In The Two Towers' world of gloom, the Weta animation team shines. All images © 2002 New Line Productions. All rights reserved.

Weta, Ltd. of New Zealand has been pulling every trick out of its bag in bringing to the screen the mythopoetic struggle of good versus evil in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Given the 900-plus shots composited for The Two Towers, the second film of the epic, one would get the impression that the folks of Weta haven't been getting much sleep during these last few years. However, the eleventh-hour accomplishment of animators and artisans has not gone unappreciated. Last year, Weta took home Oscar honors for achievements in cinematography, makeup, and visual effects. For this year's film, among other accolades, the character of Gollum/Smeagol has already won an award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association for "Best Digital Acting Performance;” and BAFTA, the British equivalent of the U.S. Academy Awards, recognized The Two Towers as the public’s choice for “Film of the Year.”

Nonetheless, for those four or five readers who may not have delved into the original Tolkien books, we should know by the end of the year how it all turns out. There are many battles yet to be waged in Middle Earth.

The Nazgul's steeds (or fell beasts) help in the tireless hunt for the Ring.

Evil That Does Not Sleep
About 30 to 40 animators had worked on The Two Towers, more than double from the first film. Many of the animators worked on the wargs (the vicious, furred creatures that the Orcs rode into battle) and the fell beasts (the serpentine, bat-like creatures that the Ringwraiths rode in hunting for the Ring throughout the countryside). More than half of the animators worked on Gollum, the former hobbit-like being whose mad devotion to the “precious” Ring is much of the driving force of the film.