English author J.R.R. Tolkien penned four novels centred around a fictitious world he named “Middle Earth”.  All have been made into successful motion pictures.  The three Lord to the Rings movies won a combined 17 Academy Awards while the trio of Hobbit movies (one book padded out) made just shy of $3 billion USD at the global box-office.

In the same vein as the Star Wars franchise, the time has come for creatives to break away from the well-known narrative and find other stories to tell.  Tolkien included several appendices in his final novel, The Return of the King, and that’s provided the source material for this new animated tale, The War of the Rohirrim.  It’s set roughly 200 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings and while titbits of information are dropped connecting the two tales (it’s a bit clunky), this is largely a standalone adventure with new characters.

Three characters dominate the narrative.  Helm (Cox) is the long-time king of Rohan whose strength on the battlefield is balanced against his savvy diplomacy skills.  He’s well liked.  Héra (Wise) is only daughter while her mum died tragically in childbirth, she has developed into a tough, headstrong woman with a love for adventure and horseback riding.  Wulf (Pasqualino) is the heir to a rival tribe who seeks Héra’s hand in marriage and becomes infuriated when his forceful request is turned down.  It leads to the start of the war where many lives will be lost…

I’m not sure if they’re trying to pander to younger crowds but I’d call The War of the Rohirrim a simple story with not much nuance (even the violence is toned down).  Reminiscent of Merida in the 2012 Pixar film Brave, we’ve got a feisty heroine who isn’t bound by custom, and wants to forge her own independent path in a male-dominated landscape.  There’s a one-note, power-hungry villain who is driven solely out of a need for revenge.  Added a splash of colour and humour are an assortment of supporting players who provide Héra with assistance at opportune moments.  Character depth is lacking.

Still, I liked the anime-style approach and what 58-year-old Japanese director Kenji Kamiyama brings to the project with his decades of experience.  The animation is superb and I enjoyed the contrasts of certain scenes – two characters bloodily fighting on the battlefield… while the wind whistles and pristine white snow falls from above.  It’s the combination of both 2D and 3D animation and while I don’t profess to know the intricacies of the production values, I know the finished product looks damn good.

Opening the door for other spin-offs (animated or live-action), the box-office for The War of the Rohirrim will be a good litmus test in seeing how engaged audiences are in the Middle Earth universe.

You can read my chat with star Miranda Otto by clicking here.