This Book Made Tolkien Change Gollum

[@tomwayling]

Hey everyone - so sorry for my error in this video - Jansson is of course Finnish and not Swedish. My apologies

[@kirstenkremer-yq6yc]

When you said, she was Swedish, I was surprised, because I remembered seeing a lot of the Moomins in Helsinki, so I looked her up on Wikipedia. And apparently both is kind of right. She was born in Helsinki and of Finnish nationality, but her native tongue was Swedish.

[@ts5284]

Please pin this!

[@toinenosoite3173]

The problem still remains, i.e. most people watching your short never look at the comments, i.e. they now think that Tove Jansson was Swedish.

[@mikhail5002]

There are many cultural Swedes who are citizens of Finland

[@stonystarkindustries]

either way, she made bilbo look like he's late for his stepson's birth in a nazarene manger or like he's got some real tough negotiations after lunch with a burning bush after which hes gotta get in touch with his special fx guy to see about splitting a sea or similar body of water in half , or somethin hahaha

[@gedeonnunes5626]

Then Tolkien thought "damn, whatever I write next, I should describe things in so much detail to avoid getting misinterpreted like that again"

[@ezekielbrockmann114]

"I'll make it indubitably simple, starting with first One Valinor, second Two Trees, ... Then Three Silmarils, ... No I think I'll start with just with Eru Iluvatar, "The One!" Or wait, ... Maybe just _One ring to Rule them All..._ Yeah that'll make a simple little story!"

[@SigynRegn]

Apparently Amazon was not convinced anyway 😂.

[@chigidychad9738]

⁠@@SigynRegnugh… Pls don’t reminds me of rings of power… And there’s a part 2 😰!

[@HughMansonMD]

And to this day, he is the only aspect of the book I'm not totally sure how Tolkien really wanted it to have looked. When I read the books, I picture him as a lanky, black thing with eel-like skin that crawls around on all four like how Spider-man crawls up walls, and has giant yellow-green eyes and facial features that are equal parts childish and decrepit old man-ish. Almost like a swamp monster version of the movie character, but not quite.

[@Erufailon42]

My thoughts exactly. I did not realise Gollum was even supposed to be humanoid at all until I read in Lotr that he was supposed to be related to Hobbits. I always pictured him more frog like.

[@DavidBrocekArt]

This is why I love artists that make their art solely off the text description instead of just re-drawing actor faces and scenes from movies. It's amazing to see how each person imagines the story in their own way

[@RshadowA]

That's a good point but you do realise that the LOTR movies hadn't even been imagined yet, so how could she draw characters based off the movies depiction of them?

[@ColleenLytle-sq8tx]

Thank you, I'm an artist, and I don't like having to copy someone else's version or vision. I create what's in me - not copy someone.

[@faolan2174]

You should check out Jazza. He's done several videos about drawing characters specifically based on their descriptions.

[@Kyle-nm1kh]

Jazza

[@litjellyfish]

@@faolan2174true. Still I mean his is more for entertainment value. Still today 99% of a books early illustrations is based on book descriptions. And in few cases additional info from the author but it’s not so coming. A bit more can be feedback from author on the illustrations after then are done / sketches. How it’s done you don’t even check the Jazza videos. 1. You read the book. 2. You start imaging the scene you know you are about to draw a bit when reading the book. 3. You sketch it out. 4. Done

[@HorrorGirlNat]

Tove Jansson also did amazing illustrations for a new edition of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland.

[@gamerboi0421]

a small correction Tove Jansson was Finnish but her mother tongue was Swedish

[@hanstun1]

Lots of confusion about her, which is understandable. You would think that including a world famous Swedish author in the statement "Sweden's most famous authors" would be correct but it isn't.

[@user-lm9oq6yw6n]

She is finnish-swedish. The minority group in Finland. Finns but with swedish mothertounge. Source: i am one.

[@tiiti2003]

Came here to say this as well

[@BrassAmbassador]

Trust me, nobody cares.

[@Leymora]

​@@BrassAmbassador And no one asked you

[@user-lm9oq6yw6n]

She is/was finnish-swedish (Finlandssvensk). The Swedish speaking minority group in Finland. Finns but with swedish mothertounge. Source: i am one.

[@mredd888]

Do most people in other parts of Finland know Swedish as well? Or is it very much only that minority group you are part of?

[@Sp3pS]

​@@mredd888i think it's one of the official languages of finland actually

[@robinharwood5044]

@@mredd888 No, there are plenty of Finns who don’t speak Swedish. I once had an interview with an official who couldn’t speak either English or Swedish. Fortunately, I had a Finnish girlfriend who could speak Swedish, could translate for me.

[@SnailHatan]

He didn’t say anything about where she was from. He said she was one of Sweden’s most beloved authors, which is factually correct. She wrote in Swedish, and was obviously more popular in Sweden than Finland because of that.

[@aumatomos7811]

​@@SnailHatan Simo Häyhä was one of USA's most beloved snipers

[@maryannec.moravec6289]

Really love this channel. Great content but it’s the enthusiastic delivery that really make them special. Thanks for the enjoyment.

[@Rocketboy1313]

What is another layer of interesting: many of the fragmented myths and legends in real life are bad at timelines, describing appearances (by some accounts Gilgamesh was 18ft tall), and the idea of characters being interpreted wildly off model because of a lack of... mythological style guide? Would make sense.

[@debrickashaw9387]

I love Tove Jansson and the moomins. Her illustrations wasnt that popular at the time though but I love them

[@patchpatch4008]

I literally had no idea that Tov did an illustration version for the hobbit. Thats awesome!

[@dyslexicboogaloo]

It’s cool that they got the actor who plays Gollum to give us some insight into the character’s history.

[@PrettyPoppyGirl651]

"Sketched each character between 20 & 60 times" I could never before I gave up & cried

[@M.Datura]

Considering sketches can take as little as a minute, there's a possibility it wasn't as long as one might think, and for someone who does sketch a lot, this isn't that much, but I suppose when people do their craft long enough patience in it is just second nature.

[@publiusventidiusbassus1232]

Depending on the size of the project, that's not that much - Pixar alone goes through hundreds of sketches for pretty much everything from props to backgrounds to characters. For one artist working on one book, a couple dozen sketches per character is not wild - specially when 80% of sketches are usually 3 minute doodles

[@zoazede351]

I absolutely ADORE those illustrations!!

[@NoobNoobNews]

I would not say that the artist succeeded in her mission to draw that much differently. Although, I think I prefer these illustrations above all others I have ever seen.

[@Lil-Britches]

Thats awesome, smouag. I like the illustrations. ❤

[@HONNEKI]

OMG I didn't know Tove Jansson inspired Tolkien! That's incredible! The amount of connections between Tolkien and Finland is truly surprising!

[@fredefidus7784]

OMG i didn't now that Tove Jansson in secret was Swedish and not from Finland

[@PhattyBolger]

He also had to update the Hobbit when he started writing Lord of the Rings. The Ring was originally just a magic ring and Gollum gave it to Bilbo when he won the riddle game. That didn’t make sense with the new lore around the ring, so the story was changed.

[@ShatteredAutomaton]

That drawing of Smaug always terrified me as a child. The eyes are so horrifically ready to devour anyone it sees.

[@magicmyc2672]

Marty will never be homeless, he will always have a rent free place in cyraxx’s head.

[@sameoldtunes7110]

It’s interesting because the illustration is how I imagined Gollum when I first read the book

[@illerkilller]

I have this book! The first print from the 1960s. I inherited it from my aunt and I read it as a child. Good times :)

[@JokkazArt]

As a swedish/finnish tolkien fan, this makes me happy

[@foxxy_6635]

That’s why in my book I describe all the characters in as much detail as possible, so that no one would think that any of them have a different skin color, or hair color, or whatever.

[@nutandhakal5289]

Jansson's Gollum looks like the snow guy on moomin that turns instantly cools everything she touches

[@riduanaqil1452]

For the cleverbot thing i love how hunter used his robot voice at first and when the mc says "ben" he added his little boy voice to the robot voice 😂

[@matthewklein5071]

“Beautiful depictions” 😂😂

[@GajanaNigade]

Completely unrelated but... That's like the perfect background score for the video.

[@rockman7503]

I was honestly expecting the illustrations to be impressive.

[@jefferydavidson5347]

I remember watching the Hobbit movie after reading the book and being extremely surprised at the way Gollum was depicted. The book doesn’t describe him very well, I completely understand the misinterpretation the artist had.

[@kasperkankkunen8664]

Tove Jansson is Finnish tho. Still cool story.

[@alb3598]

Her mother is Swedish from Sweden and her father Fenno-Swedish(Swedes that live in the Swedish part of Finland). So saying that she is isn’t Swedish but that she is Finnish is a lie.

[@kasperkankkunen8664]

@@alb3598 I'm Finnish. So I know bit more about our culture than you. Some of my ancestors come from shores of Lake Ladoga but that doesn't make me Russian descent. Tove's mother is Swedish but doesn't make Tove Swedish. She never had dual citizen ship. And her father is finlandssvenskar. Last time his ancestors were considered Swedish were when Finland was under the Swedish rule.

[@trikyy7238]

Jansson's illustrations were used in the first Finnish translation of the Hobbit. It was done very much in a children's book style, whereas the later translation was more in the style of LotR.

[@fsg2700]

Lore of Folklore is so fascinating

[@triune_blades]

I'm so glad Tolkien updated Gollum. Legend

[@eduardobarron8868]

A billionaire company made the elf's black so it wasn't so bad

[@EamonBurke]

I love these illustrations!

[@RainbowLegion]

I've seen this version of Gollum before bjt didn't know the backstory was so cool

[@dogcheese5050]

I giggled.. you can def still see the moomin style

[@erinw.9256]

This is my new favorite song.

[@carlosherediavargas2985]

Amazing video!!! I love your channel

[@XanthosAcanthus]

"Absolutely not." - Tolkien probably

[@kevinnsevinn799]

😂

[@Remoniq]

Say what you want, but that artwork is gorgeous.

[@xxantosixx91]

I remember watching Moomins as a kid and as soon as I saw that Gollum I immediately got flashbacks with Buka/The Growl. That shit was nightmare fuel

[@TheGamingMotionTGM]

Lol, the updated Gollum sketch looks like that one Squidward sketch when he's hungry

[@DragonLN]

Me (at store): Moooom, can we get some Gollum? Mom: We have Gollum at home. Gollum at home:

[@jillthompson1248]

That first picture looks remarkable like one of Jim bensons muppet characters but cute and colorful like from Sesame Street maybe he was neon lavender

[@writt8870]

I've always loved Tove's illustrations and her version stays in my mind whenever i think about the Hobbit :) Hoping one day I'd get to at least hold it.

[@tobigrantlbart]

Similar thing happend in the german edition, although that leans way more in the artist's own creativity sometimes, beautiful illustrations and then we big giant Toad Gollum

[@katathoombz]

Ohhh _this_ is why, I've wondered how Tove's Gollum got like that.

[@Arvidholders]

Goed gesprek, we gaan zo hard winnen!

[@elisabetbenson]

When I saw that book in another one of your shorts I instantly recognized it as Tove Jansson!

[@juice6199]

I kinda like the interpretation of Gollum being this large, quiet, dark creature that sits in the waters of this large cave asking riddles and obsessing over the ring.

[@MiniClown2]

The connections between lotr and Sweden are more numerous and stronger than most people realize. Image search the old phone tower in Stockholm, and the telephone company Ericsson (formerly LM Ericsson). The imagery of Ericsson and their control over critical telecommunication infrastructure in so many countries is strikingly similar to the palanthir...

[@olofwarfvinge5005]

This is the Bilbo version I grew up with ❤❤❤

[@elpapu2410]

There are many Gollums in this modern era ❤

[@shadowdramon01]

I was first exposed to the Hobbit when I was very little and saw the Rankin/Bass animated movie and in that one, Gollum looked like a frog man

[@youbigtubership]

Large Gollum looks like Where thecEild Things Are. Tove Jansson- legend.

[@0Firebrander]

I saw this cover in my youth and immediately thought about the Moomins. I'm in shock knowing that it was made by the Moomins author NOT wanting to look like the mooming lol

[@bugglemagnum6213]

Pippy Longstocking? More like Hippy Bongsmocking

[@Gfrog1000]

There’s something unnerving about the bigger yeti-like version I’ll admit.

[@yzyzyz44]

This video is a fever dream

[@AbsoluteDingus709]

Janssons Gollum looks a lot like how the Groke looks in Moomins

[@drewilly9266]

wish we got this version

[@pontusB]

Lucky you to have that book! It is fairly expensive to get hold of...

[@jameshall4382]

And Thus, Cousin IT was born

[@sfwcommenting]

And now I'm off to hunt down Tove Janssen's Hobbit

[@geraldstiling3735]

Alan Lee's version is still my favourite 😂❤

[@axelvdpahlen7376]

Tbh its clearly still the style of moomin or what its called in english. Great style of illustrating imo

[@johanneabelsen1644]

Tove Jansson was also a Communist. She lived with a very manly woman, who was a Swedish-Finnish (yes, they exist) person.

[@540BC]

Not surprised in the slightest. Ha wimmin

[@sudanemamimikiki1527]

Based

[@puebloking8280]

This guy looks how i picture the Hobbits to look.

[@theninjacalledbasilisk7770]

Honestly, her depiction of Gollem is much much scarier! 😨 Imagine a Hobbit warping that much into that kind of creature! That is nightmarish Lovecraftian type crap!

[@TiVo2Go]

*Snufkin, I am playing that on my Nintendo Switch right now.*

[@PinnePon]

Oh i would love to have this book

[@chrisidoo]

Now imagine THAT freak in the movies.

[@SgtPeppr]

Pippi Langstrumpf is my childhood

[@Boooozle]

I had no idea Pippi Longstocking is older than Lord of the Rings

[@fieryapple7020]

I actually love these illustrations! But the best ones for me are from the soviet first edition.

[@drewpreston6478]

Smaug with 8 (9?) appendages looks so freaky

[@emreeren13]

Oh, THATS probably the reason he described everything so perfectly 😳 makes it way easier to spot mistakes in adaptations like Rings of Power 😏 well, that one not just has mistakes, IT IS a mistake

[@themfwestcoast]

First of all, i have the book :D Second, Tove Jansson is finnish :)

[@Starburst7641]

She did not break free from her moomin style, lol

[@MertSu66]

and then he appended "elves are black and galadriel is a raging cönt"

[@charliekelly735]

Heads up, the audio significantly decreases around 2:34. Watch your audio levels in the future. Also add more detail and mystery to your story. Good luck and keep it up!

[@speedrunrants420]

Lmaooo still suprized that tokens actual name was tolkien.

[@Scott_Raynor]

The guy in the video looks like Andy Serlis as well

[@frozenbard]

damn, I thought gollum looked like either a pure black, sleep paralysis demon type of guy, or that fish man from despicable me

[@simonjohansson248]

They should base Gollums design in the new movie on Janssons original drawing

[@Chewligan1]

Thanks to those 2 other authors Tolkien ignored their rubbish and went in his own direction.

[@Azeryn_Sylver]

And years later Peter Jackson made the 'artistic decision' to change the appearance of multiple creatures and characters in the Movies, for example, did you know Sauron doesn't wear armour in the books?

[@thistle3]

I have wanted this book badly for some time but it's so expensive :(

[@dragonthefear9978]

This is a beautiful Version of the Hobbit. I realy like it. above all the depicrion of Bilbo. But even if i love the Books of Tolkin Bilbo will always looks like Martin Freeman for me.

[@MuncleSa]

If this isn't motivation to be an illisutrator, idk what is.

[@shadysaar]

This is so much fun i never knew this 😂

[@ThyLocalBard]

I saw this on Tumblr before lol!

[@KalkuehlGaming]

You can see that she wasnt able to get rid of the moomin style. No problem for me but if that was what she tried to do, she failed.

[@Roboshi2007]

she did 20-60 drawings and completely failed to get away from her own moomin style to be honest

[@simona997]

Please look up the 1976 soviet edition of the hobbit, there's adorable Gollum in a boat who's also a meme now!!

[@harlequinems]

Lmao 😂 "I want to break away from the moomins" Immediately draws all the characters to look like moomins characters 😂

[@stonedalldayjedi533]

Looks like captain k'nuckles from flap jack

[@moffatmbugua4525]

So there was a crossing between samurai jacks 'aku' and hobbit.

[@Josh-n8j3i]

Crazy to think Conan is older then the lord of the rings