Take flight to Middle-Earth with Air New Zealand

Posted on by Ken Gagne

For six films, New Zealand has played host to the denizens of J.R.R. Tolkien's tales, its lush country landscapes providing the fantasy setting of Middle-Earth. While the first film in Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy doesn't land until December 14, you can land in Middle-Earth today, courtesy of Air New Zealand, who provides this pre-flight instructional video:

This is no indie work — it features cameos by both director Peter Jackson (who turns 51 today!) and Gollum. Impressive!

I have flown seven flights in the last two weeks, and many more than that every year. Not once have I ever found an instructional safety video that gripped my attention like this one. When else have you ever found yourself indulging in this genre on YouTube?

Well done, Air New Zealand! I look forward to visiting Middle-Earth soon.

(Hat tip: Gina Serpe via Gene Demaitre)

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2 thoughts on “Take flight to Middle-Earth with Air New Zealand”

  2. The cast list gets even more interesting, as reported by a quote from this Web page:
    http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/travel/Air+New+Zealand-264438.html

    Two great grandsons of The Hobbit author J.R.R Tolkien, Mike and Royd Tolkien, also make a cameo appearance in the safety video.

    Royd Tolkien, who features in the video with prosthetic hairy Hobbit feet, says the opportunity to be part of Air New Zealand's association with The Hobbit movies was too good to miss. "They’ve done a great job of capturing the essence of The Hobbit films and it was a privilege to be invited to participate," Royd said.

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