The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey won't be released in cinemas until Dec 14, 2012, but enough work has been done on the film to be able to put together this first 'announcement' trailer.

If you're not a fan of dwarves, smoking or singing, this may prove something of a disappointment.

Peter Jackson returns to Middle Earth with the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, taking place before the events depicted in The Lord of The Rings Trilogy. This will be the first story of a two part adventure - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 2012 and The Hobbit: There and Back Again, which will be released December 2013.

Martin Freeman leads a cast that includes Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood, Evangeline Lilly, Andy Serkis and Richard Armitage.

The trailer shows us a good look at Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, a buttoned down hobbit before the his days of adventuring. Gandalf seems to do a great deal of smoking, there's some nice references to the events and moments of The Lord of The Rings and you can see the knees of trolls. A smidge of action, a quick visit to Rivendale, Gandalf looking like he's in trouble, Bilbo wielding 'Sting' and more - the last few moments are, shall we say, 'precious'.

Say hello to Thorin Oakenshield, and listen to the dwarves singing 'Misty Mountains' - said to be the official song/music of the film.

No dragons yet, so you'll have to wait for Weta and the SFX team to come up with the goods with Benedict Cumberbatch's Smaug until at least the next trailer.

Until then, this, in all its glory, is the first official trailer for The Hobbit: