I know it’s a bit early for Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday (which happens to be September 22nd), but considering how much Hobbits like giving and receiving presents I don’t think they’ll mind an early gift. And that is exactly what director Peter Jackson has given us, in the form of a new trailer along with several different clips for the upcoming The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. On thehobbit.com you can choose your own ending for the preview – which resulted in me watching it at least seven times in order to find my favorite. If you’re a fan, you will be as delighted as I was to watch all the different clips. This is the one with the dwarves, for your viewing pleasure:

‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ Trailer #2

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that I teared up a bit while watching the trailer (don’t judge me, I freaking love these movies). It gave me chills just to see it all come to life. But you also have no idea how happy I am that these scenes aren’t just the epic and beautiful copy of The Lord of the Rings, which is what it seemed like in the first trailer. The newest preview shows off what is different about The Hobbit – and that is the fact that most of the scenes are meant to be funny. While it’s certainly an adventure quest filled with action and danger (which you can clearly see), there is a lot more humor and entertainment than the dark tale of the One Ring. While I may have teared up at the beginning, I was certainly laughing by the end – and for a 2 minute clip that’s saying something.  This trailer gave me exactly what I was hoping for from The Hobbit, a lighter and more playful look at Middle Earth.

Radagast the Brown

Along with getting the feel of An Unexpected Journey, we also got to see a bit more of it’s characters. While the first preview focused on the dwarves (naming them all takes up half the trailer), this one gives us some shots of the elves Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) and Elrond (Hugo Weaving), along with the animal loving wizard Radagast the Brown (Sylvester McCoy). It’s also cool to see some of the evil creatures which  includes trolls, wargs, and goblins. I think my favorite clip is the one which shows Gollum (Andy Serkis) and Bilbo (Martin Freeman) starting the infamous “riddle game”, which ends up changing the fate not just of our young hobbit but of all Middle Earth. I think the most impressive thing is the CGI work done on Gollum. Though it’s only a brief glance, for someone who has watched The Lord of the Rings movies more times than I can count, I could tell the sharpness and quality of the character has improved. It’s a slight difference, but it makes it more believable that this Gollum is one who is at home underground and untouched by Sauron’s evil (in The Lord of the Rings he is tortured by Sauron for information on the Ring). I’m so excited to see this whole scene because Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman look awesome together.

But enough geeking out, I really want to know what you guys think of the new trailer. Is it everything you hoped for? Are you disappointed by it in any way? And how do you plan to celebrate the anniversary of The Hobbit‘s publication (this Friday, September 21st)? Comment below!

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey premieres December 14th, 2012. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is due December 13th, 2013. And the final movie of the trilogy, The Hobbit: There and Back Again hits theaters July 18th, 2014.