Treebeard - Portrayal in Adaptations

Portrayal in Adaptations

Treebeard has inspired a number of artists and illustrators such as Inger Edelfeldt, John Howe, Ted Nasmith, Anke Eißmann, or Alan Lee.

In Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, John Westbrook provided the voice of Treebeard. Stephen Thorne voiced the character in BBC Radio's 1981 serialization. Treebeard was originated onstage by Brian Amidei in the Lifeline Theatre's 1999 production of The Two Towers.

In Peter Jackson's films The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Treebeard is a combination of a large animatronic model and a CGI construct; his voice is performed by John Rhys-Davies, who also portrays Gimli. In The Two Towers, Merry and Pippin run into the Fangorn Forest in an attempt to escape a band of Uruk-hai and orcs that kidnapped them. There, they are pursued by one orc. Treebeard awakens, crushes the orc, and takes Merry and Pippin to the "White Wizard" (later revealed to be a revived Gandalf) to see if they were "little orcs" or not. Assured that they are not orcs, Treebeard keeps the hobbits with him for safety. The Ents at the Entmoot decline Merry and Pippin's request for help. Treebeard is carrying the Hobbits through Fangorn Forest when Pippin gets an idea: he asks Treebeard to carry them toward Isengard, because that is the "last place" Saruman would look for them. When Treebeard gets close to the forest's edge, he sees the devastation wrought by Saruman's Orcs. The trees have all been hacked down to serve as fuel for Saruman's war machines. Treebeard, in anger, summons the other Ents, who come out of the forest. They attack Isengard and flood it. Treebeard, in addition, sends the Huorns to attack Saruman's Orcs who were retreating from Helm's Deep. In a deleted scene, Treebeard mentions to the hobbits about the Entwives and how they literally were lost. He also rescues them from a tree that holds them captive (similar to a scene in the novel of The Fellowship of the Ring, with Tom Bombadil).

Treebeard makes a brief appearance in The Return of the King, keeping watch over Isengard with Merry and Pippin as Théoden, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn arrive to pick up the two hobbits.

There are plans to erect a statue of Treebeard by Tim Tolkien, J.R.R. Tolkien's great-nephew, near his great-uncle's former home in Moseley, Birmingham. A 6-metre-high sculpture of Treebeard by Tolkien's great-nephew Tim Tolkien was planned for Birmingham, where Tolkien grew up. There is also a statue of an Ent, which looks very similar to Treebeard, in Grizedale Forest, Cumbria.

Treebeard also makes an appearance in "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" video game as an unplayable character. Treebeard was due to appear in the "Lord of the Rings: The Treason of Isengard" video game as a temporary playable character during the destruction of Isengard; however, this never happened because the game was ultimately cancelled.

In the "Battle for Middle-earth" series of video games, Treebeard appears as a purchasable hero for the forces of light.

In the Top Trumps games franchise card game the age stated of Treebeard is 17,051 years.

On the "Dawn in Rivendell" (the Tolkien Ensemble) compact disc, Treebeard is voiced by Christopher Lee.