuff than lotr stuff.

[Vanilla 306]

I love sci-fiction/adventure books and both of these sieries are the best of the best

[filius]

I love Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings- Harry Potter more of course! But it has always been inconsistent for me. But I am really fixed on harry Potter this time!

[grawp66]

I absoloutly love LOTR ( movies a little more than books ). Love HP too ( Books alot more than movies). I can't stand it when people insult either of them.

Lately I've been really focused on HP, though.

[FIRE ALCHEMIST]

i was disappointed about the movie of HP but i like the book.
i think it is too boring too read LOTR but i love the movie.
so i like both LOTR and HP.

[Kimmetje]

I love the LOTR book and the HP books so I love both! LOTR was a real challenge for me though (as I'm only 13). I have the oldest version which has rather small letters, thin pages and lot's of letters on one page. HP doesn't have that (not paperback) as it is thicker, but easier to read. I just like both!

[Darkillness]

They're both great stories, so I read them both and love them both. I like LOTR movies a little more than the books (which is a rarity) because they get a little boring with the 5 different names for every noun in the story (have to keep a list nearby when I read them) but I still like them simply because they're both great books. I HP kind of lead me to LOTR, since when I read HP I was in a wizard stage so anything that mentioned magic/witches I read and LOTR did so I picked it up and was like, well what do you know.

[Romy]

Well, I like them both but Harry Potter is our generations phenomenon in a way. We are the first generation who can enjoy it, so I´m rather proud of that fact. :) And of course, there is the fact that more of that world is still coming....

I like HP better mainly because I can relate in a way. You know when it takes place, you know where it takes place. You know why Muggles don´t know of Wizards. Has Tolkien explained why noone ever remembered the different races of middle-earth? JKR explains it so well and makes it so plausible, I like that. :D

[Dead Star]

Because they're both good stories written by good authors? =P And they have a similar theme, the whole "This task was appointed to you, and if you do not find a way, no one will." Frodo had to destroy the ring, Harry has to destroy Voldemort.

[eMMy_026]

I would have to say that it would be because of the time that they were both released...and also just the parallels between them..no they arent the exact same but they are both very adventurous types of stories..and many who like those kinds of stories like both of them

[Gwenog Jones]

I never really enjoyed LotR. I read the first book, and it just did not interest me. The movies did not hold my attention either. Oh well, Harry Potter is more than good enough for me :D

[SiriusBlack22]

I have not seen LoTR but I am trying to read the books. From what I hear, LoTR is better than HP. I think HP books are waaay better... the movies I cannot say so. But soon I will see the, and I will be able to see the difference. For now all I know is that HP books are better.

[Puchula]

I think that the reason so many people likes them both is because they are fantastic tales filled with strange creatures and amazing places.

I have to say that although they have similarities they are quite different. LOTR has a deeper meaning that not many people get, that is the book is based on the World Wars (people from different countries/breads join to defeat a greater evil that threatens them all). I´m not saying HP has no message, it talks about friendship and how much we need people´s love and affection to overcome our problems, but it´s not the same. They are different and alike at the same time.

For me they are both great books. When it comes to movies I think that Peter Jackson did a better job than Columbus/Quarón but in both cases I prefer the books.

[freakynewt]

ha, I'm SO glad this topic came up because it gives me a chance to prove it wrong...because though I like Harry Potter, I certainly DO NOT LIKE Lord of the Rings.

That's right, you heard me folks :P JRR Tolkein can kiss my butt. I nearly went insane reading 'the Hobbit.' I never finished 'The Fellowship of the Ring,' on account it was so...darn...boring...

People (specifically, close associates/friends) ask: Why? Its a classic! He wrote a language, dag nabbit!

Well, maybe for its time, it was a classic. But really, I can't get through the books. They gnaw at my brain. A Tolkein book kinda works like this: five pages of meaningless description, then a blurb of pointless dialogue, and some songs. Yes, always songs. The hobbits are never too busy to stop in the middle of a life-threatening chase and break into a jig.

I used to like the movies, but that was before my little sister talked my ear off about Orlando Bloom. Now I can't stand the guy.

So yeah. Not all people like Lord of the Rings.

[ltpadfoot]

hp is better when it comes to the books, but when it come to the movies LOTR is far much better.... im hoping that they could make much more improvement of the HP movies cause its not that suprising

[Abhishek]

I see several similarities between Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and Star Wars

1. Harry Potter v. Frodo Baggins vs. Luke Skywalker
- All Three orphans after parents die
- All Three taken in relatives (Harry's aunt and uncle, Frodo's cousin, Luke's aunt and uncle)
- All Three have to save the world
- The power of Voldemort begins to have an influence on Harry's mind, the power of the Sauon begins to have an influence on Frodo's mind through the ring, Vader being Luke's father starts influencing Luke's mind
- All three come from somewhat wealthy parents
- All Three are tragic heroes
- All Three have a best friend who is undyingly loyal and ready to die for them (Ron and Samwise and Han Solo)

2. Ron Weasley v. Samwise Gamgee vs. Han Solo

- All Three are undying loyal to Harry and Frodo and Luke
- All Three come from poorer families

3. Voldemort v. Sauron vs The Emperor

- All Three are dark lords trying to take over the world

4. Dementors v. Nazgul (Ring Wraiths)

- Similar in physical description
- Both strike fear in the hearts of people just by being nearby

5. Dumbledore v. Gandalf vs. Obiwan

- All Three are wise, old mentors (yet even their wisdom is questioned at times)
- Dumbledore takes it upon himself to guide Harry, Gandalf takes it upon himself to guide Frodo, Obiwan takes it on himself to guide Luke

6. Aragog v. Shelob vs. Rancor

- Both are terrifyingly huge and dangerous beasts
- Harry and Ron must fight to escape Aragog, Frodo and Sam must fight to escape Shelob, Luke and Han must fight to escape Rancor


7. Prophecies

-Prophecies had been made about both

For Harry: We all know the prophecy made before his birth.
For Frodo: Boromir had a dream which is what led him to Rivendell to seek counsel. When he recited what was said in his dream, he said:

"Seek for the Sword that was broken:
In Imladris it dwells;
There shall be counsels taken
Stronger than Morgul-spells.
There shall be shown a token
That Doom is near at hand,
For Isildur's Bane shall waken,
And the Halfling forth shall stand."

For Luke: Luke was destined to be the downfall of the Emperor so he was hidden away from him and his father.

8. Nigel Longbottom v. Peregrin (Pippin) Took vs. Lando Calrissian

- Both are considered cowardly who later find their courage

I'm sure there's more that I'm not thinking of at the moment. :cool:[/QUOTE]

[ravenclaw02]

Ehhhh ... I love HP, but the Lord of the Rings, frankly, bores me to death. I can't take "sci-fi/fantasy" stuff, though I really don't consider HP to be in that genre. The real difference to me is that, in HP, I can get lost in the books, use my imagination, relate to the characters, and just generally have fun while appreciating what good literature JKR has produced. Lord of the Rings (and granted, I didn't read all of them, couldn't sit through it, and haven't seen the movies) just seemed so laborious to me. It wasn't fun to read them, it was work. The movies didn't interest me at all, so I wasn't about to waste 10 hours of my life. I'm certainly not bashing Lord of the Rings - to each his own, I suppose - but merely pointing out that, while some HP fans also appreciate LoTR, not all do. I just don't get the LoTR thing.

Rav


PS - Abhishek, his name is Neville Longbottom, not Nigel. Might want to correct your point # 8. :)

[Jade C]

I really like both, but I like HP a little bit more because it's my first love. LOTR is cool, I especally love how Tolkin thought that elves wern't the short little things with ridiculisly pointy ears.

[gymmuggle]

I love Harry Potter, and I love Lord of the Rings. Both are amazing movies. LOTR is more of an epic, and HP is more of a dream world that is totally believeable. If there was one thing that would make one out-weight the other, it would be between the books. I could read HP over and over and over and over again, where as i tried to read LOTR...and i couldnt do it, so i only watch LOTR the movie.

[Amanda_Sirius03]

Personally I like the Lord of the Rings better. I think HP is great and all, but I believe LOTR is one of the best book series ever made. LOTR involves creating a world so different from what we know, with all kinds of creatures, gods, history, geography, languages, etc. that HP has in a very litlle portion. Also, I think HP won't have many further books as the LOTR, because it's surroundigs are not as profound as the other serie. The LOTR series has many books you can read about things that are not so complete in the actual book, like The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle Earth (I love this book!!! Specially the story about Tuor and Voronwë, though I don't know why :huh: ).
So, this is what I think. I guess Jo will publish other books, but I don't guess they will be longer than the other books about magical creatures or quidditch she has already published.
And I'd like to add that probably the thing that relates me to both series is my favorite caracther in both of them, that is Sirius and Aragorn. I love these caracthers and I find them very similar... :blush: