Material at the start of the film tells us vital information about the Hobbits themselves, while the extended gift giving scene also focuses more on the magical items our heroes are given.
While many of the additions and extensions might seem minor, it's the smaller elements within them that strengthen the film. Not counting the fan credits, The Fellowship of the Ring adds 30 minutes of new material in the extended edition to take its running time from 178 minutes to 208 minutes. All three movies also contain extended 'fan credits', where the names of people who had paid to be on there were added to the credit roll. Many existing scenes in the films have been extended, while new ones have also been added. Alan Lee has painted the travellers entering Moria and the Moria Gate on The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf's Return and a Rohirrim Sun Symbol on The Two Towers and the Grey Havens and the White Tree of Gondor on The Return of the King. Even before you start to devour the bonus footage, there's some exclusive art to enjoy on the sleeves of The Lord of the Rings trilogy extended editions.
