128
votes
Accepted
Why model Smaug after a cat?
The appearance of Smaug in the 1977 Rankin-Bass adaptation of The Hobbit was the result of artistic license and the nationality of the animators. The animation team was from Japan, and they depicted ...
- 67.1k
117
votes
Accepted
Why does Smaug have 4 legs in the 1st movie but only 2 legs in the 2nd?
Blame Benedict Cumberbatch, from MTV news:
"Originally, the dragon we envisioned was bigger. The idea was to get the fear through his bulk. In fact, if you go back and look at the first film and ...
- 10.1k
104
votes
Why doesn't Smaug die in the 2nd Hobbit film if it was titled the 'Desolation of Smaug'?
It means "the desolation caused by Smaug".
In the book, this is the description given to the barren area around the Mountain, specifically to the south and west. (The map displays north to ...
- 60.4k
52
votes
Accepted
Was Smaug woken up by a nut hitting the mountain?
Hobbits are capable of moving with extreme stealth when they so choose, sufficiently quietly for this job. Here is a description from the book:
But at any rate hobbits can move quietly in woods, ...
- 2,147
51
votes
Was Smaug sealed inside the Lonely Mountain?
In the book, as well as the movie, there was a main entrance to Erebor—the Front Gate, where the dragon had come in to begin with. When the dwarves first discuss the mission with Bilbo, Thorin ...
- 19.7k
49
votes
Why doesn't Smaug die in the 2nd Hobbit film if it was titled the 'Desolation of Smaug'?
The Desolation of Smaug does not mean the Destruction of Smaug.
Dictionary Definition
Definition of desolation
the action of desolating
the pitiful desolation and slaughter of ...
- 36.8k
44
votes
Why does Smaug have 4 legs in the 1st movie but only 2 legs in the 2nd?
TL;DR
This answer starts by clarifying some terms, then goes through some background information and ends up answering the question. The overall answer was improved considering the discussions in the ...
- 1,149
38
votes
Could the gold actually kill Smaug?
It might actually kill Smaug, though for completely different reasons than what the movie scene suggests.
As already said, the temperature of molten gold should hardly be impressive to a fire-drake &...
- 4,407
38
votes
What was Thorin's plan if Bilbo hadn't woken up Smaug?
Depending on the time you look at Thorin may or may not have had much of a plan. In the early meetings with Gandalf, Thorin suggests storming the mountain by force, routing the Dragon and reclaiming ...
- 75.5k
34
votes
Accepted
Is Smaug a reptile?
Although Tolkien never makes any outright claims to Smaug being reptilian he does make a few statements about Smaug being a Lizard or lizard-like
“Oh yes, very much so. Except no, Fafnir was a ...
- 75.5k
32
votes
Accepted
How did Smaug transport all of his gold and jewels?
In The Hobbit, Smaug specifically denies that he was "quite large and quite old" when he attacked Erebor and Dale:
"I laid low the warriors of old and their like is not in the world today. Then I ...
- 19.7k
24
votes
Accepted
Where did the name Smaug come from?
In his 1938 letter the the Editor of the Observor, Tolkien explicitly stated that the name Smaug is derived from the low Germanic; "To squeeze through a hole".
"The dragon bears as name – a ...
- 620k
21
votes
How was Smaug's treasure actually divided?
It looks like your answer contains all the detail that was in the story. All of the dwarves stayed in the lonely mountain so the bulk of the treasure stayed there.
Bard requested a share of the hoard ...
- 2,856
18
votes
What was Thorin's plan if Bilbo hadn't woken up Smaug?
Thorin had no realistic plan at the outset but that didn't seem to matter to him. He was the rightful King Under The Mountain and he was going to reclaim his kingdom or die trying. Warriors do not ...
- 673
17
votes
How did the dwarves know Smaug's name?
Smaug was already a well-known & feared creature by the time he flew down from the North to conquer Erebor. He was considered to be the last Great Dragon by any who knew of such things. This would ...
- 62k
16
votes
Accepted
Would Gandalf have been allowed to fight Smaug?
Probably.
The prohibition on the Istari:
"Their emissaries [the Istari/Wizards] were forbidden to reveal themselves in forms of majesty, or to seek to rule the wills of Men or Elves by open ...
- 5,639
15
votes
Was Smaug woken up by a nut hitting the mountain?
Director Peter Jackson and Senior Screenwriter Philippa Boyens discuss the scene in considerable detail in the Extended Edition "Filmmaker's Commentary".
They explictly state that the dragon Smaug ...
- 620k
15
votes
How old is Smaug, the dragon, in The Hobbit?
Tolkien doesn't give many statements that allow us to pinpoint Smaug's age, but we can cross-reference what is said in the Hobbit with other sources and make a reasonable guess.
First of all, to ...
13
votes
Why did Dale have anti-dragon defences?
For reference, I believe this is the weapon you're referring to:
This weapon appears similar to the ballista, which was a very real historical weapon, and quite common in ancient Greece and Rome. ...
- 159k
13
votes
Why does Smaug have 4 legs in the 1st movie but only 2 legs in the 2nd?
I do not know the easons why Smaug was depicted as having only two legs in the second and third Hobbit movies.
But if being faithful to the book is considered desirable in the Hobbit movies, ...
- 36.1k
11
votes
Accepted
How would Sauron have contacted Smaug?
This is a difficult question to answer, for several reasons, but the biggest problem is that we don't have enough information to form a conclusive answer. However, we can make some informed guesses.
...
- 67.1k
11
votes
Accepted
How did Gandalf expect the dwarves to kill Smaug?
Gandalf likely didn't have a specific plan in mind
He certainly wanted Smaug dead, but his version of the story suggests he was just following his gut, and things just kind of worked out for him1. The ...
- 159k
11
votes
Why does Smaug have 4 legs in the 1st movie but only 2 legs in the 2nd?
I would like to complete the other answers with quotes from the book Smaug: Unleashing the Dragon made by Weta Workshop:
SIX LIMBS OR FOUR?
For Peter, it is never too late to have a good idea. ...
- 372
9
votes
Would Gandalf have been allowed to fight Smaug?
Gandalf fought the Balrog because no other could have; it would have been devastating for the Fellowship to potentially be defeated so early in its journey.
Smaug doesn't represent the same kind of ...
- 91
9
votes
Accepted
Why was Smaug able to take over Erebor with such ease?
In the source novel, we see most of the Dwarf warriors killed in three separate engagements. Smaug has nearly total air superiority and is well able to use the nearby environment to create ambushes, ...
- 620k
7
votes
Was Smaug awake when Bilbo entered Erebor?
It's pretty unambiguous in the book that Smaug was asleep (my emphasis):
It was at this point that Bilbo stopped. ... after a short halt go on he did; and you can picture him coming to the end of the ...
- 35.7k
6
votes
How did Smaug transport all of his gold and jewels?
This was a question that we came up with about dragons in general back in my old D&D games. We took the approach that dragons were capable of accumulating minions who would do their bidding. ...
- 798
5
votes
Accepted
Was Sauron aware of the prophecy that Smaug would be killed and that the Dwarves would reclaim Erebor?
What you seem to be calling a "prophecy" is not much more than an old song of Lake-town. While it does talk of the return of Thror to his realm under the Mountain, it is not necessarily prophesying a ...
- 75.5k
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