Watch the greatest airline safety video ever created by hobbits.
New Zealand wasn’t exactly put on the map by Peter Jackson and his fantastically successful film adaption of The Lord of the Rings, but the island nation to the east of Australia is certainly milking it for all it’s worth. In an amazingly entertaining video created through a partnership between Air New Zealand and the Weta Workshop – the effects house that worked on Jackson’s movies – elves, hobbits and a wizard let you know exactly how to fly like you’re in Middle Earth.
The whole 4 and a half minute video is pretty much awesome, but a few zingers deserve mentioning. The bit with the hair dryer blowing a handsome ranger’s hair back got me chuckling, and the shared look between the stewardess and the man about blowing to inflate the life preserver is pure gold. Peter Jackson’s quick appearance wielding the one Ring was probably as good a cameo as possible, but I loved seeing Gollum creep along the aisle too. The guy wearing the Eye of Sauron headdress thingie at about 30 seconds is one of those easy to miss jokes too.
Honestly, if that was my in flight instructional film, I would actually pay attention to it. I mean, I’ve already watched it a few times and I’m not even on a dang plane. It’s that good.
