The 20th anniversary of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is just around the corner, and there's been a surprising lack of fanfare around this momentous occasion. Late-night host and well-known Tolkien nerd Stephen Colbert certainly feels that way, so he dedicated a special segment to the milestone on his show last night. In the introduction, he griped about the 20th anniversary special Harry Potter is receiving, complete with a full cast reunion, and proceeded to take matters into his own hands.
This kicked off what can only be described as a nerd-hop masterpiece titled "#1 Trilly," featuring Colbert and his music director Jon Batiste in '90s-inspired outfits rapping about the beloved fantasy trilogy's cachet and its pile of awards. The two were quickly joined by a smorgasbord of celebrity guest stars, including Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Hugo Weaving, Viggo Mortensen and Andy Serkis. Method Man and Killer Mike joined in halfway through to contribute some legitimate rapper credentials, and Anna Kendrick even made an appearance. The clip is full of fun Easter eggs and in-jokes for fans, so here's a breakdown of all The Lord of the Rings' references in "#1 Trilly."
Middle-earth Streetwear
Colbert's outfit features a replica of the mithril shirt given to Frodo by Bilbo, which saves the young Hobbit's life in the mines of Moria. His fuzzy white bucket hat is emblazoned with Tolkien's iconic monogram symbol. Batiste sports a knuckleduster carved with the letters "LOTR," and when Gandalf's iconic "You shall not pass!" line is referenced, three of the Hobbits plus Colbert display knuckledusters reading those four words at the same time.
Dominic Monaghan's bling includes a pendant shaped like the Leaves of Lórien brooches that Galadriel gifts to the Fellowship in The Fellowship of the Ring. Rapper Killer Mike also appears to be wearing a necklace bearing a cameo of Bilbo Baggins' father, Bungo Baggins, and of course, Elijah Wood is rocking a chain hung with a giant Ring. Near the end of the video, Sean Astin shows off a potato necklace, a reference to his much-memed "po-tay-toes!" line in The Two Towers.
Hobbit Squad
After a cheesy but cute intro by Colbert and Batiste, the real fun begins, with everyone's favorite Hobbits appearing in style with hilarious rapper names. Dominic Monaghan is "Lil' Merry," and Billy Boyd is "Big Pippin" -- these are no doubt a play on the various scenes where the two squabble over who is taller and drink Ent-draught, causing them to gain a few inches of height. Sean Astin is "$amwi$e G," and Elijah Wood makes a big entrance as "Frodo Motha F%#$@!' Baggins," posing in front of a car with a vanity license plate reading "Middle-earth -- BAGGINS -- dmv.shire.gov."
Frodo's Fallacious Boast
When Wood raps, "Bring the Ring to Mount Doom, and I throw it in the fire," the video quickly cuts to Astin, who gives the camera a sarcastic and knowing look. This is a callout of the fact that Frodo technically didn't succeed at throwing the Ring in -- he was seduced by its power at the last, critical moment. The only reason the quest didn't completely fail was Gollum, who suddenly returned to attack Frodo and ended up falling into the lava while holding the Ring.
Viggo's Dedication
A popular strain of Lord of the Rings memes revolves around fans' inability to keep certain behind-the-scenes fun facts to themselves when showing the films to less-familiar viewers. Chief among these are the infamous stories of Viggo Mortensen's on-set injuries, which Wood refers to when he raps, "Dude lost a tooth, and he broke two toes."
Mortensen broke his toes in The Two Towers scene where he kicks a helmet in rage and despair, believing that Merry and Pippin have died before he can rescue them. He acted through the pain, using it to fuel his performance and creating a visceral take that made it into the final film. As for the tooth loss, that happened at the Battle of Helm's Deep when he took a sword to the face. Apparently, Mortensen asked for the tooth to be glued back on so filming could continue, but Jackson refused and told him to go to the dentist first. Talk about true dedication!
Elrond's Elvish Rap
One of the video's many highlights comes when Hugo Weaving, who played Elrond, drops an absolutely fire verse in the Elvish language of Quenya. He's introduced by a blinged-out Orlando Bloom and accompanied by Andy Serkis on the flute. When Serkis appears onscreen, there's a hilarious edit of his character Gollum wearing a large pair of headphones to his right. Weaving is somewhat difficult to recognize without his Elven garb and pointed ears, but he's clearly kept his Elvish language skills sharp.
Disses On Other Franchises (And Anna Kendrick)
Throughout the rap, the performers boast about The Lord of the Rings trilogy's many accomplishments at the box office and its staggering collection of awards, name-dropping other blockbusters to compare them unfavorably. The dissed franchises and films include Free Willy, The Godfather, Star Wars, Mad Max, Back to the Future, Indiana Jones, Toy Story, James Bond, Batman, The Mighty Ducks, Beverly Hills Cop and The Da Vinci Code.
Anna Kendrick also gets pulled in for some very funny and rather uncalled-for drags about her work on the Twilight and Pitch Perfect films. It's all in good fun, of course, and Kendrick herself is a fan of The Lord of the Rings, as she appears at the end of the video with her Rivendell T-shirt and collection of memorabilia. The only films that don't get insulted are the Naked Gun movies, which Bloom declares are "pretty great."