Middle Earth personified

How Tolkien films have changed Aotearoa

When The Fellowship of the Ring premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on December 10, 2001, hundreds of millions of copies of JRR Tolkien’s early- to mid-20th century fantasies set in Middle Earth had already circulated.

The movie became a blockbuster hit, making $1.3 billion. And as audiences lapped up Kiwi director Peter Jackson’s visual recreation of Tolkien’s world, book sales rocketed again.

But alongside the cinematic and publishing stars, another rose: New Zealand, the place masquerading as Middle Earth.

Up to that point, most of the world might not have been able to pinpoint New Zealand on a map, let alone contemplate visiting it.

Yet, in the five years after that premiere, leisure visitors to Aotearoa increased by 40 per cent, and tourism became the nation’s second-biggest industry behind dairy, with one New Zealand tourism official calling The Lord of the Rings

‘‘the best unpaid advertisement New Zealand has ever had’’.

Middle Earth wasn’t the only driver, of course. In the pre-pandemic 21st century, travellers got more adventurous, and spread their wings further. ‘‘Off the beaten track’’ became the mantra for many and New Zealand’s unspoiled landscapes and wholesome image gained wide appeal.

But even so, 20 years and another five Middle Earth movies (a further two Lord of the Rings films, three Hobbit features) later, almost one in five visitors still cited The Lord of the Rings asa reason they became interested in New Zealand as a holiday destination.

The impact on New Zealand tourism was not anticipated, let alone planned for. And those expecting this perhaps least of all were those involved in making the movies.

Co-founded by Richard Taylor and his wife, Tania Rodger, We¯ ta¯ Workshop (wetanz.com) is the Oscar-winning company making physical special effects such as creatures, costumes and sets that contributed immensely to the epic look and believability of the films.

Taylor recalls the first time people started showing up at the outfit’s headquarters in Miramar, Wellington.

‘‘From the moment the movies came out, we started getting buses of people pulling up in front of our workshop, and I would wave at them through the window,’’ he says. ‘‘If I had a moment, I’d pop down and get on the bus, give them a talk, or just chat with them and tell them about what we were up to and who we were and so on. But it became painfully evident that we actually needed to pull a finger out and do something rewarding for the people [who] dropped in.’’

Thirteen years ago, they opened ‘‘a little tiny retail experience in the back corner of our workshop,’’ he says. And from that came the We¯ ta¯ Cave, an experiential display of creatures, sets and audio visual assets, and then the bigger We¯ ta¯ Cave Experience to cater for increased demand.

‘‘I personally did a great deal of the build on the We¯ ta¯ Cave,’’ says Taylor, who now counts regular visitors to it among his friends. Some even stay with him and his wife.

‘‘There’s this weird misconception that fans must be people you don’t necessarily wish to engage with. That’s not the case because we are fans ourselves,’’ he says.

It’s that incredibly Kiwi way – the friendliness, the welcome, the hands-on approach – that helped the movies make a transcendent emotional connection, inspiring flight bookings and itinerary planning from fans far and wide. Taylor says that while the concentration of diverse landscapes ‘‘from pastoral Hobbiton to the horrors of Mordor’’ were one thing, that national character was a whole other.

‘‘These weren’t films made by just one director, by a producer, by a studio, by a crew. This was a set of movies made by a nation of people, bringing their energy and effort behind every endeavour. ‘‘You can feel it in the films. It is a big part of why I think these specific films were able to be made so beautifully [in New Zealand].’’ Russell Alexander owns and runs Hobbiton (hobbitontours.com), the 5.5-hectare farm turned botanical movie set, which represented Tolkien’s

Hobbit-inhabited shire throughout the movies. Before Covid, it was attracting 650,000 people a year.

Like Taylor, he attributes the Matamata site’s longevity – it’s been more than seven years since the last movie was released and it still reduces visitors to tears – to its New Zealandness.

Steering clear of the American theme park model also helped.

‘‘They do fantastic parks and I’ve gone there to learn things like how to manage visitors. But if you try to copy them, you will do a really bad example of it,’’ he says.

‘‘So, what you do is be authentic to yourself. The experience we are providing is authentic, incorporating rural New Zealand and the best of the scenery and the landscapes, and everything from the movies and what’s involved in making a major movie.’’

Alexander says that rather than providing a Hobbit version of Disneyland, with recreations and actors dressed as characters, the key to Hobbiton’s success is its ‘‘storytelling’’ approach, taking people behind the scenes.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, self-confessed Tolkien fan Taylor also loves Hobbiton.

‘‘I’m a huge and passionate fan of Hobbiton, and I love going there myself. To me, it’s everything that Disney would have wished Disneyland could be if they didn’t have to deal with massive numbers of people. There is an earthly sort of beauty and wholesomeness to it that you just can’t do when you’re driving millions of people through a place and it feels so authentic and so real, literally as if you’ve been dropped into another world. It is probably one of the most magical places that you could hope to visit on the planet.’’

And New Zealand’s enduring appeal? ‘‘Once you unleash into the country, you are interacting with a nation of people [who] have a different perspective on the world than maybe any other country. Arguably that’s because we’re a small island nation. But we are very passionate, patriotic individuals, who have a pride to share in what we have here with others.’’ traveller.com.au

Staying safe

New Zealand is under Covid-19 restrictions.

Face coverings are mandatory on all flights and public transport. Proof of vaccination and vaccine exemption may be required in some venues under the traffic light system. Follow the instructions at covid19.govt.nz.