When you think of reading phenomena, most likely Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings come to mind as two of the biggest series in the recent literature. However, it wasn’t until the books came to movies that the rivalry between the two worlds, or fandoms, really began. When the characters from the two series came alive, the similarities and the differences came together to start a fun rivalry between the two classic fantasy series.

Parts of Lord of the Rings can be found in other text, just like Harry Potter probably has parts that are reminiscent of Lord of the Rings. Also, when the characters came to the big screen, there were obvious similarities. The mentor of both books were wizards with long white beards. The actors who played the protagonists even looked similar!

Most of all, when two fantasy movie series come out in relatively short time to one another, they’re going to be compared. Especially when the movies overlap in release. There’s going to be people who prefer one to another and people who like both but still can’t help but prefer one. And that’s where the memes come in!

Here are 15 Lord Of The Rings Vs Harry Potter Memes.

15. A Not-So-Great Comparison

One of the things fans love to do is make comparisons of characters and their similarities. This meme, however, takes that past time and makes fun of that! If anyone were being compared to someone in Lord of The Rings, they would want to be compared to someone beautiful! This one makes fun of comparing characters by having Ron and Hermione talking about fans comparing them, only to have Hermione made fun of and said she looked like Gollum.

Not exactly the most complimenting thing to say there, Ron. For those who haven’t seen Lord of the Rings and are wondering what Gollum looks like…in Harry Potter terms, think Voldemort in Goblet of Fire before he’s turned into Ralph Fiennes. That’s the best way to compare it in HP terms.

But as you can see, not only do memes make fun of the books, the stories, or the characters, they also make fun of memes in general! There’s nothing that they can’t cover, and in this case, it’s always fun to show off the friendship (relationship?) of Ron and Hermione.

14. Voldemort is no Balrog

One of the most well-known lines in literature/movies is “You shall not pass!” from Lord of the Rings. Then there’s the huge resemblance between Gandalf and Dumbledore.

Despite the fact that the characters were played by two different actors, they look so similar that people who don’t know would easily assume they’re the same person. So it makes sense that Dumbledore could “accidentally” say a Gandalf line because they look so similar, even though they are not played by the same actor. They also have the same role in the movie: play the wise wizard who seems to be the father figure and mentor of the coming of age person. JK Rowling had to have come under the spotlight for how similar these two characters seemed.

This is as much of a classic Lord of the Rings/Harry Potter meme as you could possibly get.

13. The four stages of fandom life

This meme is literally the life of every fanboy or fangirl who has grown up in fandom. First, there’s Narnia, and wishing that the wondrous world would appear at the end of our closet. That we would be able to run away from our problems and eventually become the King/Queen of Narnia just like in the CS Lewis book. E

The second part is, of course, not getting the Hogwarts letter when turning eleven. If you read the books before you’re eleven, of course, you wake up wanting that letter to Hogwarts!

In the newer fandom of The Hunger Games, getting reaped is something to avoid, so if you’ve made it past nineteen without being reaped, good for you! This is definitely one to celebrate.

Hopefully, you still have some time to wait for Gandalf to find you at 50. If not, the Doctor doesn’t have an age limit for his companions!

12. Fanboy Faceoff!

In the Fanboy Faceoff that you see here, basically, the meme is just making fun of how close the two characters resemble each other. Both Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter are about “chosen ones” going on adventures to find themselves. There’s a huge familiarity there.

However, there’s no way to deny the fact that Daniel Radcliffe and Elijah Wood both look extremely alike! They’ve even gone on shows to talk about how easily they get mistaken for each other.

Both had their parents killed at a young age and were tasked with an adventure. While Harry’s was a little longer drawn out, Frodo’s started pretty quickly after Gandalf came and saw him at the Shire. You can see the similarities so very clearly in this meme.

11. Another Gandalf v. Dumbledore?

In this meme, we’re back to the conversation about Gandalf vs. Dumbledore. There are plenty of these memes to go around. This one compares specific things that Gandalf and Dumbledore do, to determine who rocks the hardest. First, Gandalf wears a large wizarding hat, and Dumbledore wears a little smaller beanie. Who do you think is better dressed?

Do you prefer a staff or a wand? A flashlight or the ability to turn off candles? Meddling middle-earth hobbits or meddling children to do your work?

According to this meme, it doesn’t matter in the end, because Gandalf took care of his beard better. Let it be known for all future long-bearded wizards: beard-keeping is important in your life! It can make or break your career!

These type of memes are the best, they’re the epitome of not taking anything too seriously.

10. Product Placement

There are memes to show your loyalty, memes to make your heart flutter, and then there are memes to make you laugh. And this one is simply about making you laugh.

In this case, we have Voldemort and Gandalf serving as spokespeople for two famous brands. The opposite ends of the spectrum on good and evil.

For Voldemort, there’s a point that many of us remember - because it’s so unlike the character - where he smiles. You can see the someone put the logo for Colgate toothpaste. In the second part of the meme, Gandalf’s hair is spinning, and you can see a logo for a shampoo, L’Oreal.

These are the best because they aren’t focused on the argument of which show is better, they’re just for making us laugh.

9. One does not simply…

Sean Bean plays Boromir, and the one thing that most people know about Sean Bean is that he tends to die on screen. In everything he’s in. Sorry for the spoiler, but Lord of the Rings is no exception. Boromir dies in The Fellowship of the Ring, and is known by saying “One cannot simply walk into Mordor.”

This line, in and of itself, has become a meme, by many different fandoms taking the line “One cannot simply” and adding their own ending. This is not an exception. The picture of Bean says “One cannot simply compare Harry Potter to LoTR.” In what way, though? In the way that LOTR is better? Is Harry Potter better? Or that we should just enjoy the books as they are? Sometimes, you can get philosophical with memes.

It’s the best thing about them.

8. Superior LOTR fans

This is definitely one for The Lord of the Rings fans, using Smeagol and another surprising character who’s apparently also a LotR fan.

Smeagol’s clearly feeling superior to Harry Potter, what with the way he first ignores and then mocks those who prefer the Wizarding World. Meanwhile the “Clint Eastwood is not amused” meme makes a special guest appearance, with the iconic actor scowling at the mere implication that Harry Potter is worthy of being compared to The Lord of the Rings in any way.

The humor here stems from the unexpected inclusion of such an intense Western star, and the implication that he’s apparently a LotR fan who looks down on Harry Potter. Do you agree with Eastwood, or not?

7. Father & Son?!

There is one thing that is inarguably true about the two worlds of the books: they take place very far away from each other. Harry Potter takes place in about the late ‘90s in the UK, while Lord of the Rings takes place in about the 3000s in Middle-earth. Therefore, while some of the characters look similar, it would be pretty hard for them to be related.

The first one is the obvious one, Dumbledore and Gandalf. The second is Hagrid and Gimli, a half-Giant and a warrior elf. Finally, and perhaps the funniest of them all, is the idea that Voldemort and Gollu, would be related by blood, just because they’re both weird and kind of distorted looking!

6. And the award goes to…

Sometimes, when bragging rights are due, they have to be recognized. Above all, the biggest thing that could possibly happen to a movie is to be win an Academy Award. In the franchise, Harry Potter was nominated three times but never went on to win any of its nominations.

However, Lord of the Rings was nominated 31 times and won 17 of those nominations. Out of both franchises, Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, no film did better than The Return of the King, which won every Academy Award it was nominated for, including Best Picture. It’s been hard since to find a movie in the fantasy category that has done as well as Lord of the Rings.

Sometimes, you have to give where the bragging rights are due. Nominations are good, but 17 wins are… well, hard to beat!

5. Elves?

This is a great meme to show what it’s like to be a huge fan and how that changes your perception. For instance, people who aren’t fans of Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings might see a different type of elf than fans of the two franchises. Fans of Harry Potter will probably automatically think of the small, goblin-like house elves like Dobby, while Lord of the Rings fans will picture statuesque, beautiful Elves like Legolas. And if someone didn’t read either, they might even picture one of Santa’s elves.

This meme shows that, depending on what books you read and movies you watched, you may see the word differently. Whether an elf means Dobby or Legolas, or a small fairy in a dress, it’s all how about what we spend our time doing!

4. More similarities!

People just can’t seem to leave the similarities alone! Besides Gandalf, this meme gives us even more people who look the same, including Snape, Harry and Frodo, Voldemort with a body from Goblet of Fire onwards, and Voldemort without a body in The Philosopher’s Stone.

This meme just continues to show how close the two books (and movies) are. Whether it’s the characters or the actors playing the characters, this meme goes beyond just the easy ones. Would you ever think about Snape or the different Voldemorts throughout the series? Probably not!

Who knows? There could be a doppelganger for every character in Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter! Think of how huge of a chart that would be!

3. Gandalf, give out the assignments!

It’s time to branch out a little into different fandoms. The first part is Gandalf giving out the missions to the various main characters of the stories. The first is Frodo, who has to go get the ring. The second is for Harry to destroy the Horcruxes. Then, we get into new territory with Star Wars! Gandalf, of course, being able to cross realms and time and space, tells Luke to bring balance into the Force.

This is where things get pulled back into 2009 and the Twilight era. It’s no secret that for many people, Twilight just didn’t match up to the rest of the literary world. While everyone else got a task, you can sense Gandalf’s patronization when he tells Edward to just stop sparkling. While Twilight might have had a few redeeming features, sparkling vampires definitely didn’t get up there with the rest of literary history.

2. McGonagall gives Gandalf a lesson

This meme starts with a line from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, where Professor McGonagall tells the boys she’ll transform them into a pocket watch. When Gandalf tries to come back with his famous quote about wizards never being late - an excuse that worked with Frodo in The Fellowship of the Rings - McGonagall tells him that if he doesn’t stop, he will not be able to pass, effectively shutting down Gandalf the White!

Could anyone do that better than McGonagall herself? Not likely! Whether you prefer Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, this meme isn’t about which is better, it’s just a funny meme to make fans laugh using quotes from the books and movies!

1. They are no men

In Lord of the Rings and in Harry Potter, we are shown examples of female heroines, set to make their own destiny. Eowen helps fight the war and Hermione uses her wits to help Harry do all he can to win the Dark War against Voldemort. In both books, there are great representations of women not being held to their standing in society. which makes the contrast to some parts of Twilight so stunning.

Though by the last book in the Twilight, Bella does eventually come around and begin to stand up for herself when she’s fighting for her daughter, she spends most of the series in an extremely passive role as the damsel in distress. Of the three character, Bella is definitely the one young readers shouldn’t look up to.

Do you prefer Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings? Sound off in the comments!