The Hobbit’s Bilbo Baggins Gets Charlie Brown’s Peanuts-Style Redesign in Cool LotR Fan Art

The epic adventures of The Hobbit meet the quaint charm of Peanuts in brilliant fan art. The illustrations by the artist Adam Murphy have brought together two seemingly disparate worlds.

In the Instagram posts shared by Murphy, J. R. R. Tolkien’s protagonist, Bilbo Baggins gets reimagined in the simplistic yet expressive style of Charles Schulz, the genius behind the beloved comic strip Peanuts.

This unique crossover depicts the essence of Bilbo’s adventure—originally a harrowing tale involving a dragon and a daring quest—with the gentler, more serene tones of childhood adventures in Peanuts. The result is a series of illustrations that place characters like Bilbo alongside the iconic look of Charlie Brown and his friends. Murphy’s illustrations creatively juxtapose the fantasy elements of Tolkien’s Middle-earth with the everyday, slice-of-life scenarios typical of Schulz’s work.

Adam Murphy’s inventive artwork combines elements from various iconic series. His portfolio includes interesting mixes like Calvin and Hobbes encountering the Rocketeer, and even Indiana Jones teaming up with Marvel’s Wolverine and the adventurous Tintin.

Animation Revives Tolkien’s Legacy in LotR: The War of Rohirrim

The latest addition to the Lord of the Rings saga, “The War of Rohirrim,” will be delivered in animated format. The film will follow Helm Hammerhand, the ninth King of Rohan, capturing events that unfolded several centuries before those in the original Lord of the Rings.

The decision to opt for animation might come as a surprise to many fans of the franchise, which has historically leaned on grandiose live-action portrayals. However, considering the current wave of successful animated films, such as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and The Boy and the Heron, this choice aligns with a broader cinematic trend that embraces diverse storytelling methods.

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Every Lord of the Rings and Hobbit Movie, Ranked by Box Office Results

Peter Jackson’s two trilogies based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have averaged nearly a billion dollars per film.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time that Tolkien’s works have been adapted into animation. There’s a rich history of animated Lord of the Rings content dating back to the late 1970s and early 1980s. A mix of memorable and forgettable attempts, these adaptations varied widely in their reception and impact.

Among them, the 1980 animated adaptation of The Return of the King, which aired as a television special, remains largely overlooked today. Created by the teams behind animated holiday staples and a precursor to Studio Ghibli, it did not resonate with audiences and has faded into obscurity over the years.

Before that, in 1977, The Hobbit was the first attempt by Rankin/Bass and Topcraft to bring Tolkien’s stories to the screen. This adaptation succinctly covered the broad strokes of Bilbo Baggins’ adventures but lacked depth due to its brief runtime, leaving it feeling more like a summary than a full-fledged exploration of the novel.

The most robust of these earlier animations was Ralph Bakshi’s 1978 version of The Lord of the Rings. This film received a theatrical release and covered significant portions of the first two books of the Tolkien trilogy. Although it, too, faced pacing issues, it was better received than its successors. Plans for a sequel were scrapped following its lukewarm reception, both critically and at the box office.