Creatures of The Two Towers: Treebeard

RICHARD TAYLOR on creating one of Middle-earth's strangest life forms.

"Treebeard, this grandfatherly figure, is almost a Greenpeace character -- he makes sure the kauris are in good nick. He's interesting from a design perspective, because how do you personify a tree?

"Treebeard is one of the few things we did as an animatronic [a mechanical model], even though we did a combination of CGI [computer generated imaging]. So he was achieved with a massive, four metre-tall pneumatically driven puppet, on which the actors could play out their scenes with the digital department further enhancing his elements.

"We wanted our Treebeard to be a very subtle and finely created character that has to generate all the complexities and grandfatherly love of the character described in the book, while still having an originality and an authenticity so that the audience will buy into this character.

"Some trees do feel they could be as permanent as time itself. Treebeard is so gnarled and so wizened and has these deep pools of amber which make up his eyes -- he has the wisdom of a lifetime. I think he'll come over as a character that will give the impression of a timeless piece of folklore."

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