Eagle (Middle-earth) - Adaptations and Influences

Adaptations and Influences

Different adaptations of Tolkien's books treated both the nature of the Eagles and their role in the plots with varying level of faithfulness to originals. The first scenario for an animated motion-picture of The Lord of the Rings proposed to Tolkien in 1957 was turned down because of several cardinal deviations, among which Humphrey Carpenter recorded that "virtually all walking was dispensed with in the story and the Company of the Ring were transported everywhere on the backs of eagles".

The Rankin Bass animated version of the Hobbit portrayed the eagles as similar in physique and appearance to Harpy, crowned or monkey-eating eagles of the tropics, while Jackson's trilogy provided a more traditional interpretation, with birds similar to the Golden Eagle.

In The Lord of the Rings film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, these creatures are 6 m (20 ft) tall with a maximum wingspan of 23 m (75 ft). A notable deviation from the book is that Gandalf summons Gwaihir to Orthanc with the aid of a by-passing moth (the role of Radagast was not included in the film). The same moth also appears to him before the Eagles arrive at the Battle of the Morannon. According to fantasy artist Larry Dixon, the digitally animated eagles in the trilogy were based on a stuffed Golden Eagle he had offered to Weta Workshop for use in the project.

Although giant birds of prey appear in legends of many cultures, Tolkien's Great Eagles may have been the direct inspiration for similar creatures in various modern fantasy genres, such as the Giant eagles in the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons.

Big birds as powerful creatures are included in many fantasy worlds. In some of the worlds, Griffins replace eagles.

A genus of Diapriidae wasps in Australia was named Gwaihiria in 1982.