"Shut up and take my money, Gandalf": Lord of the Merchandise
"Shut up and take my money, Gandalf": Lord of the Merchandise
ATTENTION: 100% done! Nov 2020
ATTENTION 2: POST IN UPDATE PROCESS FOR Ze Seriez!
Christmas shopping is just around the corner and as the global pandemic does not seem to release its grasp on mankind in the foreseeable future many people will take the opportunity and spend time on getting presents for the loved ones. Now, even if this is not the case with you and the thought of Christmas could not be further from your mind this list of licensees of Middle-earth Enterprises might at least hold a chuckle here and there for you.
Middle-earth Enterprises owns exclusive worldwide rights to motion picture, merchandising, stage and other rights in certain literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien including The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
So, emotionally about 95% of all merchandise pertaining to Middle-earth comes from this particular company, "formerly known as Tolkien Enterprises, a division of The Saul Zaentz Company, headquartered in Berkeley, California."
Now, I am talking about licensees at the time of writing this for you, not former licensees which have quietly disappeared such as Middle-earth Furniture (Abre numa nova janela).
[Official licensees of Middle-earth Enterprises as of Nov 6, 2020.]
I'll go through them alphabetically, just as MeE has them.
ASHLAND FLY
What could be more fitting to have than fishing flies. You know, Déagol and Sméagol, just fishin' ... Please note the original Tolkein novel.
If you know the story of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, you know that the real adventure began when Smeagol and Deagol went fishing, and...caught a ring.
Website: Ashlandflyshop.com (Abre numa nova janela)
ATHLON GAMES
Funnily enough, the link to Athlon Games was the link to Ashland Fly (at the time of writing) but I would presume the link is the one you can find below. Basically, Athlon Games is set to do another MMO set in Middle-earth, possibly tying in with the upcoming series, and not in direct thematic competition to the long-running and well-loved LotRO (see .) At least, that is what many LotRO fans are hoping. At the time of writing no reliable information on the game is available. [Addendum: I let MeE know about the wrong link; let's see when they'll correct it.]
Website: Athlon Games (Abre numa nova janela) - Press Release on MMO.
BADALI JEWELRY
82 products are to be found with Badali Jewelry, and yes, they do rings, cufflinks, ear rings, necklaces, you name it, they will be able to have it. Now, I would not dish out over $1K for the Gold Key of Thror (Abre numa nova janela) but hey, it is your money to spend! And I do know them mostly because the amazing Britta Siemen (Abre numa nova janela) is a huge fan :) #TolkienTribe on Instagram rules!
Website: Middle-earth Jewelry (Abre numa nova janela), in silver and bronze
BARE TREE MEDIA
This is one of the more obscure names as the only product I could find with them was a stickers pack (Abre numa nova janela) for the long since deceased (revamped) Blackberry - if you are a little older you may remember this once leading smartphone. However, they are, of course, offering quite a few other things these days ... If you like the Mandalorian, for example, you might have seen these GIFs and emojis (Abre numa nova janela).
Website: Bare Tree Media (Abre numa nova janela)
DAEDALIC ENTERTAINMENT
Well, this is something for me az a Germanz, of course. Daedalic is in Hamburg and one of the leading game developing studios we have and they are the ones doing Lord of the Rings: Gollum (Abre numa nova janela). Funnily enough, the company used to be owned by one of the publishing houses I work for as a translator but the Daedalic management simply bought their company back (Abre numa nova janela).
Please do not ask me what Gollum will do - they have not really said anything about the game so far. If I hear from them you will hear it first, of course!
Website: Daedalic Entertainment (Abre numa nova janela)
ELECTRONIC ARTS
Now, this one is a bit tricky as Electronic Arts is well-known to have done some major games (Abre numa nova janela) during the Lord of the Rings film trilogy hype. My personal favourite and a truly good game was Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth. BfMe - as fans call it - was so good and successful that BfMe II was published quickly after. But, and that was a huge but at the time, the EA license reverted back to Warner Bros. gaming in 2009 (Abre numa nova janela), probably because WB was already involved in planning the Hobbit films and wanted to have all licenses back. Why Electronic Arts is on the list of MeE licensees really baffles me - if you know more about it, please leave a comment!
FANTASY FLIGHT GAMES
Quite a few amazing board and card games have come from Fantasy Flight Games (Abre numa nova janela) set in Middle-earth and I can only hope they'll do more! Not only because one of most successful game developers of the world is from Germany (Reiner Knizia (Abre numa nova janela)) but because those games are really fun.
GAMES SYSTEM INTERNATIONAL
GSI provides "turn-based, strategy games set in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, including elements from ICE’s Middle-earth Role Playing", so if you want go for Middle-earth Games (Abre numa nova janela) that is your chance.
GAMES WORKSHOP
The moment you talk table-top gaming Games Workshop (Abre numa nova janela) will come up for certain - one of the major companies in the world. They have been producing miniatures for decades, starting out as Tolkien fans, and will continue to do so. What has been most entertaining for me on tournaments the German Tolkien Society organised with the help of great table top fanatics, though, are the names they give their colours to - "Snot Green", "Leadbelcher", and "Plaguebearer Flesh" are just way too gorgeous (Abre numa nova janela). As I was the German translator to Battle Games in Middle-earth (Abre numa nova janela) I have very fond recollections of this particular hobby :)
GRUMPY GEEKS
Having the right tee to wear meeting fellow Tolkienists seems to be of quite some importance with a number of people. So hey, Grumpy Geeks got you covered (Abre numa nova janela) (haha, pun!)
HOBBITON MOVIE SET
Yup, even if you are the Hobbit Set (Abre numa nova janela) you need to have a license.
KINGS WILD PROJECT
Playing cards. Yes, playing cards. Announced this year (Abre numa nova janela), this is a work in progress - looking forward to it. There is a video on how Frodo Baggins is going to look like (Abre numa nova janela).
LEGO
There was a certain game set in a certain film trilogy world. Who knows what the future will bring but LEGO: The Lord of the Rings (Abre numa nova janela) is a thing. And yes, there also was a Hobbit one (Abre numa nova janela), of course. Early 2019 the games were removed from all digital storefronts (Abre numa nova janela); well, there have to be new rules & regulations for the upcoming series...
MOYLAN'S
A brewery. (Abre numa nova janela) I am all for it.
BALROG BEER. I MEAN ...
MIDDLE EARTH COLLECTION
At the time of writing the collection is no longer online but it was quite cute when it was there - little dioramas (Abre numa nova janela) set in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
MIDDLE-EARTH HONEY
Those Kiwis really know how to be busy bees and sell it. Yup, there is honey made in Middle-earth (Abre numa nova janela). Looks nice, right?
MIDDLE-EARTH WATER
Did I mention these Kiwis know how do these things? Yup, there is sparkling water (Abre numa nova janela). By the way, those peeps are also doing the wines!
MIDDLE-EARTH WINES
And I would certainly love to try their Sauvignon Blanc (Abre numa nova janela).
MINT BROOK MEADOW TEAS
A proper cup of tea can make any horrible day a better day. So it is only natural to get Hobbit Teas (Abre numa nova janela) - the Bilbo Baggins Breakfast Blend sounds about right for me.
MITHRIL MINIATURES
This is probably the longest-running merchandise license in all of Tolkiendom (if any of you know of another that has been running for 25+ years please let me know. I saw Mithril figurines (Abre numa nova janela) at the beginning of the 90s in my local rpg and tabletop shop in Cologne.) I do not know how they do it but they have my respect and their metal miniature figures are absolutely great; somehow the company who seems to be one of the largest producers of such figurines in the world ended up in County Cork in Ireland. By the way, they seem to have a great clearance sale (Abre numa nova janela) all the time :) Oh, and yes: "32mm & 54mm scale figures are influenced by J.R.R. Tolkien's books." [my emphasis]
Saruman would have been happy to produce so many wargs so quickly.
NEW LINE CINEMA
Uhm. Okay. Self-explanatory, right? :)
OSCHA
There are many ways in which to carry your kid and, yes, there are baby wraps, ring slings, baby carriers - and Oscha has all of them (Abre numa nova janela).
QUNYUN THREE ZERO
I have not been able to find any Tolkien products with this company (yet, obviously!) but they are well-known figurine producers (Abre numa nova janela) - Game of Thrones fan have certainly had their fun. Try to imagine Númenor this way :)
ROYAL SELANGOR
You can never have enough goblets (Abre numa nova janela) but somehow I believe it is the chess set that will raise most eyebrows and banknotes being waved ...
The battle for Middle-earth begins. Aragorn and Galadriel lead a band of Ents, Wizards and Hobbits against Sauron and Shelob’s horde of Saruman, Gollum, Dragons and Orcs. Cast in pewter, with copper plating to distinguish the opposing armies, play takes place on a chessboard of wood and pewter marquetry.
RIVENDELL BYCYCLE WORKS
I have to admit I did not know about this specialist bicycle company (Abre numa nova janela) that has been selling old-school bikes since 1994 from Walnut, California. Interestingly enough, they got their name from the next company ... Their story is up on their blog (Abre numa nova janela).
RIVENDELL MOUNTAIN WORKS
Now, the company (Abre numa nova janela) was founded in 1971 - bearing this name until this day - but Middle-earth Enterprises (or better, Tolkien Enterprises at the time) was only founded in 1976. The company ownership changed hands in 1981 so that would possibly be the date, then.
They came up with the Jensen backpack which seems to be the thing for a large number of mountaineers out there. Decent backpacks are important, the Fellowship knows!
SHIRE POST MINT
"We need coin" may be the most often used term in any roleplaying game ever when the crew is starting out on the first adventure. So, if you need coins going to Middle-earth, then you should be just fine with the Shire Post Mint (Abre numa nova janela). Or to Westeros, Scadrial, Hyboria, and/or Mars - you can get them in copper, silver, gold. You know, mints go crazy, right?
SOPHISTICATED GAMES
Could possibly be the most fun licensee I know and I am not saying that just because I translated some of their excellent work (Abre numa nova janela) into German - they have brought out some truly great games I can only highly recommend.
STANDING STONE GAMES
For more than ten years now Tolkien fans had the opportunity to dive into a gaming world based on the books - started by developer Turbine in 2007 Lord of the Rings Online (Abre numa nova janela) has shown surprising stamina in a highly competitive part of video gaming. After a few turbulent happening around 2016 with game ownership moving from Warner Bros. to Daybreak Games Standing Stone Games (many of them former Turbine staff) have taken over running and developing the game to continued success. The latest add-on "War of Three Peaks" has just come out. Let's hope for many more years!
TREEBEARD DESIGNS
Furniture. (Abre numa nova janela) I am trying not to read too much into the name of the company - Hroom! Anyway, if you are looking for some handmade work this is the place to go to.
US GAMES SYSTEMS, INC.
"U.S. Games Systems, Inc. has been the premier publisher of tarot and inspirational decks since 1968." So if you happen to have seen the Lord of the Rings tarot (Abre numa nova janela) that is probably the reason for this particular license.
VOLANTE
It is all about the clothes (Abre numa nova janela), right? Volante seems to have you covered and I can imagine they will be coming up with more of those.
WB GAMES
Shadow of Mordor has been one of the most successful games for the video gaming arm (Abre numa nova janela)of Warner Bros.
WB SHOPS
LOTR Shop (Abre numa nova janela) : Hobbit Shop (Abre numa nova janela). Go nuts.
WETA
Weta Workshop (Abre numa nova janela) has a lot going for it, particularly collectables in recent years.
WINELORD
I am a little at a loss as this is Middle-earth Wines (see above.) However, I have to say that WINELORD sounds way cooler ;)
P.S. The two companies running Middle-earth inspired wine and water are called Winelord Ltd and Premium Waters Ltd. but have, of course, taken on names that are more fitting *g*
WOODEN WONDERS
I really loved seeing their chicken coop when it came out and this is certainly one of the most entertaining pieces of merchandise you can get. And I want a playhouse in my size!
Please note
There are, of course, other people offering Tolkien-related merchandise and there is even more that has long come and gone - just to mention a few:
- all Deciper related products (trading card game + roleplaying game)
- Arwen/ Aragorn salt and pepper shaker
- all the lovely things the Ralph Bakshi film brought forth. You can spend twenty grand right now on eight figurines (Abre numa nova janela).
- etc. etc.
According to German law I have to infom you all links to enterprises/ artists are [unpaid advertisements.]
Photo credits: all respective rights' owners.
This post was originally published (Abre numa nova janela) on Nov 9, 2020.
