Today we get another glimpse at the first half of Peter Jackson's foray back into Middle Earth with an official trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. There's hobbit and dwarf humor, Gollum mischief, and Cate Blanchett's freaky Galadriel voice. We also get a peek at the wizard Radagast the Brown, who USA Today notes has been given a bigger role after only being mentioned once in the text. The book is being split into a perhaps ill advised three films, and while this trailer looks packed, it will be interesting just how thin the story gets stretched. For instance, Indie Wire points out that the dragon Smaug, the book's big villain, " pretty much won't be appearing until the second film," which will be titled The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. The new trailer is worth a watch though, and if nothing else, take a glimpse in honor of Bilbo and Frodo's joint birthday which falls this Saturday, and just happens to be Hobbit Day. 

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Esther Zuckerman