The Tolkien books have been a cult favorite for nearly half a century. With the new movie, hobbits will be bigger than ever. So what's all the fuss about?

At last it was mine.

On the cover of the thin packet was a picture of Adam Sandler sitting on a park bench, wearing an oversized down jacket and framed by his usual crop of bad hair. Without the friend's note that promised the true treasure inside, there was no reason to expect anything to pop up but a DVD of Little Nicky, a bomb so forgettable that owning a copy would by itself mark you as…well, strange.

But all that is gold does not glitter.

There remained a final test. I slipped the disc into the DVD player. Now I had to navigate through the Little Nicky universe, where no doubt few had gone before. One wrong move and the dreaded movie itself would begin. Finally, I discovered a hidden menu, one where, I'd been told, the treasure I was seeking would be revealed once a halo appeared above Little Nicky's head. Go left, the note said. I hit the button again and again, and yet again. And there it was! A halo—or was it really a glowing golden ring? I pressed enter and…

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