Lord of the Rings: the War of the Rohirrim

Where WAS Gondor when the Westfold Fell?

Seen at: The Embassy

Rating: 3.5/5

Perfect for: Insufferable LOTR lovers

In between Christmas films I managed to clock the latest Lord of the Rights instalment, the anime film – the War of the Rohirrim.

My parents reminded me that whilst Peter Jackson’s trilogy is the most well known interpretation, the first screen media adaption of Tolkien’s works was a 1970s/80s rotoscope animation. (If LOTR is in your social media algorithm, you’ll have seen the blooper where the live actor for Aragorn tripped over and they captured it in the animated overlay. Hilarious).

Animation is a bit hit/miss for me. The last I saw was called Demon Slayer. We saw it one dusty Sunday afternoon and it was sensory overload for me. Firstly, it was a sequel, so I had no idea what was going on, it came in real hot, exacerbated by manic loud music/hectic animation and weirdly sexualised female characters, not my vibe. Before that, I saw the Boy and the Heron, which weirded me out. The double beaked heron gave me nightmares for months.

But there are a few franchises that I can’t get enough of, and if anything comes out related to it – regardless of its media or quality, I’m going to see it. Lord of the Rings (and Sex and the City) are that for me. I’ve read the books, and listened to the audio books, watched the films, even the Hobbit trilogy multiple times (though if Kili wasn’t cast that way I don’t know if I’d have repeated it…Aidan Turner, woof) - I’ve seen all the lack lustre Rings of Power Series, and I’ll watch the next three too. Sex and the City – I’ve seen all the movies and both seasons of the god awful And Just Like That – and just like that I’ll see the third. And that’s because with fandom, more content is better than no content. And I just can’t help myself.

I was a little anxious that more LOTR content was going to start to leave a bad taste. But be assured, this iteration is a by fans, for fans adaption and I thought it was bomb even with my aversions to animation.

There are wonderful links to (the best) film of the Peter Jackson trilogy -the Two Towers. There are a few sound bites from Jackson’s films that repeat in my head on an almost daily basis, many of those are uttered by King of Rohan, Theoden himself.

War of the Rohirrim picks up a trope from the cliff hanger that King Theo leaves us in The Two Towers, which I contemplate on an almost a daily basis. You will of course remember when Aragorn, facing the prospect of gross outnumbering of Saruman’s orcs at Helms Deep, suggests to King Theothat he call on Gondor to come to Rohan’s aid, to which Theo spits in reply “Gondor?! Where was Gondor when the Westfold Fell?!” I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that question since. Where WAS Gondor? Tell me more about the past beef Theo? What’s Good?

Theoden absolutely spewing

Well. The War of the Rohirrim picks up on this unanswered question. At an almost mirror battle at Helms Deep – at this time, still called the Hornburg, Rohan faces a similar – but Sauman-less threat to the stonewall defences of Helms Deep. The war occurred a few hundred years before the iconic two towers battle. While repeated references to calling aid from Gondor are made, Gondor never shows up (typical). The link between the trilogy and the War of the Rohirrim, which is developed from the book annexures, particularly this notorious shade from King T, was so class.

The animation kept things cohesive with the Jackson film trilogy, too. Rohan is visually familiar, using the scenery from the films, and the Howard Shore score combined with Miranda Otto aka Soup Queen Eowyn’s narration – ties it in so well. Whilst King Helm Hammerhand looks like more like a juiced up X-Men Villain than a human horse-lord akin to King Theoden, it was a fun interpretation.

I love the exploration of the tales from the annexures, giving life to all corners of the greatest body of fictional works of the last century. Whilst there are a few derivative themes/plot devices from the Jackson films, nonetheless, The War of the Rohirrim it is its own tale, with new heroes and characters which are a far enough departure from the trilogy to stand on its own.

But if you’re expecting an answer to Theo’s question, you’ll be sorely disappointed. Where the fuck was Gondor? Despite several references in the War of the Rohirrim, again, no shows. Not here, not there when the Westfold fell, and they definitely weren’t there at the battle of Helms Deep as you’ll no doubt remember. Did their beacon not get lit or something? I guess, we will never know.