Premiering in 2001, the 3-film franchise The Lord of The Rings was based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s magnificent novels of fantasy. The cinematic masterpiece generated a net box office worth of 2.917 billion dollars, with only a budget of 281 million.
To say that the films were a massive success would be a grave understatement. It launched the big budget careers of many actors like Viggo Mortensen, Sean Bean, Orlando Bloom, Karl Urban and Dominic Monaghan, re-igniting the fame of a few others like Christopher Lee, of classic Dracula horror fame. It was thanks to this success that the much anticipated three-part prequel The Hobbit was made, gaining epic film status amongst film buffs and fantasy lovers everywhere. The 2012 release recalled its loyal fanbase, bringing generations together in a brilliant retelling of a classic collection of short stories and songs.
With the franchise's growing popularity, you can’t scroll through Facebook or Twitter without seeing a bunch of hilarious memes that undoubtedly would make even Evil Super-villain Sauron himself chuckle. With that in mind, here are 20 such memes that we at The Gamer think you (and Sauron) will enjoy.
22 By Far The Most Popular
The epic line has gone down as being one of the most popular meme generators of all time—even transcending the generations. The base picture always remains the same, as for nearly all memes, but the endless possible generated endings are what makes the reader laugh.
“One does not simply walk into Mordor,” delivered brilliantly by actor Sean Bean.
As we are about to see, the internet is chock-full of memes that all start the same. Some other examples: "One does not simply stop playing Fallout 3 … One does not simply watch that scene without thinking about a meme … One does not simply throw away one's old Pokemon junk."
21
20 Whose Precious?
Sméagol or Gollum provided the franchise with much needed humor, but his character also added a shroud of secrecy, and an ominous feeling throughout many scenes.
For those who did not read the popular novel, the viewer was never sure how the character would turn out. As is hinted many times throughout the films, he would definitely be a big part in how the story would turn out, but the viewer was haunted by one question.
How?
The character was funny, but at times, the viewer is filled with a hatred for the tiny villain, because he is endangering the characters of Frodo and Sam and their journey, but many more times, the character establishes pathos, until the very end. What’s funny here is actually trying to imagine watching the film with Sméagol … watching the scenes unfold. That’s enough to make Sauron double over with a stitch in his side.
19
18 Gandalf's StairMaster
The character of Gandalf the wizard was indeed a serious one, and his scenes proved that time and time again. But he shouldn’t be counted out from being good for a few laughs. Some of the most hilarious scenes in the franchise come at the hands of the sage wizard.
Case in point, he gets lost and forgets the way through the mines of Moria.
What’s also quite funny are many of his serious moments. Often times, it is the contrasting characters that can provide the audience with the most laughs, as was the case for Gandalf. It’s often the subtlety and delivery of the lines that make them funny. And when funny statements are delivered with an edge of seriousness, they can ultimately be quite effective.
17 An Insatiable Appetite
We imagine the hobbits were good business for snack bars in theatres all over the world. They single-handedly inspired billions of people to seek sustenance while watching the films in the franchise. If the characters weren’t eating, they were talking about food, and that was enough to have people plunging fingers into popcorn, nibbling at corn dogs and slurping down slushies at a maddening pace. Furthermore, there was no doubt that people at home were pausing the film to make sandwiches and fetch sodas from their fridges, along with bags and bags of chips.
Eating along with these characters was probably quite common in many households.
Who knows, maybe even Sauron himself reached for that leftover turkey leg and pint of ale?
16 A Hundred Arrows For Every Frame
Legolas definitely fired a lot of arrows over the course of the LOTR franchise. He was also featured in the prequel, so he had plenty of time to discharge his ammo, quickly and efficiently reaching for arrow after arrow in battle.
We wonder though if Sauron would laugh, seeing that Legolas dispatched so many orcs with those arrows. But this meme sure is funny enough and is a definite tummy-tickler if ever we saw one. But can you imagine the elves that had to make his arrow supply.
Man, those dudes were able to put kid after kid through elf college—business was booming.
So then again, maybe even Sauron can find the humor in that.
15 Two Types Of Fans
It’s safe to say that both LOTR and The Hobbit franchises shattered box office expectations. The motion pictures that were contained within are some seriously fine films. But to say that the prequel was enjoyed by one and all might not exactly cover the whole truth.
The Hobbit made loads of money—no question about that—but not everyone who loved the first instalment of the Tolkien based films enjoyed or even watched the prequels. A lot of hardcore fans of any franchise can be quite opinionated, evidently including those of LOTR, as well. This can be because of the cast, the story, or any other numerous reasons. This meme touches on that and is actually quite funny.
We can bet Sauron liked whichever franchise he had more screen time in.
14 The Hobbits Are On Their Own Again
We know that surely Sauron enjoyed this one. In the film, at this point, all the hobbits were left to fend for themselves … Frodo and Sam were on their own, and Merry and Pippin were alone and captured by the orcs. Never were Sauron and his orcs closer to attaining the powerful ring they so desired, and it’s safe to assume that that news made Sauron extremely content.
That indeed meant that Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli were at a loss, desperately trying at least to find Merry and Pip. Those scenes provided the viewer with many gut-wrenching scenes and also, very amusing ones at that. They followed the orcs that had taken them all the way to Fangorn Forest, and this was how the second instalment began with The Two Towers.
13 Sam's Battery-Powered Light
Frodo was given the phial of Galadriel to use in "dark places". There was no doubt that it would come in handy as the hobbits embarked further into their quest.
Frodo used it a few times, but it shone brightest in the hands of Sam, a testament to the impeccable heart and indomitable spirit that he possessed. And so it came in handy when battling Shelob the Spider.
What’s absolutely funny here is the fact that something of such mystical power and exuberance would run on batteries. If it did, Sam and Frodo would have indeed been in a lot of trouble, as the phial got them out of a lot of messy jams, and we doubt that there were any Seven-Elevens on their way to Mordor.
12 Sauron's Backyard
When a film or a piece of art becomes exceedingly popular, it becomes a part of society. So much so, that it becomes the butt of many jokes and easily works its way into conversation.
It’s no wonder that LOTR has easily made its way into the cultures of the world and can easily be thrown into discussions. Hence the popularity of memes and jokes like the one above and others in this list. It’s no doubt super-hot in the southern United States, and the subtle obviousness of this joke is most definitely appropriate and calls the listener or reader to put two and two together immediately.
Firstly, Mordor was ablaze with molten lava and was obviously extremely hot, therefore if it’s hot in Texas, then two hobbits throwing a ring into a Texan backyard ….
Oh, I get it.
11 They Weren't Short On Charm
The reason there are so many obvious jokes out there, is because they can at most times be extremely funny. And this one doesn’t disappoint. What’s obvious about this one?
Well, it's the fact that tiny hobbits are short … duh!
That’s the absolute beauty of the joke, for some. The actors that played the four main hobbits in LOTR were impeccable in their roles. Frodo Baggins was played expertly by Elijah Wood, an actor who had started his career as a child. His faithful friend Samwise Gamgee was played by Sean Astin, endearing himself to audiences everywhere. Merry and Pippin were played by Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd, respectively.
Each of the actors were young and brought a boyish charm to the hobbits they played. That definitely helps when trying to portray characters as “small.”
10 Small But Strong
Gimli the Dwarf was also smaller than the Men, but whatever he lacked in height, he sure made up for in strength. Gimli was indeed the strong warrior, and with an axe in hand, he was very fearsome. In fact, he remains one of the franchise’s best warriors, having battled side by side with Legolas in many on-screen fights, holding his own.
Gimli was played by John Rhys-Davies of The Untouchables, Raiders of The Lost Arc and Firewalker fame.
The exceptional Welsh actor did the fictional Dwarf supreme justice in the role. Many were rooting for Gimli and saw way past the grumpy exterior of the character. As Legolas and he grew to befriend one another, so did the audience grow to love Gimli.
As for the meme, I’m sure even Sauron got caught in the bathroom, fresh out of toilet paper.
9 We Can Never Get Enough of Pip
Just picture it now … Sauron is struggling not to laugh. He’s trying desperately to keep his composure. He’s holding onto the smouldering arms of his throne, his jaw is quivering, and suddenly, Mordor is rocked with the thunderous sounds of his booming laughter.
What did it? What made him lose his ever fearsome composure?
You guessed it: little Peregrin Took himself. He was king of the one-liners, numerous antics and of course, he was the thorn in Gandalf’s aching side.
He had audiences laughing along with him when scenes grew grim and dark, and yet actor Billy Boyd was expert at portraying the tiny hobbit in scenes of a far more dramatic and serious quality. And that is the true measure of any great actor.
8 Adorable Pippin
Pizza toppings are a serious business. At TheGamer, pizza is its own basic food group when we're trying to meet deadlines, so we can understand good old Pip on that one. Succulent sautéed mushrooms and melted cheese, and maybe some pepperoni and anchovies? Let’s face it: toppings make the pizza.
Without them, it’s just dough.
Pippin’s penchant for mushrooms is revealed early on in The Fellowship of The Ring, the franchise’s first instalment, and it's what generates a lot of laughs for a meme such as this one. What also makes the reader chuckle at this one is how often throughout the franchise, Pippin will often get on Gandalf’s bad side with his antics and tomfoolery.
But like a good meme, there’s always time for a laugh; even amidst a very serious scene, and Pip was always good for one.
7 One Wild Adventurous Trio
Many have argued that The Two Towers, the second film in the series was by far, the best. Now, after quite a few years, there’s no way to say for sure because all of the films did extremely well. But the second film was indeed full of suspense, landing at the halfway point of a three year journey the fans embarked on--each instalment released a year apart, every December. So, the fans got the feeling that they’d seen so much, yet there was still so much more adventure to come.
Our two and a half men, heroes Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli were a large part of the second film, questing to find a captured Merry and Pippin. Their journey brought them to find King Théoden, to the battle of Helm’s Deep, and to much, much more.
6 Battles In The Deep
The battle at Helm’s deep is one of the greatest battle scenes ever shot, and also one of the longest in cinematic history. It spans a lot of screen time, but isn’t at all boring—not a single frame of it. The ominous pace is set from the beginning, where the viewer is informed that our heroes would at be outnumbered by an army of 9000 Orcs and Uruk-hai fighters.
Terrible odds, for sure.
Yet the battle has everything you could ask for, with great fight scenes, amazing direction and a cast that helped showcase a plethora of scenes that were exciting, horrifying and incredibly hilarious all at once.
5 Enemy Uruk-Hai Fighters On Patrol
The Lord of The Rings franchise has its place in cinematic history, of that there is no doubt. There are a lot of reasons for this, and yet another reason for this was its incredible advances in the field of make-up and creature design. For years, readers had been reading the work of J.R.R. Tolkien and could only imagine what the evil Orcs and Uruk-hai actually look like, but here, it was all laid out in plain sight.
It sure wasn’t pretty, but it was oh-so-effective.
Weta Workshops, a special effects and props company, was responsible for the creature design and manufacturing of all that was seen in the LOTR franchise. The company was founded by Richard Taylor, Jamie Selkirk and Peter Jackson, the LOTR director himself! How’s that for a small world?
And as for the meme … who the heck likes showing up for work when they didn’t have to?
4 The Lady-In-Law Of The Galadhrim
Kate Blanchett, the exceptional British actress, played the character of the Lady of Light extremely well. She brought her beauty, talent and piercing blue eyes to the role. In her scenes in the film, she exudes a kindness and softness that convinces the viewer she is fair and pure. Yet, when the character appears to Frodo when he is alone at The Mirror of Galadriel, an astonishing and horrifying version of the elf comes to the surface.
A message of warning to all newlywed men out there: Beware the wrath of the Mother in Law. Tread carefully, so as not to incur the Galadriel-like wrath. Of course it’s an old joke to poke fun at all Mothers-In-Law out there, and it’s as old as the first ever “knock-knock joke” but it's all in good fun.
How does Sauron deal with his In-Laws, we wonder?
3 Easy Breezy Beautiful Cover ... Elf?!
Did you ever look at someone and wonder, “Man, how do they get their hair to look so great?” Don’t feel bad, it happens … even to the likes of Aragorn, if you believe this particular meme.
In the films, frame after frame, viewers can’t get over how unkempt and disheveled Aragorn’s hair can get. It was greasy and messed up and it just kind of dangled in his face. Although many found it pretty cool and fitting for his character, for those out there who think highly of well-kept hair, Legolas was the one worthy of true praise. His hair was always neatly placed and straight and it always looked clean, no matter where he was or what he’d gotten into.
I don’t think Sauron has hair … otherwise, he’d be cracking up with this meme, we’re sure.