Remember "Watership Down"?
Colonel Shatner
Chavtastic Bristol, BritainPosts: 574MI6 Agent
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 of 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'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 of 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.
'Alright guard, begin the unnecessarily slow moving dipping mechanism...'
Comments
The best thing about that film was Madame Medusa animated by late, great Milt Kahl.
That scene is totally freaky and probably disturbed an entire generation of children. But Watership Down teaches kids that the natural world can be cruel and is not some hippy-dippy paradise, so it's probably quite good for them to see it. Although they will have nightmares.
It's been a while, the rabbit strangled in a snare gushing blood stayed with my younger sister and me for a long time. Around that same period we also watched Bakshi's Wizards, (which I love), and his LOTR, (I like the battle scenes but the potrayal of the Hobbits, Sam Gamgee in particular, were cringe inducing)
Well at least he made Frodo Less of a freaken sissy.
I thought WIZARDS wa okay. You saw HEAVY TRAFFIC ? That's his best work ever.
Despite the criticism against his use of rotorscoping, I find it an artistic feast for the eyes. Especially through a teenage mind.
Wizards & Fire and Ice, mainly due to the collaboration with Frazetta, remain my favorite Bakshi efforts. And yes, Fritz the Cat, which my mom busted me renting from a mom and pop store, is included.
There is much to love about the film, especially the those shorts of "Mama Pile" and the animation with the song "Maybelline".
You know Bakshi was also behind the revival of Mighty Mouse in the late 80's ? Famous cartoonists like John Kricfalusi and Bruce Timm got their major starts from that show. You should check it out sometime if you hadn't before.
http://apbateman.com
Freaky?! Looking at it today at 24 I think it is poignant and touching, while as a child I found it puzzling and suspenseful, but I never found it freaky.
I would've thought the "fields of blood", Bigwig in a snare, the "bad trip" depiction of that warren getting destroyed, the duel between Bigwig and Woundwort, and the dog ravaging rabbits is more potent Nightmare Fuel.
Diseney is know for being very corporate and soft edged, but now and again the animators and writers sneak something through, like "Hellfire" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Professor Ratigan from The Great Mouse Detective.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the terrifying fate of wayward youths changed to jackasses in Pinocchio, the implications of what was going to happen to Dumbo's dear mother, the witch from Snow White. etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1fOZjiDaw4
Roger Moore 1927-2017
For a long time I was looking for a copy of the much sought after soundtrack by Angela Morley (who passed away earlier this year), and I recently got it. The music is absolutely masterful in my opinion. I personally find it difficult to fault the film except for the fact that despite its U rating, as you say it's certainly not for kids.
As an aside, you might be interested to know that my girlfriend has a kind of association with Watership Down. In recent years 'Watership Down: The Musical' has been written by Bob Baker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Baker), who asked her to play the role of Fiver amongst a generally young cast. When the show was on in Cardiff last December, none other than 88-year old Richard Adams turned up to see it, and stayed behind afterwards to tell stories and sign their programmes. I was surprised to learn that he absolutely despised the film version.
Yes l have seen it loads of times it is a great film when we got our first video recorder back in the early 80's Watership Down and Airplane were the first films we saw.Watership Down was good for the effects for its time l agree that it should of got a PG there is a little blood letting in this