During the second of Peter Jackson’s film adaptations of the Lord of the Rings, the Two Towers, the fellowship have split paths, with Frodo and Sam making their way towards mordor in an effort to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom where it was created, and Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas tracking a band of orcs who have captured Merry and Pippin. The two youngest hobbits, and subsequently the three friends who track them, ultimately culminate in Fangorn forest, on the southern edge of the Misty Mountains. But what exactly is this dark and mysterious place, and how did it come to be so alive?
The scene begins with Merry and Pippin escaping the clutches of the Uruk-hai orcs, a rare breed created by Saruman, who detained them. They run from the field as the riders of Rohan surround the group of enemies and battle ensues. They haste into the cover of the trees, where ‘night seemed to have taken refuge, creeping away from the coming dawn.’
In order to keep the shooting location for Fangorn Forest accurate to this gloomy description from the book, the set designers made the decision to build Fangorn Forest inside the filming studios in New Zealand. They built metal frames, covered in polystyrene, which were then painted and molded into the shape of bark, and then populated the set with real branches and leaves from a local forest nearby. They did this so that they could control the amount of light and sunshine that entered through this fake canopy, and keep this authentic dingy feeling that pervades the scene.
Despite the trees only being built at around 10 ft high, and then digitally enhanced to make them look taller and fuller, Fangorn is one of the largest indoors sets that was built for the film, and it is here that Merry and Pippin chance upon one of the oldest creatures of Middle Earth: Treebeard the Ent. Interestingly, his name is actually a direct translation for the Sindarian Elvish name for the forest: ‘fang’ meaning ‘beard’ and ‘orn’ meaning ‘tree.’
The other three companions, upon entering the wood, hear the trees groaning and moving in the dark. As a member of the immortal race, Legolas can feel the ancient-ness of the wood and detect the memories that still linger there from a time long ago. Many believe that these memories he speaks of are from the days when the Old Forest stretched for miles and miles in all directions, and the Ents and their wives lived in harmony with the other realms of the world, first and foremost of which was that of the elves.
Although the presentation of the elves changes from books to movies, one thing that remains consistent is that the elves had a huge part in bringing the tree's consciousness out of themselves. Legolas states ‘‘The elves began it. Waking up the trees. Teaching them to speak.’ Many other creatures of Middle Earth also befriended trees throughout the ages, including Radagast the Brown who can be seen in The Hobbit films, who is an ally to all of the birds and the beasts who live in Mirkwood, the elven realm into which Legolas was born. Saruman was also known to walk among the forests, having long conversation with the ents on the borders of Isengard and caring about their welfare before he was corrupted by the influence of the dark Lord Sauron.
However, one race of people who did not care for and value the trees as they should was the race of Men. When the Numenorians, Aragorn's ancestors, first came across to Middle Earth, before the kingdom of Gondor was established in the Second Age, they were prolific boat builders and decided to settle near the Old Forest to share in its abundance of natural resources. However, they began cutting down the trees to use in their beautiful wooden craftsmanship, until their deforestation was so severe that the Ents were forced to corral the trees who remained and move them across the lands to a place where they would be safe from the destruction of man. The new home in which they came to settle later became Fangorn Forest. Not long after this, the Ents became so protective of their trees, that anyone who entered Fangorn either disappeared or died, which is why the land is thought to be cursed, and why the members of the fellowship seem so afraid to enter.
It is also here, of course, that the remaining members of the fellowship are reunited with Gandalf, who has returned to Middle Earth after his death and taken up position as the White Rider, one of the highest members of the Order of Wizards to which he belongs. Gandalf, having earned the loyalty of Treebeard, convinces the Ent to trust Merry and Pippin, which ultimately leads to the Entmoot and the decision of the trees to join the War of the Ring and stand against the enemies of the free peoples. This is a turning point for the better, and allows the comrades to eliminate the threat of Isengard, thus significantly damaging the dark lord's resources, army, and overall power, leading to a victory for the good of all.