Review of Watership Down (1978) by Robert C — 10 Sep 2011

A literal wolf in rabbit's clothing, Watership Down is not a film that I would show to my children at a young age. I'm a pretty open-minded person, mind you, but I draw the line at adorable cuddly bunnies ripping each-others necks with their teeth, getting blood all over their adorable little noses.

Watership Down tells the tale of Hazel and his brother Fiver, as well as an assortment of other rabbits as they journey cross-country journey following Fiver's premonition of a great calamity befalling their burrow. Their low-key adventures take up the good first half of the movie, and are the most familiar "children's film" aspect of the film. This section is passable but feels too familiar for the first bit, but hints of the grimness to come are slowly brought into the story, along with the first sights of blood in a scene that even the movie's poster felt the need to tone down. It's the second act where the film truly shines, after the group has discovered their paradise and are threatened with extinction.

The animation in Watership Down is reminiscent of the Disney films of the same era. The watercolor backdrops still look goregous, and the rabbits move much like a real rabbit would, but it's definitely not the silky-smoothness this generation's been weaned on. The musical score is typical for a children's film, but when the film veers into darker territory it keeps pace with it.

There are, however a few big flaws in Watership Down. The main one is the uneven delivery of the plot. Especially for the first half, it feels as though you are watching excerpts from the full movie, as events happen, the rabbits sleep, and then more events that don't seem to have any relation to the previous ones occur. When the plot finds it's driving focus at the halfway point this issue is cleared up. Also, it can be difficult to tell the rabbits apart at times, mostly due to the fact that there aren't too many colors for rabbits, but for most of the story the voices are enough.

Watership Down isn't perfect, and it's certainly not for younger children, but older viewers and those looking for something a little more powerful than the average Bambi knockoff would do well to seek this little-known gem out.

OVERALL: 8.0/10.