Watership Down (DVD)

---Intro--- It's not been a great week, so when hubby suggested I choose a DVD to watch I went for one of my childhood favourites, Watership Down knowing that I'd be able to have a good old cry - plus I've been watching a lot of rabbits out of the train window on my journey to work! I had no intention of writing a review when we watched, but being left to my own devices for the day I thought I'd share with you one of the best children's films of all time, plus it also gives me a chance to watch the extras which I haven't seen before. ---Me and Watership Down--- Despite the fact that this film has a U(niversal) rating, and claims to ...  Read the complete review

Fluffy bunnies, an epic struggle between good and evil, and a tear-jerking theme song - there's something for kids and adults alike in this animated adaptation of Richard Adams's classic novel. Yes, bits of it are violent - and perhaps not suitable for very young children - but not gratuitously so. After all, rabbits are prey to pretty much every predator. From an ecological aspect, I think the film has much to teach us about the damage we are doing to the earth and its inhabitants. The film kicks off with a narration about the creation of the world from the rabbits' point of view - a kind of Genesis for bunnies. The limited colour palate used for ...  Read the complete review

Children have for decades been traumatised by a film that LOOKED like a kid's film - with cute little bunnies and everything! - right up until the fighting and the bleeding and the nightmares. I apparently enjoyed my childhood traumatisation as I ended up buying the DVD. So, review time! Hazel is a rabbit with a runt brother - Fiver, so called because he was the fifth of the litter. Fiver is known for babbling and strange turns, so it's not entirely out of character when he starts babbling about visions of FIELDS OF BLOOD. He convinces Hazel at least, and Hazel tries to convince the head of the warren that they should leave. He gets told ...  Read the complete review

Watership down is anything other than your typical children's cartoon film. It is a tale with underlying social and environmental issues. The rabbits and their hierarchy represent Humans and their associated hierarchy's and the problems that dictatorship brings. Fiver and his brother Hazel lead some rabbits away from their warren as fiver has premonitions - in each case these represent danger. The journey is fraught with dangerous situations and the rabbits face death and predators every step of the way. It is a story of determination that in the end does end with the rabbits succeeding in their goal of finding a safe environment to live in On a child's level it is a ...  Read the complete review