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The Great Goblin & Goblin-town | Tolkien Explained

Nerd of the Rings

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The Great Goblin was an important figure among the orcs. His death would directly lead to the Battle of Five Armies. But what would become of Goblin-town after his demise?

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warmonger throne - Shadow of War
The Great Goblin - Alan Lee
Great Goblin - John Howe
Gloomy evening in Misty Mountains - Šárka Škorpíková
Bilbo returning home - Daniel Dougherty
orcs - merlkir
The Mountain path - J.R.R._Tolkien
A Thunderstorm in the Mountains - Matěj Čadil
Cirith Forn en Andrath - Matěj Čadil
Gandalf, A Light in the Dark - Matthew Stewart
Bilbo Reading - Matthew Stewart
Mountain fortress - ilya nazarov
Bilbo – Elodimus Flash
Riddles InThe Dark bilbo - John Howe
orcs - Angus McBride
Captured by Goblins - John Howe
the vicious goblins - artigas
Misty Mountain Orc - Olanda Fong-Surdenas
goblin alchimist - andrea piparo
Orc - Elrodimus Flash
Captured by Goblins - John Howe
orc faces - turner mohan
Goblin Gate – Ted Nasmith
Moria Orcs - John Howe
Goblin King - Stevce Lazarevski
Goblin - The White Council
Bilbo there - Kinko White
goblin with huge head - merlkir
The Great Goblin - Anke Eissmann
Thorin Oakenshield - Jenny Dolfen
thorin - Jenny Dolfen
Orc Scout and Carrion Seeker - Olanda Fong-Surdenas
Narsil - John Howe
thorin oakenshield - tolman cotton
Gondolin Silver Gate - Nicholas Chacin
Orcrist – Ted Nasmith
The Great Goblin - Anke Eissmann
balrog pit lower - Shadow of War
Gandalf and Balrog - Daniel Dougherty
Gollum & Bilbo - John Howe
There is a shadow by the door - Matěj Čadil
gandalf - Jenny Dolfen
Bilbo Confronts the Guards - Alan Lee
Dwarven entrance - Felix Englund
The Battle Under the Mountain - Matthew Stewart
orcs debate - turner mohan
Orc warrior - Elrodimus Flash
king under the mountain - tulikoura
Misty Mountains - Felix Englund
At Beorn's Hall – Ted Nasmith
Beorn - Anke Eißmann
Beorns House - Angus McBride
Beorn - John Howe
The home of Beorn - Ivan Cavini
early orcs - turner mohan
Mountain sunrise - Felix Englund

#thehobbit #goblin #tolkien

20 Comments

@AJ21743 11 months ago

Then there's their other hit, "Where There's a Whip, There's a Way"

@bearrowe7902 10 months ago

I love the idea that the King wrote this song himself, rehearsed it, organised his band and back up singers, ready in hope for any new guests, just so he could show off lol

@MrLovaLova7x 11 months ago

Down down to Goblin-town
Down down to Goblin-town
You go, my lad!
Ho, ho! my lad!

@infinitejinpachi 11 months ago

What was his tax policy tho?

@Blank-tw1vb 8 months ago (edited)

While Gundabad was the capitol, the Great Goblin in my mind was like an Andre the Giant sized Alexander or Genghis Khan type figure. A warband leader with immense influence. The idea that he was cut down like a chump by a weapon with the same cultural weight of Exacalibur by a penniless deposed Dwarvish beggar king was enough to enrage every orc in the north and shift the balance of power

@WhyTfHoops 11 months ago (edited)

You absolutely can’t capture it in film, understandably so.. but how actually brutally pitch dark it was in the books was soo eerie I loved imagining it. No real life caving for me I’ll leave that to you dwarfs

@Agaricus94 11 months ago

I'm surprised you didn't put more emphasis on how unusually learned the Great Goblin was, for he could identify a blade from thousands of years ago at a glance. Even if it was one known for slaying goblins, one can hardly expect such creatures to know such lore.

@moguera 11 months ago

I will once again say that I would pay good money if you made audio adaptations of Tolkien’s works. Your voice-acting for the different characters is phenomenal. 😊

@Guy-Incognito-l3s 11 months ago

I know the Hobbit movies had plenty of issues, but Barry Humphries' performance as the Great Goblin was awesome.

@KiCreativeStudioJP 8 months ago

2:33 The Goblin song in the movie sounds like a Broadway show tune. The Goblin song in the Rankin Bass animated version sounds like a cool but scary pirate's chant. Up to you which sounds better.

@Saurles 11 months ago

I love the "Goblin Town" song in the animated version.

@Prophetofthe8thLegio 11 months ago

Grom the Paunch got lost in the misty mountains

@alexanderhansen659 11 months ago

Gandalf was inattentive because he needed a smoke. His love for the halflings’ leaf slowed his mind.

@zac3278 11 months ago

The Goblins are evil creatures of Morgoth who cause great suffering to the peoples of Middle Earth. Woe to any who are captured by them, for they will be subject to Elaborate Musical Numbers!

@17Watman 11 months ago

I played the Great Goblin in a play of The Hobbit when I was in 5th Grade.

@DamonNomad82 11 months ago (edited)

The Rankin-Bass version of "Down, Down to Goblin-Town" is definitely the one I associate with the story, as the newer movies didn't exist yet when I was growing up. It was sung by the inimitable Thurl Ravenscroft, the original voice of Tony the Tiger in "Frosted Flakes" commercials and singer of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch!"

@AlmyTheAlien 11 months ago

It's kinda funny in a way, despite the orcs being corrupted elves, they act a lot more like evil dwarves. They're greedy, often live underground and in mountains, are relatively technologically advanced, love building huge things and working with metal (or in their case forcing other people to do it for them,) and are extremely isolated and distrustful.

@val-ritz 3 months ago

I love how Gandalf gets to cut loose in The Hobbit. Just hitting guys with lightning bolts, no big.

@venkelos6996 11 months ago

I obviously watch these for the lore, and i typically appreciate the general seriousness that accompanies it, being an old, much loved work of fantasy fiction, but I do just want to say thank you for the little shots of humor here, too. Lots of things tend to ignore the animated Hobbit, since it is so childish, even though it is an adaptation of a literal children's book, so that was nice, but the little moment with Jareth (D Bowie), from Labyrinth...I almost had to pause, to laugh for a minute. Definitely wasn't expecting it, but as an 80s kid, it was wonderful to see! 😁 Fun little video!

@Mikey__R 11 months ago (edited)

I always read it that the goblins of the Misty Mountains and Moria were basically freelancing, rather than reporting directly to Sauron, like their colleagues in Dol Guldur.

By the time the War of the Ring came around, they would have been contracting for Mordor.

They always seemed far more independently minded than those Frodo and Sam met in Mordor; even though some of those were also planning on going rogue.