One safety video to rule them all - Air New Zealand releases Hobbit-themed demo starring Elijah Wood

"Cease your rabble-rousing and listen carefully!"

Forget boring CGI images of passengers buckling and unbuckling seatbelts.

Air New Zealand has just released its latest take on the in-flight safety video... an "epic" production crammed with marauding Orcs, Elves, Hobbits, Wizards and cameos from Elijah Wood and Peter Jackson.

Dubbing itself "the official airline of Middle Earth", Air New Zealand has a tradition of thinking outside the box when it comes to safety videos. Previous efforts starred the All Blacks, Bear Grylls and Snoop Dogg - with an earlier Hobbit safety video ('An Unexpected Briefing') gaining over 12 million views on YouTube.

This time, "the most epic safety video ever made" features several castmembers from Jackson's Hobbit trilogy, including Elijah Wood, Dean O'Gorman and Sylvester McCoy.

"If you have half-lings or young ones, secure your own [oxygen] mask before helping with theirs," the video instructs.

It was shot over several days in locations recognisable from the trilogy - including Hamilton and Central Otago. Weta Workshop and Weta Digital, which provide costumes and visual effects for the movies, were also involved.

The third and final film in trilogy, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, will be released this December.

"May your path always be guided by the light of the stars," Wood signs off.

Not all Air New Zealand videos receive such glowing reviews.

Earlier this year, a controversial effort featuring swimwear models saw the airline accused of sexism.

Going to press, the new video had chalked up several million views.