The two biggest franchises of all time have been Tolkien’s middle earth adventure Lord of the Rings and JK Rowling’s modern-day wizard tale Harry Potter. It has been more than a decade since the last Potter book came out and the middle earth adventure is well more than half a century old. Still, these two series are loved even today and hold a special place in our hearts. We can’t help but notice that both these franchises have a lot of similarities that go beyond the basic good vs evil theme. Let us take a look at some of these similarities.
7. Dark Forests:
Both the series have dark forests that have many scary creatures hidden inside. Our characters have to go through these forests more than once. in Harry Potter, the dark forest is known as the ‘forbidden forest’ that is just outside the premise of Hogwarts. In Lord of the Rings, the forest of Mirkwood poses many challenges and holds many dark secrets.
6. A pair of mischievous boys:
Both the stories may be dark and have serious tones, but from time to time there is a lot of comic relief. Who can forget the Weasley twins from Harry Potter who give us all moments of laughter on countless occasions with their tricks and jokes? In Lord of the Rings Merry and Pippin act as the jokers who keep you entertained and give light moments to an otherwise dark tale.
5. Story about two Orphan boys:
Both the series have a young boy as the lead character and coincidentally both these characters are orphans. At the beginning of the story it is shown that Frodo is a young Hobbit who lives with his uncle Bilbo and Harry lives with the Dursleys in a miserable home at Privet Drive. Even though both of them share a totally different relationship with their guardians. Their journeys start when they leave these places and go on to follow their destinies.
4. Mythical creatures:
Both the series show many mythical characters on the journeys followed by the main characters. be it the dark forests or different tasks through the Triwizard Tournament, Harry and Frodo tackle many creatures such as dragons, giants, trolls, goblins, giant spiders, elves etc. These creatures add the extra epic-ness to both stories and even pose great obstacles from time to time.
3. An object of invisibility:
Both the stories have invisibility as a key trait which helps the lead character from time to time. Both Frodo and Harry use certain objects to become invisible and cross many obstacles. Harry inherits the cloak of invisibility from his father and it helps him escape on countless occasions. Frodo inherits the ring that can make the one who wears it invisible. This ring is, of course, the central and most important object in this series. So both the series have objects that can make the wearer invisible.
2. Gandalf and Dumbledore:
We have all thought about this one and it is obvious how both these wizards look so much alike. Two long-bearded old wizards who play great mentors to Frodo and Harry. Apart from the looks, Gandalf and Dumbledore have a lot of other similarities too. They are both wise and powerful and get our lead characters out of trouble on many occasions. Both the wizards are fun and playful and have a streak of adventure.
Fun fact: after the demise of Richard Harris(the first actor who played Dumbledore), Ian McKellen was offered the role of Dumbledore but he refused.
1. A supervillain who is ‘almost’ dead but tries to return:
When it comes to villains, these two series have the ultimate supervillains in the form of Lord Voldemort and Sauron. Both these villains are extremely powerful and are feared above all. An evil dark lord who has lost his power and physical form and constantly tries to return and get it all back. It is debatable as to which villain out of the two is more powerful but in the end, both of them are defeated by two scrawny little guys.
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