My prrrrrrecious...

We watched "Return of the King" last night (the first disc anyway). I was reminded of Christmas 2003 when we watched it at the theater as one of the traditional Fox Family Christmas Movies. When we watched it at the theater, I was seated between Brett and his mom.

You may remember the scene in which Frodo and company reach the winding stair on their way to Mordor. The landscape is bleak and smokey and the twisting staircase winds up the side of an impossibly tall mountain. Before they can start to ascend, Frodo is uncontrollably drawn toward the fortress of the Witch King. The fortress is imposing edifice emanating a swampy green glow Horned gargoyles guard its dark gates. A low, evil rumble begins as Frodo's companions try to draw him back into hiding. The rumble builds and throbs into a deafening cacophony which shakes small rocks from the surrounding mountains. At the crescendo, a beam of the swampy green light bursts out of the top of the fortress and the Witch King appears on his fell beast. The beast screeches and circles in the sky while Frodo and company cower and cover their ears. The doors of the fortress open and legions of orcs and other vile creatures march out. The clanking of crudely-made armor matches the sound of tens of thousands of gnarled feet on the stone road. Their faces are tortured and deformed with blackened jagged teeth and filthy diseased skin. They slobber and gnash and howl at the thought of the carnage of the coming battle.

At this point in the movie, Mama Fox leans over to me and says,

"So, these are the bad guys, right?"