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Remember "Watership Down"?

TedShatner10

TedShatner10

Commodore
Commodore
Have any of you seen the 1978 animated rabbit movie Watership Down? It was an adaptation of Richard Adams novel produced and directed by Martin Rosen, scored by Angela Morley, and voiced by John Hurt, Richard Briers, and Michael Graham Cox. The story is about a plucky band of rabbits leaving their Sandleford warren, moving across very dangerous territory, and starting afresh at Watership Down, but then coming across a band of militarized rabbits led by a rabbit warlord known as Woundwort.

I'm baffled why Watership Down has a U rating, what with fighting, abuse, mauling, and implied mass deaths involving cute animated rabbits. The general tone the movie feels quite morose and the ending is bittersweet, while some of the more trippy segments would blatantly upset many under tens, so strictly for small children it ain't and it deserves a PG rating. I'd put Watership Down in the same category as the Studio Ghibli movies in terms of moderate violence and handling themes darker than most other Disney movies, without going overboard like some Japanese animation. The score by Angela Morley is memorable and defines the different moments and characters effectively.

There is also a memorable, haunting Big Lipped Alligator Moment where a young rabbit (voiced by Briers) is led into the foggy nightime countryside by the Black Rabbit of Inle (a rabbit Anubis) while Art Garfunkel's "Bright Eyes" gently plays in the background. The beautiful animation was at its best here. The animation is a bit grimy and slow in places, what being made in the 1970s, but putting things into perspective Disney released the abominable Pete's Dragon and the not so terrible but still so-so The Rescuers around the same time, while there was also the awkward Lord of the Rings movie by Bakshi.
 
I saw this for the first time this year, I quite enjoyed it. I agree, it's definitely not a "G" type film. I particularly liked the rabbit mythology bit at the beginning.
 
Talking of the book I became quite obsessed with it as a kid and read it numerous times. I've been meaning to reread it for a while, but I'm always afraid that it won't live up to how I remember it, so always decide not to after all.

As for the bittersweet ending of the film, I went to see it with my father and a friend and afterwards on the way home struggled to hold back the tears. Couldn't cry in front of them. heh
 
SlaveOfSeven said:
Talking of the book I became quite obsessed with it as a kid and read it numerous times. I've been meaning to reread it for a while, but I'm always afraid that it won't live up to how I remember it, so always decide not to after all.
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I read it as a kid and again in adulthood. The book meant even more to me as an adult.
 
Are you kidding? That bloody film is on the telly every Easter and Christmas as far back as I can remember.

As for the certificate, I think 'U' is sufficient. Remember that gore, violence and cruelty is ok so long as nobody swears or does anything unnatural like engage in sexual activity.
Seriously though, I don't think there's anything wrong with Watership Down in terms of being child appropriate. Disney seam to have given a lot of people an oddly sanitised idea of what constitutes a kid's movie. There's nothing wrong with a little scare when appropriate.
 
Watched the movie as a kid several times, my mother enrolled me in one of those summer movie programs every year. Got to see a lot of movies that wouldn't exactly be considered appropriate for 8 year old kids. Midway, A Bridge too Far, Watership Down, several others that I can't remember at this time. Read the book in high school and enjoyed it. My wife had never seen the movie and I showed it to her a few years ago, she enjoyed it so much she read the book and then went out and bought "The Plague dogs" and "Tales from Watership Down" which I also enjoyed. Haven't had the chance to read any of his other works.
 
I own a copy, but haven't watched it in a long time. Usually I don't care for animation, but I really enjoy that type of adult narrative and animation together. I recently watched Plague Dogs for the first time. Not as good, but just as sad, and you really felt for the characters. Have the novel, but haven't read it yet.

Interestingly though my girlfriend can't watch it all. She is very sensitive to any depiction of animals suffering or in pain and Watership Down upsets her greatly. So I guess its appropriateness for children really depends on the child.
 
IcecreamLtDan said:
My wife had never seen the movie and I showed it to her a few years ago, she enjoyed it so much she read the book and then went out and bought "The Plague dogs" and "Tales from Watership Down" which I also enjoyed.
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Yeah, both are really good books.
 
My highschool girlfriend loved this movie, she made me watch it about a half dozen times.

I liked the movie, but not enough to see it a half dozen times without the promise of some skin. :)
 
Good movie, great book. My first copy peeled apart from re-reading. Bought a deluxe hardbound after that, gilt edging and leather covers. One of my most prized books.
 
Absolutely hated the movie when I had to watch it as a kid. Found it boring and lame at the time.
 
I remember watching it as a kid and being mentally scarred by it. :D

I don't remember it too well though now, except for some poor bunny getting caught in a snare and a lot of blood. :eek:
 
When I was a kid I thought I heard that the book was full of slow-moving scenery descriptions, so I didn't read it at the time. Finally as an adult who was interested in writing some talking-animal stories of my own, I decided to try it. Of course I found that I had heard incorrectly; the book was enthralling and exciting, and I wished I had read it years earlier.

I have only seen a few minutes of the movie, however.
 
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