The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

What’s it about?

A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg.

The facts

• Directed by Kenji Kamiyama
• English language
• Runtime: 134 minutes
• Starring Brian Cox, Gaia Wise, and Mirando Otto as Eowyn who narrates the story
• Executive produced by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens
• Japanese animation style
• Story is set 183 years before Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings film trilogy

Why did it get this rating?

This film was cross-rated by the Film and Video Labelling Body. You can find out more about cross-rating here.

Anime refers to a style of animation that is produced in Japan. The level of realism, detail in the animation style and tone are all factors that can affect the impact of violence seen on screen. An M-level age rating is recommended for ages 16 years and older. Our content breakdown is intended to help you decide if the animated story is suitable for your whānau.

Content that may disturb

The main character Hera discovers a dead body – it is rotten and clearly has been dead for a while. We see the body up close with flies swarming around.

Hera is being chased by a large creature (a mûmak), and she lures it to a lake where a monster (a Watcher in the Water) emerges from beneath the surface and captures the creature with its large powerful tentacles. The monster consumes the elephant-like creature before disappearing under the surface of the water once more. This scene is loud and surprising.

A character is kidnapped with sack placed over her head and held captive. We see her have an argument with her kidnapper and in anger he lashes out cutting her with a knife just below her eye. We see a small bloody cut.

An army camps outside the stronghold of the Rohirrim, and rumours quickly spread about a ‘wraith’, a ghost-like mystical assassin, killing the soldiers in the dark of night. We see flashes of dead bodies lined up after one of the wraith’s rampages.

We see orcs and beasts near the army camp which are grotesque and scary in appearance.

Violence

Helm Hammerhand is challenged to a fight to defend his honour and the house of Rohirrim. After receiving several blows Helm delivers a single deadly punch, knocking his opponent immediately dead to the ground.

An attack from the Dunlending clan means the Rohirrim have to retreat across land to the Hornburg stronghold in the mountains. Women and children flee on foot to avoid the attack. During the battle we see adult family members killed in front of their loved ones; one dies from an arrow shot through the neck, another has his throat slit (we don’t see the wound, only the movement and sound of the sword cutting his throat). The scenes are upsetting for many characters.

Hera kills an attacker in self-defence by choking him with a shield.

When content stays with you:

We all have our boundaries, and it’s completely okay if something you’ve watched is weighing on your mind. If certain content lingers with you, consider having a chat with friends or whānau to debrief about what you’ve just seen. But if you’re still feeling affected, please reach out to any of the following helplines for support.

• 1737
• Safe to talk
• Lifeline
• Youthline

Further information

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?
• Brain development - how it works, why it matters