As a die-hard fan of Peter Jackson’s epic adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth saga, I can’t help but notice how Gandalf’s pipe stands out among his iconic accessories – the wide-brimmed hat, the staff, and the pipe. This hobbit-friendly habit of his was more than just a quirk; it was a way to connect with my little friends, despite Saruman’s skepticism that it might cloud his wisdom. Interestingly, Jackson had concerns about whether he would be allowed to keep this detail faithful to the source material in the films. While smoking was commonplace when Tolkien published The Lord of the Rings back in 1954, public opinion had evolved significantly by the early 2000s, the time when these movies graced our screens. As family-friendly epics, the Lord of the Rings films aimed to be role models for younger audiences, and showing one of the leading heroes with a pipe might unintentionally encourage smoking among them.
In the additional commentary for the movie “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”, director Jackson shared that one particularly enjoyable scene for him was when Frodo and Gandalf puffed on a pipe on Bag End’s hill and, by magic, Gandalf transformed his smoke into a boat. Jackson anticipated potential objections from New Line Cinema or the Film Rating Association regarding this scene. He was ready to fiercely defend its inclusion, but if he couldn’t, the screenwriters had a contingency plan; they would have instead portrayed Gandalf as having a strong sweet tooth.
The Lord of the Rings’ Writers Considered Giving Gandalf a Bag of Candy
During the additional commentary for “The Fellowship of the Ring,” Sir Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf, delved into an alternate strategy he had in mind.
It seems that Fran Walsh or Philippa Boyens had an idea about Gandalf quitting smoking, perhaps due to concerns over potential objections from New Line, censors, or those who dislike smokers regarding the number of smoking characters in the movie, with Gandalf being a key one. Instead, all the scenes featuring him in the cart involved him sucking on toffees rather than smoking, allowing his dialogue to still be delivered through the act of sucking on caramel candy.
In this adaptation of Tolkien’s novel, instead of smoking his pipe, Gandalf is given a bag of sweets by Ian McKellen, who considered this a smart alteration. However, in this version of the story, there might have been one instance where Gandalf gave in and smoked at Bag End, possibly during the scene with Bilbo on the hill, if New Line Cinema and the MPA agreed to it. Later, Gandalf would have switched back to his sweets, with McKellen quipping that “Rivendell was a non-smoking area.” It appears that the idea of Gandalf eating sweets was only present in early drafts of the script and no scenes featuring this were actually filmed.
Gandalf’s Pipe Was Allowed to Remain in The Lord of the Rings Films
Jackson’s concerns proved unnecessary since neither New Line Cinema nor the Motion Picture Association expressed objections concerning Gandalf and other characters in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ using pipe-weed. Nevertheless, he attempted to preempt possible criticism by subtly suggesting the harmful aspects of smoking. In ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’, the eve before the Siege of Gondor, Gandalf’s anxiety led him to smoke excessively and experience a fit of coughing, which he drank water to alleviate. McKellen characterized this scene as an attempt to balance any potential positive portrayal of smoking.
It would have been better not to introduce toffees into Middle-earth, as they are not mentioned in any of Tolkien’s stories. Instead, honeycombs were eaten by characters such as Sam from The Lord of the Rings and Beorn from The Hobbit. Ian McKellen suggested that candies might have taken away from Gandalf’s dialogue, unlike his pipe which was a significant part of his appearance in the book and animated adaptations like Rankin/Bass’. Moreover, introducing toffees could have led viewers to compare Gandalf with Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter, as Dumbledore was known for eating candy and offering it to students at Hogwarts. The pipe, however, was a distinctive feature of Gandalf in the novels and previous animations, making it satisfying for fans to see it in live action.
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2025-04-22 16:06