Frodo Baggins is the main (or one of several, in any case) protagonist of The Lord of the Rings — a mild-mannered Hobbit from the Shire thrown into a universe filled with dark magic, violent orcs, and a ring that just can't stop trying to tempt him. His struggles are quite unfair, as he himself notes at the beginning, but as Gandalf explains, "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

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Tolkien's version of Frodo shares many commonalities with the cinematic depiction (offered by the chameleonic Elijah Wood), but visual adaptations have different requirements and expectations for their heroes, and such is the case here as well. Here are a few examples in which Frodo Baggins deviates from the original, in contrast with the many ways in which there is no character change at all.

Different: His Age

Lord of the Rings Frodo Hobbiton

Bilbo Baggins and his favorite nephew, Frodo, share the same birthday, which is where the story begins: the older Hobbit's 111th (or eleventy-first) and the younger's coming of age at 33. Although in the movie, Frodo keeps the One Ring safe for Gandalf for a short time, around 17 years pass in the book after the big party.

In fact, as unbelievable as it may seem, Frodo is actually fifty years old when he starts on his quest, but it's important to note that Hobbits are considerably more nimble in their middle age than humans are.

Same: His Relationship With Gollum

Frodo and Gollum

As Gandalf asks him to show pity towards the poor thing, Frodo grows to treat Gollum with pity, much to Samwise's consternation. He exhibits true empathy for the creature twisted by the violent manipulations of the One Ring, marking him as the only person to show Gollum any form of kindness in over half a millennium.

Of course, Frodo is betrayed at the end when Gollum bites the gold off his finger and takes it into the cracks of Mount Doom, but this act only saves him from making the horribly wrong choice (the same one that Isildur does the last time Sauron was destroyed).

Different: His Sojourn In The Old Forest

Frodo and Tom Bombadil in The Lord of the Rings

The Old Forest subplot is expunged from the movies, but include a rather crucial novel character: Tom Bombadil. This ridiculous person might well be the world in living form, or an incarnation of Iluvatar, or even a metaphor for Tolkien, but his mysteriousness only adds more charm to the narrative.

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Frodo and the Hobbits meet Tom after he protects them from Old Man Willow's "eco-terrorism," and while his power is evident, handing the One Ring over to him for safekeeping is vetoed by the Rivendell Council because of his utter lack of concern for anything happening beyond his own territory.

Same: His Solo Quest

Frodo and Sam looking together from cover

Post Boromir's death at the hands of a surprise Orc platoon, Frodo decides to save his friends the stress of traveling to Mordor with him, consequently going off by himself to deliver his burden to the only place strong enough to melt it down completely.

In either version, Sam opts to go along with his darling Mister Frodo, insisting that there is no way he could let him go at it alone. Thank heavens for Sam's adorable stubbornness, because the storyline would have ended within the next few pages had Frodo actually attempted to go solo.

Different: His Love Of Life

Frodo making a face after he was stabbed by a Ringwraith in Fellowship of the Ring

Frodo is a Hobbit, which means he is given to merriment and enjoyable activities, but the film version inexplicably prefers instead to sulk in a corner. This behavioral change is ascribed to the evil lurking within the One Ring, but it doesn't explain why he doesn't act his carefree self before "inheriting" the jewelry from his uncle.

Much like Bilbo, however, Frodo is also presumed to be a crackpot, being interested in all manners of oddities like magic, dragons, and the temptation of traveling to distant lands.

Same: His Love For Galadriel

Galadriel pouring in Lord of the Rings

The Fellowship travels to Lothlorien after Gandalf's untimely death, where Frodo first comes in contact with the radiant Lady Galadriel. He instantly recognizes her eminence, and almost begs her to take the One Ring off his hands.

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Her refusal, after a short-lived display of greed, helps him realize that Galadriel is one of the few beings in Middle-earth capable of resisting the hunger for power that most others fail to conquer. His adoration for her grows further when she provides him with a phial of water enchanted by the light of the only surviving Silmaril.

Different: His Solution To Moria

The entrance to moria lit up in Elvish script in The Lord of the Rings

While waiting at the stone-gate to the mine of Moria, Boromir (not Pippin or Merry) is the one who flings a pebble into the surrounding lake, for which he is admonished by Frodo.

More importantly, in the novels, it is Merry who talks about "friends" which helps Gandalf come to the simple conclusion that the password might just be "mellon", but Frodo is responsible for coming up with the answer in the film adaptation (by wondering what "friend" could mean in Elvish).

Same: His Final Conflict

Frodo is unable to destroy the One Ring

At the precipice of Mount Doom, Frodo is once again swayed by the One Ring, except this time he falls under its spell, utterly and completely. Not even Sam's pleading and tearful glances help change his decision; he puts the ring on and disappears, simultaneously becoming a homing beacon for Sauron and the Nazgul.

When everything seems lost, the one with the highest stake in the entire game, Gollum, "takes the plunge" that Frodo refuses to do, accidentally completing the mission he was never meant to be a part of.

Different: His Trust In Sam

Frod kisses Sam's forehead in Lord of the Rings

The friendship between Sam and Frodo is iconic — and in the novels their loyalty to each other does not waver in the slightest. In the movies, however, Gollum somehow succeeds in sowing the seeds of suspicion between these two protagonists.

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In addition to making Frodo seem more unhinged than he actually is, this alteration simply does not fit the character development maintained across the overall story. Further, Sam would never surrender his post at Mister Frodo's side, as he does during their run through Cirith Ungol.

Same: His Forever Farewell

Frodo at the Gray Haven

The first two surviving Ringbearers are given permission to migrate to the land of Aman (by virtue of their accomplishments.) At the end of the story, Frodo boards a ship along with Elrond, Bilbo, Cirdan, Galadriel and Gandalf, saying goodbye to Middle-earth forever.

He does this not because he has grown tired of the Shire, but because the various mental and physical traumas resulting from his adventures require treatment only available in the Undying Lands. Samwise, being a temp Ringbearer, joins them several decades later.

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