no your right i haven't read the book but i read on a thread somewhere that was the case.

There may have been a mention of a hobbit riding a pig once in the books definitely not dwarves.

They need to get the ticket sales in wales somehow
Must admit the hobbit has felt more high fantasy then the lotr, which is a shame as one of the reasons I started playing was that monsters and magic were rare in it and it was almost a historical setting with some fantasy elements sprinkled in.

They ride sheep in Wales? Never saw that the one day I was in Wales.

Really? I think the film is far more "historic" than the book. In the hobbit at Beron's house you have talking animals who walk on their hind legs to set the table. You also have talking purses wielded by the trolls as well as a talking thrush who tells Bard where Smaug's weak spot is. There is very little battle in the Battle of the Five Armies because Bilbo is knocked out halfway which opens the room for interpretation. Tolkien barley goes into any detail about the armies. Magic rings, magic purses, talking animals, riding wargs, talking dragons, shape shifters.... riding on rams isn't so out there...

No its not. I wanted the animals walking on their hind legs, I especially wanted the wargs, giant eagles and birds to talk. Giving all that up in exchange for some dwarves riding "battle sheep" seems a poor trade IMO.

Well then its no longer a "historic" setting. It is totally fine to want the movies to be just like the books, however its rather contradicting to wanting the film to be a Tolkien purist as well as "historic/realistic."

I'm not interested in historic/realist.

I apologise, I was quoting Zarathustra Suicuine thinking it was you.

I am the OP for me I feel that these sheep typify are trend in the Hobbit films of discarding the many of the overt fantasy elements of the Hobbit for other trendy fantasy elements (dwarves riding sheep is a long time World of Warcraft staple). IMO what's the point of that?