

The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins is a 1967 cult song about Bilbo, perhaps all the more popular with fans because it was first performed by Leonard Nimoy (aka Spock). He never marries his nephew, Frodo Baggins is his adopted son and heir.īilbo is played by Ian Holm in the Peter Jackson films of The Lord of the Rings and by Martin Freeman in the The Hobbit trilogy. At the end of the later novel, he sails into the West with the other Ring Bearers. Along the way he chances upon the magical ring of the creature Gollum, which proves useful to Bilbo in escaping his detested relations the Sackville-Bagginses – as well as to Tolkien, in linking The Hobbit to the The Lord of the Rings. The stay-at-home hobbit is enticed into going on an adventure with Gandalf and thirteen dwarves as their burglar (despite having no previous acquaintance with the trade), which culminates in the defeat of the dragon Smaug. Tolkien's novel The Hobbit and a minor character in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings.
#Bilbo and frodo baggins relation movie
2 Book and LoTR Movie Fandom Portrayalsīilbo Baggins is the main character in J.R.R.He's my second cousin, once removed on his mother's side, and my fourth cousin twice removed on my father's side." The ridiculous string of family connections just drives home the point that, whether on paper or the silver screen, Hobbits can't get enough of their family history. At one point in the film version of The Fellowship of the Ring, while Frodo, Sam, and Merry lie low in the Prancing Pony at Bree, Pippin can be heard in the background saying, "Baggins? Sure I know a Baggins. Tolkien's commitment to Hobbit breeding was so intense that the author even provides an utterly thorough breakdown of genealogies for the Bagginses, Tooks, and Brandybucks, as well as the prestigiously titled "Longfather-Tree of Master Samwise" at the end of The Return of the King.Ī reflection of this dedication to family history also finds its way into the movies in one scene, in particular. Once again, we turn to the book The Fellowship of the Ring to see Tolkien declare that "hobbits have a passion for family history" and are willing to sit and listen to genealogical breakdowns for hours on end. All of these factors add up to provide a convincing argument (on the surface, at least) that Bilbo and Frodo are uncle and nephew, respectively, even though it's clearly stated in the source material that they are cousins. In addition, the presence of a full-grown Merry and Pippin at Bilbo's 111th birthday party confuses the fact that, in the books, there's a 17-year gap between the party and Frodo leaving the shire at the age of 50. In Peter Jackson's trilogy of Lord of the Rings films, Bilbo clearly comes across as Frodo's uncle.

To top it all off, cinematic adaptations have a way of muddying up the waters by skipping over the little details and explanations like explaining family relationships.

On top of that, The Fellowship of the Ring also states that "When Bilbo was ninety-nine he adopted Frodo as his heir." This complicates the relationship even further by giving it a father-son vibe, as well.

This automatically establishes a "kindly old uncle" vibe between the two.
