De Auriculis Elforum

[alice]

How long ago did elves' ears start to stick out sideways, rather than straight up?

[Ketsuban]

I've always associated the sideways ear thing with Japan.

The 1977 Rankin-Bass adaptation of The Hobbit depicts elven ears in the traditional style, but Peter Jackson's adaptation of Lord of the Rings took influence from the 1978 book Faeries, which appears to depict both kinds of ear in line with the book taking a large-tent approach to what constitutes a fairy.

[WeepingElf]

I've always associated the sideways ear thing with Japan.

So do I.

The 1977 Rankin-Bass adaptation of The Hobbit depicts elven ears in the traditional style, but Peter Jackson's adaptation of Lord of the Rings took influence from the 1978 book Faeries, which appears to depict both kinds of ear in line with the book taking a large-tent approach to what constitutes a fairy.

Ah, that book. I have read it, too; it really takes a large-tent approach which would include all of Tolkien's humanoid races if it had considered them.