Stories from the set

Sylvester McCoy was previously considered for the role of Bilbo Baggins for the film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).

Gandalf's contact lenses are visible in close-ups during the scenes at Bilbo's table.

When Thorin addresses the group at Bilbo Baggins's dining table, the arrangement, color, and texture of the items on the plate (cookies or biscuits) change.

Shortly after the company meets Radagast, they are driven out of the forest and into the tundra, but when the camera then moves around the dwarves, there is no forest at all.

Before the eagles rescue Thorin and company, Thorin's sword lies away from him, too far to reach. When the eagle picks him up, however, the sword is lying on him.

When Bilbo tries to save the ponies from the trolls, real horses are tied by their reins to posts. When the ponies, now created with computer graphics, are then shown, they are not only untied but have no reins at all.

In the scenes with Galadriel, it can be noticed that when she turns in place, the lower part of her dress beautifully wraps around her legs. When she says goodbye to Gandalf, she turns and at that moment spreads her legs wide, but in the next frame her legs are already together and again beautifully wrapped in the dress.

Bilbo's sword does not glow blue during the orc attack on the cliff.

Radagast receives a message from a thrush hovering next to him. The only bird physically capable of hovering in the air like that is a hummingbird.

The film is based on the novella by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien “The Hobbit, or There and Back Again” (The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, 1937).