This was just a year and a half after Jar Jar Binks came into existence, so CGI expectations were about as low as they could get. On the one hand, the trio of movies benefited from the fact that they were well-funded and ambitiously filmed when CGI was still in its infancy. Like so many other films in the genre, The Hobbit movies choose to lean on CGI far too often as a lackluster alternative to realistic props - especially when compared to Jackson's obsessively detailed LOTR trilogy. While The Hobbit films are impressive in some ways, they clearly lack the same level of detail that the LOTR trilogy boasts. One needs to look no further than the Lord of the Rings' cinematic 'sequel prequels' (read: The Hobbit trilogy) to see how much the original trilogy stands apart from other fantasy productions. Plus 1,800 pairs of prosthetic Hobbit feet were also made - and that's just for the four main Hobbit actors alone. Just to name a few of the splashiest factoids, professional swordsmiths were hired to create weapons for the films, roughly 10,000 arrows were made for The Fellowship of the Ring alone, and 12.5 million rings of chainmail were forged for the countless suits of armor seen throughout the trilogy. Of all the details, the costumes are the area where the production team's prowess shined the brightest. While they have their cringe-worthy moments, all three films still hold up under scrutiny - which certainly can't be said for all movies from the early years of the 21st century.

The best testament to the scope of the movies can be seen in how well they still hold their own, even against more modern, CGI-infused competition. From jaw-dropping panoramic shots to oversized sets, an epic score, an armory of weapons, and an ocean of make-up and prosthetics, there's nothing about this trilogy that could be considered small. The sheer scope of the project was impressive on every level. However, none of the films that predated this point in time had anywhere near the level of ambition that The Lord of the Rings aimed for. There were plenty of fantasy films produced before The Fellowship of the Ring arrived in theaters in late 2001.

That would be like saying 2008's Iron Man was the first superhero flick ever filmed. We're not claiming that Jackson's movies were the first fantasy films ever made.

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