The Hobbit: 10 Things You May Have Missed In The Battle Of The Five Armies

5. The Talking Raven

One of the biggest omissions in The Hobbit, a trilogy notorious for its embellishment, are a specific ability of many of Middle-Earth's animals. In Tolkien's original novel, many of the birds and such can speak - Bard even discovers Smaug's weakness from a helpful thrush. But, with the tone of The Lord Of The Rings dictating the new movies, this element was dropped in bringing it to the screen (bar some sore-thumb poking trolls in the first film). This trait still gets a nod in The Battle Of The Five Armies, however. Thorin calls for help from Dáin Ironfoot using a raven and, with Oakenshield simply sending him on his way, it's heavily implied this bird will verbally pass on the message - a subtle way to honour the forgotten part of the books. In the novel, the raven is known as Roäc, an ageing bird whose family has served the dwarves of Erebor since before the dragon brought fire and desolation down on them. There may be more of this in the Extended Edition.