12-05-2004, 02:59 PM | #1 |
Tolkien-aholic
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Blatant LoTR Copy-Cats
Okay, in school my class had to watch "The Wizard of Oz", and me and my fellow LoTR nerds noticed some very obvious very much alike/stolen portions of the movie that were very much like the LoTR books! One such example is the "object of power", in the Wizard of Oz, the ruby slippers, in LoTR, the ring. Another one, would be a a huge gate where all the witches minions(which are orc look-alikes) march through, you guessed it, an enormous BLACK GATE, very much like the one that is the entrance to Mordor! My final such copy-cat is the appearance of short people, in the Wizard of Oz, the munchkins, in LoTR, the Hobbits!
I guess my point is, has anyone else noticed such LoTR look-alikes, or am i the only one? Last edited by ItalianLegolas : 12-06-2004 at 04:32 PM. |
12-05-2004, 03:13 PM | #2 |
Warrior of the House of Hador
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Dumbledore and Gandalf. They are both "wizards" and very wise and trusted.
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12-05-2004, 03:16 PM | #3 |
avocatus diaboli
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Gandalf and Obi-wan Kenobi...
There are a lot, many more I can't think of right now, but you can't always put it down to copy-cats. Some of these things are simply recurrent themes that not even Tolkien created, and I'm not about to accuse him of copying from Norse mythology or Christian theology...
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12-05-2004, 03:39 PM | #4 |
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Everyone copied from Tolkien. LotR is pretty much the ultimate fantasy story, so you'll see 'coincidences' in many popular movies/books/etc.
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12-05-2004, 07:32 PM | #5 |
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I'd say most of those are just common themes... especially since the Wizard of Oz predates Tolkien.
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12-05-2004, 07:53 PM | #6 | ||
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I've got a real LotR copycat for ya. I can't believe someone hasn't said it already!
The Sword of Shannarah, by J.R.- I mean Terry Brooks. I love this book, and Terry Brooks himself said later that it was a total LotR rip off (paraphrase). Shae Ohmsford - Frodo Flick Ohmsford - Sam Jerle Shannarah - Gil-galad Allanon - Gandalf The King of Silver River - Elrond The Skullbearers - the Nazgul It's been ages since I read this, but I bet you could parallel pretty much anything.
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12-05-2004, 09:17 PM | #7 |
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That book is awesome Nurv! One of my favorites besides LotR, of course!
Another trilogy that is a complete rip-off, but again some of the BEST books I have ever read, is The Iron Tower Trilogy by Dennis McKiernan. In soo many ways it's almost identical. He even openly admits it. But I loved it and I'd recommend it to anyone. Tolkien was the first to really write a successful fantasy series, so everyone seems to use him as their inspiration. I don't really mind, as long as the book is well written and hard to put down and I still acknowledge Tolkien as the ultimate fantasy writer
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12-05-2004, 09:32 PM | #8 | |
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And as Count Confect states - the Wizard of Oz was written before Tolkien wrote the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings. [edit] For those who want to know the meanings behind the Wizard of Oz - Muchkins - immigrants Witch of the East - businessmen who took advantage of the immigrants yellow brick road - gold standard ruby slippers (in the movie) - I believe silver in the book - the silver standard Emerald city - washington witch of the west - nature (tornados and the causes of the dustbowl) My recollection may be rusty on some of them though. But that is a general idea behind the meaning of wizard of oz.
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12-05-2004, 09:41 PM | #9 |
Mirthful Maiden
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Hmm..interesting JD. I never noticed the Wizard being anything like Jackson's films, but know you've mentioned it, that scene is kind of similar.
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12-05-2004, 10:34 PM | #10 | |
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12-05-2004, 11:56 PM | #11 |
Honourary Elitist Inklette
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About copycats....if it can be pulled off, the retelling of a good story is a commendable accomplishment.
That said, I generally appreciate stories that more influnced by other works rather than rehashed. I do read my share of doujinshi and fanfics...and have contemplated authoring several (may they never see the light of day!) But, if we are going to accuse others of "copying Tolkien" first we must know that everything he wrote was *original*. And it wasn't. In fact, that's why I like his work so much. It takes a great deal of the mythology that has always fascinated me, and puts it into the context of Middle Earth. I'm not saying that Tolkien didn't have original ideas. He most certainly did. Its is his integration of the world mythos with his own that make his work of Middle Earth such an epic accomplishment. And sadly, as much as I love other authors, none has quite felt as inspired as our dear Tolkien. A couple of the belief systems Tolkien drew from (as Elemmire noted): Catholism Norse mythology (the Eddas) (feel free to add more) Actually, the source of Tolkien's inspiration is one of my favorite topics to discuss!! Last edited by Embladyne : 12-06-2004 at 12:00 AM. |
12-06-2004, 12:05 AM | #12 | |||
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I love that book too, Nurvs... Probably because it is so much like LotR. It's more than just the characters, if you read the book side by side with LotR, the plot is almost identical. It's hilarious. Quote:
I liked your list, btw. And yes, the shoes were silver in the book. Quote:
[edited] btw... any admins out there? Should this be in GM?
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12-06-2004, 01:07 AM | #13 | ||
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12-06-2004, 01:35 AM | #14 | ||
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12-06-2004, 01:37 AM | #15 | |
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12-06-2004, 01:43 AM | #16 | ||
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12-06-2004, 02:37 AM | #17 | |||
avocatus diaboli
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Modern fantasy, almost certainly. Quote:
Next time my friends want to watch LotR in my room... I'm going to be kicked out for too much complaining!
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12-06-2004, 03:05 AM | #18 | |||
Honourary Elitist Inklette
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I have a tendancy to just automatically hate movies based upon books until I've seen them and formed my own opinions....which usually end up with despising them...so it's all good. Although, good technique and beautiful photography I can still appreciate even when the story is worthless.
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12-06-2004, 03:05 AM | #19 | ||
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12-06-2004, 03:41 AM | #20 | |||
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Anyway, I don't think there are any actual blatant LotR copycats. I think Brooks was more heavily influenced by Tolkien and later realized he inadvertently copied the works. Brook's later novels in the series (about Shannarah) are much more independent. Harry Potter is definitely not an LotR copycat, though it does seem to get called that a lot. Two similar (yet very unalike) wizards does not a copycat make.
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"I can add some more, if you'd like it. Calling your Chief Names, Wishing to Punch his Pimply Face, and Thinking you Shirriffs look a lot of Tom-fools." - Sam Gamgee, p. 340, Return of the King Quote:
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