Hobbits weren't, in Tolkien's view, short, slender people with angelic (sic) looks.
I don't think that's really how they're portraying them in the movie. They used blue screens throughout the movie to make the hobbits and dwarves the right height and, for at least one clip I saw, they made Wood look quite a bit chubbier than he actually is. They also had them wear dirty, hairy hobbit feet and other things to make them look less human.
About the Arwen story, I'm aware that it's in the appendix, but it goes beyond that. I read a new clip on iWon.com in which someone said that the movie expands her character from merely sitting next to her father at the council table to basically saving Frodo from the Ringwraiths before he gets to Rivendell. The man says that this lessens Frodo's development as a heroic figure just to gain more female viewers.
I'm not too concerned, though. It's a movie so it's supposed to be a little different. I'm still excited to see it Wednesday
