Air New Zealand is all in on the Lord of the Rings tourism industry.  They created a 5-minute safety video set in Middle Earth to show passengers before each flight with plenty of Hobbit sight gags.  Directed by Taika Waititi (Flight of the Conchords), the production values are solid and the clip is entertaining, as far as airline informational videos go.  The result will make you actually pay attention to the safety instructions on your next flight to New Zealand.

Watch the video---featuring appearances by Peter Jackson, Elijah Wood, Sylvester McCoy, Dean O’Gorman, and Weta Workshop co-founder Richard Taylor---after the jump.

air-new-zealand-the-hobbit-video-elijah-wood