Watership Down (1978)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Martin Rosen

Writers:

Richard Adams (novel)
Martin Rosen (written by)

Release Date:

1 November 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies, and when they catch you, they will kill you... but first they must catch you.

Plot:

A group of rabbits flee their doomed warren and face many dangers to find and protect their new home.

Plot Keywords:

Rabbit | Home | Runt | Journey | Place Name In Title

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

John Hurt	...	Hazel (voice)
Richard Briers	...	Fiver (voice)
Michael Graham Cox	...	Bigwig (voice) (as Michael Graham-Cox)
John Bennett	...	Captain Holly (voice)
Ralph Richardson	...	Chief Rabbit (voice)
Simon Cadell	...	Blackberry (voice)
Terence Rigby	...	Silver (voice)
Roy Kinnear	...	Pipkin (voice)
Richard O'Callaghan	...	Dandelion (voice)
Denholm Elliott	...	Cowslip (voice)
Lynn Farleigh	...	Cat (voice) (as Lyn Farleigh)
Mary Maddox	...	Clover (voice)
Zero Mostel	...	Kehaar (voice)
Harry Andrews	...	General Woundwort (voice)
Hannah Gordon	...	Hyzenthlay (voice)

Also Known As:

Richard Adams's Watership Down (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

101 min | Brazil:92 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:L | Finland:K-8 (video rating) | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-10 | Sweden:7 | UK:U | USA:PG | West Germany:6 | Canada:F (Ontario) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Netherlands:AL

Company:

Nepenthe Productions

Trivia:

The backgrounds and locations - especially Efrafa and the nearby railway - are near-perfect matches to the diagrams and maps in Richard Adams's book.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Cowslip tells the poem about the stream and the camera tilts up toward the ceiling, his head disappears before it has a chance to completely go off screen.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: Long ago, the great Frith made the world. He made all the stars and the world lived among the stars. Frith made all the animals and birds and, at first, made them all the same. Now, among the animals was El-Ahrairah, the Prince of Rabbits. He had many friends and they all ate grass together...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Troldspejlet: (#35.9)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Bright Eyes

A beautiful look at animation for a well done novel

Done primarily in water color, Richard Adams' best selling story tells the tale of a warren of rabbits who venture away from the evils of man in search for a new and better place to live. Film portrays a whole new world with simplicity and calm but also dangers and obstacles that mimic the way human beings live. An excellent story and can only be done in an animated movie with a serious manner for a full effect. If one wants the full effect then read the book and you will be glued to it, captivated deep within another world.